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 ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES 
 OF RAJASTHAN
 
 COLONEL JAMES TOD. 
 
 (From the bust by Vo. Livi, 1837. By peiinission of Lt.-Col. E. W. 
 Blunt-.Mackenzie, U.A.). 
 
 Frontispiece.
 
 ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES 
 
 OF 
 
 RAJASTHAN 
 
 OR THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN 
 RAJPUT STATES OF INDIA 
 
 BY 
 
 LiEUT.-CoL. JAMES rpD 
 
 LATE POLITICAL AGENT TO THE WESTERN RAJPUT STATES 
 
 EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY 
 
 WILLIAM CROOKE, CLE. 
 
 HON. D.SC. OXON., B.A., F.R.A.l. 
 
 LATE OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES 
 VOL. I 
 
 HUMPHREY MILFORD 
 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK 
 
 TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY 
 
 1920
 
 [Oriyinat Dedication of the First Volume.^ 
 
 TO 
 HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY 
 
 GEORGE THE FOURTH 
 
 Sire, 
 
 The gracious permission accorded me, to lay at the foot of the Throne 
 the fruit of my lahours, allows me to propitiate Your Majesty's con- 
 sideration towards the object of this work, the prosecution of wliich 1 
 have made a paramount duty. 
 
 The Rajput princes, happily rescued, by the triumph of the British 
 arms, from the yoke of lawless oppression, are now the most remote 
 tributaries to Your Majesty's extensive empire ; and their admirer and 
 annalist may, perhaps, be permitted to hope that the sighs of this 
 ancient and interesting race for the restoration of their former independ- 
 ence, whicli it would suit our wisest policy to grant, may be deemed not 
 undeserving Your Majesty's regard. 
 
 With entire loyalty and devotion, I subscribe myself. 
 
 Your Majesty's 
 
 Most faithful subject and servant, 
 
 JAMES TOD. 
 
 Bird Hurst, Croydox, 
 June 20, 1829.
 
 [Original Dedication of the Second Volume. ] 
 
 TO 
 HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY 
 
 WILLIAM THE FOURTH 
 
 Sire, 
 
 Your Majesty has graciously sanctioned the presentation of the 
 Second Volume of the Annah- of Rajputana to the Public under the 
 auspices of Your Majesty's name. 
 
 In completing this work, it has been my endeavour to draw a faithful 
 picture of States, the ruling principle of which is the paternity of the 
 Sovereign. That this patriarchal form is the best suited to the genius 
 of the people may be presumed from its durability, which war, famine, 
 and anarchy have failed to destroy. The throne has always been the 
 watchword and rallying-point of the Rajputs. My prayer is, that it 
 may continue so, and that neither the love of conquest, nor false views 
 of policy, may tempt us to subvert the independence of these States, 
 some of which have braved the storms of more than ten centuries. 
 
 It will not, I trust, be deemed presumptuous in the Annalist of these 
 gallant and long-oppressed races thus to solicit for them a full measure 
 of Your Majesty's gracious patronage ; in return for which, the Rajputs, 
 making Your Majesty's enemies their own, would glory in assuming the 
 " saifron robe," emblematic of death or victory, under the banner of that 
 chivalry of which Your Majesty is the head. 
 
 That Your Majesty's throne may ever be surrounded by chiefs who 
 will act up to the principles of fealty maintained at all hazards by the 
 Rajput, is the heartfelt aspiration of. 
 
 Sire, 
 
 Your Majesty's 
 
 Devoted subject and servant, 
 
 JAMES TOD. 
 
 VOL. I
 
 PKEFACE 
 
 No one can undertake with a light heart the preparation of a new 
 edition of Colonel Tod's great work, The Annals and Antiquities 
 of Rajasthan. But the leading part which the Rajputs have taken 
 in the Great War, the summoning of one of their princes to a seat 
 at the Imperial Conference, the certainty that as the result of 
 the present cataclysm they will be entitled to a larger share in 
 the administration of India, have contributed to the desire that 
 this classical account of their history and sociology should be 
 presented in a shape adapted to the use of the modern scholar 
 and student of Indian history and antiquities. 
 
 In the Introduction which follows I have endeavoured to 
 estimate the merits and defects of Colonel Tod's work. Here it 
 is necessary only to state that though the book has been several 
 times reprinted in India and once in this country, the obvious 
 difficulties of such an undertaking have hitherto prevented any 
 writer better quahfled than myself from attempting to prepare 
 an annotated edition. Irrespectively of the fact that this work 
 was published a century ago, when the study of the history, 
 antiquities, sociology, and geography of India had only recently 
 started, the Author's method led him to formulate theories on a 
 wide range of subjects not directly connected with the Rajputs. 
 In the light of our present knowledge some of these speculations 
 have become obsolete, and it might have been possible, without 
 impairing the value of the work as a Chronicle of the Rajputs, 
 to have discarded from the text and notes much which no longer 
 possesses value. But the work is a classic, and it deserves to be 
 treated as such, and it was decided that any mutilation of the 
 original text and notes would be inconsistent with the object of 
 this series of reprints of classical works on Indian subjects. The
 
 X PREFACE 
 
 only alternative course was to correct in notes, clearly distinguished 
 from those of the Author, such facts and theories as are no longer 
 accepted by scholars. 
 
 It is needless to say that during the last century much advance 
 has been made in our knowledge of Indian history, antiquities, 
 philology, and sociology. We are now in a position to use im- 
 proved translations of many authorities which were quoted by the 
 Author from inadequate or incorrect versions. The translation 
 of FerishtcCs History by A. Dow and Jonathan Scott has been 
 superseded by that of General J. Briggs, that of the Ain-i-Akbari 
 of F. Gladwin by the version by Professor H. Blochmann and 
 Colonel H. S. Jarrett. For the Memoirs of Jahdnglr, the Author 
 relied on the imperfect version by Major David Price, which has 
 been replaced by a new translation of the text in its more complete 
 form by Messrs. A. Rogers and H. Beveridge. For the Laws of 
 Mann we have the translation by Dr. G. Biihler. The passages 
 in classical literature relating to India have been collected, 
 translated, and annotated by the late Mr. J. W. McCrindle. 
 Much information not available for the Author's use has been 
 provided by The History of India as told by its own Historians, 
 by Sir H. M. Elliot and Professor J. Dowson, and by Mr. W. 
 Irvine's translation, with elaborate notes, of N. Manueei's Storia 
 do Magor. Among original works useful for the present edition 
 the following may be mentioned : J. Grant Duff's History of the 
 Mahrattas ; Dr. Vincent A. Smith's Early History of India, 
 History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, Asoka, the Buddhist 
 Emperor of India, and Akbar, the Great Mogul ; Professor 
 Jadunath Sarkar's History of Aurangzib, of which only three 
 volumes have been published ; Mr. W. Irvine's Army of the 
 Indian Moghuls ; Sir W. Lee- Warner's Protected Princes of 
 India. 
 
 Much historical, geographical, and ethnological information 
 has been collected in the new edition of the Imperial Gazetteer of 
 India the Bombay Gazetteer edited by Sir J. M. Campbell, and, 
 more particularly, in the revised Gazetteer of Rajputana, including 
 that of Mewar and the Western States Residency and BIkaner 
 Agency by Lieutenant-Colonel K. D. Erskine, and that of Ajmer 
 by Mr. C. C. Watson. Lieutenant-Colonel Erskine's work, based 
 on the best local information, has been of special value, and it 
 is much to be regretted that this officer, after serving as Consul-
 
 PREFACE xi 
 
 General at Baghdad, was invalided and died in England in 1914, 
 leaving that part of the Gazetteer dealing with the Eastern States, 
 Jaipur, Kotah, and Bundi, unrevised. For botany, agriculture, 
 and natural productions I have used Sir G. Watt's Dictionary of 
 the Economic Products of India, and liis Commercial Products of 
 India ; for architecture and antiquities, J. P'ergusson's History 
 of Indian and Eastern Architecture, edited by Dr. J. Burgess, and 
 The Cave Temples of India by the same writers. In ethnology 
 I have consulted the pubUcations of the Etluiological Survey of 
 India, of which Mr. H. A. Rose's Glossary of the Tribes and Cartes 
 of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, Mr. Bhimbhai 
 Kirparam's account of the Hindus and Ivhan Bahadur FazaluUah 
 LutfuUah's of the Musalmans of Gujarat, published in the Bombay 
 Gazetteer, vol. ix. Parts i. ii., have been specially valuable. Besides 
 the general works to which reference has been made, many articles 
 on Rajputana and the Rajputs will be found in the Journal of 
 the Royal Asiatic Society and its Bombay branch, in the Journal 
 of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and in the Indian Antiquary, and 
 other periodicals. The Reports of the Archaeological Survey of 
 India conducted by Sir A. Ciumingham, Dr. J. Burgess, and Sir 
 J. H. Marshall, are of great importance. 
 
 I cannot pretend to have exhausted the great mass of new 
 information available in the works to which I have referred, 
 and in others named in the Bibhography ; and it was not my 
 object to overload the notes which are already voluminous. 
 To the general reader the system of armotation which I have 
 attempted to carry out may appear meticulous ; but no other 
 course seemed possible if the work was to be made more useful 
 to the historian and to the scholar. The editor of a work of tliis 
 class is forced to undertake the somewhat invidious duty of 
 calUng attention to oversights or errors either in fact or theory. 
 But this does not detract from the real value of the work. In 
 some cases I have been content with adding a note of interroga- 
 tion to warn the reader that certain statements must be received 
 with caution. As regards geography, I have in many cases 
 indicated briefly the position of the more important places, so 
 far as they can be traced in the maps with which I was provided. 
 The Author was so intimately acquainted with the ground, that 
 he assumed in the general reader a degree of knowledge which 
 he does not possess.
 
 xii PREFACE 
 
 The text and notes, with the exception of a few obvious over- 
 sights, have been reprinted as they stood in the first edition, 
 and as tlie latter is often quoted in books of authority, I have 
 added its pagination for facihty of reference. It was decided, 
 after much consideration, to correct the transHteration of personal 
 and place names and other vernacular terms according to the 
 system now adopted in official gazetteers, maps, and reports. 
 This change might have been unnecessary if the transliteration 
 of these words, according to the system in use at the time when 
 the book was written, had been uniformly correct. But this is 
 not the case. At the same time I have preserved the original 
 readings of those names which have become established in popular 
 usage, such as " Mogul," " Mahratta," " Deccan," in place of 
 "Mughal," "Marhata," " Dakkhin." Following the Author's 
 example, I have not thought it necessary to overload the text 
 by the use of accents and diacritical marks, which are useless 
 to the scholar and only embarrass the general reader. But in 
 the Index I have accentuated the personal and place names 
 so far as I beheved I could do so with safety. Some of these 
 I have been unable to trace in later authorities, and I fear 
 that I may have failed to secure complete miiformity of 
 method. 
 
 The scheme of the book, which attempts to give parallel 
 accounts of each State, naturally causes difficulty to the reader. 
 A like embarrassment is felt by any historian who endeavours 
 to combine in a single narrative the fortvmes of the Mughal 
 Empire with those of the kingdoms in Bengal, the Deccan, or 
 southern India ; by the historian of Greece, where the centre 
 of activity sliifts frona Athens to Sparta, Thebes, or Macedonia ; 
 by the historian of Giermany before the minor kingdoms were 
 more or less fully absorbed by the HohenzoUerns. I have 
 endeavoured to assist the reader in dealing with these independent 
 uimals by largely extending the original Index, and by the use 
 of page headings and paragraph summaries. 
 
 In the dates recorded in the summaries I have generally followed 
 LieuLenant-Colonel Erskine's guidance, so far as his work was 
 available. In view of the inconsistencies between some dates 
 in the text and those recorded in the sununaries, it must be 
 remembered that it was the Author's habit in adapting the 
 dates of the Samvat tu those of the Christian era, to deduct 56,
 
 PREFACE xiii 
 
 not 57 from the former, contrary to the practice of modern 
 historians. 
 
 I am indebted to many friends for assistance. Captain C. D'. 
 M'K. Blunt has kindly given me much help in the record of 
 Colonel Tod's life, and has suppUed a photograph of the charming 
 miniature of the Author as a young officer and of a bust which 
 have been reproduced in the frontispieces. Mr. R. E. Enthoven, 
 C.I.E., has given me the photograph of the Author engaged in 
 his studies with his Jain Guru.^ The fragments of local ballads 
 scattered through the text were unfortunately copied from very 
 incorrect texts. Dr. L. P. Tessitori, an Itahan scholar, who, 
 until the outbreak of the War, was engaged in collecting the 
 local ballads of the Rajputs, has given a correct version of these 
 ballads ; and in improving the text of them I have been assisted 
 by Colonel C. E. Luard, his Pandit, and Sir G. Grierson, K.C.I.E. 
 Since the greater part of the following pages was in type, I have 
 received copies of three reports by Dr. L. P. Tessitori, " A Scheme 
 for the Bardic and Historical Survey of Rajputana," and two 
 Progress Reports for the years 1915 and 1916, pubUshed in the 
 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (New Series, vol. x. 
 No. 10 ; xii. No. 3 ; xiii. No. 4). These contain information 
 regarding the MSS. copies of some ballads and inscriptions, 
 which throw Ught on the traditions and antiquities of the Rajputs. 
 I regret that I was imable to use these papers, which, however, 
 do not supply much information on questions connected with 
 The Annals. Among other friends who have helped me in 
 various ways I may name the late Sir G. Birdwood; Mr. W. 
 Foster, CLE. ; Professor A. Keith, F.R.S. ; Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Sir D. Prain, F.R.S. ; and Dr. Vincent A. Smith, CLE. 
 
 W. CROOKE. 
 
 1 This picture, supposed to be the work of Ghasi, the Author's artist, was 
 recently discovered in Rajputana,
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface by the Editor ...... ix 
 
 Introduction ry the Editor . . . . . xxv 
 
 BiRLIOGRAPHY ........ xlvii 
 
 Author's Introduction ...... Iv 
 
 BOOK I 
 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN OR RAJPUTANA 
 
 BOOK II 
 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 Genealogies of the Rajput princes — The Puranas — Connexion of 
 
 the Rajputs with tlie Scytliic tribes . . . .23 
 
 CHAPTER 2 
 
 Genealogies continued — Fictions in the Puranas — -Union of the 
 regal and the priestly characters — Legends of the Puranas 
 confirmed by the Greek historians . . . .29 
 
 CHAPTER 3 
 
 Genealogies continued — Comparisons between the lists of Sir W. 
 Jones, IMr. Bentley, Captain Wiiford, and the Author — 
 Synchronisms . . . . . . .39
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 4 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Foundations of States and Cities by the different tribes . . 45 
 
 CHAPTER 5 
 
 The dynasties wliich succeeded Rama and Krishna — The Pandava 
 
 family — Periods of tlie different dynasties . . .55 
 
 CHAPTER 6 
 
 Genealogical history of tlie Rajput tribes subsequent to Vikrama- 
 ditya — Foreign races wluch entered India — Analogies be- 
 tween the Scythians, the Rajputs, and the tribes of Scan- 
 dinavia ........ 68 
 
 CHAPTER 7 
 
 Catalogue of the Thirty-six Royal Races . . . .97 
 
 CHAPTER 8 
 Reflections on the present political state of the Rajput tribes . 145 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 SKETCH OF A FEUDAL SYSTEM IN 
 RAJASTHAN 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 Introduction — Existing condition of Rajasthan — General re- 
 semblance between the ancient systems of Asia and Europe 
 — Noble origin of the Rajput race — Rathors of Rlarwar — 
 Kachhwahas of Amber — Sesodias of Mewar — Gradation of 
 ranks — Revenues and rights of the Crown — Barar — Khar 
 Lakar ........ 153
 
 CONTENTS xvii 
 
 CHAPTER 2 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Legislative authority — Rozina — Military service — Inefficiency of 
 
 this form of government ...... 170 
 
 CHAPTER 3 
 
 Feudal incidents — Duration of grants .... 184 
 
 CHAPTER 4 
 
 Rakliwali — Servitude — Basai — Gola and Das — Private feuds and 
 
 composition — Rajput Pardhans or Premiers • . . 203 
 
 CHAPTER 5 
 
 Adoption — Reflections upon the subjects treated . . . 220 
 
 Appendix ..... . . 228 
 
 BOOK IV 
 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 Origin of the Guhilot princes of Mewar — Authorities — Kanaksen 
 the founder of the present dynasty — His descent from Rama 
 — He emigrates to Saurashtra — Valabhipura — Its sack and 
 destruction by the Huns or Parthians .... 247 
 
 CHAPTER 2 
 
 Birth of Goha — He acquires Idar — Derivation of the term 
 " Guhilot " — Birth of Bappa — Early religion of the Guhilots — 
 Bappa's liistory — Oghana Panarwa — Bappa's initiation into 
 the worship of Siva — He gains possession of Chitor — Remark- !> 
 able end of Bappa — Four epochs established, from the second i 
 to the eleventh century . . . . . . ' 258
 
 xviii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 3 
 
 PAOE 
 
 Alleged Persian extraction of the Ranas of Mewar — Authorities 
 for it — Implied descent of the Ranas from a Christian princess 
 of Byzantium — Tlie Author's reflections upon tliese points . 271 
 
 CHAPTER 4 
 
 Intervening sovereigns between Bappa and Samarsi — Bappa's 
 descendants — Irruptions of the Arabians into India — Cata- 
 logue of Hindu princes who defended Chitor . . 281 
 
 CHAPTER 5 
 
 Historical facts furnished by the bard Chand — Anangpal — 
 Prithiraj — Samarsi — Overthrow of the Chauhan monarch by 
 the Tatars — Posterity of Samarsi — Rahap — Changes in the 
 title and the triSe of its prince — Successors of Rahap • 297 
 
 CHAPTER 6 
 
 Rana Lakhamsi — Attack on Chitor by Alau-d-din — Treachery of 
 Ala — Ruse of the Chitor chiefs to recover Bhimsi — Devotion 
 of the Rana and his sons — Sack of Chitor by the Tatars — Its 
 destruction — Rana Ajaisi — Hamir — He gains possession of 
 Cliitor — Renown and prosperity of Mewar — lihetsi — Lakha 307 
 
 CHAPTER 7 
 
 Delicacy of the Rajputs — The occasion of changing the rule of 
 primogeniture in Mewar — Succession of the infant Mokalji, 
 to the prejudice of Chonda, the rightful heir — Disorders in 
 Mewar through the usurpations of the Rathors — Chonda 
 expels them from Chitor and takes Mandor — Transactions 
 between Mewar and Marwar — Reign of Mokalji — His 
 assassination ....... 322 
 
 CHAPTER 8 
 
 Succession of Kumbha — He defeats and takes prisoner Mahmud 
 of Malwa — Splendour of Kumbha's reign — Assassinated by 
 his son — The murderer dethroned by Raemall — Mewar in- 
 vaded by the imperial forces — RaemalFs successes — Feuds 
 of the family — Death of Raemall .... 333
 
 CONTENTS xix 
 
 CHAPTER 9 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Accession of Rana Sanga— State of the Muhammadan power — 
 Grandeur of Mewar — Sanga's victories — Invasions of India — 
 Babur's invasion — Defeats and kills the King of Dellii — 
 Opposed by Sanga — Battle of Khanua — Defeat of Sanga — His 
 death and character — Accession of Rana Ratna — His death 
 — Rana Bikramajit — His character — Disgusts his nobles — 
 Chitor invested by the King of Malwa — Storm of Chitor — - 
 Sakha or immolation of the females — Fall and plunder of 
 Chitor — Humayun comes to its aid — He restores Chitor to 
 Bikramajit, who is deposed by the nobles — Election of 
 Banbir — Bikramajit assassinated .... 348 
 
 CHAPTER 10 
 
 The bastard Banbir rules Mewar — Attempted assassination of the 
 posthumous son of Sanga — ^Udai Singh's escape and long 
 concealment — Acknowledged as Rana — The Dauna described 
 — Udai Singh gains Chitor — Deposal of Banbir — Origin of 
 the Bhonslas of Nagpur — Rana Udai Singh — His unworthi- 
 ness — Humayun expelled the throne of India — Birth of Akbar 
 — Humayun recovers his throne— His death — Accession of 
 Akbar— Characters of Akbar and Udai Singh contrasted — 
 Akbar besieges Chitor, which is abandoned by the Rana — Its 
 defence — Jaimall and Patta — Anecdotes of Rajput females 
 — Sakha or Johar — General assault — Chitor taken — Massacre 
 of the inliabitants — Udai Singh founds the new capital 
 Udaipur— His death . . . . . .367 
 
 CHAPTER 11 
 
 Accession of Partap — The Rajput princes unite with Akbar — 
 Depressed condition of Partap — He prepares for war — 
 Maldeo submits to Akbar — Partap denounces connexion 
 with the Rajput princes — Raja Man of Amber — Prince Salim 
 invades Mewar — Battle of Haldighat — Partap encounters 
 Salim, is wounded, and saved by the Jhala chief — Assisted 
 in liis flight by his brother Sakta — Kumbhalmer taken by 
 Akbar — Udaipur occupied by the Moguls — Partap cuts off 
 Farid and his army — Partap's family saved by the Bhils — 
 The Khankhanan^ — Aggravated hardships of Partap — ^He 
 negotiates with Akbar— Prithiraj of Bikaner — -The Khushroz 
 described — Partap abandons Mewar — Departure for the 
 Indus — Fidelity of his minister — Returns — Surprises the 
 Moguls — Regains Kumbhalmer and Udaipur — His successes 
 — His sickness and death ..... 385
 
 XX CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 12 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Amra mounts the throne — Akbar's death through an attempt to 
 
 poison Raja Man — Amra disregards the promise given to his > 
 father — Conduct of the Salumbar chief — Amra defeats the 
 Imperial armies — Sagarji installed as Rana in Chitor — Re- 
 signs it to Amra — Fresh successes — Origin of the Saktawats 
 ' — ^The Emperor sends his son Parvez against the Rana, who 
 is defeated — Mahabat Khan defeated — Sultan Khurram in- 
 vades Mewar — Amra's despair and submission — Embassy 
 from England — Amra abdicates the throne to his son — 
 Amra's seclusion — His death — Observations . • . 407 
 
 CHAPTER 13 
 
 Rana Karan fortifies and embellishes Udaipur — The Ranas of 
 Mewar excused attendance at court — Bhim commands the 
 contingent of Mewar — Leagues with Sultan Khurram against 
 Parvez — Jahangir attacks the insurgents — Bhim slain — 
 Kliurram flies t» Udaipur — His reception by the Rana — 
 Death of Karan — Rana Jagat Singh succeeds — Death of 
 Jahangir and accession of Khurram as Shah Jahan — Mewar 
 enjoys profound peace — ^The island palaces erected by 
 Jagat Singh — Repairs Chitor — His death — Rana Raj Singh 
 — ^Deposal of Shah Jahan and accession of Aurangzeb — 
 Causes for attachment to the Hindus of Jahangir and Shah 
 Jahan — Aurangzeb's character ; imposes the Jizya or 
 capitation tax on the Rajputs — Raj Singh abducts the in- 
 tended wife of the emperor and prepares for war — Aurangzeb 
 marches — The valley of Girwa — Prince Akbar surprised — 
 Defeated — Blockaded in the mountains — Liberated by the 
 heir of Mewar — Diler Khan defeated — Aurangzeb defeated 
 by the Rana and his Rathor allies — Aurangzeb quits the 
 field — Prince Bhim invades Gujarat — The Rana's minister 
 ravages Malwa — United Rajputs defeat Azam and drive him 
 from Chitor — Mewar freed from the Moguls — ^War carried 
 into Marwar — Sesodias and Rathors defeat Sultan Akbar — 
 Rajput stratagem — ^Design to depose Aurangzeb and elevate 
 Akbar to the throne — Its failure— The Mogul makes over- 
 tures to the Rana — Peace — ^Terms — The Rana dies of his 
 wounds — His character, contrasted with that of Aurangzeb 
 — Lake Rajsamund — Dreadful famine and pestilence . 427 
 
 CHAPTER 14 
 
 Rana Jai Singh — Anecdote regarding him and his twin brother — 
 The Rana and Prince Azam confer — Peace — Rupture — The 
 Rana forms the Lake Jaisamund — ^Domestic broils — Amra, 
 the heir-apparent, rebels — The Rana dies — Accession of Amra 
 — His treaty with the heir of Aurangzeb — Reflections on the
 
 CONTENTS XX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 events of tliis period — Imposition of the Jizya or capitation 
 tax — Alienation of the Rajputs from the empire — Causes — 
 Aurangzeb's death — Contests for empire — Bahadur Shah, 
 emperor — The Sikhs declare for independence — Triple 
 alliance of the Rajput States of Mewar, Marwar, and Amber 
 — They commence hostilities — Death of the JMogul Bahadur 
 Shah — Elevation of Farrukhsiyar — He marries the daughter 
 of the Prince of Marwar — Origin of the British power in India 
 — The Rana treats with the emperor — The Jats declare their 
 independence — Rana Amra dies — His character . . 45G 
 
 CHAPTER 15 
 
 Rana Sangram — Dismemberment of the Mogul Empire — 
 Nizamu-1 Mulk establishes the Haidarabad State — Murder 
 of the Emjieror Farrukhsiyar — Abrogation of the Jizya-*— 
 Muhammad. Shah, Emperor of Delhi- — Saadat KJian obtains 
 Oudh — Repeal of the Jizya confirmed — Policy of Mewar — 
 Rana Sangram dies — Anecdotes regarding him — Rana 
 Jagat Singh II. succeeds — Treaty of triple alliance with 
 Marwar and Amber — The Mahrattas invade and gain footing 
 in Malwa and Gujarat — Invasion of Nadir Sliah — Sack of 
 Delhi — Condition of Rajputana — Limits of Mewar — Rajput 
 alliances — Bajirao invades Mewar — Obtains a cession of 
 annual tribute — Contest to place Madho Singh on the throne 
 of Amber — Battle of Rajmahall — The Rana defeated — He 
 leagues wth Malharrao Holkar — Isari Singh of Amber takes 
 poison — The Rana dies — His character . . .472 
 
 CHAPTER 16 
 
 Rana Partap II. — Rana Raj Singh II. — Rana Arsi — Holkar in- 
 vades Mewar, and levies contributions — Rebellion to depose 
 the Rana — A Pretender set up by the rebel chiefs — Zalim 
 Singh of Kotah — ^The Pretender unites vnth Sindhia — ^Their 
 combined force attacked by the Rana, who is defeated — 
 Sindhia invades Mewar and besieges Udaipur — Amra Chand 
 made minister by the Rana — His noble conduct — ^Negotiates 
 with Sindhia, who withdraws — Loss of territory to Mewar — 
 Rebel chiefs return to their allegiance — Province of Godwar 
 lost — Assassination of the Rana — Rana Hamir succeeds — 
 Contentions between the Queen Regent and Amra — His 
 noble conduct, death, and character — Diminution of the 
 Mewar territory . . , . . . .496 
 
 CHAPTER 17 
 
 Rana Bliim — Feud of Sheogarh — The Rana redeems the alien- 
 ated lands — Ahalya Bai attacks the Rana's army — Which 
 is defeated — Chondawat rebellion — Assassination of the
 
 i CONTENTS 
 
 PAciE 
 
 Minister Soniji— The rebels seize on Chitor — Mahadaji Sindhia 
 called in by the Rana — Invests Chitor — The rebels surrender 
 — Designs of Zalim Singh for power in Mewar — Counter- 
 acted by Ambaji, who assumes the title of Subahdar, con- 
 tested by Lakwa — Effects of these struggles — Zalim obtains 
 Jahazpur — Holkar invades Mewar — Confines the priests of 
 Nathdwara — Heroic conduct of the Chief of Kotharia — 
 Lakwa dies — The Rana seizes the Mahratta leaders — 
 Liberated by Zalim Singh — Holkar returns to Udaipur — 
 Imposes a heavy contribution^Sindhia's invasion — Re- 
 flections on their contest with the British — Ambaji projects 
 the partition of Mewar — Frustrated — Rivalry for Krishna 
 Kunwari, the Princess of Mewar, produces war throughout 
 Rajasthan — Immolation of Krishna — Amir Khan and Ajit 
 Singh — Their villainy — British Embassy to Sindhia's Court 
 at Udaipur — Ambaji is disgraced, and attempts suicide — 
 Airur Khan and Bapu Sindhia desolate Mewar — The Rana 
 forms a treaty with the British . . . . .511 
 
 CHAPTER 18 
 
 Overthrow of the predatory system — Alliances with the Rajput 
 States — Envoy appointed to Mev/ar — Arrives at Udaipur — 
 Reception — Description of the Court^ — ^Political geography 
 of Mewar — The Rana — His character — His ministers — Plans 
 — Exiles recalled — Merchants invited — Bhilwara established 
 — Assembly of the nobles — Charter ratified ; Resumptions of 
 land ; Anecdotes of the Chiefs of Arja, Badnor, Badesar, 
 and Amet — Landed tenures in Mewar — Village rule — Free- 
 hold {bupota) of Mewar — Bhumia, or allodial vassals : Char- 
 acter and privileges— Great Register of Patents— Traditions 
 exemplifying right in the soil — The Patel ; his origin ; 
 character — Assessment of land-rents — General results . 547
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Bust of Colonel James Tod 
 Section of Country 
 
 
 
 
 Fror 
 
 TO F 
 
 itispiece 
 
 ACE PAGE 
 
 10 
 
 List of Thirty-six Royal Races 
 
 
 
 
 
 98 
 
 Salumbar . 
 
 
 
 
 
 216 
 
 Sanskrit Grant 
 
 
 
 
 
 232 
 
 Palace of Udaipur 
 
 
 
 
 
 247 
 
 Palace of Rana Blilm 
 
 
 
 
 
 312 
 
 Ruins of Fortress of Bayana 
 
 
 
 
 
 362 
 
 Chitor 
 
 
 
 
 
 382 
 
 Rajmahall 
 
 
 
 
 
 428 
 
 Jagmandir 
 
 
 
 
 
 432 
 
 Maharaja BliTin Singli 
 
 
 
 
 
 512 
 
 Facsimile of Native Drawing 
 
 
 
 
 
 572 
 
 VOL. 1
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 James Tod, the Author of this work, son of James Tod and Mary 
 Heatly, was born at Islington on March 20, 1782. His father, 
 James Tod the first, eldest son of Henry Tod of Bo'ness and Janet 
 Monteath, was born on October 26, 1745. In 1780 he married 
 in New York Mary, daughter of Andrew Heatly, a member 
 of a family originally settled at Mellerston, Co. Berwick, where 
 they had held a landed estate for some four centuries. Andrew 
 Heatly emigrated to Rhode Island, where he died at the age of 
 thirty-six in 1761. He had married Mary, daughter of Sueton 
 Grant, of the family of Gartinbeg, really of Balvaddon, who left 
 Inverness for Newport, Rhode Island, in 1725, and Temperance 
 Talmage or Tollemache, granddaughter of one of the first and 
 principal settlers at Easthampton, Rhode Island. He had been 
 forced to emigrate to America during the Protectorate, owing to 
 his loyalty to King Charles I. James Tod, the first, left America, 
 and in partnership with his brother John, became an indigo- 
 planter at Mirzapur, in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. 
 .Tames Tod, the second, was thus through his father and his 
 uncles Patrick and S. Heatly, both members of the Civil Service 
 of the East India Company, closely connected with India, and in 
 1798, being then sixteen years old, he obtained through the 
 influence of his imcle, Patrick Heatly, a cadetship in the service 
 of the East India Company. On his arrival at Calcutta he was 
 attached to the 2nd European Regiment. -In 1800 he was trans- 
 ferred, with the rank of Lieutenant, to the 14th Native Infantry, 
 from which he passed in 1807, with the same rank, to the 25th 
 Native Infantry. In 1805 he was appointed to the command of 
 the escort of his friend Mr. Graeme Mercer, then Government 
 Agent at the Camp'of Daulat Rao Sindhia, who had been defeated
 
 xxvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 two years before at the battle of Assaye by Sir Arthur Wellesley. 
 In more than one passage in The Annals Tod speaks of Mr. 
 Graeme Mercer with respect and affection, and by him he was 
 introduced to official life and Rajput and Mahratta politics. His 
 tastes for geographical inquiries led liim to undertake surveys in 
 Rajputana and Central India between 1812 and 1817, and he 
 employed several native surveyors to traverse the then little - 
 known region between Central India and the valley of the Indus. 
 
 At this period the Government of India was engaged in a 
 project for suppressing the Pindaris, a body of lawless free- 
 booters, of no single race, the debris of the adventurers who 
 gained power during the decay of the Mughal Empire, and who 
 had not been incorporated in the armies of the local powers 
 which rose from its ruins. In 1817, to effect their suppression, 
 the Governor-General, the Marquess of Hastings, collected the 
 strongest British force which up to that time had been assembled 
 in India. Two armies, acting in co-operation from north and 
 south, converged on the banditti, and met with rapid success. 
 Sindhia, whose power depended on the demoralized condition of 
 Rajputana, was overawed ; Holkar was defeated ; the Raja of 
 Nagpur was captured ; the Mahratta Peshwa became a fugitive ; 
 the Pindaris were dispersed. One of their leaders, Amir Khan, 
 who is frequently mentioned in Tod's narrative, disbanded his 
 forces, and received as his share of the spoils the Principality of 
 Tonk, still ruled by his descendants. 
 
 In the course of this campaign Tod performed valuable 
 services. At the beginning of the operations he supplied the 
 British Staff with a rough map of the seat of war, and in other 
 ways his local knowledge was utilized by the Generals in cha;-ge 
 of the operations. In 1813 he had been promoted to the rank of 
 Cajitain in command of the escort of the Resident, Mr. Richard 
 Strachey, who nominated him to the post of his Second Assistant. 
 In 1818 he was appointed Political Agent of Western Rajputana, 
 a post which he held till his retirement in June 1822. The work 
 which he carried out in Rajputana during this period is fully 
 described in The Annals and in his " Personal Narrative." Owing 
 to Mahratta oppression and the ravages of the Pindaris, the 
 condition of the country, political, social, and economical, was 
 deplorable. To remedy this prevailing anarchy the States were 
 gradually brought under British control, and their relations with
 
 INTRODUCTION xxvii 
 
 the paramount power were embodied in a series of treaties. In 
 this work of reform, reconstruction, and conciliation, Tod played 
 an active part, and the confidence and respect with which he was 
 regarded by the Princes, Chiefs, and peasantry enabled him to 
 interfere with good effect in tribal quarrels, to rearrange the fiefs 
 of the minor Chiefs, and to act as arbitrator between the Rana 
 of Me war and his subjects. 
 
 Tod was convinced that the miserable state of the country 
 was chiefly due to the hesitation of the Indian Government in 
 interfering for the re-establishment of order ; and on this ground 
 he does not hesitate to condemn the cautious policy of Lord 
 Cornwallis during his second term of office as Governor- General. 
 Few people at the present day would be disposed to defend the 
 policy of non-intervention. " This policy has been condemned 
 by historians and commentators, as well as by statesmen, 
 soldiers, and diplomatists ; by Mill and his editor, H. H. Wilson, 
 and by Thornton ; by Lord Lake and Sir John Malcolm. The 
 mischief was done and the loss of influence was not regained for 
 a decade. It was not till the conclusion of an expensive and pro- 
 tracted campaign, that the Indian Government was replaced in 
 the position where it had been left by Wellesley. The blame for 
 tliis weak and unfortmiate policy must be divided between Corn- 
 wallis and Barlow, between the Court of Directors and the Board 
 of Control." But it was carried out in pursuance of orders from 
 the Home Government. " The Court of Directors for some time 
 past had been alarmed at Lord Wellesley's vigorous foreign 
 policy. Castlereagh at the Board of Control had taken fright, 
 and even Pitt v/as carried away and committed himself to a hasty 
 oi^inion that the Governor -General had acted imprudently and 
 illegally." ^ 
 
 Tod tells us little of his relations with the Supreme Government 
 during his four years' service as Political Agent. He was notori- 
 ously a partisan of the Rajput princes, iDarticularly those of Mewar 
 and Marwar ; he is never tired of abusing the policy of the 
 Emperor Aurangzeb, and, fortunately for the success of his work, 
 Muhammadans form only a shght minority in the population of 
 Rajputana. Tliis attitude naturally exposed him to criticism. 
 Writing in 1824, Bishop Heber,^ while he recognizes that he was 
 
 1 W. S. Seton Carr, The Marquess Cornwallis, 180, 189 f. 
 2 Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces, ed. 1861, ii. 54-
 
 xxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 held in affection and respect by "all the upper and middhng 
 classes of society," goes on to say : " His misfortiine was that, 
 in consequence of his 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 beheve, well satisfied that their suspicions were 
 groundless. Captain Todd {sic) is strenuously vindicated from 
 the charge by all the officers with whom I have conversed, and 
 some of whom had abundant means of knowing what the natives 
 themselves thought of him." The Bishop's widow, in a later 
 issue of the Diary of her husband, adds that " she is anxious to 
 remove any unfavourable impressions which may exist on the 
 subject by stating, that she has now the authority of a gentleman, 
 who at the time was a member of the Supreme Covmcil, to say, 
 that no such imputation was ever fixed on Colonel Todd's (sic) 
 character." 
 
 Whatever may have been the real reason for the premature 
 termination of liis official career at the age of forty, iU-health 
 was put forward as the ostensible cause of his retirement. He 
 had served for about twenty-four years in the Indian plains 
 without any leave ; he had long suffered from malaria ; and, 
 though he hardly suspected it at the time, an attempt had been 
 made by one of his servants to poison him with Datura ; he 
 had met with a serious accident when, by chance or design, his 
 elephant-driver dashed his howdah against the gate of Begun 
 fort in eastern Mewar. In spite of all this, he retained sufficient 
 health to make, on the eve of his departure from India, the 
 extensive tour recorded in his Travels in Western India. Neither 
 on his retirement, nor at any subsequent period, were liis services, 
 official and hterary, rewarded by any distinction. 
 
 During his seventeen years' service in Central India and 
 Kajputana he showed indefatigable industry in the collection 
 of the materials which were partially used in liis great work. 
 His taste for the study of liistory and antiquities, etluiology, 
 popular religion, and superstitions was stimulated by the pioneer 
 work of Sir W. Jones and other writers in the Asiatic Researches. 
 He was not a trained philologist, and he gained much of liis 
 information from liis Guru, the Jain Yati Gyanchandra, and the 
 Brahman Pandits whom he employed to make inquiries on his
 
 INTRODUCTION xxix 
 
 behalf. They, too, were not trained scholars in the modern 
 sense of the term, and many of his mistakes are due to his rash- 
 ness in following their guidance. 
 
 His hfe was prolonged for tliirteen years after he left India. 
 In 1824, he attained the rank of Major, and in 1826 that of Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel. Much of his time in England was spent in 
 arranging liis materials and compiling the works upon which his 
 reputation depends : The Annals, pubhshed. between 1829 and 
 1832 ; and his Travels in Western India, published after his 
 death, in 1839. He was in close relations with the Royal Asiatic 
 Society, of wliich he acted for a time as Librarian. In this fine 
 collection of books and manuscripts he gained much of that 
 discursive learning which appears in' The Annals. He presented 
 to the Society niunerous manuscripts, inscriptions, and coins. 
 The fine series of drawings made to illustrate his works by Captain 
 P. T. Waugh and a native artist named Ghasi, have recently 
 been rearranged and catalogued in the Library of the Society. 
 They well deserve inspection by any one interested in Indian art. 
 He also made frequent tours on the Continent, and on one occasion 
 visited the great soldier, Comit Benoit de Boigne, who died in 
 1830, leaving a fortune of twenty millions of francs. 
 
 On November 16, 1826, Tod married Juha, daughter of Dr. 
 Henry Clutterbuck, an eminent London surgeon, by whom he 
 had two sons and a daughter. In 1835 he settled in a house in 
 Regent's Park, and on November 17 of the same year he died 
 suddenly wliile transacting business at the office of his bankers, 
 Messrs. Robarts of Lombard Street. The names of his descend- 
 ants will appear from the pedigree appended to this Introduction. 
 
 The Annals of Rajasthan, the two volumes of which were, 
 by permission, dedicated to Kings George IV. and WiUiam IV. 
 respectively, was received with considerable favour. A con- 
 temporary critic deals with it in the following terms : ^ " Colonel 
 Tod deserves the praise of a most delightful and industrious 
 collector of materials for history, and his own narrative style in 
 many places displays great freedom, vigour, and perspicuity. 
 Though not always correct, and occasionally stiff and formal, it 
 is not seldom highly animated and picturesque. The faults of 
 his work are inseparable from its nature ; it would have been 
 almost impossible to mould up into one continuous history the 
 ^ Quarterly Review, vol. xlviii. Oct.-Dec. 1832, pp. 38 f.
 
 X5£X INTRODUCTION 
 
 distinct and separate annals of the various Rajput races. The 
 patience of the reader is thus imavoidably put to a severe trial, 
 in having to reascend to the origin, and again to trace downwards 
 the parallel annals of some new tribe — sometimes interwoven 
 Avith, sometimes entirely distinct from, those which have gone 
 before. But, on the whole, as no one but Colonel Tod could have 
 gathered the materials for such a work, there are not many who 
 could have used them so well. No candid reader can arise from 
 its perusal without a very high sense of the character of the Author 
 — no scholar, more certainly, without respect for his attainments, 
 and gratitude for the service which he has rendered to a branch 
 of literature, if far from popular, by no means to be estimated, as 
 to its real importance, by the extent to which it may command 
 the favour of an age of duodecimos." 
 
 In estimating the value of the local authorities on which the 
 liistory is based. Tod reposed undue confidence in the epics and 
 ballads composed by the poet Chand and other tribal bards. It 
 is believed that more than one of these poems have disappeared 
 since his time, and these materials have been only in part edited 
 and translated. The value to be placed on bardic literature is a 
 question not free from difficulty. " On the faith of ancient songs, 
 the uncertain but the only memorials of barbarism," says Gibbon, 
 " they [Cassiodorus and Jornandes] deduced the first origin of the 
 Goths." ^ The poet may occasionally record facts of value, but 
 in his zeal for the honour of the tribe which he represents, he is 
 tempted to exaggerate victories, to minimize defeats. This is a 
 danger to which Indian poets are particularly exposed. Their 
 trade is one of fulsome adulation, and in a state of society like 
 that of the Rajputs, where tribal and personal rivalries flourish, 
 the temptation to give a false colouring to history is great. In 
 fact, bardic literature is often useful, not as evidence of occurrences 
 in antiquity, but as an indication of the habits and beliefs current 
 in the age of the writer. It exhibits the facts, not as they really 
 occurred, but as the writer and lais contemporaries supposed that 
 they occurred. The mind of the poet, with all its prejudices, 
 projects itself into the distant past. Good examples of the 
 methods of the bards will appear in the attempt to connect the 
 Rathors with the dynasty of Kanauj, or to represent the Chauhans 
 as the founders of an empire in the Deccan. 
 
 ^ Decline and Fall, ed. W. Smith, i. 375.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxi 
 
 Recent investigation has thrown much new hght on the origin 
 of the Rajputs. A wide gulf hes between the Vedic Kshatriya 
 and the Rajput of medieval times which it is now impossible to 
 bridge. Some clans, with the help of an accommodating bard, 
 may be able to trace their lineage to the Kshatriyas of Buddhist 
 times, who v.ere recognized as one of the leading elements in 
 Hindu society, and, in their own estimation, stood even higher 
 tlxan the Brahmans.^ But it is now certain that the origin of 
 many clans dates from the Saka or Kushan invasion, which began 
 about the middle of the second century B.C., or more certainly, 
 from that of the ^Vl^lite Huns who destroyed the Gupta empire 
 about A.D. 480. The Gurjara tribe connected with the latter 
 people adopted Hinduism, and their leaders formed the main 
 stock from which the higher Rajput families sprang. When 
 these new claimants to princely honours accepted the faith and 
 institutions of Brahmanism, the attempt would naturally be made 
 to ainiiate themselves to the mythical heroes whose exploits are 
 recorded in the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Hence arose the 
 body of legend recorded in The Annals by wliich a fabulous 
 origin from the Sun or Moon is ascribed to two great Rajput 
 branches, a genealogy claimed by other princely families, like 
 the Incas of Peru or the Mikado of Japan. Or, as in the case of 
 the Rathors of Marwar, an equally fabulous story was invented 
 to link them with the royal house of Kanauj, one of the genuine 
 old Hindu ruling families. The same feeling lies at the root of 
 the Aeneid of Virgil, the court poet of the new empire. The clan 
 of the emperor Augustus, the lulii, a jiatrician family of Alban 
 origin, was represented as the heirs of lulus, the supposed sou of 
 Aeneas and founder of Alba Longa, thus linking the new Augustan 
 house with the heroes of the Iliad. 
 
 One of the merits of Tod's work is that, though his knowledge of 
 ethnology was imperfect, and he was unable to reject the local 
 chronicles of the Rajputs, he advocated, in anticipation of the 
 conclusions of later scholars, the so-called " Scythic " origin of 
 the race. To make up for the lack of direct evidence of Scythian 
 manners and sociology to support this position, he was forced 
 to rely on certain superficial resemblances of custom and belief, 
 not between Rajputs, Scythians and Hims, but between Rajputs, 
 
 1 V. A. Smith, Early History of India, 3rd ed. 408 ; Rhys Davids, Buddhist 
 India, 60 f.
 
 xxxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Getae or Thracians, or the Germans of Tacitus. In the same way 
 a supposed identity of name led him to identify the Jats of 
 northern India with the Getae or with the Goths, and finally to 
 bring them with the Jutes into Kent. 
 
 A similar process of groping in semi-darkness induced him to 
 make constant references to serpent worship, which, as Sir E. 
 Tylor remarked, " years ago fell into the hands of speculative 
 writers who mixed it up with occult philosophies, druidical 
 mysteries, and that portentous nonsense called the ' Arkite sym- 
 bolism,' till now sober students hear the very name of ophiolatry 
 with a shudder." ^ He repeatedly speaks of a people whom he 
 calls the " Takshaks," apparently one of the Scytliian tribes. 
 There is, however, no reason to beheve that serpent worship 
 formed an important element in the beliefs of the Scythians, or 
 to suppose that the cult, as we observe it in India, is of other than 
 indigenous origin. 
 
 The more recent \aews of the origin of the Rajputs may be 
 briefly illustrated in comiexion with some of the leading septs. 
 Dr. Vincent A. Smith holds that the term Kshatriya was not an 
 ethnical but an occupational designation. Rajaputra, ' son of a 
 Raja,' seems to have been a name applied to the cadets of ruhng 
 houses who, according to the ancient custom of tribal society, 
 were in the habit of seeking their fortunes abroad, winning by 
 some act of valour the hand of the princess whose land they visited, 
 and with it the succession to the kingdom vested in her under the 
 system of Mother Right. Sir James Frazer has described various 
 forms of this mode of succession in the case of the Kings of Rome, 
 Ashanti, Uganda, in certain Greek States, and other places.^ 
 Dr. Smith goes on to say : " The term Kshatriya was, I beheve, 
 always one of very vague meaning, simply denoting the Hindu 
 ruhng classes wliich did not claim Brahnianical descent. Occasion- 
 ally a raja might be a Brahman by caste, but the Brahman's place 
 at court was that of a minister rather than that of king." " This 
 ollice in Rajputana, as we learn from numerous instances in The 
 Annals, was often taken by members of the Bania or mercantile 
 class, because the Brahmans of the Desert, by their laxity of 
 
 1 Primitive Culture, 2nd ed. ii. 239. 
 
 * Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship, 231 £E. ; The Golden Bough, 
 3rd ed. ; The Magic Art, ii. 269 ff. 
 3 Early History oj India, 408.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxiii 
 
 practice, had acquired an equivocal reputation, and were gener- 
 ally illiterate. The Rajput has always, untU recent times, 
 favoured the Bhat or bard more than the Brahman. 
 
 The group denoted by the name Kshatriya or Rajput thus 
 depended on status rather than on descent, and it was therefore 
 possible for foreigners to be introduced into the tribes without 
 any violation of the prejudices of caste, which was then only 
 partially developed. In later times, under Brahman guidance, 
 the rules of endogamy, exogamy, and confarreaiio have been 
 deiinitely formulated. But as the power of the priesthood 
 increased, it was necessary to disguise this admission of foreigners 
 imder a convenient fiction. Hence arose the legend, told in two 
 different forms in The Annals, wliich describes how, by a solemn 
 act of purification or initiation, under the superintendence of one 
 of the ancient Vedic Risiiis or inspired saints, the " fire-born " 
 septs were created to help the Brahmans in repressing Buddhism, 
 Jainism, or other heresies, and in estabhshing the ancient tradi- 
 tional Hindu social pohcy, the temporary downfall of which, 
 under the stress of foreign invasions, is carefully concealed in the 
 Hindu sacred Uterature. This privilege was, we are told, confined 
 to four septs, known as Agnikula, or ' fire-born ' — the Pramar, 
 Parihar, Chalukya or Solanki, and the Chauhan. But there is 
 good reason to beheve that the Pramar was the only sept which 
 laid claim to this distinction before the time of the poet Chand, 
 who flourished in the twelfth century of our era.^ The local 
 tradition in Rajputana was so vague that in one version of the 
 story Vasishtha, in the other Visvamitra, is said to have been the 
 olficiating priest. 
 
 In the case of the Sesodias of Mewar, Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar 
 has given reasons to beheve that Gehlot or Guliilot means simply 
 ' son of Guliila,' an abbreviation of Guhadatta, the name of its 
 founder.^ He is said to have belonged to the Gurjara stock, 
 kinsmen or aUies of the Huns who entered India about the sixth 
 century of our era, and founded a kingdom in Rajputana with its 
 capital at Bhilmal or Srimal, about fifty miles from Mount Abu, 
 
 ^ Journal Royal Asiatic /Society, 1905, I 11". The tradition seems to have 
 started earlier in Southern India, y. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Ancient 
 India, 1911, 390 ff. 
 
 - Journal Asiatic Society Bengal, 1909, 167 ff. The criticism by Pandit 
 Mohaulal Vishnulal Pandia [ibid., 1912, 63 ff.) is extremely feeble.
 
 xxxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 the scene of the regeneration of the Rajputs. This branch, which 
 took the name of Maitrika, is said to be closely connected with the 
 Mer tribe, which gave its name to Merwara, and is fully described 
 in The Annals. The actual conqueror of Chitor, Bapa or Bappa, 
 is said in inscriptions to have belonged to the branch known as 
 Nagar, or ' City ' Brahmans which has its present headquarters 
 at the town of Vadnagar in the Baroda State. Tliis conversion 
 of a Brahman into a Rajput is at first sight starthng, but the fact 
 implies that the institution of caste, as we observe it, was then 
 only imperfectly estabfished, and there was no difficulty in 
 believing that a Brahman could be ancestor of a princely house 
 which now claims descent from the Sun. As will appear later on, 
 Bapa seems to be a historical personage. These facts help us to 
 understand the strange story in The Annals, which tells how 
 Gohaditya received inauguration as chief by having his forehead 
 smeared with blood drawn from the finger of a BhJl, a form of the 
 blood covenant which appears among many savage tribes.^ In 
 those days no definite hne was drawn between the Bhlls, now a 
 wild forest tribe, and the Rajputs. The Bhils were the free lords 
 of the jungle, original owners of the soil, and though they practised 
 rites and followed customs repulsive to orthodox Hindus, they 
 did not share in the impvu-ity which attached to foul outcastes 
 like the Dom or the Chandala. , As the Bhils were believed to be 
 autochthonous, and thus understood the methods of controlling 
 or conciliating the local spirits, by this form of inauguration they 
 passed on their knowledge to the Rajputs whom they accepted 
 as their lords. The relations of the Minas, another jungle tribe 
 of the same class, with the Kachhwahas of Jaipur were of the 
 same kind. 
 
 According to the bardic legend given in The Annals, the 
 Rathors, the second great Rajput clan, owed their origin to a 
 migration of a body of its members to the western Desert when 
 the territory of Kanauj was conquered by Shihabu-d-din in a.d. 
 1193. But it is now certain that the ruling dynasty of Kanauj 
 belonged, not to the Rathor, but to the Gaharwar clan, and that 
 the first Rathor settlement in Rajputana must have occurred 
 anterior to the conquest of Kanauj by the Musalmans. An 
 inscription, dated a.d. 997, found in the ruins of the ancient town 
 of Hathundi or Hastikundi in the Bali Hakumat of the Jodhpur 
 j ^ E. S. Hartland, Primitive Paternity, i. 258 ff.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxv 
 
 State, names four Rathor Rajas who reigned there in the tenth 
 century.^ The local legend is an attempt to connect the line of 
 Rathor princes with the Kanaiij dynasty. It has been suggested 
 that the Deccan dynasty of the Rashtrakiitas which, in name at 
 least, is identical with Rathor, reigning at Nasik or Malkhed from 
 A.D. 753 to 973, was connected with the Reddis or Raddis, a 
 caste of cultivators which seem to have migrated from Madras 
 into the Deccan at an early period. But any racial connexion 
 between the Deccan Reddis and the Rathors of Rajputana is 
 very doubtful.* * 
 
 The Chandel clan, ranked in The Annals among the Thirty- 
 six Royal Races, is believed to be closely connected with the 
 Bhars and Gonds, forest tribes of Bundelkhand and the Central 
 Provinces. Mr. R. V. Russell prefers to connect them with the 
 Bhars alone, on the ground that the Gonds, according to the best 
 traditions, entered the Central Provinces from the south, and 
 made no effective settlement in Bundelkhand, the headquarters 
 of the Chandels.^ But there was a Gond settlement in the 
 Hainlrpur District of Bundelkhand, and the close connexion 
 between the Gonds and the Chandels began in what is now the 
 Chhatarpur State. 
 
 The results of recent investigations into Rajput ethnology are > 
 thus of great importance, and enable us to correct the bardic 
 legends on which the genealogies recorded in The Annals were 
 founded. Much remains to be done before the question can be 
 finally settled. The local Rajput traditions and the ballads of 
 the bards must be collected and edited ; the ancient sites in 
 Rajputana must be excavated ; physical measurements, now 
 somewhat discredited as a test of racial affinities, must be made in 
 larger numbers and by more scientific methods. But the general 
 thesis that some of the nobler Rajput septs are descended from 
 Gurjaras or other foreigners, while others are closely connected 
 with the autochthonous races, may be regarded as definitely 
 proved. 
 
 One of the most valuable parts of The Annals is the chapter 
 
 1 K. D. Eiskine, Gazetteer Western Rajput States and Bikaner Agency, 
 A. i. 177. 
 
 2 Bombay Gazetteer,!. Part i. 385; Bombay Census Heport, 1911, i. 279; 
 Smith, Early History, 413. 
 
 s Tribes and Castes of llie Central Provinces, iv. 441.
 
 xxxvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 describing the popular religion of Mewar, the festival and rites 
 in honour of Gauri, the Mother goddess. There are also many 
 incidental notices of cults and superstitions scattered through 
 the work. A race of warriors like the Rajputs naturally favours 
 the worship of Siva who, as the successor of Rudra, the Vedic 
 storm-god, was originally a terror-inspiring deity, a side of his 
 character only imperfectly veiled by his euphemistic title of Siva, 
 ' the blessed or auspicious One.' In his phallic manifestation 
 his chief shrine is at Eklingji, ' the single or notable phallus,' 
 about fourteen miles north of Udaipur city. The Ranas hold 
 the office of priest-kings, Dlwans or prime-ministers of the god. 
 Their association with this deity has been explained by an in- 
 scription recently found in the temple of Natha, ' the Lord,' 
 now used as a storeroom of Jhe Eklingji temple.^ The inscription, 
 dated a.d. 971, is in form of a dedication to LakulTsa, a form of 
 Siva represented as bearing a club, and refers to the Saiva sect 
 known as Lakullsa-Pasapatas. It records the name of a king 
 named Sri-Bappaka, ' the moon among the princes of the Guhila 
 dynasty,' who reigned at a place called Nagahvada, identified 
 with Nagda, an ancient town several times mentioned in The 
 Annals, the ruins of which exist at the foot of the hill on which 
 the temple of Eklingji stands. Sri-Bappaka is certainly Bapa 
 or Bappa, the traditional founder of the Mewar dynasty, which 
 had at that time its capital at Nagda. From this inscription it is 
 clear that the Eklingji temple was in existence before a.d. 971, 
 and, as Mr. Bhandarkar remarks, " it shows that the old tradition 
 about Nagendra and Bappa Rawal's infancy given by Tod had 
 some historical foundation, and it is intelligible how the Ranas of 
 Udaipur could have come to have such an intimate connexion with 
 the temple as that of high priests, in which capacity they still 
 officiate." This office vested in them is a good example of one 
 of those dynasties of priest-kings of which Sir James Frazer has 
 given an elaborate account.^ 
 
 The milder side of the Rajput character is represented in the 
 cult of Krishna at Nathdwara. The Mahant or Abbot of the 
 temple, situated at the old village of Siarh, twenty-two miles 
 
 ^ D. R. Bhandarkar, Journal Bombay Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 
 1916, Art. xii. 
 
 2 The. Golden Bauqh, 3rd ed. ; The Magic Art, i. 44 flf. ; Adonis, Attis, 
 Osiris, i. 42 f., 143 £f.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxvii 
 
 from the city of Udaipur, enjoys semi-royal state. In anticipation 
 of tlie raid by Aurangzeb on Mathura, a.d. 1669-70, tlie ancient 
 image of Kesavadeva, a form of Krishna, ' He of the flowing 
 locks,' was removed out of reach of danger by Rana Raj Singh 
 of Mewar. When the cart bearing the image arrived at Siarh, 
 the god, by stopping the cart, is said to have expressed liis inten- 
 tion of remaining there. This was the origin of the famous temple, 
 still visited by crowds of pilgrims, and one of the leading seats 
 of the Vallabhacharya sect, ' the Epicureans of the East,' whose 
 practices, as disclosed in the famous Maharaja libel case, tried at 
 Bombay in 1861, gave rise to grievous scandal.^ The ill-feeling 
 against this sect, aroused by these revelations, was so intense that 
 the Maharaja of Jaipur ordered that the two famous images of 
 Krishna worshipped in his State, which originally came from 
 Gokul, near Mathura, should be removed from his territories 
 into those of the Bharatpur State. 
 
 Tod bears witness to the humanizing effect on the Rajputs of 
 the worship of this god, whom he calls " the Apollo of Braj," the 
 holy land of Krishna near Mathura. He also asserts that the 
 Emperor Akbar favoured the worship of Krishna, a feeling shared 
 by his successors Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Akbar, in his search 
 for a new faith to supersede Islam, of which he was parens cultor 
 et infrequens, dallied with Hindu Pandits, Parsi priests, and 
 Christian missionaries, and he was doubtless well informed about 
 the sensuous ritual of the temple of Nathdwara.^ 
 
 The character of the Rajputs is discussed in many passages 
 in The Annals. The Author expresses marked sympathy with 
 the people among whom his official life was spent, and he expresses 
 gratitude for the courtesy and confidence which they bestowed 
 upon him. This applies specially to the Sesodias of Mewar and 
 the Rathors of Marwar, with whom he lived in the closest intimacy. 
 He sliows, on the other hand, a decided prejudice against the 
 Kachhwahas of Jaipur, of whose diplomacy he disapproved. 
 This feeling, we may suspect, was due in part to their hesitation 
 in accepting the British alliance, a policy in which he was deeply 
 interested. 
 
 1 Karsandas Mulji, History of the Sect of the Maharajas or Vallabhdcharyas, 
 London, 1865 ; Report of the Mahdrdj Libel Case, Bombay, 1862 ; F. S. 
 Growse, Mathura, 3rd ed. 283 f. 
 
 2 V. A. Smith, Akbar, The Great Mogul, 162 ff.
 
 xxxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 The virtues of the Rajput He on the surface — their loyalty, 
 devotion, and gallantry ; their chivalry towards women ; their 
 regard for their national customs. Their weaknesses — though 
 Tod does not enumerate them in detail — are obvious from a study 
 of their history — their instability of character, their liability to 
 sudden outbreaks of passion, their tendency to yield to panic on 
 the battlefield, their inability, as a result of their tribal system, 
 to form a permanent combination against a public enemy, their 
 occasional faithlessness to their chiefs and allies, their excessiv-e 
 use of opium. These defects they share with most orientals, but, 
 on the whole, they compare favourably with other races in the 
 Indian Empire. There is much in their character and institutions 
 which reminds us of the Gauls as pictured by Mommsen in a 
 striking passage.^ Rajput women are described as virtuous, 
 affectionate, and devoted, taking part in the control of the family, 
 sharing with their husbands the dangers of war and sport, con- 
 temptuous of the coward, and exercising a salutary influence in 
 public and domestic affairs. 
 
 Strangely enough, Tod omits to give us a detailed account of 
 their marriage regulations and ceremonies. According to Mr. 
 E. H. Kealy,^ while male children under one year old exceed the 
 females, " the excess is not sufficiently great to justify the con- 
 clusion that female babies are murdered, nor is the theory that 
 female infants lost their lives by neglect supported by the 
 statistics. Unhappily the returns show that a high proportion 
 of married women is combined with a very low percentage of 
 females as compared with males between the ages of ten and 
 fourteen, the early stage of married life, and this defect is largely 
 due to premature cohabitation, lack of medical attendance, and 
 of sanitary precautions." No one can read without horror the 
 many narratives of the Johar, the final sacrifice by which womei\ 
 in the hour of defeat gave their lives to save their honour, and of 
 the numerous cases of Sati. Both these customs are now only 
 a matter of history, but so late as 1879 General Hervey was able 
 to count at the Bikaner palace the handmarks of at least thirty- 
 seven widows who ascended the pyre with their lords.* 
 
 Much space in The Annals is occupied by a review of the 
 
 1 History of Rome, ed. 1866, iv. 209 if. ' 
 
 * Censufs Report, Rajpittana, 1911, i. 132. 
 
 * Some Rerorch of Crime, ii, 217 f.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxix 
 
 so-called ' Feudal ' system in Rajputana. Tod was naturally 
 attracted in the course of his discursive reading by Henry 
 Hallam's View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, 
 which first appeared in 1818, four years before Tod resigned his 
 Indian appointment. Hallam himself was careful to point out 
 that " it is of great importance to be on our guard against seeming 
 analogies which vanish away when they are closely observed." ^ 
 This warning Tod unguardedly overlooked. Hallam recognized 
 that Feudalism was an institution the ultimate origin of which 
 is still, to some extent, obscure. It possibly began with the 
 desire for protection, the rakhzvdli of the Rajputs, but it seems 
 to have been ultimately based on the private law of Rome, while 
 the influence of the Church, interested in securing its endowments, 
 was a factor in its evolution. In its completed form it represented 
 the final stage of a process which began under the Frankish 
 conquerors of Gaul. At any rate, it was of European origin, and 
 though it absorbed much that was common to the types of tribal 
 organization found in other parts of the world, it was moulded by 
 the political, social, and economical environment amidst which 
 it was developed. Hence, while it is possible to trace, as Tod has 
 done, certain analogies between the tribal institutions of the 
 Rajputs and the social organization of medieval Europe — 
 analogies of feudal incidents connected with Reliefs, Fines upon 
 alienation, Escheats, Aids, Wardship, and Marriage — these 
 analogies, when more closely examined, are found to be in the 
 main superficial. If we desire to undertake a comparative study 
 of the Rajput tribal system, it is unnecessary to travel to medieval 
 Europe, while we have close at hand the social organization of 
 more or less kindred tribes on the Indian borderland, Pathans, 
 Afghans, or ^aloch ; or, in a more primitive stage, those of the 
 Kandhs, Gonds, Mtindas, or Oraons. It is of little service to 
 compare two systems of which only the nucleus is common to 
 both, and to place side by side institutions which present only 
 a factitious similitude, because the social development of each 
 has progressed on different lines. 
 
 The Author's excursions into philology are the diversions of 
 a- clever man, not of a trained scholar, but interested in the 
 subject as an amateur. In his time the new learning on oriental 
 subjects had only recently begun to attract the attention of 
 
 1 View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, 12th ed. 1868, i. 186. 
 VOL. I d
 
 xl • INTRODUCTION 
 
 scholars, of which Sir W. Jones was the prophet. Tod was a 
 diligent student of The Asiatic Researches, the publication of 
 which began at Calcutta in 1788. While much material of value 
 is to be found in these volumes, many papers of Captain Francis 
 Wilford and others are full of rash speculations which have not 
 survived later criticism. Tod is not to blame because he followed 
 the guidance of scholars who contributed articles to the leading 
 Indian review of his time ; because he was ignorant of the laws 
 of Grimm or Verner ; because, like his contemporaries, he 
 believed that the mythology of Egypt or Palestine influenced the 
 beliefs of the Indian people. It was his fate that many of his 
 guesses were quoted with approval by writers like T, Maurice in 
 his Indian Antiquities, and by N. Pococke in his India in Greece. 
 It is also well to remember that many of the derivations of the 
 names of Indian deities, confidently proposed by Kuhn and Max 
 Muller a few years ago, are no longer accepted. Tod, at any 
 rate, published his views on Feudalism and Philology without 
 any pretence of dogmatism. 
 
 One special question deserves examination — the constant 
 references to the cult of Bal-Siva, a form of the Sun god. A 
 learned Indian scholar. Pandit Gaurishankar Ojha, who is now 
 engaged on an annotated edition of The Annals in Hindi, states 
 that no temple or image dedicated to tliis god is known in 
 Rajputana. It is, of course, not unlikely that Siva, as a deity 
 of fertility, should be associated with Sun worship, but there 
 is no evidence of the cult on which Tod lays special stress- It 
 is almost useless to speculate on the source of his error. It 
 may be based on a reference in the Ain-i-Akhari ^ to a certain 
 Balnath, Jogi, who occupied a cell in a place in the Sindh Sagar 
 Duab of the Panjab. At the same time, like many of the 
 writers of his day, he may have had the Semitic Baal in his 
 mind. 
 
 It was largely due to imperfect information received from his 
 assistants that he shared with other writers of the time the con- 
 fusion between Buddhism and Jainism, and supposed that the 
 former religion was introduced into India from Central Asia. 
 His elaborate attempt to extract history and a trustworthy 
 scheme of chronology from the Puranas must be pronounced to 
 be a failure. Recently a learned scholar, Mr. F. E. Pargiter, has 
 
 1 ii. 315.
 
 INTRODUCTION xli 
 
 shown how far an examination of these authorities can be con- 
 ducted with any approach to probability.^ 
 
 The questions wliich have been discussed do not, to any 
 important extent, detract from the real value of the work. Even 
 in those points which are most open to criticism, The Annals 
 possesses importance because it represents a phase in the study 
 of Indian religions, ethnology, and sociology'. No one can 
 examine it without increasing pleasure and admiration for a 
 writer who, immersed in arduous official work, was able to in- 
 dulge his tastes for research. His was the first real attempt to 
 investigate the beliefs of the peasantry as contrasted with the 
 official Brahmanism, a study which in recent years has revolu- 
 tionized the current conceptions of Hinduism. Even if his 
 versions of the inscriptions which he collected fail to satisfy the 
 requirements of more recent scholars, he deserves credit for 
 rescuing from neglect and almost certain destruction epigraphical 
 material for the use of his successors. The same may be said of 
 the drawings of buildings, some of which have fallen into decay, 
 or have been mutilated by their careless guardians. When he 
 deals with facts which came under his personal observation, his 
 accounts of beliefs, folk-lore, social life, customs, and manners 
 possess permanent value. 
 
 He observed the Rajputs when they were in a stage of transi- 
 tion. Isolated by the inaccessibility of their country, they were 
 the last guardians of Hindu beliefs, institutions, and manners 
 against the rising tide of the Muhammadan invasions ; without 
 their protection much that is important for the study of the Hindus 
 must have disappeared. To avoid anarchy and the ultimate 
 destruction of these States, it was necessary for them ta accept 
 a closer union with the British as the paramount power. By 
 this they lost something, but they gained much. The new 
 connexion involved new duties and responsibiUties in adapting 
 their primitive system of government to modern requirements. 
 Tod thus stood at the parting of the ways. With the introduction 
 of the railway and the post-office, the disappearance of the caravan 
 as a means of transport, the increase of trade, the gi-owth of new 
 wants and possibilities of development in association with the 
 
 ^ " Ancient Indian Genealogies and Chronology," " Earliest Indian 
 Traditional History," Journal Royal Asiatic Society, January 1910, April 
 1914.
 
 xlii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Empire, the period of Rajput isolation came to a close. To some 
 it may be a matter of regret that the personal rule of the Chief 
 over a people strongly influenced by what they term swdmldharma, 
 the reciprocal loyalty of subject to prince and of prince to people, 
 should be replaced by a government of a more popular type. But 
 this change was, in the nature of things, inevitable. As an 
 example of this, a statement made by the Maharaja of BIkaner, 
 when he was summoned to attend the Imperial Conference in 1917, 
 may be quoted. " In my own territories we inaugurated some years 
 ago the beginnings of a representative assembly. It now consists 
 of elected, as well as nominated, non-official members, and their 
 legislative powers follow the lines of those laid down for the 
 Legislatures of British India in the 1909 reforms. In respect to 
 the Budget they have the same powers as those conferred on the 
 Supreme and Provincial Legislatures in British India by the 
 Lansdowne reforms in force from 1893 to 1909. When announcing 
 my intention of creating this representative body, I intimated 
 that as the people showed their fitness they would be entrusted 
 with more powers. Accordingly, at the end of the first triennial 
 term, when the elections will take place, we are revising the rules 
 of business in the direction of greater liberality and of removing 
 unnecessary restrictions." It remains to be seen how far this 
 policy will prove to be successful. 
 
 It was a happy accident that before the period of transi- 
 tion had begun in earnest, such a competent and sympathetic 
 observer should have been able to examine and record one of 
 the most interesting surviving phases of the ancient Hindu 
 polity. 
 
 A soldier and a sportsman, Tod learned to understand the 
 romantic, adventurous side of the Rajput character, and he 
 recorded with full appreciation the fine stories of manly valour, 
 of the self-sacrifice of women, the tragedies of the sieges of Chitor, 
 the heroism of Ranas Sanga and Partab Singh, or of Durgadas. 
 Many of these tales recall the age of medieval chivalry, and Tod 
 is at his best in recording them. No one can read without admira- 
 tion his account of the attack of the Saktawats and Chondawats 
 on Untala ; of Suja and the tiger ; the tragedy of Krishna 
 Kunwari ; of the queen of Ganor ; of Sanjogta of Kanauj ; of 
 Guga Chauhan and Alu Hara. In many of these tales the Rajput 
 displays the loyalty and valour, the punctilious regard for his
 
 INTRODUCTION xliu 
 
 personal honour wliicli in the case of the Spanish grandee have 
 passed into a proverb. 
 
 While the Rajput is courteous in his intercourse with those 
 who are prepared to take him as he is, when he meets an English 
 officer he resents any hint of patronage, he is jealous of any 
 intrusion on the secluded folk behind the curtain, and he is often 
 rather an acquaintance than a friend, inchned to shelter himself 
 behind a dignified reserve, unwilUng to open his mind to any one 
 who does not accept his traditional attitude towards men of a 
 different race and of a different faith. When he makes a cere- 
 monial visit to a European officer, his conversation is often con- 
 fined to conventional compliments, or chat about the weather 
 and the state of the crops. 
 
 To remove these difficulties which obstruct friendly and con- 
 fidential intercourse, the young officer in India may be advised 
 to study the methods illustrated in this work. But he will do 
 well to avoid Tod's openly expressed partisanship. He owed 
 the affection and respect bestowed upon Mm by prince and 
 peasant, and even by the jealously guarded ladies of the zenanah, 
 to his kindhness and sympathy, his readiness to converse freely 
 with men of aU classes, his patience in hstening to grievances, 
 even those wliich he had no power to redress, his impartiahty as 
 an arbitrator between the Rana of Mewar and his people or 
 between individuals or sects unfriendly to each other. He studied 
 the national traditions and usages ; he knew enough of reUgious 
 behefs and of social customs to save lihn from giving offence by 
 word or deed ; he could converse with the people in their own 
 patois, and could give point to a remark by an apt quotation of a 
 proverb or a scrap of an old ballad. 
 
 When, if ever, a new history of the Rajputs comes to be 
 written, it must be largely based on Tod's collections, supple- 
 mented by wider historical, antiquarian, and epigraphical research. 
 The liistory of the last century cannot be compiled until the 
 recent administration reports, now treated as confidential, and 
 the muniment rooms of Calcutta and London are open to the 
 student. But it is unlikely that, for the present at least, any 
 writer will enjoy, as Tod did, access to the records and correspond- 
 ence stored in the palaces of the Chiefs. 
 
 For the Rajput himself and for natives of India interested in 
 the history of their coimtry, the work will long retain its value.
 
 xliv INTRODUCTION 
 
 It preserves a record of tribal rights and privileges, of claims 
 based on ancient tradition, of feuds and their settlement, of 
 genealogies and family history which, but for Tod's careful record, 
 might have been forgotten or misinterpreted even by the Rajputs 
 themselves. In the original Enghsh text which many Rajputs 
 are now able to study they will find a picture of tribal society, 
 now rapidly disappearing, drawn by a competent and friendly 
 hand. Its interest will not be diminished by the fact that while 
 the writer displays a hearty admiration for the Rajput character, 
 he is not blind to its defects. At any rate, the Rajput will enjoy 
 the satisfaction that his race has been selected to furnish the 
 materials for the most comprehensive monograph ever compiled 
 by a British officer describing one of the leading peoples of India.
 
 
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 Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, or Memoirs of Jahangir, trans. A, Rogers, 
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 Jataka. Stories of the Buddha's Former Births, 7 vols. Cam- 
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 Kalhana, Rajatarangini, a Chronicle of the Ivings of Kashmir, ed, 
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 Kaye, Sir J. W. Life and Correspondence of Lord Metcalfe. 2 vols. 
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 Keene, H. G, The Turks in India, London, 1879, 
 
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 The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan. London, 1887. 
 
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 Malleson, G. B. Historical Sketch of the Native States of India. 
 
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 McCrindle, Alexander. The Invasion of India by Alexander the 
 
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 Megasthenes, Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and 
 
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 Rajputana Gazetteer. 3 vols. Simla, 1879-80. 
 
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 Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases. 2nd ed. London, 
 1903,
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION TO THE 
 FIRST VOLUME OF THE ORIGINAL 
 EDITION 
 
 Much disappointment has been felt in Europe at the sterility of 
 the liistoric muse of Hindustan. When Sir William Jones first 
 began to explore the vast mines of Sanskrit literature, great hopes 
 were entertained that the history of the world would acquire 
 considerable accessions from this source. The sanguine expecta- 
 tions that were then formed have not been realized ; and, as it 
 usually happens, excitement has been succeeded by apathy and 
 indifference. It is now generally regarded as an axiom, that 
 India possesses no national history ; to which we may oppose the 
 remark of a French Orientalist, who ingeniously asks, whence 
 Abu-1 Fazl obtained the materials for his outlines of ancient Hindu 
 history ? ^ Mr. Wilson has; indeed, done much to obviate this 
 prejudice, by his translation of the Raja Tarangini, or History 
 of Kashmir,^ which clearly demonstrates that regular historical 
 composition was an art not unknown in Hindustan, and affords 
 satisfactory ground for concluding that these productions were 
 once less rare than at present, and that further exertion may 
 bring more relics to Ught. Although the labours of Colebrooke, 
 Wilkins, Wilson, and others of our own countrymen, emulated by 
 
 ^ M. Abel Remusat, in his Melanges Asiatiques, makes many apposite 
 and forcible remarks on this subject, which, without intention, convey a 
 just reproof to the lukewarmness of our countiymen. The institution of 
 the Royal Asiatic Society, especially that branch of it devoted to Oriental 
 translations, may yet redeem this reproach. 
 
 2 Asiatic Researches, vol. xv. [The Rajatarangini of Kalhana has been 
 translated by M. A. Stein, 2 vols., London, 1910.] 
 
 VOL. I Iv e
 
 Ivi AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 many learned men in France [viii] and Germany,^ have revealed 
 to Europe some of the hidden lore of India ; still it is not pre- 
 tended that we have done much more than pass the threshold of 
 Indian science ; and we are consequently not competent to speak 
 decisively of its extent or its character. Immense libraries, in 
 various parts of India, are still intact, which have sur^ved the 
 devastations of the Islamite. The collections of Jaisalmer and 
 Patan, for example, escaped the scrutiny of even the lynx-eyed 
 Alau-d-din who conquered both these kingdoms, and who would 
 have shown as little mercy to those literary treasures, as Omar 
 displayed towards the Alexandrine library. Many other minor 
 collections, consisting of thousands of volumes each, exist' in 
 Central and Western India, some of which are the private property 
 of princes, and others belong to the Jain commimities.^ 
 
 If we consider the political changes and convulsions which have 
 happened in Hindustan since Mahmud's invasion, and the in- 
 tolerant bigotry of many of his successors, we shall be able to 
 account for the paucity of its national works on history, without 
 being driven to the improbable conclusion, that the Hindus were 
 
 ^ When the genius and erudition of such men as Schlegel are added to 
 the zeal which characterizes that celebrated writer, what revelations may we 
 not yet expect from the cultivation of oriental literature ? 
 
 2 Some copies of these Jain MSS. from Jaisalmer, which were written 
 from five to eight centuries back, I presented to the Royal Asiatic Society. 
 Of the vast numbers of these MS. books in the libraries of Patan and Jaisal- 
 mer, many are of the most remote antiquity, and in a character no longer 
 understood by their possessors, or only by the supreme pontiff and liis 
 initiated librarians. There is one volume held so sacred for its magical 
 contents, that it is suspended by a chain in the temple of Chintaman, at the 
 last-named capital in the desert, and is only taken down to have its covering 
 renewed, or at the inauguration of a pontiff. Tradition assigns its author- 
 ship to Somaditya Suru Acharya, a pontiff of past days, before the Islamite 
 liad crossed the waters of the Indus, and whose diocese extended far beyond 
 that stream. His magic mantle is also here preserved, and used on every 
 new installation. The character is, doubtless, the nail-headed Pali ; and 
 could we introduce the ingenious, indefatigable, and modest Mons. E. 
 Burnouf, with his able coadjutor Dr. Lassen, into the temple, wo might 
 learn something of this Sibylline volume, without their incurring the risk 
 of loss of sight, which befcl the last individual, a female Yati of the Jains, 
 who sacrilegiously endeavoured to acquire its contents. [For tlie temple 
 library at Jaisalmer see I A, iv. 81 if; for those at Udaipur, ibid. xiii. 31. 
 J. Burgess visited the Patan library, described by the Author (WI, 232 ff.), 
 and found a collection of paliu-lcaf MSS., carefiilly wrapped in cloth and 
 deposited in large chests (BO, vii. 598).]
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION Ivii 
 
 ignorant of an art which has been cultivated in other countries 
 from ahnost the earhest ages. Is it to be imagined that a nation 
 so highly civilized as the Hindus, amongst whom the exact 
 sciences flourished in perfection, by whom the fine arts [ix], 
 architecture, sculpture, poetry, music, were not only cultivated, 
 but taught and defined by the nicest and most elaborate rules, 
 were totally unacquainted with the simple art of recording the 
 events of their history, the characters of their princes, and the 
 acts of their reigns ? Where such ti'aces of mind exist, we can 
 hardly believe that there was a want of competent recorders of 
 events, which synchronical authorities tell us were worthy of 
 commemoration. The cities of Hastinapur and Indraprastha, 
 of Anhilwara and Somanatha, the triumphal columns of Delhi 
 and Chitpr, the shrines of Abu and Girnar, the cave-temples of 
 Elephanta and Ellora, are so many attestations of the same fact ; 
 nor can we imagine that the age in which these works were erected 
 was without an historian. Yet from the Mahabharata or Great 
 War, to Alexander's invasion, and from that grand event to the 
 era of Mahmud of Ghazni, scarcely a paragraph of pure native 
 Hindu history (except as before stated) has hitherto been revealed 
 to the curiosity of Western scholars. In the heroic history of 
 Prithiraj, the last of the Hindu sovereigns of Delhi, written by 
 his bard Chand, we find notices which authorize the inference that 
 works similar to his own were then extant, relating to the period 
 between Mahmud and Shihabu-d-din (a.d. 1000-1193) ; but these 
 have disappeared. 
 
 After eight centuries of galling subjection to conquerors totally 
 ignorant of the classical language of the Hindus ; after almost 
 every capital city had been repeatedly stormed and sacked by 
 barbarous, bigoted, and exasperated foes ; it is too much to expect 
 that the literature of the comitry should not have sustained, in 
 common with other important interests, irretrievable losses. My 
 own animadversions upon the defective condition of the annals 
 of Rajwara have more than once been checked by a very just 
 remark : " when our princes were in exile, driven from hold to 
 hold, and compelled to dwell in the clefts of the mountains, often 
 doubtful whether they would not be forced to [x] abandon the 
 very meal preparing for them, was that a time to think of historical 
 records ? " 
 
 Those who expect from a people like the Hindus a species of
 
 Iviii AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 composition of precisely the same character as the historical 
 works of Greece and Rome, commit the very egregious error of 
 overlooking the peculiarities which distinguish the natives of 
 India from all other races, and which strongly discriminate their 
 intellectual productions of every kind from those of the West. 
 Their philosophy, their poetry, their architecture, are marked 
 with traits of originality ; and the same may be expected to 
 pervade their history, which, like the arts enumerated, took a 
 character from its intimate association with the religion of the 
 people. It must be recollected, moreover, that until a more 
 correct taste was imparted to the literature of England and of 
 France, by the study of classical models, the chronicles of both 
 these countries, and indeed of all the polished nations of Europe, 
 were, at a much more recent date, as crude, as wild, and as barren 
 as those of the early Rajputs. 
 
 In the absence of regular and legitimate historical records, 
 there are, however, other native works (they may, indeed, be said 
 to aboimd), which, in the hands of a skilful and patient investi- 
 gator, would afford no despicable materials for the history of 
 India. The first of these are the Puranas and genealogical 
 legends of the princes, which, obscured as they are by mythological 
 details, allegory, and improbable circumstances, contain many 
 facts that serve as beacons to direct the research of the liistorian. 
 What Hume remarks of the annals and annalists of the Saxon 
 Heptarchy, may be applied with equal truth to those of the 
 Rajput Seven States : ^ " they aboimd in names, but are extremely 
 barren of events ; or they are related so much without circum- 
 stances and causes, that the most profound and eloquent writer 
 must despair [xi] of rendering them either instructive or enter- 
 taining to the reader. The monks " (for which we may read 
 " Brahmans "), " who hved remote from public affairs, considered 
 the civil transactions as subservient to the ecclesiastical, and were 
 strongly affected with credulity, with the love of wonder, and 
 with a propensity to imposture." 
 
 The heroic poems of India constitute another resource for 
 history. Bards may be regarded as the primitive historians of 
 mankind. Before fiction began to engross the attention of poets, 
 or rather, before the province of liistory was dignified by a class 
 of writers who made it a distinct department of literature, the 
 1 Mewar, Marwar, Amber, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Kotah, and Bundi.
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION lix 
 
 functions of the bard were doubtless employed in recording real 
 events and in commemorating real personages. In India Calliope 
 has been worshipped by the bards from the days of Vyasa, the 
 contemporary of Job, to the time of Benidasa, the present 
 chronicler of Mewar. The poets are the chief, though not the 
 sole, historians of Western India ; neither is there any deficiency 
 of them, though they speak in a peculiar tongue, which requires 
 to be translated into the sober language of probability. To 
 compensate for their magniloquence and obscurity, their pen is 
 free : the despotism of the Rajput princes does not extend to the 
 poet's lay, wliich flows unconfined except by the shackles of the 
 chand bhujanga^ or ' serpentine stanza ' ; no slight restraint, it 
 must be confessed, upon the freedom of the historic muse. On 
 the other hand, there is a sort of compact or understanding 
 between' the bard and the prince, a barter of "solid pudding 
 against empty praise," whereby the fidelity of the poetic chronicle 
 is somewhat impaired. This sale of " fame," as the bards term 
 it, by the court-laureates and historiographers of Rajasthan, will 
 continue until there shall arise in the community a class sufficiently 
 enlightened and independent, to look for no other recompense 
 for literary labour than public distinction. 
 
 Still, however, these chroniclers dare utter truths, sometimes 
 most [xii] unpalatable to their masters. When offended, or 
 actuated by a virtuous indignation against immorality, they are 
 fearless of consequences ; and woe to the individual who provokes 
 them ! Many a resolution has sunk under the lash of their satire, 
 which has condemned to eternal ridicule names that might other- 
 wise have escaped notoriety. The vish, or poison of the bard, 
 is more dreaded by the Rajput than the steel of the foe. 
 
 The absence of all mystery or reserve with regard to public 
 affairs in the Rajput principalities, in which every individual 
 takes an interest, from the noble to the porter at the city-gates, 
 is of great advantage to the chronicler of events. When matters 
 of moment in the disorganized state of the country rendered it 
 imperative to observe secrecy, the Rana of Mewar, being applied 
 to on the necessity of concealing them, rejoined as follows : 
 " this is Chaumukha-raj ; ^ Eklinga the sovereign, I his vicegerent ; 
 in liini I trust, and I have no secrets from my children." To this 
 
 ^ ' Government of four mouths,' alluding to the quadriform image of 
 the tutelary divinity.
 
 Ix AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 publicity may be partly ascribed the inefficiency of every general 
 alliance against common foes ; but it gives a kind of patriarchal 
 character to the government, and inspires, if not loyalty and 
 patriotism in their most exalted sense, feelings at least much akin 
 to them. 
 
 A material drawback upon the value of these bardic histories 
 is, that they are confined almost exclusively to the martial 
 exploits of their heroes, and to the rang-ran-hhum, or ' field of 
 slaughter.' Writing for the amusement of a warlike race, the 
 authors disregard civil matters and the arts and pursuits of 
 peaceful life ; love and war are their favourite themes. Chand, 
 the last of the great bards of India, tells us, indeed, in his preface, 
 " that he will give rules for governing empires ; the laws of 
 grammar and composition ; lessons in diplomacy, home and 
 foreign, etc." : and he fulfils his promise, by interspersing precepts 
 on these points in various ejiisodes throughout his work [xiii]. 
 
 Again : the bard, although he is admitted to the knowledge 
 of all the secret springs which direct each measure of the govern- 
 ment, enters too deeply into the intrigues, as well as the levities, 
 of the court, to be qualified to pronounce a sober judgment upon 
 its acts. 
 
 Nevertheless, although open to all these objections, the works 
 of the native bards afford many valuable data, in facts, incidents, 
 religious opinions, and traits of manners ; many of which, being 
 carelessly introduced, are thence to be regarded as the least 
 suspicious kind of historical evidence In the heroic history of 
 Prithiraj, by Chand, there occur many geogTaphical as well as 
 historical details, in the description of his sovereign's wars, of 
 which the bard was an eye-witness, having been his friend, his 
 herald, his ambassador, and finally discharging the melancholy 
 office of accessory to his death, that he might save him from 
 dishonour. The poetical histories of Chand were collected by the 
 great Amra Singh of Mewar, a patron of literature, as well as a 
 warrior and a legislator.^ 
 
 Another species of historical records is found in the accoimts 
 given by the Brahmans of the endowments of the temples, their 
 dilapidation and repairs, wliich furnish occasions for the introduc- 
 tion of historical and chronological details. In the legends, 
 
 ^ [Only portions of the Chand-raesa or Prithiraj Raesa have been trans- 
 lated (Smith, EHI, 387, note ; lA, i. 269 ff., iii. 17 ff., xxxii. 167 f.]
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION Ixi 
 
 respecting places of pilgrimage and religious resort, profane events 
 are blended with superstitious rites and ordinances, local cere- 
 monies and customs. The controversies of the Jains furnish, 
 also, much historical information, especially with reference to 
 Gujarat and Nahrwala, during the Chaulukya dynasty. From 
 a close and attentive examination of the Jain records, which 
 embody all that those ancient sectarians knew of science, many 
 chasms in Hindu history might be filled up. The party-spirit of 
 the rival sects of India was, doubtless, adverse to the purity of 
 history ; and the very ground upon which the Brahmans built 
 their ascendency was the ignorance of the people. There appears 
 to have been in India [xiv], as well as in Egypt in early times, 
 a coalition between the hierarchy and the state, with the view of 
 keeping the mass of the nation in darkness and subjugation. 
 
 These different records, works of a mixed historical and geo- 
 graphical character which I know to exist ; raesas or poetical 
 legends of princes, which are common ; local Puranas, religious 
 comments, and traditionary couplets ; ^ with authorities of a less 
 dubious character, namely, inscriptions ' cut on the rock,' coins, 
 copper-plate grants, containing charters of immunities, and ex- 
 pressing many singular features of civil government, constitute, 
 as I have already observed, no despicable materials for the 
 historian, who would, moreover, be assisted by the synchronisms 
 which are capable of being established with ancient Pagan and 
 later Muhammadan writers. 
 
 From the earliest period of my official connexion with this 
 interesting country, I applied myself to collect and explore its 
 early historical records, with a ^^ew of throwing some light upon 
 a people scarcely yet known in Europe and whose political con- 
 nexion with England appeared to me to be capable of undergoing 
 a material change, with benefit to both parties. It would be 
 wearisome to the reader to be minutely informed of the process I 
 adopted, to collect the scattered rehcs of Rajput history into the 
 form and substance in which he now sees them. I began with the 
 sacred genealogy from the Puranas ; examined the Mahabharata, 
 
 1 Some of these preserve the names of princes who invaded India between 
 the time of Mahmud of Ghazni and Shihabu-d-din, who are not mentioned 
 by Ferishta, the Muhammadan historian. The invasion of Ajmer and the 
 capture of Bayana, the seat of the Yadu princes, were made known to us 
 by this means.
 
 Ixii AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 and the poems of Chand (a complete chronicle of his times) ; 
 the voluminous historical poems of Jaisalmer, Marwar, and 
 Mewar ; ^ the histories of the Khichis, and those of the Hara 
 princes [xv] of Kotah and Bundi, etc., by their respective bards. 
 A portion of the materials compiled by Jai Singh of Amber or 
 Jaipur (one of the greatest patrons of science amongst the modern 
 Hindu princes), to illustrate the history of his race, fell into my 
 hands. I have reason to believe that there existed more copious 
 materials, which his profligate descendant, the late prince, in 
 his division of the empire with a prostitute, may have disposed 
 of on the partition of the library of the State, which was the finest 
 collection in Rajasthan. Like some of the renowned princes of 
 Timur's dynasty, Jai Singh kept a diary, termed Kalpadruma, in 
 which he noted every event : a work written by such a man and 
 at such an interesting juncture, would be a valuable acquisition 
 to history. From the Datia prince I obtained a transcript of the 
 journal of his ancestor, who served with such eclat amongst the 
 great feudatories of Aurangzeb's army, and from which Scott made 
 many extracts in his history of the Deccan. 
 
 For a period of ten years I was employed, with the aid of a 
 learned Jain, in ransacking every work which could contribute 
 any facts or incidents to the history of the Rajputs, or diffuse 
 any light upon their manners and character. Extracts and 
 versions of all such passages were made by my Jain assistant into 
 the more familiar dialects (which are formed frona the Sanskrit) 
 of these tribes, in whose language my long residence amongst 
 them enabled me to converse with facility. At much expense, 
 and during many wearisome hours, to support which required 
 no ordinary degree of enthusiasm, I endeavoured to possess 
 myself not merely of their history, but of their religious notions, 
 their familiar opinions, and their characteristic manners, by 
 
 ^ Of Marwar, there were the Vijaya Vilas, the Surya Prakas, and Khyat, 
 or legends, besides detached fragments of reigns. Of Mewar, there was the 
 Khuman Raesa, a modem work formed from old materials which are lost, 
 and commencing with the attack of Chitor by Mahmud, supposed to be the 
 son of Kasim of Siiid, in tlie very earliest ages of Muhammadanisni : also 
 the Jagat Vilas, tlic Raj -prakas, and the Jaya Vilas, all poems composed in 
 the reigns of the princes whose names they bear, but generally introducing 
 succinctly the early parts of history. Besides these, there were fragments 
 of the Jaipur family, from their archives ; and the Man Charilra, or history 
 of Raja Man.
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION Ixiii 
 
 associating with their chiefs and bardic chroniclers, and by listen- 
 ing to their traditionary tales and allegorical poems. I might 
 ultimately, as the circle of my [xvi] inquiries enlarged, have 
 materially augmented my knowledge of these subjects ; but ill- 
 health compelled me to relinquish this pleasing though toilsome 
 pursuit, and forced me to revisit my native land just as I had 
 obtained permission to look across the threshold of the Hindu 
 Minerva ; whence, however, I brought some relics, the examina- 
 tion of which I now consign to other hands. The large collection 
 of ancient Sanskrit and Bhakha MSS., which I conveyed to 
 England, have been presented to the Royal Asiatic Society, in 
 whose library they are deposited. The contents of many, still 
 unexamined, may throw additional light on the history of ancient 
 India. I claim only the merit of having brought them to the 
 knowledge of European scholars ; but I may hope that this will 
 furnish a stimulus to others to make similar exertions. 
 
 The little exact knowledge that Europe has hitherto acquired 
 of the Rajput States, has probably originated a false idea of the 
 comparative importance of this portion of Hindustan. The 
 splendour of the Rajput courts, however, at an early period of 
 the history of that country, making every allowance for the 
 exaggeration of the bards, must have been great. Northern 
 India was rich from the earUest times ; that portion of it, situated 
 on either side the Indus, formed the richest satrapy of Darius. 
 It has aboiuided in the more striking events which constitute 
 the materials for history ; there is not a petty State in Rajasthan 
 that has not had its Thermopylae, and scarcely a city that has not 
 produced its Leonidas. But the mantle of ages has shrouded 
 from view what the magic pen of the historian might have con- 
 secrated to endless admiration : Somnath might have rivalled 
 Delphos ; the spoils of Hind might have vied with the wealth 
 of the Libyan king ; and compared with the array of the Pandus, 
 the army of Xerxes would have dwindled into insignificance. But 
 the Hindus either never had, or have unfortunately lost, their 
 Herodotus and Xenophon. 
 
 If " the moral effect of history depend on the sympathy it 
 excites" [xvii], the annals of these States possess commanding 
 interest. The struggles of a brave people for independence 
 during a series of ages, sacrificing whatever was dear to them for 
 the maintenance of the religion of their forefathers, and sturdily
 
 Ixiv AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 defending to death, and in spite of every temptation, their rights 
 and national hberty, form a picture which it is difficult to con- 
 template without emotion. Could I impart to the reader but 
 a small portion of the enthusiastic delight with which I have 
 listened to the tales of times that are past, amid scenes where 
 their events occurred, I should not despair of triumphing over the 
 apathy which dooms to neglect almost every effort to enlighten 
 my native country on the subject of India ; nor should I appre- 
 hend any ill effect from the sound of names, which, musical and 
 expressive as they are to a Hindu, are dissonant and unmeaning 
 to a European ear : for it should be remembered that almost 
 every Eastern name is significant of some quality, personal or 
 mental. Seated amidst the ruins of ancient cities, I have listened 
 to the traditions respecting their fall ; or have heard the exploits 
 of their illustrious defenders related by their descendants near the 
 altars erected to their memory. I have, whilst in the train of 
 the southern Goths (the Mahrattas), as they carried desolation 
 over the land, encamped on or traversed many a field of battle, 
 of civil strife or foreign aggression, to read in the rude memorials 
 on the tumuli of the slain their names and history. Such anecdotes 
 and records afford data of history as well as of manners. Even 
 the couplet recording the erection of a ' column of victory,' or 
 of a temple or its repairs, contributes something to our stock of 
 knowledge of the past. 
 
 As far as regards the antiquity of the djmasties now ruling in 
 Central and Western India, there are but two the origin of which 
 is not perfectly within the limits of historical probability ; the 
 rest ha\nng owed their present establishments to the progress of 
 the Muslim arms, their annals are confirmed by those of their 
 conquerors. All the existing [xviii] families, indeed, have attained 
 their present settlements subsequently to the Muhammadan 
 invasions, except Mewar, Jaisalmer, and some smaller princi- 
 pahtics in the desert ; whilst others of the first magnitude, such 
 as the Pramara and Solanki, who ruled at Dhar and Anhilwara, 
 have for centuries ceased to exist. 
 
 I have been so hardy as to affirm and endeavour to prove the 
 common origin of the martial tribes of Rajasthan and those of 
 ancient Europe. I have expatiated at some length upon the 
 evidence in favour of the existence of a feudal system in India, 
 similar to that which prevailed in the early ages on the European
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION Ixv 
 
 continent, and of which reUcs still remain in the laws of our own 
 natipn. Hypotheses of this kind are, I am aware, viewed with 
 suspicion, and sometimes assailed with ridicule. With regard to 
 the notions which I have developed on these questions, and the 
 frequent allusions to them in the pages of this volume, I entertain 
 no obstinate prepossessions or prejudices in their favour. The 
 world is too enhghtened at the present day to be in danger of 
 being misled by any hypothetical writer, let him be ever so skilful ; 
 but the probability is, that we have been induced, by the multitude 
 of false theories which time has exposed, to fall into the opposite 
 error, and that we have become too sceptical with regard to the 
 common origin of the people of the east and west. However, I 
 submit my proofs to the candid judgment of the world ; the 
 analogies, if not conclusive on the questions, are still sufficiently 
 curious and remarkable to repay the trouble of perusal and 
 to provoke further investigation ; and they may, it is hoped, 
 vindicate the author for endeavouring to elucidate the subject, 
 " by steering through the dark channels of antiquity by the feeble 
 lights of forgotten chronicles and imperfect records." 
 
 I am conscious that there is much in this work which demands 
 the indulgence of the public ; and I trust it will not be necessary 
 for me to assign a more powerful argument in plea than that 
 which I have already [xix] adverted to, namely, the state of my 
 health, which has rendered it a matter of considerable difficulty, 
 indeed I may say of risk, to bring my bulky materials even into 
 their present imperfect form. I should observe, that it never 
 was my 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. I offer this work as a copious 
 collection of materials for the future historian ; and am far less 
 concerned at the idea of giving too much, than at the apprehension 
 of suppressing what might possibly be useful. 
 
 I cannot close these remarks without expressing my obligations 
 to my friend and kinsman, Major Waugh, to the genius of whose 
 pencil the world is indebted for the preservation and transmission 
 of the splendid monuments of art which adorn this work.
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION TO THE 
 SECOND VOLUME OF THE ORIGI- 
 NAL EDITION 
 
 In placing before the public the concluding volume of the Annals 
 of Rajputana I have fulfilled what I considered to be a sacred 
 obligation to the races amongst whom I have passed the better 
 portion of my life ; and although no man can more highly 
 appreciate public approbation, I am far less eager to court that 
 approbation than to awaken a sympathy for the objects of my 
 work, the interesting people of Rajputana, 
 
 I need add nothing to what was urged in the Introduction to 
 the First Volume on the subject of Indian History ; and trust 
 that, however slight the analogy between the chronicles of the 
 Hindus and those of Europe, as historical works, they will serve 
 to banish the reproach, which India has so long laboured under, 
 of possessing no records of past events : my only fear now is, 
 that they may be thought redundant. 
 
 I think I may confidently affirm, that whoever, without being 
 alarmed at their bulk, has the patience attentively to peruse these 
 Annals, cannot fail to become well acquainted with all the peculiar 
 features of Hindu society, and will be enabled to trace the founda- 
 tion and progress of each State in Rajputana, as well as to form 
 a just notion of the character of a people, upon whom, at a future 
 period, our existence in India may depend. 
 
 Whatever novelty the inquirer into the origin of nations may 
 find in these [viii] pages, I am ambitious to claim for them a 
 higher title than a mass of mere archaeological data. To see 
 humanity under every aspect, and to observe the influence of 
 different creeds upon man in his social capacity, must ever be one 
 
 Ixvii
 
 Ixviii AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 of the higliest sources of mental enjoyment ; and I may hope that 
 the personal qualities herein delineated, will allow the labourer 
 in this vast field of philosophy to enlarge his sphere of acquaint- 
 ance with human varieties. In the present circumstances of our 
 alliance with these States, every trait of national character, and 
 even every traditional incident, which, by leading us to understand 
 and respect their peculiarities, may enable us to secure their 
 friendship and esteem, become of infinite importance. The more 
 we study their history, the better shall we comprehend the causes 
 of their international quarrels, the origin of their tributary engage- 
 ments, the secret principles of their mutual repulsion, and the 
 sources of their strength and their weakness as an aggregate body : 
 without which knowledge it is impossible we can arbitrate with 
 justice in their national disputes ; and, as respects ourselves, we 
 may convert a means of defence into a source of bitter hostility. 
 
 It has been my aim to diversify as much as possible the details 
 of this volume. In the Annals of Marwar I have traced the 
 conquest and peopling of an immense region by a handful of 
 strangers ; and have dwelt, perhaps, with tedious minuteness 
 on the long reign of Raja Ajit Singh and the Thirty Years' War ; 
 to show what the energy of one of these petty States, impelled by 
 a sense of oppression, effected against the colossal power of its 
 enemies. It is a portion of their history which should be deeply 
 studied by those who have succeeded to the paramount power ; 
 for Aurangzeb had less reason to distrust the stability of his 
 dominion than we have : yet what is now the house of Timur ? 
 The resources of Marwar were reduced to as low an ebb at the close 
 of Aurangzeb's reign, as they are at the present time ; yet did 
 that [ix] State surmount all its difficulties, and bring armies into 
 the field that annihilated the forces of the empire. I,,et us not, 
 then, mistake the supineness engendered by long oppression, for 
 want of feeling, nor mete out to these high-spirited people the 
 same measure of contumely, with which we have treated the 
 subjects of our earlier conquests. 
 
 The Annals of the Bhattis may be considered as the link connect- 
 ing the tribes of India Proper with the ancient races west of the Indus, 
 or Indo-Scythia ; and although they will but slightly interest the 
 general reader, the antiquary may find in them many new topics 
 for investigation, as well as in the Sketch of the Desert, which has 
 preserved the relics of names that once promised immortality.
 
 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION Ixix 
 
 Tlie patriarchal simplicity of the Jat communities, upon whose 
 ruins the State of Bikaner was founded, affords a picture, however 
 imperfect, of petty republics — a form of government little known 
 to eastern despotism, and proving the tenacity of the ancient 
 Gete's attachment to hberty. 
 
 Amber, and its scion Shaikhavati, possess a still greater interest 
 from their contiguity to our frontier. A multitude of singular 
 privileges is attached to the Shaikhavati federation, wliich it 
 behoves the paramount power thorouglily to understand, lest it 
 should be led by false views to pursue a policy detrimental to 
 them as well as to ourselves. To this extensive community 
 belong the Larkhanis, so utterly imknown to us, that a recent 
 internal tumult of that tribe was at first mistaken for an irruption 
 of our old enemies, the Pindaris. 
 
 Haraoti may claim our regard from the high bearing of its 
 gallant race, the Haras ; and the singular character of the in- 
 dividual with whose biography its history closes, and which 
 cannot fail to impart juster notions of the genius of Asiatics [x]. 
 
 So much for the matter of this volume — with regard to the 
 manner, as the Rajputs abhor all jileas ad misericordiam, so like- 
 wise does their annalist, who begs to repeat, in order to deprecate 
 a standard of criticism inapplicable to this performance, that it 
 professes not to be constructed on exact historical principles : 
 Non historia, sed particulae historiae. 
 
 In conclusion. I adopt the peroration of the ingenuous, pious, 
 and liberal Abu-1 Fazl, when completing his History of the Provinces 
 of India ; " Praise be unto God, that by the assistance of his 
 Divine Grace, I have completed the History of the Rajputs. 
 The accovmt cost me a great deal of trouble in collecting, and I 
 found such difficulty in ascertaining dates, and in reconcihng the 
 contradictions in the several histories of the Princes of Rajputana, 
 that I had nearly resolved to relinquish the task altogether : but 
 who can resist the decrees of Fate ? I trust that those, who have 
 been able to obtain better information, will not dwell upon my 
 errors ; but that upon the whole I may meet with approbation." ' 
 
 1 [Atn, ii. 418.] 
 
 York Place, Portman Square, 
 March 10, 1832. 
 
 i
 
 ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES 
 OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN OR RAJPUTANA 
 
 Boundaries of Rajputana. — Rajasthan is the collective and classi- 
 cal denomination of that portion of India which is ' the abode ^ 
 of (Rajput) princes.' In the familiar dialect of these countries 
 it is termed Rajwara, but by the more refined Raethana, corrupted 
 to Rajputana, the common designation amongst the British to 
 denote the Rajput principalities. 
 
 \Miat might have been the nominal extent of Rajasthan prior 
 to the Muhammadan conqueror Shihabu-d-din (when it probably- 
 reached beyond the Jumna and Ganges, even to the base of the 
 Himalaya) cannot now be known. At present we may adhere to 
 its restrictive definition, still comprehending a wide space and a 
 variety of interesting races. 
 
 Previous to the erection of the minor Muhammadan monarchies 
 of ^landu and Ahmadabad (the capitals of Malwa and Gujarat), 
 on the ruins of Dhar and Anhilwara Patan, the term Rajasthan 
 would have been appropriated to the space comprehended in the 
 map prefixed to this work : the valley of the Indus on the west, 
 and Bundelkhand ^ on the east ; to the north, the sandy tracts 
 (south of the Sutlej) termed Jangaldes ; and the Vindhya moun- 
 tains to the south. 
 
 ^ Or ' regal (raj) dwelling (than).' 
 
 * It is rather singular that the Sind River wiU mark this eastern boundary, 
 a.s does the Indus (or great Sind) that to the west. East of this minor Sind 
 the Hindu princes are not of pure blood, and are excluded from Rajasthan 
 or Rajwara. 
 
 VOL. I B
 
 2 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 This space comprehends nearly 8° of latitude and 9° of longi- 
 tude, being from 22° to 30° north latitude, and 69° to 78° east 
 longitude, embracing a superficial area of 350,000 square miles ^ [2]. 
 
 Although it is proposed to touch upon the annals of all the 
 States in this extensive tract, with their past and present condi- 
 tion, those in the centre will claim the most prominent regard ; 
 especially Mewar, which, copiously treated of, will afford a 
 specimen, obviating the necessity of like details of the rest. 
 
 The States of Rajputana. — The order in which these States will 
 be reviewed is as follows : 
 
 1. Mewar, or Udaipur. 
 
 2. Marwar, or Jodhpur. 
 
 3. Bikaner and Kishangarh. 
 
 4. Kotah^ __ 
 
 I- T-. T or Haraoti. 
 
 5. BundiJ 
 
 6. Amber, or Jaipur, with its branches, dependent and 
 
 independent, 
 
 7. Jaisalmer. 
 
 8. The Indian desert to the valley of the Indus. 
 
 History o£ Geographical Surveys. — The basis of this work is 
 the geography of the country, the historical and statistical por- 
 tion being consequent and subordinate thereto. It was, indeed, 
 originally designed to be essentially geographical ; but circum- 
 stances have rendered it impossible to execute the intended 
 details, or even to make the map * so perfect as the superabxmdant 
 material at the command of the author might have enabled him 
 to do ; a matter of regret to himself rather than of loss to the 
 general reader, to whom geographic details, however important, 
 arc usually dry and uninteresting. 
 
 It was also intended to institute a comparison between the 
 map and such remains of ancient geography as can be extracted 
 from the Puranas and other Hindu authorities ; which, however, 
 must be deferred to a future period, when the deficiency of the 
 
 ^ [Rajputana, as now officially defined, lies between lat. 23° 3' and 30° 12' 
 N., and long. 69° 30' and 78° 17' E., the total area, according to the Census 
 Report, 1911, including Ajmer-Merwara, being 131,698 square miles.] 
 
 ^ Engraved by that meritorious artist Mr. Walker, engraver to the East 
 India Company, who, I trust, will be able to make a fuller use of my materials 
 hereafter. [This has been replaced by a modern map.]
 
 PREVIOUS SURVEYS 3 
 
 present rapid and general sketch may be supplied, should the 
 author be enabled to resume his labours. 
 
 The laborious research, in the course of which these data were 
 accumulated, commenced in 1806. when the author was attached 
 to the embassy sent, at the close of the Mahratta wars, to the 
 court of Sindhia. This chieftain's army was then in Mewar, at 
 that period almost a terra incognita, the position of whose two 
 capitals, Udaipur and Chitor, in the best existing maps, was pre- 
 cisely reversed [3] ; that is, Chitor was inserted S.E. of Udaipur 
 instead of E.N.E., a proof of the scanty knowledge possessed at 
 that period. 
 
 In other respects there was almost a total blank. In the maps 
 prior to 1806 nearly all the western and central States of Rajasthan 
 will be found wanting. It had been imagined, but a little time 
 before, that the rivers had a southerly course into the Nerbudda ; 
 a notion corrected by the father of Indian geography, the distin- 
 guished Rennell.^ 
 
 This blank the author filled up ; and in 1815, for the first 
 time, the geography of Rajasthan was put into combined form 
 and presented to the Marquess of Hastings, on the eve of a general 
 war, when the labour of ten years was amply rewarded by its 
 becoming in part the foundation of that illustrious commander's 
 plans of the campaign. It is a duty owing to himself to state that 
 every map, without exception, printed since this period has its 
 foundation, as regards Central and Western India, in the labours 
 of the author.^ 
 
 1 [James Uennell, 1742-1830.] 
 
 ^ When the war of 1817 broke out, copies of my map on a reduced scale 
 were sent to all the divisions of the armies in the field, and came into posses- 
 sion of many of the staff. Transcripts were made which were brought to 
 Europe, and portions introduced into every recent map of India. One map 
 has, indeed, been given, in a manner to induce a supposition that the 
 furnisher of the materials was the author of them. It has fulfilled a pre- 
 diction of the Marquess of Hastings, who, foreseeing the impossibility of 
 such materials remaining private property, " and the danger of their being 
 appropriated by others," and desirous that the author should derive the 
 full advantage of his labours, had it signified that the claims for recompense, 
 on the records of successive governments, should not be deferred. It will 
 not be inferred the author is surprised at what he remarks. While he 
 claims priority for himself, lie is the last person to wish to see a halt in 
 science — 
 
 " For emulation has a thousand sons."
 
 4 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 The Author's Surveys. — The route of the embassy was from 
 Agra, through the southern frontier of Jaipur to Udaipur. A 
 portion of this had been surveyed and points laid down from 
 celestial observation, by Dr. W. Hunter, which I adopted as the 
 basis of my enterprise. The Resident Envoy ^ to the court of 
 Sindhia was possessed of the valuable sketch of the route of 
 Colonel Palmer's embassy in 1791, as laid down by Dr. Hunter, the 
 foundation of my subsequent surveys, as it merited from its im- 
 portance and general accuracy. It embraced all the extreme 
 points of Central India : Agra, Narwar, Datia, Jhansi, Bhopal, 
 .Sarangpur, Ujjain, and on return from this, the first meridian of 
 the Hindus, by Kotah; Bundi, Rampura (Tonk), Bayana, to 
 Agra. The position of all these places was more or less accurately 
 fixed, according to the time which could be bestowed, by astro- 
 nomical observation [4]. 
 
 At Rampura Hunter ceased to be my guide : and from this 
 point commenced the new survey of Udaipur, where we arrived 
 in June 1806. The position then assigned to it, with most inade- 
 quate instruments, has been changed only 1 ' of longitude, though 
 the latitude amounted to about 5'. 
 
 From Udaipur the subsequent march of the army with which 
 we moved led past the celebrated Chitor, and through the centre 
 of Malwa, crossing in detail all the grand streams flowing from 
 the Vindhya, till we halted for a season on the Bundelkhand 
 frontier at Khimlasa. In this journey of seven hundred miles I 
 twice crossed the lines of route of the former embassy, and was 
 gratified to find my first attempts generally coincide with their 
 established points. 
 
 In 1807, the army having undertaken the siege of Rahatgarh, 
 I determined to avail myself of the time which Mahrattas waste 
 in such a process, and to pursue my favourite project. With a 
 small guard I determined to push through untrodden fields, by 
 tlte banks of the Betwa to Chanderi, and in its latitude proceed 
 in a westerly direction towards Kotah, trace the course once more 
 of all those streams from the south, and the points of junction 
 of the most important (the Kali Sind, Parbati, and Banas) with 
 the Chambal ; and having effected this, continue my journey to 
 Agra. This I accomplished in times very different from the 
 
 ^ My esteemed friend, Graeme Mercer, Esq. (of Maevisbank), who stimu- 
 lated my exertions with his approbation.
 
 THE AUTHOR'S SURVEYS 5 
 
 present, being often obliged to strike my tents and march at mid- 
 night, and more than once the object of plunder.^ The chief 
 points in this route were Khimlasa, Rajwara, Kotra on the Betwa, 
 Kanyadana,'' Buradungar,* Shahabad, Barah,* Puleta,* Baroda, 
 Sheopur, Pali,^ Ranthambhor, Karauli, Sri Mathura, and Agra. 
 
 On my return to the Mahratta camp I resolved further to 
 increase the sphere, and proceeded westward by Bharatpur, 
 Katumbar, Sentri, to Jaipur, Tonk, Indargarh, Gugal Chhapra, 
 Raghugarh, Aron, Kurwai, Borasa, to Sagar : a journey of more 
 than one thousand miles. I found the camp nearly where I left it. 
 
 With this ambulatory court I moved everywhere within this 
 region, constantly employed in surveying till 1812, when Sindhia's 
 court became stationary. It was then I formed my plans for 
 obtaining a knowledge of those countries into which I could not 
 personally penetrate [5]. 
 
 Survey Parties. — In 1810-11 I had despatched two i^arties, 
 one to the Indus, the other to the desert south of the Sutlej. The 
 first party, under Shaikh Abu-1 Barakat, journeyed westward, 
 by Udaipur, through Gujarat, Saurashtra and Cutch, Lakhpat and 
 Hyderabad (the capital of the Sindi government) ; crossed the 
 Indus to Tatta, proceeded up the right bank to Sehwan ; re- 
 crossed, and continued on the left bank as far as lOiairpur, the 
 residence of one of the triumvirate governors of Sind, and having 
 reached the insulated Bakhar ' (the capital of the Sogdoi of 
 Alexander), returned by the desert of Umrasumra to Jaisalmer, 
 Marwar, and Jaipur, and joined me in camp at Narwar. It was 
 
 ^ Many incidents in these journeys would require no aid of imagination 
 to touch on the romantic, but they can have no place here. 
 ^ Eastern tableland. ^ Sind River. 
 
 * Paibati River. . ^ Kali Sind River. 
 
 * Passage of the Chambal and junction of the Par. 
 
 ' The Shaikh brought me specimens of the rock, which is siliceous ; and 
 also a piece of brick of the very ancient fortress of Sehwan, and some of the 
 grain from its pits, charred and alleged by tradition to have lain there since 
 the period of Raja Bhartarihari, the brother of Vikramaditya. It is not 
 impossible that it might be owing to Alexander's terrific progress, and to 
 their supphes being destroyed by fire. Sehwan is conjectured by Captain 
 Pottinger to be the capital of Musicanus. [The capital of the Sogdoi has 
 been identified with Alor or Aror ; but Cunningham places it between Alor 
 and Uchh. The capital of Mousikanos was possibly Alor, and Sehwan the 
 Sindimana of the Greeks. But, owing to changes in the course of the 
 Lower Indus, it is very difiicult to identify ancient sites (McCrindle, 
 Akxaiider, 157, 354 f.).]
 
 6 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 a perilous undertaking ; but the Shaikh was a fearless and enter- 
 prising character, and moreover a man with some tincture of 
 learning. His journals contained many hints and directions for 
 future research in the geography, statistics, and manners of the 
 various races amongst whom he travelled. 
 
 The other party was conducted by a most valuable, man, 
 Madari Lai, who became a perfect adept in these expeditions of 
 geographical discovery, and other knowledge resulting therefrom. 
 There is not a district of anj^ consequence in the wide space before 
 the reader which was not traversed by this spirited individual, 
 whose qualifications for such complicated and hazardous journeys 
 were never excelled. Ardent, persevering, prepossessing, and 
 generally well-informed, he made his way when others might have 
 perished.^ 
 
 From these remote regions 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, Umrasumra, or any of the States of Rajasthan. 
 
 The precision with which Kasids and other public conveyers 
 of letters, in countries where posts are little used, can detail the 
 peculiarities of a long line of route, and the accuracy of their 
 distances would scarcely be credited in Europe. I have no 
 hesitation in asserting that if a correct estimate were obtained 
 of the measured [6] coss of a country, a line might be laid down 
 upon a flat surface with great exactitude. I have heard it 
 affirmed that it was the custom of the old Hindu governments 
 to have measurements made of the roads from town to town, 
 and that the Abu Mahatma ^ contains a notice of an instrument 
 for that purpose. Indeed, the singular coincidence between 
 lines measured by the perambulator and the estimated distances 
 of the natives is the best proof that the latter are deduced from 
 some more certain method than mere computation. 
 
 I never rested satisfied with the result of one set of my parties, 
 
 ^ His health was worn out at length, and he became the victim of de- 
 pressed spirits. He died suddenly : I beUeve poisoned. Fateh, almost as 
 zealous as Madari, also died in the jmrsuit. Geography has been destructive 
 to all who have pursued it with ardour in the East. 
 
 * A valuable aiid ancient work, which I presented to the Royal Asiatic 
 Societj'.
 
 THE AUTHOR'S SURVEYS 7 
 
 with the single exception of Madari's, always making the informa- 
 tion of one a basis for the instruction of another, who went over 
 the same ground ; but with additional views and advantages, 
 and with the aid of the natives brought successively by each, 
 till I exhausted every field. 
 
 Thus, in a few years, I had filled several volumes with lines of 
 route throughout this space ; and having many frontier and 
 intermediate points, the positions of which were fixed, a general 
 outline of the result was constructed, wherein all this information 
 was laid down. I speak more particularly of the western States, 
 as the central portion, or that watered by the Chambal and its 
 tributary streams, whether from the elevated Aravalli on the 
 west, or from the Vindhya mountains on the south, has been 
 personally surveyed and measured in every direction, with an 
 accuracy sufficient for every political or military purpose, until 
 the grand trigonometrical survey from the peninsula shall be 
 •extended throughout India. These coimtries form an extended 
 plain to the Sutlej north, and west to the Indus, rendering the 
 amalgamation of geographical materials much less difficult than 
 where mountainous regions intervene. 
 
 After having laid down these varied lines in the outline 
 described, I determined to check and confirm its accuracy by 
 recommencing the survey on a new plan, viz. trigonometrically. 
 
 My parties were again despatched to resume their labours 
 over fields now familiar to them. They commenced from points 
 whose positions were fixed (and my knowledge enabled me to 
 give a series of such), from each of which, as a centre, they col- 
 lected every radiating route to every town within the distance of 
 twenty miles. The points selected were generally such as to 
 approach equilateral [7] triangles ; and although to digest the 
 information became a severe toil, the method will appear, even 
 to the casual observer, one which must throw out its own errors ; 
 for these lines crossed in every direction, and consequently 
 corrected each other. By such means did I work my way in 
 those unknown tracts, and the result is in part before the reader. 
 I say, in part ; for my health compels me reluctantly to leave 
 out much which could be combined from ten folios of journeys 
 extending throughout these regions. 
 
 The Author's Map. — In 1815, as before stated, an outline map 
 containing all the information thus obtained, and which the
 
 8 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 subsequent crisis rendered of essential importance, was presented 
 by me to the Governor- General of India. Upon the very eve of 
 the war I constructed and presented another, of the greater 
 portion of Malwa, to which it appeared expedient to confine the 
 oiDcrations against the Pindaris. The material feature in this 
 small map was the general position of the Vindhya mountains, 
 the sources and course of every river originating thence, and the 
 passes in this chain, an object of primary importance. The 
 boundaries of the various countries in this tract were likewise 
 defined, and it became essentially useful in the subsequent dis- 
 memberment of the Peshwa's dominions. 
 
 In the construction of this map I had many fixed points, both 
 of Dr. Hunter's and my own, to work from ; and it is gratifying 
 to observe that though several measured lines have since been 
 run through this space, not only the general, but often the identi- 
 cal features of mine have been preserved in the maps since given 
 to the world. As considerable improvement has been made by 
 several measured lines through this tract, and many positions 
 affixed by a scientific and zealous geographer, I have had no 
 hesitation in incorporating a small portion of this improved 
 geography in the map now presented.^ 
 
 Many surveyed lines were made by ine from 1817 to 1822 ; 
 and here I express my obligations to my kinsman,^ to whom 
 alone I owe any aid for improving this portion of my geographical 
 labours. This officer made a circuitous survey, which compre- 
 hended nearly the extreme points of Mewar, from the capital 
 by Chitor, Mandalgarh, Jahazpur, Rajmahall, and in return by 
 Banai, Radnor, Deogarh [8], to the point of outset. From these 
 extreme points he was enabled to place many intermediate ones, 
 for which Mewar is so favourable, by reason of its isolated 
 hills. 
 
 In 1820 I made an important journey across the Aravalli, by 
 Kumbhalmer, Pali, to Jodhpur, the capital of Marwar, and 
 thence by Merta, tracing the course of the Luni to its source at 
 Ajmer ; and from this celebrated residence of the Chauhan 
 
 ^ It is, however, limited to Malwa, whose geography was greatly im- 
 proved and enlarged by the labours of Captain Dangerfield ; and though 
 my materials could fill up the whole of tliis province, I merely insert the 
 chief points to connect it with Rajasthan. 
 
 ^ Captain P. T. Waugh, 10th Regiment Light Cavalry, Bengal.
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 9 
 
 kings and Mogul emperors; returning through the central lands 
 of Mewar, by Banai and Banera, to the capital. 
 
 I had the peculiar satisfaction to find that my position of 
 Jodhpur, which has been used as a capital point in fixing the 
 geography west and north, was only 3' of space out in latitude, 
 and little more in longitude ; which accounted for the coincidence 
 of my position of Bikaner with that assigned by Mr. Elphtnstone 
 in his account of the embassy to Kabul. 
 
 Besides Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, etc., whose positions I had 
 fixed by observations, and the points laid down by Hunter, I 
 availed myself of a few positions given to me by that enterprising 
 traveller, the author of the journey into Ivliorasan,^ who marched 
 from Delhi, by Nagor and Jodhpur, to Udaipur. 
 
 The outline of the countries of Gujarat,^ the Saurashtra 
 peninsula, and Cutch, inserted chiefly by way of connexion, is 
 entirely taken from the labours of that distinguished geographer, 
 the late General Reynolds. We had both gone over a great 
 portion of the same field, and my testimony is due to the value 
 of his researches in countries into which he never personally 
 penetrated, evincing what may be done by industry, and the 
 use of such materials as I have described. 
 
 Physiography of Bajputana. — I shall conclude with a rapid 
 sketch of the physiognomy of these regions ; minute and local 
 descriptions will appear more appropriately in the respective 
 historical portions 
 
 Rajasthan presents a great variety of feature. Let me place 
 the reader on the highest peak of the insulated Abu, ' the saint's 
 pinnacle,' ^ as it is termed, and guide his eye in a survey over this 
 wide expanse, from the ' blue waters ' of the Indus west to the 
 ' withy-covered ' * Betwa on the east. From this, the most [9] 
 elevated spot in Hindustan, overlooking by fifteen hundred feet 
 the Aravalli moimtains, his eye descends to the plains of Medpat * 
 
 ^ Sir. J. B. Fraser [whose book was published in 1825]. 
 
 ^ My last journey, in 1822-23, was from Udaipur, through these countries 
 towards the Delta of the Indus, but more with a view to historical and 
 antiquarian than geographical research. It proved the most fruitful of 
 all my many journeys. [The results are recorded in Travels in Western 
 India, pubhshed in 1839, after the author's death.] ® Guru Sikhar. 
 
 * Its classic name is Vetravati, Vetra being the common willow [or reed] 
 in Sanskrit ; said by WiLford to be the same in Welsh. 
 
 * Literally 'the central {madJiya] flat.' [It means 'Land of the Med tribe.']
 
 10 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 (the classic term for Mewar), whose chief streams, flowing from 
 the base of the AravaUi, join the Berach and Banas, and are 
 prevented from uniting with the Chambal only by the Patar ^ or 
 plateau of Central India. 
 
 Ascending this plateau near the celebrated Chitor, let the eye 
 deviate slightly from the direct eastern line, and pursue the only 
 practicable path by Ratangarh, and Singoli, to Kotah, and he 
 will observe its three successive steppes, the miniature representa- 
 tion of those of Russian Tartary. Let the observer here glance 
 across the Chambal and traverse Haraoti to its eastern frontier, 
 guarded by the fortress of Shahabad : thence abruptly descend 
 the plateau to the level of the Sind, still proceeding eastward, 
 until the table-mountain, the western limit of Bundelkhand, 
 affords a resting-point. 
 
 To render this more distmct, I present a profile of the tract 
 described from Abu to Kotra on the Betwa : ^ from Abu to the 
 Chambal, the result of barometrical measurement, and from the 
 latter to the Betwa from my general observations ^ of the irregu- 
 larities of surface. The result is, that the Betwa at Kotra is one 
 thousand feet above the sea-level, and one thousand lower than 
 the city and valley of Udaipur, which again is on the same level 
 with the base of Abu, two thousand feet above the sea. This line, 
 the general direction of which is but a short distance from the 
 tropic, is about six geographic degrees in length : yet is this small 
 space highly diversified, both in its inhabitants and the produc- 
 tion of the soil, whether hidden or revealed. 
 
 ^ Meaning ' table {pat) mountain (ar).' — Although ar may not be found 
 ill any Sanskrit dictionary with the signification ' mountain,' yet it appears 
 to be a primitive root possessing such meaning — instance, Ar-buddha, 
 'hill of Buddha'; Aravalli, 'hill of strength.' Ar is Hebrew for 'moun- 
 tain ' (qu. Ararat ?) "Opos in Greek ? The common word for a mountain 
 in Sanskrit, gir, is equally so in Hebrew. [These derivations are out of 
 date. The origin of the word pntdr is obscure. Sir G. Grierson, to whom 
 the question was referred, suggests a connexion with Marathi pathdr, ' a 
 tableland,' or Gujarati pathdr (Skr. prastara, ' expanse, extent '). The 
 word is probably not connected with Hindi pdt, ' a board.'] 
 
 2 The Betwa River runs under the tableland just alluded to, on the east. 
 
 ^ I am familiar with these regions, and confidently predict that when a 
 similar measurement shall be made from the Betwa to .Kotah, these results 
 will little err, and the error will be in having made Kotah somewhat too 
 elevated, and the bed of the Betwa a little too low. [Udaipur city is 1950 
 feet above sea-level.]
 
 1^ i ^1
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 11 
 
 Let us now from our eleva^d station (still turned to the east) 
 carry the eye both south and north of the line described, which 
 nearly bisects Madhyadesa,^ ' the central land ' of Rajasthan ; 
 best defined by the course of the Chambal and [10] its tributary 
 streams, to its confluence with the Jumna : while the regions 
 west of the transalpine Aravalli^^ may as justly be defined Western 
 Rajasthan. 
 
 Looking to the south, the eye rests on the long-extended and 
 strongly - defined line of the Vindhya mountains, the proper 
 bounds of Hindustan and the Deccan. Though, from our elevated 
 stand on ' the Saint's Pinnacle ' of Abu, we look down on the 
 Vindhya as a range of diminished importance, it is that our 
 position is the least favourable to viewing its grandeur, which 
 would be most apparent from the south ; though throughout 
 this skirt of descent, irregular elevations attain a height of many 
 hundred feet above such points of its abrupt descent. 
 
 The Aravalli itself may be said to coiuiect with the Vindhya, 
 and the point of junction to be towards Champaner ; though it 
 might be as correct to say the Aravalli thence rose upon and 
 stretched from the Vindhya. Whilst it is much less elevated 
 than more to the north, it presents bold features throughout,^ 
 south by Lunawara, Dungarpur, and Idar, to Amba Bhawani 
 and Udaipur. 
 
 Still looking from Abu over the tableland of Malwa, we 
 observe her plains of black loam furrowed by the numerous 
 streams from the highest points of the Vindhya, pursuing their 
 northerly course ; some meandering through valleys or faUing 
 over precipices ; others bearing down all opposition, and actually 
 forcing an exit through the central plateau to join the Chambal. 
 The Aravalli Range. — Having thus glanced at the south, let 
 us cast the eye north of this line, and pause on the alpine Aravalli.* 
 
 ^ Central India, a term which I first applied as the title of the map pre- 
 sented to the Marquess of Hastings, in 1815, 'of Central and Western India,' 
 and since become famiUar. [Usually applied to the Ganges-Jumna Duab.] 
 
 "^ Let it be remembered that the Aravalli, though it loses its tabular form, 
 sends its branches north, terminating at DeUii. 
 
 ^ Those who have marched from Baroda towards Malwa and marked the 
 irregularities of surface will admit this chain of connexion of the Vmdhya 
 and AravaUi. 
 
 * ' The refuge of strength ' [?], a title justly merited, from its affording 
 protection to the most ancient sovereign race which holds dominion, whether
 
 12 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 Let us take a section of it, from the capital, Udaipur, the line of 
 our station on Abu, passing through Oghna Panarwa, and Mirpur, 
 to the western descent near Sirohi, a space of nearly sixty miles 
 in a direct h"ne, where " hills o'er hills and alps on alps arise," 
 from the ascent at Udaipur, to the descent to ISIarwar. All this 
 space to the Sirohi frontier is inhabited by communities of the 
 aboriginal races, living in a state of primeval and almost savage 
 independence, owning no paramount power, paying no tribute, 
 but with all the simplicity of republics ; their leaders, with the 
 title of Rawat, being hereditary. Thus the Rawat of the Oghna 
 commune can assemble five thousand bows, and several others [11 J 
 can on occasion muster considerable numbers. Their habitations 
 are dispersed through the valleys in small rude hamlets, near their 
 pastures or places of defence.^ 
 
 Let me now transport the reader to the citadel pinnacle of 
 Kumbhalmer,^ thence surveying the range running north to Ajmer, 
 where, shortly after, it loses its tabular form, and breaking into 
 lofty ridges, sends numerous branches through the Shaikhavati 
 federation, and Alwar, till in low heights it terminates at Delhi. 
 
 From Kumbhalmer to Ajmer the whole space is termed 
 Merwara, and is inhabited by the mountain race of Mer or Mair, 
 the habits and history of which singular class will be hereafter 
 related. The range averages from six to fifteen miles in breadth, 
 
 in the east or west — the ancient stock of the Suryavans, the Hehadai of 
 India, our ' children of the sun,' the princes of Mewar. [Aravalli probably 
 means ' Comer Line.'] 
 
 ^ It was my intention to have penetrated through their singular abodes ; 
 and I had negotiated, and obtained of these ' forest lords ' a promise of 
 hospitable passport, of which I have never allowed myself to doubt, as the 
 virtues of pledged faith and hospitahty are ever to be found in stronger 
 keeping in the inverse ratio of civiUzation. Many years ago one of my 
 parties was permitted to range through this tract. In one of the passes of 
 their lengthened valleys ' The Lord of the Mountain ' was dead : the men 
 were all abroad, and his widow alone in the hut. Madari told his story, 
 and claimed her surety and passport ; which the Bhilni dehvered from the 
 quiver of her late lord ; and the arrow carried in his hand was as well 
 recognised as the cumbrous roll with all its seals and appendages of a 
 traveller in Europe. 
 
 * Meru signifies ' a hill ' in Sanskrit, hence Komal, or properly Kumbhal- 
 mer, is 'the hill' or 'mountain of Kumbha/ a prince whose exploits are 
 narrated. Likewise Ajmer is the 'hiU of Ajaj^a,' the 'Invincible' hill. 
 Mer is with the long e, like Mere in French, in classical orthography. 
 [Ajmer, ' hill of Aja, Cha^uhan.']
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 13 
 
 having upwards of one hundred and fifty villages and hamlets 
 scattered over its valleys and rocks, abundantly watered, not 
 deficient in pasture, and with cultivation enough for all internal 
 wants, though it is raised with infinite labour on terraces, as the 
 vine is cultivated in Switzerland and on the Rhine. 
 
 In vain does the eye search for any trace of wheel-carriage 
 across this compound range from Idar to Ajmer ; and it conse- 
 quently well merits its appellation ara, ' the barrier,' for the 
 strongest arm of modern warfare, artillery, would have to turn 
 the chain by the north to avoid the impracticable descent to the 
 west.^ 
 
 Views from the Aravalli Hills. — Guiding the eye along the chain, 
 several fortresses are observed on pinnacles guarding the passes 
 on either side, while numerous rills descend, pouring over the 
 declivities, seeking their devious exit between the projecting ribs 
 of the mountain. The Berach, the Banas, the Kothari, the 
 Khari, the Dahi all unite with the Banas to the east, while to 
 the west the still more numerous streams which fertilize the rich 
 province of Godwar, unite to ' the Salt River,' the Luni, and 
 mark the true line of the desert. Of these the chief are the Sukri 
 and the [12] Bandi ; while others which are not perennial, and 
 depend on atmospheric causes for their supply, receive the general 
 denomination of rela, indicative of rapid mountain torrents, 
 carrying in their descent a vast volume of alluvial deposit, to 
 enrich the siliceous soil below. 
 
 However grand the view of the chaotic mass of rock from this 
 elevated site of Kumbhalmer, it is from the plains of Marwar that its 
 majesty is most apparent ; where its ' splintered pinnacles ' are 
 seen rising over each other in varied form, or frowning over the 
 dark indented recesses of its forest-covered and rugged declivities. 
 
 On reflection, I am led to pronounce the Aravalli a connexion 
 of the ' Apennines of India ' ; the Ghats on the Malabar coast of 
 
 ^ At the point of my descent this was characteristically illustrated by 
 my Rajput friend of Semar, whose domain had been invaded and cow-pens 
 emptied, but a few days before, by the mountain bandit of Sirohi. With 
 their booty they took the shortest and not most practicable road : but 
 though their alpine kine are pretty well accustomed to leaping in such abodes, 
 it would appear they had hesitated here. The difficulty was soon got over 
 by one of the Minas, who with his dagger transfixed one and rolled him over 
 the height, his carcase serving at once as a precedent and a stepping-stone 
 for his horned kindred.
 
 14 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 the peninsula : nor does the passage of the Nerbudda or the 
 Tapti, through its diminished centre, mihtate against the hypo- 
 thesis, which might be better substantiated by the comparison of 
 their intrinsic character and structure. 
 
 Geology of the Aravallis. — The general character of the Aravalli 
 is its primitive formation : ^ granite, reposing in variety of angle 
 (the general dip is to the east) on massive, compact, dark blue 
 slate, the latter rarely appearing much above the surface or base 
 of the superincumbent granite. The internal valleys abound in 
 variegated quartz and a variety of schistous slate of every hue, 
 which gives a most singular appearance to the roofs of the houses 
 and temples when the sun shines upon them. Rocks of gneiss 
 and of syenite appear in the intervals ; and in the diverging 
 ridges west of Ajmer the summits are quite dazzling with the 
 enormous masses of vitreous rose-coloured quartz. 
 
 The Aravalli and its subordinate hills are rich in both mineral 
 and metallic products ; and, as stated in the annals of Mewar, 
 to the latter alone can be attributed the resources which enabled 
 this family so long to struggle against superior power, and to raise 
 those magnificent structures which would do honour to the most 
 potent kingdoms of the west. 
 
 The mines are royalties ; their produce a monopoly, increasing 
 the personal revenue of their prince. An-Dan- Khan is a triple 
 figurative expression, which comprehends the sum of sovereign 
 rights in Rajasthan, being allegiance, commercial duties, mines. 
 The tin-mines of Mewar were once very productive, and yielded, 
 it is asserted, no inconsiderable portion of silver : but the caste 
 of miners is extinct, and political reasons, during the Mogul 
 domination, led to the [13] concealment of such sources of wealth. 
 Copper of a very fine description is likewise abundant, and supplies 
 the currency ; and the chief of Salumbar even coins by sufferance 
 from the mines on his own estate. Surma, or the oxide of anti- 
 
 ^ [" Oldest of all the physical features which intersect the continent is 
 the range of mountains known as the Aravallis, which strilies across the 
 Peninsula from north-east to south-west, overlooking the sandy wastes of 
 Rajputana. The Aravallis are but the depressed and degraded relics of a 
 far more prominent mountain system, which stood, in Palaeozoic times, on 
 the edge of the Rajputana Sea. The disintegrated rocks which once formed 
 part of the Aravallis are now spread out in wide red-stone plains to the 
 east" {lOI.i. 1).]
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 15 
 
 mony, is found on the western frontier. The garnet, amethystine 
 quartz, rock crystal, the chrysolite, and inferior kinds of the 
 emerald family are all to be found within Mewar ; and though 
 I have seen no specimens decidedly valuable, the Rana has often 
 told me that, according to tradition, his native hills contained 
 every species of mineral wealth. 
 
 The Patar Plateau. — Let us now quit our alpine station on the 
 Aravalli, and make a tour of the Patar, or plateau of Central 
 India, not the least important feature of this interesting region. 
 It possesses a most decided character, and is distinct from the 
 Vindhya to the south and the Aravalli to the west, being of the 
 secondary formation, or trap, of the most regular horizontal 
 stratification. 
 
 The circimiference of the plateau is best explained in the map, 
 though its surface is most unequally detailed, and is continually 
 alternating its character between the tabular form and clustering 
 ridges. 
 
 Commencing the tour of Mandalgarh, let us proceed south, 
 skirting Chitor (both on insulated rocks detached from the 
 plateau), thence by Jawad, Dantoli, Rampura,^ Bhanpura, the 
 Mukunddarra Pass,^ to Gagraim (where the Kali Sind forces an 
 entrance through its table - barrier to Eklera)' and Margwas 
 (where the Parbati, taking advantage of the diminished eleva- 
 tion, passes fromMalwa to Haraoti), and by Raghugarh, Shahabad, 
 Ghazigarh, Gaswani, to Jadonwati, where the plateau terminates 
 on the Chambal, east ; while from the same point of outset, 
 Mandalgarh, soon losing much of its table form, it stretches away 
 in bold ranges, occasionally tabular, as in the Bundi fortress, by 
 Dablana, Indargarh,* and Lakheri,* to Ranthambhor and Karauli, 
 terminating at Dholpur Bari 
 
 The elevation and inequalities of this plateau are best seen by 
 crossing it from west to east, from the plains to the level of the 
 Chambal, where, with the exception of the short flat between 
 Kotah and Pali ferry, this noble stream is seen rushing through 
 the rocky barrier. 
 
 At Ranthambhor the plateau breaks into lofty ranges, their 
 
 ^ Near this the Chambal first breaks into the Patar. 
 
 ^ Here is the celebrated pass through the mountains. 
 
 ^ Here the Niwaz breaks the chain. 
 
 * Both celebrated passes, where the ranges are very compHcated.
 
 16 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 white summits [14] sparkling in the snn ; cragged but not peaked, 
 and preserving the characteristic formation, though disunited 
 from the mass. Here there are no less than seven distinct ranges 
 {Satpara), through all of which the Banas has to force a passage 
 to unite with the Chambal. Beyond Ranthambhor, and the 
 whole way from Karauli to the river, is an irregular tableland, 
 on the edge of whose summit are the fortresses of Utgir, Mandrel, 
 and that more celebrated of Thun. But east of the eastern side 
 there is still another steppe of descent, which may be said to 
 originate near the fountain of the Sind at Latoti, and passing 
 by Chanderi, Kanyadana, Narwar, and Gwalior, terminates at 
 Deogarh, in the plains of Gohad. The descent from this second 
 steppe is into Bundelkhand and the valley of the Betwa. 
 
 Distinguished as is this elevated region of the surface of 
 Central India, its summit is but little higher than the general 
 elevation of the crest of the Vindhya, and upon a level with the 
 valley of Udaipur and base of the Aravalli. The slope or descent, 
 therefore, from both these ranges to the skirts of the plateau is 
 great and abrupt, of which the most intelligible and simple proof 
 appears in the course of these streams. Few portions of the 
 globe attest more powerfully the force exerted by the action of 
 waters to subdue every obstacle, than a view of the rock-bound 
 channels of these streams in this adamantine barrier. Four 
 streams — one of v/hich, the Chambal, would rank with the Rhine 
 and almost with the Rhone — have here forced their way, laying 
 bare the stratification from the water's level to the summit, from 
 three to six hundred feet in perpendicular height, the rock appear- 
 ing as if chiselled by the hand of man. Here the geologist may 
 read the book of nature in distinct character ; few tracts (from 
 Rampura to Kotah) will be foimd more interesting to him, to the 
 antiquarian, or to the lover of nature in her most rugged attire. 
 
 The surface of this extensive plateau is greatly diversified. 
 At Kotah the bare protruding rock in some places presents 
 not a trace of vegetation ; but where it bevels off to the banks 
 of the Par it is one of the richest and most productive soils in 
 India, and better cultivated than any spot even of British India. 
 In its indented sides are glens of the most romantic description 
 (as the fountain of ' the snake King ' near Hinglaj), and deep 
 dells, the source of small streams, where many treasures of art,^ 
 ^ I have rescued a few of these from oblivion to present to my countrymen.
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 17 
 
 in temples and ancient dwellings, yet remain to reward the 
 traveller [15]. 
 
 This central elevation, as before described, is of the secondary 
 formation, called trap. Its prevailing colour, where laid bare by 
 the Chambal, is milk-white : it is compact and close-grained, 
 and though perhaps the mineral offering the greatest resistance 
 to the chisel, the sculptures at the celebrated BaroUi evince its 
 utility to the artist. White is also the prevailing colour to the 
 westward. About Kotah it is often mixed white and porphyritic, 
 and about .Shahabad of a mixed red and brown tint. When 
 exposed to the action of the atmosphere in its eastern declivity 
 the decomposed and rough surface would almost cause it to be 
 mistaken for gritstone. 
 
 This formation is not favourable to mineral wealth. The 
 only metals are lead and iron ; but their ores, especially the latter, 
 are abundant. There are mines, said to be of value, of sulphuret 
 of lead (galena) in the GAvalior province, from which I have had 
 specimens, but these also are closed. The natives fear to extract 
 their mineral wealth ; and though abounding in lead, tin, and 
 copper, they are indebted almost entirely to Europe even for the 
 materials of their culinary utensils. 
 
 Without attempting a delineation of inferior ranges, I will 
 only further direct the reader's attention to an important deduc- 
 tion from this superficial review of the physiognomy of Rajwara. 
 
 The Mountain System of Central India. — There are two dis- 
 tinctly marked declivities or slopes in Central India : the chief is 
 that from west to east, from the great rampart, the Aravalli 
 (interposed to prevent the drifting of the sands into the central 
 plains, bisected by the Chambal and his hundred arms) to the 
 Betwa ; the other slope is from south to north, from the Vindhya, 
 t he southern buttress of Central India, to the Jumna. 
 
 Extending our definition, we may pronounce the course of 
 the Jumna to indicate the central fall of that immense vale which 
 has its northern slope from the base of the Himalaya, and the 
 southern from that of the Vindhya mountains. 
 
 It is not in contemplation to delineate the varied course of the 
 magnificent Nerbudda, though I have abundant means ; for the 
 moment we ascend the summit of the tropical ^ Vindhya, to 
 
 ^ Hence its name, Vindhija, ' the barrier,' to the further progress of the 
 sun in his northern decHnation. [Skr. root, bind, bid, ' to divide.'] 
 
 VOL. I C
 
 18 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 descend into the valley of the Nerbudda, we abandon Rajasthan 
 and the Rajputs for the aboriginal, races, the first proprietors of 
 the land. These I shall leave to others, and commence and end 
 with the Chambal, the paramount lord of the floods of Central 
 India [16]. 
 
 The Chambal River. — The Chambal has his fountains in a very 
 elevated point of the Vindhya, amidst a cluster of hills on which 
 is bestowed the local appellation of Janapao. It has three co- 
 equal sources from the same cluster, the Chambal, Chambela, 
 and Gambhir ; while no less than nine other streams have their 
 origin on the south side, and pour their waters into the Nerbudda. 
 
 The Sipra from Pipalda, the little Sind ^ from Dewas, and other 
 minor streams passing Ujjain, all unite with the Chambal in 
 different stages before he breaks through the plateau. 
 
 The Kali Sind, from Bagri, and its petty branch, the Sodwia, 
 from Raghugarh ; the Niwaz (or Jamniri), from Morsukri and 
 Magarda ; the Parbati, from the pass of Amlakhera, with its more 
 eastern arm from Daulatpur, uniting at Pharhar, are all points in 
 the crest of the Vindhya range, whence they pursue their course 
 through the plateau, rolling over precipices,^ till engulfed in the 
 Chambal at the ferries of Nunera and Pali. All these unite on 
 the right bank. 
 
 On the left bank his flood is increased by the Banas, fed by 
 the perennial streams from the Aravalli, and the Berach from 
 the lakes of Udaipur ; and after watering Mewar, the southern 
 frontier of Jaipur, and the highlands of Karauli, the river turns 
 south to unite at the holy Sangam,' Rameswar. Minor streams 
 contribute (unworthy, however, of separate notice), and after a 
 thousand involutions he reaches the Jumna, at the holy Triveni,* 
 or ' triple-allied ' stream, between Etawa and Kalpi. 
 
 ^ This ii the fourth Sind of India. We have, first, the Sind or Indus ; 
 this little Sind ; then the Kali Sind, or ' black river ' ; and again the Sind 
 rising at Latoti, on the plateau west and above Sironj. Sin is a Scythio 
 word for river (now unused), so applied by the Hindus. [Skr. Sindhu, 
 probably from the root syand, ' to flow.'] 
 
 ^ The falls of the Kali Sind through the rocks at Gagraun and the Par- 
 bati at Chapra (Gugal) are well worthy of a visit. The latter, though I 
 encamped twice at Chapra, from which it was reputed five miles, I did not 
 see. 
 
 ^ Sangam is the point of confluence of two or more rivers, always sacred 
 to Mahadeva. 
 
 * The Jumna, Chambal, and Sind [triveni, ' triple braid '].
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 19 
 
 The course of the Chambal, not reckoning the minor sinuosities, 
 is upwards of five hundred miles ; ^ and along its banks specimens 
 of nearly every race now existing in India may be found : Sondis, 
 Chandarawats, Sesodias, Haras, Gaur, Jadon, Sakarwal, Gujar, 
 Jat,* Tuar, Chauhan, Bhadauria, Kachhwaha, Sengar, Bundela ; 
 each in associations of various magnitudes, from the substantive 
 state of the little republic communes between the Chambal and 
 Kuwari' [17]- 
 
 The Western Desert. — Having thus sketched the central 
 portion of Rajasthan, or that eastward of the Aravalli, I shall 
 give a rapid general * view of that to the west, conducting the 
 reader over the ' Thai ka Tiba,' or ' sand hills ' of the desert, to 
 the valley of the Indus. 
 
 The Luni River. — Let the reader again take post on Abu, by 
 which he may be saved a painful journey over the Thal.^ The 
 most interesting object in this arid ' region of death ' is the ' salt 
 river,' the Luni, with its many arms falling from the Aravalli to 
 enrich the best portion of the principality of Jodhpur, and dis- 
 tinctly marking the line of that extensive plain of ever-shifting 
 sand, termed in Hindu geography Marusthali, corrupted to Marwar. 
 
 The Luni, from its sources, the sacred lakes of Pushkar and 
 Ajmer, and the more remote arm from Parbatsar to its em- 
 bouchure in the great western salt marsh, the Rann, has a course 
 of more than three hundred miles. 
 
 In the term Eirinon of the historians of Alexander, we have 
 the corruption of the word Ran or Rann,* still used to describe 
 that extensive fen formed by the deposits of the Luni, and the 
 equally saturated saline streams from the southern desert of 
 Dhat. It is one hundred and fifty miles in length ; and where 
 broadest, from Bhuj to Baliari, about seventy : ' in which direc- 
 
 ^ [650 miles.] 
 
 2 The only tribes not of Rajput blood. ^ Tj^g ' virgin ' stream. 
 
 * I do not repeat the names of towns forming the arrondissements of the 
 various States ; they are distinctly laid down in the boundary lines of each. 
 
 5 Thai is the general term for the sand ridges of the desert. [Skr. slhala, 
 ' firm ground.'] 
 
 * Most probably a corruption of aranya, or desert ; [or iriiia, irina, 
 ' desert, salt soil '], so that the Greek mode of writing it is more correct than 
 the present. 
 
 ' [The area of the Rann is about 9000 square miles : its length 150, 
 breadth, 60 miles. Bhuj lies inland, not on the banks of the Rann.]
 
 20 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 tion the caravans cross, having as a place of halt an insulated 
 oasis in this mediterranean salt marsh. In the dry season, 
 nothing meets the eye but an extensive and glaring sheet of salt, 
 spread over its insidious surface, full of dangerous quicksands : 
 and in the rains it is a dirty saline solution, up to the camels' 
 girths in many places. The little oasis, the Khari Kaba^ furnishes 
 pasture for this useful animal and rest for the traveller pursuing 
 his journey to either bank. 
 
 The Mirage. — It is on the desiccated borders ^ of this vast salt 
 marsh that the illusory phenomenon, the mirage, presents its 
 fantastic appearance, pleasing to all but the wearied traveller, 
 who sees a haven of rest in the embattled towers, the peaceful 
 hamlet,^ [18] or shady grove, to which he hastens in vain ; reced- 
 ing as he advances, till " the sun in his might," dissipating these 
 " cloud-capp'd towers," reveals the vanity of his pursuit. 
 
 Such phenomena are common to the desert, more particularly 
 where these extensive saline depositions exist, but varying from 
 certain causes. In most cases, this powerfully magnifying and 
 reflecting medium is a vertical stratum ; at first dense and 
 opaque, it gradually attenuates with increased temperature, till 
 the maximum of heat, which it can no longer resist, drives it off 
 in an ethereal vapour. This optical deception, well known to the 
 Rajputs, is called sikot, or ' winter castles,' because chiefly 
 visible in the cold season : hence, possibly, originated the equally 
 illusory and delightful ' Chateau en Espagne,' so well known in 
 the west.^ 
 
 ^ It is here the wild ass {ijorlJiar) roams at large, untamable as in the 
 day of the Arabian Patriarch of Uz, " whose house I have made the wilder- 
 ness, the barren land (or, according to the Hebrew, salt places), his dwelling. 
 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the cr3ing of the 
 driver " (Job xxxix. 6, 7). ^ Purwa. 
 
 ^ I have beheld it from the top of the ruined fortress of Hissar with un- 
 limited range of vision, no object to diverge its ray, save the miniature 
 forests ; the entire circle of tlie horizon a chain of more than fancy could 
 form of palaces, towers, and these airy ' pillars of heaven ' terminating in 
 turn their ephemeral existence. But in the deserts of Dhat and Umrasumra, 
 where the shepherds pasture their flocks, and especially where the alkaline 
 plant is produced, the stratification is more horizontal, and produces more 
 of the watery deception. It is this illusion to which the inspired writer 
 refers, when he says, " the mock pool of the desert shall become real water " 
 [Isaiah xxv. 7]. The inhabitants of the desert term it Chitram, literally 
 ' the picture,' by no means an unhappy designation.
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 21 
 
 The Desert. — From the north bank of the Luni to the south, 
 and the Shaikhavat frontier to the east, the sandy region com- 
 mences. Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer are all sandy plains, 
 increasing in volume as you proceed westward. All this portion 
 of territory is incumbent on a sandstone formation : soundings of 
 all the new wells made from Jodhpur to Ajmer yielded the same 
 result : sand, concrete siliceous deposits, and chalk. 
 
 Jaisalmer is everywhere encircled by desert ; and that portion 
 round the capital might not be improperly termed an oasis, in 
 which wheat, barley, and even rice are produced. The fortress 
 is erected on the extremity of a range of some hundred feet in 
 elevation, which can be traced beyond its southern confines to the 
 ruins of the ancient Chhotan erected upon them, and which 
 tradition has preserved as the capital of a tribe, or prince, termed 
 Hapa, of whom no other trace exists. It is not unlikely that 
 this ridge may be connected with that which runs through the 
 rich provuice of Jalor ; consequently an offset from the base of 
 Abu. 
 
 Though all these regions collectively bear the terra Marusthali, 
 or ' region of death ' (the emphatic and figurative phrase for the 
 desert), the restrictive definition applies to a part only, that 
 under the dominion of the Rathor race [19]. 
 
 From Balotra on the Luni, throughout the whole of Dhat and 
 Umrasumra, the western portion of Jaisalmer, and a broad strip 
 between the southern limits of Daudputra and Bikaner, there is 
 real solitude and desolation. But from the Sutlej to the Rann, 
 a space of five hundred miles of longitudinal distance, and varying 
 in breadth from fifty to one hundred miles, numerous oases are 
 found, where the shepherds from the valley of the Indus and the 
 Thai pasture their flocks. The springs of water in these places 
 have various appellations, tar, par, rar, dar, all expressive of the 
 element, round which assemble the Rajars, Sodhas, Mangalias, 
 and Sahariyas,^ inhabiting the desert. 
 
 ^ Sehraie [in the text], from sahra, ' desert.' Hence Sarrazin, or Saracen, 
 is a corruption from sahra, ' desert,' and zadan, ' to strike,' contracted. 
 Rdhzani, ' to strike on the road ' (rah). Rdhbar, ' on the road,' corrupted 
 by the Pindaris to labar, the designation of their forays. [The true name 
 is Sahariya, which has been connected with that of the Savara, a tribe in 
 Eastern India. Saracen comes to us from the late Latin Saraceni,oi which 
 the origin is unknown ; it cannot be derived from the Arabic Sharqi, 
 ' eastern ' (see New English Dictionary, s.v.).]
 
 22 GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN 
 
 I will not touch on the salt lakes or natron beds, or the other 
 products of the desert, vegetable or mineral ; though the latter 
 might soon be described, being confined to the jasper rock near 
 Jaisalmer, which has been much used in the beautiful arabesques 
 of that fairy fabric, at Agra, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan's 
 queen. 
 
 Neither shall I describe the valley of the Indus, or that portion 
 eastward of the stream, the termination of the sand ridges of the 
 desert. I will inerely remark, that the small stream which 
 breaks from the Indus at Dara, seven miles north of the insulated 
 Bakhar, and falls into the ocean at Lakhpat, shows the breadth 
 of this eastern portion of the valley, which forms the western 
 boundary of the desert. A traveller proceeding from the Khichi 
 or flats of Sind to the east, sees the line of the desert distinctly 
 marked, with its elevated tibas or sand ridges under which flows 
 the Sankra, which is generally dry except at periodical inunda- 
 tions. These sand-hills are of considerable elevation, and may 
 be considered the limit of the inundation of the ' sweet river,' 
 the Mitha Maran, a Scythic or Tatar name for river, and by which 
 alone the Indus is known, from the Panjnad ^ to the ocean [20]. 
 
 ^ The confluent arms or sources of the Indus.
 
 BOOK II 
 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 The Puranas. — Being desirous of epitomizing the chronicles of 
 the martial races of Central and Western India, it was essential to 
 ascertain the sources whence they draw, or claim to draw, their 
 lineage. For this purpose I obtained from the library of the 
 Rana of Udaipur their sacred volumes, the Puranas, and laid 
 them before a body of pandits, over whom presided the learned 
 Jati Gyanchandra. From these extracts were made of all the 
 genealogies of the great races of Surya and Chandra, and of facts 
 historical and geographical. 
 
 Most of the Puranas ^ contain portions of historical as well as 
 geographical knowledge ; but the Bhagavat, the Skanda, the I 
 Agni, and the Bhavishya are the chief guides. It is rather j 
 fortunate than to be regretted that their chronologies do not 
 perfectly agxee. The number of princes in each line varies, and 
 names are transposed ; but we recognize distinctly the principal 
 features in each, affording the conclusion that they are the 
 productions of various writers, borrowing from some common 
 original source [21]. 
 
 ^ " Every Parana," says the first authority existing in Sanskrit lore, 
 " treats of five subjects : the creation of the universe ; its progress, and the 
 renovation of the world ; the genealogy of gods and heroes ; chronology, 
 according to a fabulous system ; and heroic history, containing the achieve- 
 ments of demi-gods and heroes. Since each purana contains a cosmogony, 
 both mythological and heroic history, the works which bear that title may 
 not unaptly be compared to the Grecian theogonies " ('Essay on the 
 Sanskrit and Pracrit Languages,' by H. T. Colebrooke, Esq. ; As. Res. 
 vol. vii. p. 202). [On the age of the Puranas see Smith, EHI, 21 if.] 
 
 23
 
 24 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Deluge Legend. — The Genesis ^ of India commences with an 
 event described in the history of almost all nations, the deluge, 
 which, though treated with the fancy peculiar to the orientals, is 
 not the less entitled to attention. The essence of the extract 
 from the Agni Pur ana is this : " When ocean quitted his bounds 
 and caused universal destruction by Brahma's command, Vaiva- 
 swata ^ Manu (Noah), who dwelt near the Himalaya ^ mountains 
 was giving water to the gods in the Kritamala river, when a small 
 fish fell into his hand. A voice commanded him to preserve it. 
 The fish expanded to an enormous size. Manu, with his sons 
 and their wives, and the sages, with the seed of every living thing, 
 entered into a vessel which was fastened to a horn on the head of 
 the fish, and thus they were preser-fed." 
 
 Here, then, the grand northern chain is given to which the 
 abode of the great patriarch of mankind approximated. In the 
 Bhavishya it is stated, that " Vaivaswata (sun-born) Manu ruled 
 at the mountain Sumeru. Of his seed was Kakutstha Raja, 
 who obtained sovereignty at Ayodhya,* and his descendants 
 filled the land and spread over the earth." 
 
 I am aware of the meaning given to Sumeru, that thus the 
 Hindus designated the north pole of the earth. But they had 
 also a mountain with this same appellation of pre-eminence of 
 Meru, ' the hill,' with the prefix Su, ' good, sacred ' : the Sacred 
 Hill. 
 
 Meru, Sumeru. — In the geography of the Agni Purana, the 
 term is used as a substantial geographical limit ; ^ and some of 
 
 ^ Resolvable into Sanskrit, janarn, ' birth,' and is and iswar, ' lords ' 
 \jyivw, yl-yvofiai, Skr. root jan, ' to generate ']. 
 
 ^ Son of the sun. 
 
 ^ The snowy Caucasus. Sir WiUiara Jones, in an extract from a work 
 entitled Essence of the Pooranas, says that this event took place at Dravira 
 in the Deccan. 
 
 * The present Ajodhya, capital of one of the twenty-two satrapies con- 
 stituting the Mogul Empire, and for some generations held by the titular 
 Vizir, who has recently assumed the regal title. [Ghaziu-d-din Haidar in 
 1819.] 
 
 * " To the south of Sumeru are the mountains Himavan, Hemakuta, 
 and Nishadha ; to the north are the countries Nil, Sveta, and Sringi. 
 Between Hemachal and the ocean the land is Bharatkhand, called Kukarraa 
 Bhumi (land of vice, opposed to Aryavarta, or land of virtue), in which the 
 seven grand ranges are Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Suktimat, Riksha, 
 Vindhya, and Paripatra " {Agni Purana).
 
 EARLY TRADITIONS 25 
 
 the rivers flowing from the mountainous ranges, whose relative 
 position with Sumeru are thei'e defined, still retain their ancient 
 appellations. Let us not darken the subject, by supposing only 
 allegorical meanings attached to explicit points. In the distribu- 
 tion of their seven dwipas, or continents, though they interpose 
 seas of curds, milk, or wine, we should not reject strong and 
 evident facts, because subsequent ignorant interpolators filled 
 up the page with puerilities [22]. 
 
 This sacred mountain (Sumeru) is claimed by the Brahmans 
 as the abode of Mahadeva,^ Adiswar,^ or Baghes ' ; by the Jains, 
 as the abode of Adinath,* the first Jiniswara, or Jain lord. Here 
 they say he taught mankind the arts of agriculture and civilized 
 life. The Greeks claimed it as the abode of Bacchus ; and hence 
 the Grecian fable of this god being taken from the thigh of Jupiter, 
 confounding rncros (thigh) with the merii (hill) of this Indian 
 deity. In this vicinity the followers of Alexander had their 
 Saturnalia, drank to excess of the wine from its indigenous vines, 
 and bound their brows with ivy (vela) ^ sacred to the Baghes of the 
 east and west, whose votaries alike indulge in ' strong drink.' 
 
 These traditions appear to point to one spot, and to one 
 individual, in the early history of mankind, when the Hindu and 
 the Greek approach a common focus ; for there is little doubt 
 that Adinath, Adiswara, Osiris, Baghes, Bacchus, Manu, Menes 
 designate the patriarch of majjikind, Noah. 
 
 The Hindus can at this time give only a very general idea of 
 the site of Meru ; but they appear to localize it in a space of 
 which Bamian, Kabul, and Ghazni would be the exterior points. 
 The former of these cities is Known to possess remains of the 
 
 ^ The Creator, literally ' the Great God. 
 
 2 The ' first lord.' 
 
 ^ Baghes, ' the tiger lord. He wears a tiger's or panther's hide ; which 
 he places beneath him. So Bacchus did. The phallus is the emblem of 
 each. Baghes has several temples in Mewar. [In identifying Bacchus with 
 a Hindu tiger god the author depended on Asiatic Researches, i. 258, viii. 51. 
 For the Greek story in the text see Quintus Curtius viii. 10; Diodorus iii. 63; 
 Arrian, Anabasis, vii.] 
 
 * First lord. 
 
 ' Vela is the general term for a climber, sacred to the Indian Bacchus 
 (Baghes, Adiswara, or Mahadeva), whose priests, following his example, 
 are fond of intoxicating beverages, or drugs. The amarbel, or immortal 
 vela, is a noble cUmber.
 
 26 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 religion of Buddha, in its caves and colossal statues.^ The 
 Paropamisaa Alexandria is near Baniian ; but the Meru and 
 Nyssa ^ of Alexander are placed more to the eastward by the 
 jGreek writers, and according to the cautious Arrian between 
 the Cophas and Indus. Authority localizes it between Peshawar 
 and Jalalabad, and calls it Merkoh, or Markoh,* " a bare rock 
 2000 feet high [23] with caves to the westward, termed Bedaulat 
 by the Emperor Humayun from its dismal appearance." * This 
 
 ^ [" In the Tuman of Zohak and Bamiiin, the fortress of Zohak is a 
 monument of great antiquity, and in good preservation, but the fort of 
 Bamian is in ruins. In the mountain -side caves have been excavated and 
 ornamented with plaster and paintings. Of these there are 12,000 which 
 are called Sumaj, and in former times were used by the people as winter 
 retreats. Three colossal figures are here : one is the statue of a man, 
 80 yards in height ; another that of a woman, 50 yards high, and the third 
 that of a child measuring 15 yards. Strange to relate, in one of the caves 
 is placed a coffin containing the body of one who reposes in his last sleep. 
 The oldest and most learned of antiquarians can give no account of its 
 origin, but suppose it to be of great antiquity. In days of old the ancients 
 prepared a medicament with which they anointed corpses and consigned 
 them to earth in a hard soil. The simple, deceived by this art, attribute 
 their preservation to a miracle " {Ain, ii. 409 f., with Jarrett's notes). For 
 Bamian see EB, iii. 304 f.] 
 
 2 Nishadha is mentioned in the Parana as a mountain. If in the genitive 
 case (which the final syllable marks), it would be a local term given from 
 the city of Nissa. [Nysa has no connexion with Nishadha. It probably 
 lay near Jalalabad or Koh-i Mor (Smith^HI, 53).] 
 
 * Meru, Sanskrit, and Koh, Persian, for a ' hiU.' 
 
 * Asiatic Researches, vol. vi. p. 497. Wilford appears to have borrowed 
 largely from that ancient store-house (as the Hindu would call it) of learning. 
 Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World. He combines, however, mucli of 
 what that great man had so singularly acquired and condensed, with what 
 he himself collected, and with the aid of imagination has formed a curious 
 mosaic. But when he took a peep into " the chorographical description of 
 the Terrestrial Paradise," I am surprised he did not separate the nurseries 
 of mankind before and after the flood. There is one passage, also, of Sir 
 Walter Raleigh which would have aided his hypothesis, that Eden was in 
 Higher Asia, between the common sources of the Jihun and other grand 
 rivers : the abundance of the Ficus Indica, or bar-tree, sacred to the first 
 lord, Adnath or Mahadeva. 
 
 " Now for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, some men have pre- 
 sumed further ; especially Gorapius Bocanus, who giveth liimself the honour 
 to have found out the kind of this tree, which none of the writers of former 
 times could ever guess at, whereat Gorapius much marvelleth." 
 
 " Both together went 
 
 Into the thickest v/ood ; there soon they chose
 
 EARLY TRADITIONS 27 
 
 designation, however, of Dasht-i Bedaulat, or ' unhappy plain,' 
 was given to the tract between the cities beforementioned [24]. 
 The only scope of these remarks on Sumeru is to show that 
 
 The fig tree ; not that kind for fruit renowned. 
 But such as at this day, to Indians known 
 In Malabar or Decan, spreads her arms 
 Branching so broad and long, that in the ground 
 The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow 
 About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade 
 High overarched, and echoing walks between. 
 There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat, 
 Shelters in cool and tends his pasturing herds." 
 
 " Those leaves 
 
 They gathered, broad as Amazonian targe." 
 
 Paradise Lost, Book ix. 1100 ff. 
 
 Sir V/alter strongly supports the Hindu hypothesis regarding the locality 
 of the nursery for rearing mankind, and that " India was the first planted 
 and peopled countrie after the flood " (p. 99). His first argument is, that 
 it was a place where the vine and olive were indigenous, as amongst the 
 Sakai Scythai (and as they still are, together with oats, between Kabul and 
 Bamian) ; and that Ararat could not be in Armenia, because the Gordian 
 mountains on which the ark rested were in longitude 75°, and the VaUey of 
 Shinar 79° to 80°, which would be reversing the tide of migration. "As 
 they journeyed from the East, they found a plain, in the land of Shinar, and 
 they dwelt there " (Genesis, chap. xi. ver. 2). He adds, " Ararat, named 
 by Moses, is not any one hill, but a general term for the great Caucasian 
 range ; therefore we must blow up this mountain Ararat, or dig it down 
 and carry it out of Armenia, or find it elsewhere in a warmer country, and 
 east from Shinar." He therefore places it in Indo-Scythia, in 140° of 
 longitude and 35° to 37° of latitude, " where the mountains do build them- 
 selves exceeding high " : and concludes, " It was in the plentiful warm East 
 where Noah rested, where he planted the viae, where he tilled the ground 
 and hved thereon. Placuit vero Noacho agricultur£e studium in qua trac- 
 tanda ipse omnium peritissimus esse dicitur ; ob eamque rem, sua ipsius 
 lingua, Ish-Adamath : * hoc est, Telluris Vir, appellatur, celebratusque est. 
 The study of husbandry pleased Noah (says the excellent learned man, Arius 
 Montanus) in the order and knowledge of which it is said that Noah excelled 
 all men, and therefore was he called in his own language, a man exercised in 
 the earth." The title, character, and abode exactly suit the description 
 
 * In Sanskrit, Ish, ' Lord,' adi, ' the first,' matti, ' Earth.' [The deriva- 
 tion is absurd : matti, ' clay,' is modern Hindi.] Here the Sanskrit and 
 Hebrew have the same meaning, ' first lord of the earth.' In these remote 
 Rajput regions, where early manners and language remain, the strongest 
 phrase to denote a man or human being is literally ' earth.' A chief de- 
 scribing a fray between his own followers and borderers whence death 
 ensued, says, Meri matti mdri, ' My earth has been struck ' : a phrase 
 requiring no comment, and denoting that he must have blood in return.
 
 28 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 the Hindus themselves do not make India within the Indus the 
 cradle of their race, but west, amidst the hills of Caucasus,' 
 whence the sons of Vaivaswata, or the ' sun-born,' migrated 
 eastward to the Indus and Ganges, and founded their first estab- 
 lishment in Kosala, the capital, Ayodhya, or Oudh. 
 
 Most nations have indulged the desire of fixing the source 
 whence they issued, and few spots possess more interest than 
 this elevated Madhya-Bhumi, or ' central region ' of Asia, where 
 the Amu, Oxus, or Jihun, and other rivers, have their rise, and in 
 which both the Surya and Indu * races (Sakha) claim the hill,' 
 
 the Jains give of their first Jiniswara, Adinath, the first lordly man, who 
 taught them agriculture, even to " muzzling the bull in treading out the corn." 
 
 Had Sir Walter been aware that the Hindu sacred books styled their 
 country Aryavarta,* and of which the great Imaus is the northern boundary, 
 he would doubtless have seized it for his Ararat. [Needless to say, these 
 speculations are obsolete.] 
 
 ^ Hindu, or Indu-kush or koh, is the local appellation ; ' mountain of 
 the moon.' [Hindu-kush is said to mean ' Hindu-slayer ' or ' Indian 
 Caucasus.'] ^ Solar and lunar. 
 
 * Meru, ' the hill,' is used distinctively, as in Jaisalmer (the capital of the 
 Bhatti tribe in the Western Desert), ' the hill of Jaisal ' ; Merwara, or the 
 ' mountainous region ' ; and its inhabitants Meras, or ' mountaineers.' 
 Thus, also, in the grand epic the Ramayana (Book i. p. 236), Mena is the 
 mountain-nymph, the daughter of Meru and spouse of Himavat ; from 
 whom sprung two daughters, the river goddess Ganga and the mountain- 
 nymph Parbati. She is, in the Mahabharata, also termed Saila, the daughter 
 of Sail, another designation of the snowy chain ; and hence mountain 
 streams are called in Sanskrit sillelee [?]. Saila bears the same attributes 
 with the Phrygian Cybele, who was also the daughter of a mountain of the 
 same name ; the one is carried, the other drawn, by lions. Thus the Greeks 
 also metamorphosed Parbat Pamer, or ' the mountain Pamer,' into Paro- 
 pamisan, apphed to the Hindu Koh west of Bamian : but the Parbat pat 
 Pamer, or ' Pamer chief of hills,' is mentioned by the bard Chand as being 
 far cast of that tract, and under it resided Hamira, one of the great feuda- 
 tories of Prithwiraja of Delhi. Had it been Paropanisan (as some authorities 
 write it), it would better accord with the locality where it takes up the name, 
 being near to'Nyssa and Meru, of which Parbat or Pahar would be a version, 
 and form Paronisan, ' the Mountain of Nyssa,' the range Nishadha of the 
 Puranas. [The true form is Paropanisos : the suggested derivation is 
 
 impossible.] 
 
 . ^ 
 
 * Afydvarta, or the land of promise or virtue, cannot extend to the flat 
 plains of India south of the Himavat ; for this is styled in the Puranas the 
 very reverse, kukarma des, or land of vice. [Aryavarta is the land bounded 
 by the Himalaya and Vindhya, from the eastern to the western seas (Manu, 
 Laws, ii. 22).]
 
 EARLY TRADITIONS : GENEALOGIES 29 
 
 sacred to a great patriarchal ancestor, whence they migrated 
 eastward. 
 
 The Rajput tribes could scarcely have acquired some of their 
 still existing Scythic habits and warlike superstitions on the 
 burning plains of Ind It was too hot to hail with fervent adora- 
 tion the return of the sun from his southern course to enliven the 
 northern hemisphere. This should be the religion of a colder 
 clime, brought from their first haunts, the sources of the Jihim 
 and Jaxartes. The grand solstitial festival, the Aswamedha, or 
 sacrifice of the horse (the type of the sun), practised by the 
 children of Vaivaswata, the ' sun-born,' was most probably 
 simultaneously introduced from Scythia into the plains of Ind, 
 and west, by the sons of Odin, Woden, or Budha, into Scandinavia, 
 where it became the Hi-el or Hi-ul,^ the festival of the winter 
 solstice ; the grand jubilee of northern nations, and in the first 
 ages of Christianity, being so near the epoch of its rise, gladly 
 used by the first fathers of the church to perpetuate that 
 event- [25|, 
 
 CHAPTER 2 
 
 Puranie Genealogies. — The chronicles of the Bhagavat and Agni, 
 containing the genealogies of the Surya (sun) and Indu [moon) 
 races, shall now be examined. The first of these, by calculation, 
 brings down the chain to a period six centuries subsequent to 
 Vikramaditya (a.d. 650), so that these books may have beeiV 
 remodelled or commented on about this period : their fabrication' 
 cannot be supposed. 
 
 Althovigh portions of these genealogies by Sir William Jones, 
 Mr. Bentley, and Colonel Wilford, have appeared in the volumes of 
 the Asiatic Researches, yet no one should rest satisfied with the 
 inquiries of others, if by any process he can reach the fountain- 
 head himself. 
 
 If, after all, these are fabricated genealogies of tbe ancient 
 
 ^ Ilaya or Hi, in Sanskrit, ' horse ' — El, ' sun ' : whence ittttos and rJ\(os. 
 HX appears to have been a term of Scythian origin for the sun ; and Hari, 
 the Indian Apollo, is addressed as the sun. Hiul, or Jul, of northern nations 
 (qu. Noel of France ?), is the Hindu Sankranti, of which more will be said 
 hereafter. [The feast was known as Hvil, .Tnl, or Yule, and the suggested 
 derivation is impossible.] 
 
 * Mallet's Northern Antiquities.
 
 30 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 families of India, the fabrication is of ancient date, and they are 
 all they know themselves upon the subject. The step next in 
 importance to obtaining a perfect acquaintance with the genuine 
 early history of nations, is to learn Avhat those nations repute 
 to be such. 
 
 I Doubtless the original Puranas contained much valuable 
 historical matter ; but, at present, it is difficult to separate a 
 little pure metal from the base alloy of ignorant expounders and 
 interpolators. I have but skimmed the surface : research, to 
 the capable, may yet be rewarded by many isolated facts and 
 important transactions, now hid under the veil of ignorance and 
 allegory. 
 
 Neglect of History by the Hindus. — The Hindus, with the de- 
 crease of intellectual power, their possession of which is evinced 
 by their architectural remains, where just proportion and elegant 
 mythological device are still visible, lost the relish for the beauty 
 of truth, and adopted the monstrous in their writings as well as 
 their edifices. But for detection and shame, matters of history 
 would be hideously distorted even in civilized Europe ; but in 
 the East, in the moral decrepitude of ancient Asia, with no judge 
 to condemn, no public to praise, each priestly expounder may 
 revel in a:n unfettered imagination, and reckon his admirers in 
 proportion to the mixture of the marvellous ^ [26]. Plain histori- 
 cal truths have long ceased to interest this artificially fed people. 
 
 If at such a comparatively modern period as the third century 
 before Christ, the Babylonian historian Berosus composed his 
 fictions, which assigned to that monarchy such incredible anti- 
 quity, it became capable of refutation from the many historians 
 of repute who preceded him. But on the fabulist of India we 
 have no such check. If Vyasa himself penned these legends as 
 now existing, then is the stream of knowledge corrupt from the 
 fountain-head. If such the source, the stream, filtering through 
 ages of ignorance, has only been increased by fresh impurities. 
 It is difficult to conceive how the arts and sciences could advance, 
 
 ^ The celebrated Goguet remarks on the ii'.adness of most nations pre- 
 tending to trace their origin to infinity. The Babylonians, the Egyptians, 
 and the Scythians, particularly, piqued themselves on their high antiquity, 
 and the first assimilate with- the Hindus in boasting they had observed the 
 course of the stars 473,000 years. Each heaped ages on ages ; but the 
 foundations of this pretended antiquity are not supported by probability, 
 and are even of modern invention (Origin of Laws).
 
 PURANIC GENEALOGIES 31 
 
 when it is held impious to doubt the truth of whatever has been 
 handed down, and still more to suppose that the degenerate could 
 improve thereon. The highest ambition of the present learned 
 priesthood, generation after generation, is to be able to compre- 
 hend what has thus reached them, and to form commentaries 
 upon past wisdom ; v>'hich commentaries are commented on ad J 
 infinitum. \Mioever dare now aspire to improve thereon mustj 
 keep the secret in his own breast. They are but the expounders 
 of the olden oracles ; were they more they would be infidels. 
 But this could not always Imve been the case. ^ 
 
 With the Hindus, as with other nations, the progress to the 
 heights of science they attained must have been gradual ; unless 
 we take from them the merit of original invention, and set them 
 down as borrowers of a system. These slavish fetters of the 
 mind must have been forged at a later period, and it is fair to 
 infer that the monopoly of science and religion was simultaneous. 
 What must be the effect of such monopoly on the impulses and 
 operations of the understanding ? Where such exists, knowledge 
 could not long remain stationary' ; it must perforce retrograde. 
 Could we but discover the period when religion ^ ceased to be a 
 profession [27] and became hereditary (and that such there was 
 these very genealogies bear evidence), we might approximate the 
 era when science attained its height. 
 
 The Priestly Office. — In the early ages of these Solar and Lunar 
 dynasties, the priestly office was not hereditary in families ; it 
 was a profession ; and the genealogies exhibit frequent instances 
 of branches of these races terminating their martial career in the 
 
 ^ It has been said that the Brahmanical religion was foreign to India ; 
 but as to the period of importation we have but loose assertion. We can 
 easily give credit to various creeds and tenets of faith being from time to 
 time incorporated, ere the present books were composed, and that previously 
 the sons of royalty alone possessed the office. Authorities of weight infonn t 
 us of these grafts ; for instance, Mr. Colebrooke gives a passage in his I 
 Indian Classes : " A chief of the twice-bom tribe was brought by Vishnu's j "it 
 eagle from Saca Dwipa ; hence Saca Dwipa Brahmins were known in Jambu 1 
 Dwipa." By Saka Dwipa, Scythia is understood, of which more will be ' 
 said hereafter. Ferishta also, translating from ancient authorities, says, 
 to the same effect, that " in the reign of Mahraje, King of Canouj, a Brahmin ' 
 came from Persia, who introduced magic, idolatry, and the worship of tlie 
 stars " ; so that there is no want of authority for the introduction of new 
 tenets of faith. [The passage, inaccurately quoted, is taken from Dow i. 16. 
 See Briggs's translation, i. Introd. Ixviii.] 
 
 7f
 
 32 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 commencement of a religions sect, or gotra, and of their descend- 
 ants reassuming their warhke occupations. Thus, of the ten 
 sons of Ikshwaku,^ three are represented as abandoning worldly 
 affairs and taking to religion ; and one of these, Kanina, is said to 
 be the first who made an agnihotra, or pyreum, and worshipped 
 fire, while another son embraced commerce. Of the Lunar line 
 and the six sons of Pururavas, the name of the fourth was Raya ; 
 " from him the fifteenth generation was Harita, who with his 
 eight brothers took to the office of religion, and established the 
 Kausika Gotra, or tribe of Brahmans." 
 
 From the twenty-fourth prince in lineal descent from Yayati, 
 by name Bharadwaja, originated a celebrated sect, who still 
 bear his name, and are the spiritual teachers of several Rajput 
 tribes. 
 
 Of the twenty-sixth prince, Manava, two sons devoted them- 
 selves to religion, and established celebrated sects, viz. Mahavira, 
 whose descendants were the Pushkar Brahmans ; and Sankriti. 
 whose issue were learned in the Vedas From the line of Ajamidha 
 these ministers of religion were continually branching off. 
 
 In the very early periods, the princes of the Solar line, like the 
 Egyptians and Romans, combined the offices of the priesthood 
 with kingly power, and this whether Brahmanical or Buddhist.* 
 Many of the royal line, before and subsequent to Rama, passed 
 great part of their lives as ascetics ; and in ancient sculpture and 
 drawings the head is as often adorned with the braided lock of 
 the ascetic as with the diadem of royalty.* 
 
 The greatest monarchs bestowed their daughters on these 
 royal hermits and sages [28]. Ahalya, the daughter of the power- 
 ful Panchala,* became the wife of the ascetic Gautama. Tlie 
 sage .Jamadagni espoused the daughter of Sahasra '^ Arjuna, of 
 
 ^ Sec Table T. [now obsolete, not reprinted]. 
 
 ^ Some of the earlier of the twenty-four Tirthakaras, or Jain hierarchs, 
 trace their origin from the solar race of princes. [As usual, Buchlhisni 
 confused with Jainism.] 
 
 ' Even now the Rana of Mewar mingles sj^iritual duties with those of 
 royalty, and when he attends the temple of the tutelary deity of his race, 
 he performs himself all the offices of the high priest for the day. In this 
 point a strong resemblance exists to many of the races of antiquity. 
 
 ■• Prince of the country of Panjab, or five streams east of the Indus. 
 [Panchrda was in the Ganges-Jumna Duab and its neighbourhood.] 
 
 '' The legend of this monarch stealing his son-in-law's, the hermit's, cow 
 (of which the Ramayana gives another version), the incarnation of Para-
 
 PURANIC GENEALOGIES 33 
 
 Mahishmat,' king of the Haihaya tribe, a great branch of the 
 Yadu race. 
 
 Among the Egyptians, according to Herodotus [ii. 87, 141], the 
 priests succeeded to sovereignty, as they and the mihtary class 
 alone could hold lands ; and Sethos, the priest of Vulcan, caused 
 a revolution, by depriving the military of their estates. 
 
 We have various instances in India of the Brahmans from 
 Jamadagni to the Mahratta Peshwa, contesting for sovereignty ; 
 power * and homage being still their great aim, as in the days of 
 Vishvamitra ^ and Vasishtha, the royal sages [29] whom " Janaka 
 
 suram, son of Jamadagni, and his exploits, appear purely allegorical, signify- 
 ing the violence and oj)pression of royalty over the earth (prithivi), personified 
 by the sacred gao, or cow^ and that the Brahmans were enabled to 'wrest 
 royalty from the martial tribe, shows how they had multiplied. 
 
 On the derivatives from the word gao, I venture an etymologj^ for others 
 to pursue : 
 
 I'AI A, yia, yij (Dor. 7a), that which produces aU things (from ydoj, genero) ; 
 the earth. — Jones's Dictionary. 
 
 TAAA, IVIilk. Gaola, Herdsman, in Sanskrit. VaXariKoi, KeXroL, 
 Galatians, or Gauls, and Celts (allowed to be the same) would be the shep- 
 herd races, the pastoral invaders of Europe [?]. 
 
 ^ Maheswar, on the Nerbudda River. 
 
 ^ Hindustan abounds with Brahmans, who make excellent soldiers, as 
 far as bravery is a virtue ; but our oflficers are cautious, from experience, of 
 admitting too many into a troop or company, for they still retain their 
 intriguing habits. I have seen nearly as many of the Brahmans as of 
 mihtary in some companies ; a dangerous error [reaUzed in the Great 
 Mutiny]. ; 
 
 * The Brahman Vasishtha possessed a cow named Savala, so fruitful that 
 with her assistance he could accomplish whatever he desired. By her aid 
 he entertained King Vishvamitra and his army. It is evident that this cow 
 denotes some tract of country which the priest held (bearing in mind that 
 gao, prithivi, signify ' the earth,' as well as ' cow ') : a grant, beyond doubt, 
 by some of Vishvamitra's unwise ancestors, and which he wislied to resume. 
 From her were suppUed " the oblations to the gods and the pitrideva (father- 
 gods, or ancestors), the perpetual sacrificial fire, the burnt-oli'erings and 
 sacrifices." This was " the fountain of devotional acts " ; this was the 
 Savala for which the king offered " a hundred thousand cows " ; this was 
 " the jewel of which a king only should be proprietor." — The subjects of the 
 Brahman appeared not to relish such transfer, and by " the lowing of the 
 I cow Savala " obtained numerous foreign auxiliaries, which enabled the 
 I Brahman to set his sovereign at defiance. Of these " the Pahlavi (Persian) 
 ; kings, the dreadful Sakas (Sakai), and Yavanas (Greeks), with scymitars and 
 ; gold armour, the Kambojas," etc., were each in turn created by the aU- 
 producing cow. The armies of the Pahlavi kings were cut to pieces by 
 Vishvamitra ; who at last, by continual reinforcements, was overpowered 
 
 VOL. I D
 
 34 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIRES 
 
 sovereign of Mitliila, addressed witli folded hands in token of 
 superiority." 
 
 Relations of Rajputs with Brahmans. — But this deference for 
 the Brahmans is certainly, with many Rajput classes, very weak. 
 In obedience to prejudice, they show them outward civility ; but, 
 unless when their fears or wishes interfere, they are less esteemed 
 than the bards. 
 
 The story of the King Vishvamitra of Gadhipura ^ and the 
 Brahman Vasishtha, which fills so many sections of the first book 
 of the Ramayana,^ exemplifies, under the veil of allegory, the 
 
 by the Brahman's levies. These reinforcements would appear to have been 
 the ancient Persians, the Sacae, the Greeks, the inhabitants of Assam and 
 Southern India, and various races out of the jiale of the Hindu rehgion ; 
 all classed under the term Mlechchha, equivalent»to the ' barbarian ' of the 
 Greeks and Romans. 
 
 The King Vishvamitra, defeated and disgraced by this powerful priest, 
 " like a serpent with his teeth broken, like the sun robbed by the eclipse of 
 its splendour, was filled with perturbation. Deprived of his sons and array, 
 stripped of his pride and confidence, he was left without resource as a bird 
 bereft of his wings." He abandoned his kingdom to his son, and like all 
 Hindu princes in distress, determined, by penitential rites and austerities, 
 " to obtain Brahmanhood." He took up his abode at the sacred Pushkar, 
 living on fruits and roots, and fixing his mind, said, " I will become a Brah- 
 man." By these penances he attained such spiritual power that he was 
 enabled to usurp the Brahman's office. The theocrats caution Vishvamitra, 
 thus determined to become a Brahman by austerity, that " the divine books 
 are to be observed with care only by those acquainted with their evidence ; 
 nor does it become thee (Vishvamitra) to subvert the order of things estab- 
 lished by the ancients." The history of his wanderings, austerities, and the 
 temptations thrown in his way is related. The celestial fair were com- 
 missioned to break in upon his meditations. The mother of love herself 
 descended ; while Indra, joining the cause of the Brahmans, took the shape 
 of the kokila, and added the melody of his notes to the allurements of 
 Rambha, and the perfumed zephyrs which assailed the royal saint in the 
 wilderness. He was proof against all temptation, and condemned the fair 
 to become a pillar of stone. He persevered " till every passion was subdued," 
 till " not a tincture of sin appeared in him," and gave such alarm to the 
 whole priesthood, that they dreaded lest his excessive sanctity should be 
 fatal to them : they feared " mankind would become atheists." " The 
 gods and Brahma at their head were obliged to grant his desire of Brahman- 
 hood ; and Vashishtha, conciliated by the gods, acquiesced in their wish, 
 and formed a friendship with Vishvamitra " [Muir, Original Sanskril Texts, 
 Part i. (1858), 75 ff.]. 
 
 ^ Kanauj, the ancient capital of the present race of Marwar. [This is a 
 myth. J 
 
 * See translation of this epic, by Messrs. Carey and Marshman [in verse, 
 by R. T. H. Griffith].
 
 PURANIC GENEALOGIES 35 
 
 contests for power between the Brahmanical and military classes, 
 and will serve to indicate the probable period when the castes 
 became immutable. Stripped of its allegory, the legend appears to 
 point to a time when the division of the classes was yet imperfect ; 
 though we may infer, from the violence of the struggle, that it was 
 the last in which Brahmanhood could be obtained by the military. 
 
 Vishvamitra was the son of Gadhi (of the race of Kausika), King 
 of Gadhipura, and contemporary of Ambarisha, King of Ayodhya 
 or Oudh, the fortieth prince from Ikshwaku ; consequently about 
 two hundred years anterior to Rama. This event therefore, 
 whence we infer that the system of castes was approaching per- 
 fection, was probably about one thousand foiu' hundred years 
 before Christ. 
 
 Dates o£ the Genealogies. — If proof can be given that these 
 genealogies existed in the days of Alexander, the fact would be 
 interesting. The legend in the Puranas, of the origin of the 
 Lunar race, appears to afford this testimonj^ 
 
 Vyasa, the author of the grand epic the Mahabharata, was son 
 of Santanu (of the race of Hari),^ sovereign of Delhi, by Yojana- 
 gandha, a fisherman's daughter,^ [30] consequently illegitimate. 
 He became the spiritual father, or preceptor, of his nieces, the 
 daughters of Vichitravirya, the son and successor of Santanu. 
 
 The Herakles Legend. — Vichitravirya had no male offspring. 
 Of his three daughters, one was named Pandaia * ; and Vyasa, 
 
 ^ Hari-Kula. 
 
 ^ It is a very curious circumstance that Hindu legend gives to two of 
 their most celebrated authors, whom they have invested with a sacred 
 character, a descent from the aboriginal and impure tribe3"of India : Vyasa 
 from a fisherman, and Valmiki, the author of the other grand epic the 
 Ramayana, from a Baddhik or robber, an associate of the Bhil tribe at 
 Abu. The conversion of Vahniki (said to have been miraculous, when in 
 the act of robbing the shrine of the deity) is worked into a story of con- 
 siderable effect, in the works of Chand, from olden authority. 
 
 3 The reason for this name is thus given. One of these daughters being 
 by a slave, it was necessary to ascertain which : a difficult matter, from the 
 secl\ision in which they were kept. It was therefore left to Vyasa to discover 
 the pure of birth, who determined that nobihty of blood would show itself, 
 and comm.anded that the princesses should wallc uncovered before him. 
 The elder, from shame, closed her eyes, and from her was born the blind 
 Dhritarashtra, sovereign of Hastinapura ; the second, from the same feeling, 
 covered herself with yellow ochre, called pandit, and henceforth she bore the 
 name of Pandya, and her son was called Pandu ; while the third stepped forth 
 unabashed. She was adjudged not of gentle blood, and her issue was Vidura.
 
 36 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 being the sole remaining male branch of the house of Santanu, 
 took his niece, and spiritual daughter, Pandaia, to wife, and 
 became the father of Pandu, afterwards sovereign of Indraprastha. 
 Arrian gives the story thus : "It is further said that he 
 [Herakles] ^ had a very niunerous progeny of children born to 
 
 ^ A generic term for the sovereigns of the race of Hari, used by Arrian 
 as a proper name [?]. A section of the Mahabharata is devoted to the 
 history of the Harikula, of which race was Vyasa. 
 
 Arrian notices the similarity of the Theban and the Hindu Hercules, and 
 cites as authority the ambassador of Seleucus, Megasthenes, who says : 
 " This Herakles is held in special honour by the Sourasenoi, an Indian tribe 
 who possess two large cities, Methora and Cleisobora. . . . But the dress 
 which this Herakles wore, Megasthenes tells us, resembled that of the 
 Theban Herakles, as the Indians themselves admit." [Arrian, Indika, viii., 
 Methora is Mathura ; Growse {Mathura, 3rd ed. 279) suggests that Cleiso- 
 bora is Krishnapura, ' city of Krishna.'] 
 
 Diodorus has the same legend, with some vai'iety. He says : " Hercules 
 was bom amongst the Indians, and Uke the Greeks they furnish him with 
 a club and lion's hide. In strength (bala) he excelled all men, and cleared 
 the sea and land of monsters and wild beasts. He had many sons, but only 
 one daughter. It is said that he built Pahbothra, and divided his kingdom 
 amongst his sons (the Bahka-putras, sons of Bah). They never colonized ; 
 but in time most of the cities assumed a democratical form of government 
 (though some were monarchical) till Alexander's time." The combats of 
 Hercules, to which Diodorus alludes, are those in the legendary haunts of 
 the Harikulas, during their twelve years' exile from the seats of their fore- 
 fathers. 
 
 How invaluable such remnants of the ancient race of Harikula ! How 
 refreshing to the mind yet to discover, amidst the riiins on the Yamuna, 
 Hercules (Baldeva, god of strength) retaining his club and lion's hide, stand- 
 ing on his pedestal at Baldeo, and yet worshipped by the Suraseni ! This 
 name was given to a large tract of country round Mathura, or rather round 
 Surpura, the ancient capital founded by Surasena, the grandfather of the 
 Indian brother-deities, Krishna and Baldeva, ApoUo and Hercules. The 
 title would apply to either ; though Baldeva has the attributes of the ' god 
 of strength.' Both are es (lords) of the race (Jcula) of Hari (Hari-kul-es), of 
 which the Greeks might have made the compound Hercules. Might not a 
 colony after the Great War have migrated westward ? The period of the 
 return of the HeracUdae, the descendants of Atrens (Atri is progenitor of 
 the Harikula), would answer : it was about half a century after the Great 
 War. [These speculations are worthless.] 
 
 It is unfortunate that Alexander's historians were unable to penetrate 
 into the arcana of the Hindus, as Herodotus appears to have done with those 
 of the Egyptians. The shortness of Alexander's stay, the unknown language 
 in which their science and rehgion were hid, presented an insuperable 
 difficulty. They could have made very little progress in the study of the 
 language without discovering its analogy to their own.
 
 PURANIC GENEALOGIES 37 
 
 ! 
 him in India . . . [31] but that he had only one daughter.^ The 
 
 name of this cliild was Pandaia, and the land in which she was 
 
 born, and with the sovereignty of which Herakles entrusted her, 
 
 was called after her name Pandaia " (Indika, viii.). 
 
 This is the very legend contained in the Puranas, of Vyasa 
 (who was Hari-kul-es, or chief of the race of Hari) and his spiritual 
 daughter Pandaia, from whom the grand race the Pandavas, and 
 from whom Delhi and its dependencies were designated the 
 Pandava sovereignty. 
 
 Her issue ruled for thirty-one generations in direct descents, 
 or frona 1120 to 610 before Christ ; when the military minister,' 
 connected by blood, was chosen by the chiefs who rebelled against 
 the last Pandu king, represented as " neglectful of all the cares 
 of government," and whose deposition and death introduced a 
 new dynasty. 
 
 Two other dynasties succeeded in like manner by the usurpa- 
 tion of these military ministers, untU Vikramaditya, when the 
 Pandava sovereignty and era of Yudhishthirawere both overturned. 
 
 ^ Arrian generally exercises his judgment in these matters, and is the 
 reverse of credulous. On this point he says, " Now to me it seems that even 
 if Herakles could have done a thing so marvellous, he could have made 
 himself longer-hved, in order to have intercourse with his daughter when 
 she was of mature age " [Indika, ix.]. 
 
 Sandrocottus is mentioned by Arrian to be of this line ; and we can 
 have no hesitation, therefore, in giving him a place in the dynasty of Puru, 
 the second son of Yayati, whence the patronymic used by the race now 
 extinct, as was Yadu, the elder brother of Puru. Hence Sandrocottus, if 
 not a Puru himself, is connected with the chain of which the hnks are 
 Jarasandha (a hero of the Bharat), Ripunjaya, the twenty-third in descent, 
 when a new race, headed by Sanaka and Sheshnag, about six hundred years 
 before Christ, usurped the seat of the lineal descendants of Puru ; in which 
 line of usurpation is Chandragupta, of the tribe Maurya, the Sandrocottus 
 of Alexander, a branch of this Sheshnag, Takshak, or Snake race, a race 
 whicli, stripped of its allegory, will afiford room for subsequent dissertation. 
 The Prasioi of Arrian would be the stock of Puru j Prayag is claimed in 
 the annals yet existing as the cradle of their race. This is the modern 
 Allahabad ; and the Eranaboas must be the Jumna, and the point of 
 junction with the Ganges, where we must place the capital of the Prasioi. 
 [For Sandrokottos or Chandragupta Maurya see Smith, EIII, 42 ff. He 
 certainly did not belong to the ' Snake Race.' The Erannoboas (Skr. 
 Hiranyavaha, ' gold-bearing ') is the river Son. The Prasioi (Skr. Prachyas, 
 dweUers in the east') had their capital at Patahputra, the modem Patna 
 (McCrindle, Alexander, 365 f.).] 
 
 * Analogous to the maire du 2}alaiii of the first races of the Franks.
 
 38 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Indraprastha remained without a sovereign, supreme power 
 being removed from the north to the southern parts of India, till 
 the fourth, or, according to some authorities, the eighth century 
 after Vikrama, when the throne of Yudhishthira was once more 
 occupied by the Tuar tribe of Rajputs, claiming descents from the 
 Pandus. To this ancient capital, thus re founded, the new 
 appellation of Delhi was given ; and the dynasty of the founder, 
 Anangpal, lasted to the twelfth century, when he abdicated in 
 favour of his grandson,^ Prithiviraja, the last imperial Rajput 
 sovereign of India, whose defeat and death introduced the 
 Muhammadans. 
 
 This line has also closed with the pageant of a prince, and a 
 colony returned from the extreme west is now the sole arbiter of 
 the thrones of Pandu and Timur. 
 
 Britain has become heir to the monuments of Indraprastha 
 raised by the descendants of Budha and Ila ; to the iron pillar of 
 the Pandavas, " whose pedestal ^ [32] is fixed in hell " ; to the 
 columns reared to victory, inscribed with characters yet unknown ; 
 to the massive ruins of its ancient continuous cities, encompassing a 
 space still larger than the largest city in the world, whose moulder- 
 ing domes and sites of fortresses,' the very names of which are 
 
 ^ His daughter's son. This is not the first or only instance of the SaUc 
 law of India being set aside. There are two in the history of the sovereigns 
 of Anhilwara Patan. In all adoptions of this nature, when the child 
 ' binds round his head the turban ' of his adopted father, he is finally 
 severed from the stock whence he had his birth. [For the early history of 
 Delhi see Smith, EHI, 386 ff.] 
 
 ^ The khil, or iron pillar of the Pandus, is mentioned in the poems of 
 Chand. An infidel Tuar prince wished to prove the truth of the tradition 
 of its depth of foundation : " blood gushed up from the earth's centre, the 
 pillar became loose (dhili)," as did the fortune of the house from such im- 
 piety. This is the origin of Delhi. [The inscription on the pillar proves 
 the falsity of the legend, and the name Delhi is older than the Tuar dynasty 
 {/G/, xi.233).] 
 
 ' I doubt if Shahpur is yet known. I traced its extent from the remains 
 of a tower between Humayun's tomb and the grand column, the Kutb. In 
 1809 I resided four months at the mausoleum of Safdar Jang, the ancestor 
 of the present [late] King of Oudh. amidst the ruins of Indraprastha, several 
 miles from inhabited Delhi, but with which these ruins forms detached links 
 of connexion. I went to that retirement with a friend now no more, 
 Lieutenant Macartney, a name well known and honoured. We had both 
 been employed in surveying the canals which had their sources in common 
 from the head of the Jumna, where this river leaves its rocky barriers, the 
 Siwalik chain, and issues into the plains of Hindustan. These canals on
 
 GENEALOGIES 3D 
 
 lost, present a noble field for speculation on the ephemeral nature 
 of power and glory. What monument would Britain bequeath 
 to distant posterity of her succession to this dominion ? Not 
 one : except it be that of a still less perishable nature, the monu- 
 ment of national benefit. Much is in our power : much has been 
 given, and posterity will demand the result. 
 
 CHAPTER 3 
 
 Princes of the Solar Line.— Vyasa gives but fifty-seven prhiccs 
 of the Solar line, from Vaivaswata Manu to Rama ; and no list 
 which has come under my observation exhibits more than fifty- 
 eight, for the same period, of the Lunar race. How different 
 from the Egyptian priesthood, who, according to Herodotus, 
 gave a list up to that period of three hundred and thirty ^ 
 sovereigns from their first prince, also the ' sun-born ^ Menes ! ' 
 
 Ikshwaku was the son of Manu, and the first who moved to 
 the eastward, and founded Ayodhya. 
 
 Budha (Mercury) founded the Lunar line ; but we are not told 
 who established their first capital, Prayag,' though we are author- 
 ized to infer that it was founded by Puru, the sixth in descent 
 from Budha [33]. 
 
 A succession of fifty-seven princes occupied Ayodhya from 
 Ikshwaku to Rama. From Yayati's sons the Lunar races descend 
 
 each side, fed by the parent stream, returned the waters again into it ; one 
 through the city of Delhi, the other on the opposite side. [Cunningham 
 (ASR, i. 207 £f.) proved that the true site of the ancient city, Siri, was the 
 old ruined fort to the north-east of Ral Pithora's stronghold, which is at 
 present called Shahpur. This identification has been disputed by C. J. 
 Campbell (JASB, 1866, p. 206). But Cunningham gives good reasons for 
 maintaining his opinion. The place took its name from Sher Shah and his 
 son Islam or Salim Shah. See also Carr Stephens, Archaeological and 
 Monumental Remains of DeUii (1876), pp. 87 f., 190.] 
 
 1 Herodotus ii. 99, 100. 
 
 2 The Egyptians claim the sun, also, as the first founder of the kingdom 
 of Egypt. 
 
 ' The Jaisalmer annals give in succession Prayag, Mathura, Kusasthala, 
 
 Dwaraka, as capitals of the Indu or Lunar race, in the ages preceding the 
 
 Bharat or Great War. Hastinapur was founded twenty generations after 
 
 , these, by Hastin, from whom ramified the three grand Sakha, viz. Ajamidha, 
 
 Vimidha, and Purumidha, which diversified the Yadu race.
 
 40 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 in unequal lengths. The lines from Yadu,^ concluding with 
 Krishna and his cousin Kansa, exhibit fifty-seven and fifty-nine 
 descents from Yayati ; while Yudhishthira,' Salya,' Jarasandha,* 
 and Vahurita,* all contemporaries of Krishna and Kansa, are 
 fifty-one, forty-six, and forty-seven generations respectively, from 
 the common ancestor Yayati. 
 
 Solar and Lunar Genealogies. — There is a wide difference 
 between the Solar and the Yadu branches of the Lunar lines ; 
 yet is that now given fuUer than any I have met with. Sir 
 William Jones's lists of the Solar line give fifty-six, and of the 
 Limar (Budha to Yudhishthira) forty-six, being one less in each 
 than in the tables now presented ; nor has he given the important 
 branch terminating with Krishna. So close an affinity between 
 lists, derived from such different authorities as this distinguished 
 character and myself had access to, shows that there was some 
 general source entitled to credit. 
 
 Mr. Bentley's * lists agree with Sir William Jones's, exhibiting 
 fifty-six and forty-six respectively for the last-mentioned Solar 
 and Lunar races. But, on a close comparison, he has either 
 copied them or taken from the same original source ; afterwards 
 transposing names which, though aiding a likely hypothesis, 
 will not accord with their historical belief. 
 
 Colonel Wllford's ' Solar list is of no use ; but his two dynasties 
 of Puru and Yadu of the Liuiar race are excellent, that part of the 
 line of Furu, from Jarasandha to Chandragupta, being the only 
 correct one in print. 
 
 It is surprising Wilford did not make use of Sir William Jones's 
 Solar chronology ; but he appears to have dreaded bringing 
 down Rama to the period of Krishna, as he is known to have 
 preceded by four generations ' the Great War ' of the Yadu races. 
 
 It is evident that the lAmar line has reached us defective. It 
 is supposed so by their genealogists ; and WUl'ord would have 
 
 ^ See Table I. [not reprinted]. 
 
 * Of Delhi — Indraprastlia. 
 
 ' Salya, the founder of Aror on the Indus, a capital Ihad the good 
 fortune to discover. Salya is the Siharas of Abu-1 Fazl. [Ain, ii. 343.] 
 
 * Jarasandha of Bihar. 
 
 ' Vahoorita, unknown yet. [? Bahuratha.] 
 
 * Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 341. 
 ' Ibid. vol. V. p. 241.
 
 GENEALOGIES 41 
 
 increased the error by taking it as the standard, and reducing 
 the Solar to conform thereto. 
 
 Mr. Bentley's method is therefore preferable ; namely, to 
 suppose eleven princes omitted in the Lunar between Janmejaya 
 and Prachinvat. But as there is no [34] authority for this, the 
 Lunar princes are distributed in the tables collaterally with the 
 Solar, preserving contemporaneous affinity where synchronisms 
 will authorise. By this means all hypothesis will be avoided, and 
 the genealogies will speak for themselves. 
 
 There is very little difference between Sir William Jones's and 
 Colonel Wilford's lists, in that main branch of the Lunar race, 
 of which Puru, Hastin, Ajamidha, Kuru, Santanu, and Yud- 
 hishthira are the most distinguished links. The coincidence is 
 so near as to warrant a supposition of identity of source ; but 
 close inspection shows WUford to have had a fuller supply, for 
 he produces new branches, both of Hastin's and Kuru's progeny. 
 He has also one name (Bhimasena) towards the close, which is in 
 my lists, but not in Sir William Jones's ; and immediately follow- 
 ing Bhimasena, both these lists exhibit Dilipa, wanting in my 
 copy of the Bhagavat, though contained in the Agni Purana : 
 proofs of the diversity of the sources of supply, and highly grati- 
 fying when the remoteness of those sources is considered. There 
 is also in my lists Tansu, the nineteenth from Budlia, who is not 
 in the lists either of Sir William Jones or Wilford. Again ; 
 Wilford has a Suhotra preceding Hastin, who is not in Sir William 
 Jones's genealogies. '^ 
 
 Again ; Jahnu is made the successor to Kuru ; whereas the 
 Purana (whence my extracts) makes Parikshit the successor, 
 who adopts the son of Jahnu. This son is Viduratha, who has a 
 place in all tliree. Other variations are merely orthographical. 
 
 A comparison of Sir William Jones's Solar genealogies with my 
 tables will yield nearly the same satisfactory result as to original 
 authenticity. I say Sir William Jones's list, because there is no 
 other efficient one. We first differ at the fourth from Iksliwaku. 
 In my list this is Am-Prithu, of which he makes two names, 
 Anenas and Prithu. Thence to Purukutsa, the eighteenth, the 
 difference is only in orthography. To Irisuaka, the twenty-third 
 in mine, the twenty-sixth in Sir William Jones's list, one name is 
 above accounted for ; but here are two wanting in mine, Trasa- 
 ^ I find them, however, in the Agni Purana.
 
 42 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 dasyu and Haryaswa. There is, also, considerable difference in 
 the orthography of those names which we have in common. 
 Again ; we differ as to the successors of Champa, the twenty- 
 seventh, the founder of Champapur in Bihar. In Sir William's, 
 Sadeva succeeds, and he is followed by Vijaya ; but my authorities 
 state these both to be sons of Champa, and that Vijaya, the [35] 
 younger, was his successor, as the elder, Sadeva, took to religious 
 austerity. The thirty-third and thirty-sixth, Kesi and Dilipa, 
 are not noticed by Sir William Jones ; but there is a much more 
 important person than either of these omitted, who is a grand 
 link of connexion, and affording a good synchronism of the 
 earliest history. This is Ambarisha, the fortieth, the contem- 
 porary of Gadhi, who was the founder of Gadhipura or Kanauj. 
 Nala, Sarura, and Dilipa (Nos. 4i, 45, 54 of my lists) are all 
 omitted by Sir William Jones. 
 
 This comparative analysis of the chronologies of both these 
 grand races cannot fail to be satisfactory. Those which I furnish 
 are from the sacred genealogies in the library of a prince who 
 claims common origin with them, and are less liable to inter- 
 polation. There is scarcely a chief of character for knowledge 
 who cannot repeat the genealogy of his line. The Prince of 
 Mewar has a peculiarly retentive memory in this way. The pro- 
 fessed genealogists, the Bhats, must have them graven on their 
 memory, and the Charanas (the* encomiasts) ought to be well 
 versed therein. 
 
 The first table exhibits two dynasties of the Solar race of 
 Princes of Ayodhya and Mithila Des, or Tirhut, which latter I have 
 seen nowhere else. It also exhibits four great and three lesser 
 dynasties of the Lunar race ; and an eighth line is added, of the 
 race of Yadu, from the annals of the Bhatti tribe at Jaisalmer. 
 
 Ere quitting this halting-place in the genealogical history of 
 the ancient races, where the celebrated names of Rama, Krishna, 
 and Yudhishthira close the brazen age of India, and whose issue 
 introduce the present iron age, or Kali Yuga, I shall shortly refer 
 to the few synchronic points which the various authorities admit. 
 
 Of periods so remote, approximations to truth are the utmost 
 to be looked for ; and it is from the Ramayana and the Puranas 
 these synchronisms are hazarded. 
 
 Harischandra. — The first commences with a celebrated name of 
 the Solar line, Harischandra, son of Trisanku, still proverbial for
 
 GENEALOGIES 43 
 
 his humility.^ He is the twenty-fourth,^ and declared contem- 
 porary of Parasurama, who slew the celebrated Sahasra-Arjuna ^ 
 of [36] the Haihaya (Lunar) race, Prince of Mahishniati on the 
 Nerbudda. This is confirmed by the Ramayana, which details 
 the destruction of the military class and assumption of political 
 power by the Brahmans, under their chief Parasurama, marking 
 the period when the military class ' lost the umbrella of royalty,' 
 and, as the Brahmans ridiculously assert, their purity of blood. 
 This last, however, their own books sufficiently contradict, as the 
 next synchronism will show. 
 
 Sagara. — This synchronism we have in Sagara, the thirty - 
 second prince of the Solar line, the contemporary of Talajangha, of 
 the Lunar line, the sixth in descent from Sahasra Arjuna, who had 
 five sons preserved from the general slaughter of the military class 
 by Parasurama, whose names are given in the Bhavishya Purana. 
 
 Wars were constantly carried on between these great rival 
 races, Surya and Indu, recorded in the Puranas and Ramayana. 
 The Bhavishya describes that between Sagara and Talajangha 
 
 ^ [The tragical story of Harischandra is told by J. Muir, Original Sanskrit 
 Texts, i. 88 ff.] 
 
 ^ Sahyadri Khanda of the Skanda Purana. 
 
 ' In the Bhavishya Purana this prince, Sahasra-Arjuna, is termed a 
 Chakravartin, or paramount sovereign. It is said that iie conquered Kar- 
 kotaka of the Takshak, Turushka, or Snake race, and brought with him the 
 population of Mahishmati, and founded Hemanagara in the north of India, 
 on his expulsion from his dominions on the Nerbudda. Traditionary legends 
 yet remain of this prince on the Nerbudda, where be is styled Sahasrabahu, 
 or ' with a thousand arms,' figurative of his numerous progeny. The 
 Takshak, or Snake race, here alluded to, will hereafter engage our attention. 
 The names of animals in early times, planets, and things inanimate, all 
 furnished symbolic appellations for the various races. In Scrii^ture we have 
 the fly, the bee, the ram to describe the princes of Egypt, Assyria, and 
 Macedonia ; here we have the snake, horse, monkey, etc. The Snake or 
 Takshak race was one of the most extensive and earliest of Higher Asia, 
 and celebrated in all its extent, and to which I shall have to recur hereafter. 
 [By the Takshak race, so often referred to, the author seems to mean a body 
 of Scythian snake-worshippers. There are instances of a serpent barrow, 
 and of the use of the snake as a form of ornament among the Scythians ; 
 but bej'ond this the evidence of worship of the serpent is scanty (E. H. 
 Minns, Scythians and Greeks, 328 f., 66 note, 294, 318, 323, etc.). It was 
 really the Takka, a Panjab tribe (Beal, Si-yu-ki, i. 165 ft". ; Cunningham, 
 Ancient Geography of India, 148 ff. ; Stein, Rdjatarangini, i. 204 f.).] 
 
 In the Ramayana it is stated that the sacrificial horse was stolen by " a 
 serpent (Takshak) assuming the form of Ananta."
 
 44 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 " to resemble that of their ancestors, in which the Haihayas 
 suffered as severely as before." But that they had recovered all 
 their power since Parasuraina is evident from their having com- 
 pletely retaliated on the Suryas, and expelled the father ^ of 
 Sagara from his capital of Ayodhya. Sagara and Talajangha 
 appear to have been contemporary with Hastin of Hastinapura, 
 and with Anga, descended from Budha, the founder of Angadesa,^ 
 or Ongdesa, and the Anga race. 
 
 Ambarisha. — The Ramayana affords another synchronism ; 
 namely, that Ambarisha of Ayodhya, the fortieth prince of the 
 Solar line, was the contemporary of Gadhi, the foimder of Kanauj, 
 and of Lomapada the Prince of Angadesa. 
 
 Krishna. — The last synchronism is that of Krishna and Yud- 
 hishthira, which terminates the [37] brazen, and introduces the Kali 
 Yuga or iron age. But this is in the Lunar line ; nor have we 
 any guide by which the difference can be adjusted between the 
 appearance of Rama of the Solar and Krishna of the Lunar races. 
 
 Thus of the race of Krostu we have Kansa, Prince of Mathura, 
 the fifty-ninth, and his cousin Krishna, the fifty-eighth from 
 Budha ; while of the hne of Puru, descending through Ajamidha 
 and Dvimidha, we have Salya, Jarasandha, and YudhLshthira. 
 the fifty-flrstj fifty-third, and fifty-fourth respectively. 
 
 The race of Anga gives Prithusena as one of the actors and 
 survivors of the Mahabharata, and the fifty-third from Budha. 
 
 Thus, taking an average of the whole, we may consider fifty- 
 five princes to be the number of descents from Budha to Krishna 
 
 ^ " Asita, the father of Sagara, expelled by hostile kings of the Haihaj'as, 
 the Talajanghas, and the Sasa-vindus, fled to the Himavat mountains, whei'o 
 he died, leaving his wives pregnant, and from one of these Sagara was born " 
 (Ramayana, i. 41). It was to preserve the Solar race from the destruction 
 which threatened it from the prohfic Lunar race, that the Brahman Parasu- 
 rama armed : evidently proving that the Brahmanicai faith was held by 
 the Solar race ; while the rehgion of Budha, the great progenitor of the 
 Lunar, still governed his descendants. This strengthened the opposition 
 of the sages of the Solar line to Vishvamitra's (of Budha's or the Lunar 
 line) obtaining Brahmanhood. That Krishna, of Lunar stock, prior to 
 founding a new sect, worshipped Budha, is susceptible of proof. 
 
 ^ Angdcs, Ongdes, or Undes adjoins Tibet. The inhabitants call them- 
 selves Hungias, and appear to be the Hong-niu of the Chinese authors, the 
 Huns (Huns) of Europe and India, which prove this Tartar race to be Lunar, 
 and of Budha. [Anga, the modern Bhagalpur, is confounded with Hundes 
 or Tibet.]
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF ANCIENT CITIES 45 
 
 and Yudhishthira ; and, admitting an average of twenty years 
 for each reign, a period of eleven hundred years ; which being 
 added to a. Hke period calculated from thence to Vikramaditya, 
 who reigned fifty-six years before Christ, I venture to place the 
 establishment in India Proper of these two grand races, distinct- 
 ively called those of Surj^a and Chandra, at about 2256 years 
 before the Christian era ; at which period, though somewhat 
 later, the Egyptian, Chinese, and Assyrian monarchies are gener- 
 ally stated to have been established,^ and about a century and 
 a half after that great event, the Flood. 
 
 Though a passage in the Agni Purana indicates that the line of 
 Surj^a, of which Ikshwaku was the head, was the first colony 
 which entered India from Central Asia, yet we are compelled to 
 place the patriarch Budha as his contemporary, he being stated 
 to have come from a distant region, and married to Ila, the sister 
 of Ikshwaku. 
 
 Ere we proceed to make any remarks on the descendants of 
 Krishna and Arjuna, who carry on the Lunar line, or of the 
 Kushites and Lavites, from Kusa and Lava, the sons of Rama, 
 who carry on that of the Sun, a few observations on the chief 
 kingdoms established by their progenitors on the continent of 
 India will be hazarded in the ensuing Chapter [38]. 
 
 CHAPTER 4 
 
 Ayodhya. — iVyodhya ^ was the first city founded by the race of 
 Surya. Like other capitals, its importance must have risen by 
 
 ^ Egyptian, under Misraim, 2188 b.c. ; Assyrian, 2059 ; Chinese, 2207. 
 [The first Egyptian dynasty is now dated 5500 B.C. ; Chinese, 2852 B.C. ; 
 Babylonian, 2300 B.C. Any attempt to establish an Indian chronology from 
 the materials used by the Author does not promise to be successful.] 
 
 ^ The picture drawn by Valmild of the capital of the Solar race is so 
 highly coloured that Ayodhya might stand for Utopia, and it would be 
 difficult to find such a catalogue of metropolitan embellishments in this, 
 the iron age of Oudh. " On the banks of the Surayu is a large country 
 called Kosala, in which is Ayodhya, built by Mann, twelve yojans (forty- 
 eight miles) in extent, with streets regular and well watered. It was filled 
 with merchants, beautified by gardens, ornamented with stately gates and 
 high-arched porticoes, furnished v/ith arms, crowded with chariots, elephants, 
 and horses, and with ambassadors from foreign lands ; embeUisbed with 
 palaces whose domes resembled the mountain tops, dwellings of equal height, 
 resounding with the delightful music of the tabor, the flute, and the harp.
 
 46 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 slow degrees ; ye^ making every allowance for exaggeration, it 
 must have attained great splendour long anterior to Rama. Its 
 site is well known at this day under the contracted name of 
 Oudh, which also designates the country appertaining to the 
 titular wazir of the Mogul empire ; which country, twenty-five 
 years ago, nearly marked the limits of Kosala, the pristine 
 kingdom of the Surya race. Overgrown greatness characterized 
 all the ancient Asiatic capitals, and that of Ayodhya was immense. 
 Lucknow, the present capital, is traditionally asserted to have been 
 one of the suburbs of ancient Oudh, and so named by Rama, in 
 compliment to his brother Lakshman. 
 
 Mithila. — Nearly coeval in point of. time with Ayodhya was 
 Mithila,^ the capital of a country of the same name, founded by 
 Mithila, the grandson of Ikshwaku. 
 
 The name of .Janaka,^ son of Mithila, eclipsed that of the founder 
 and became the patronymic of this branch of the Solar race. 
 
 Other Kingdoms. — These are the two chief capitals of the 
 kingdoms of the Solar line described in [39] this early age : though 
 there were others of a minor order, such as Rohtas, Champapura,^ 
 etc., all founded previously to Rama. 
 
 By the numerous dynasties of the Lunar race of Budha many 
 kingdoms were founded. Much has been said of the antiquity 
 of Prayag ; yet the first capital of the Indu or Lunar race appears 
 
 It was surrounded by an impassable moat, and guarded by archers. Dasa- 
 ratha was its king, a mighty charioteer. There were no atheists. The 
 affections of the men were in their consorts. The women were chaste and 
 obedient to their lords, endowed with beautj, wit, sweetness, prudence, 
 and industry, with bright ornaments and fair apparel ; the men devoted 
 to truth and hospitality, regardful of their superiors, their ancestors, and 
 their gods. 
 
 " There were eight councillors ; two chosen priests profoimd in the law, 
 besides another inferior council of six. Of subdued appetites, disinterested, 
 forbearing, pleasant, patient ; not avaricious ; well acquainted with their 
 duties and popular customs ; attentive to the army, the treasury ; im- 
 partially awarding punishment even on their own sons ; never oppressing 
 even an enemy ; not arrogant ; comely in dress ; never confident about 
 doubtful matters ; devoted to the sovereign." 
 
 ^ Mithila, the modern Tirhut in Bengal [including the modern districts 
 of Darbhanga, Champaran, and Muzaffarpur]. 
 
 ^ Kusadhwaja, father of Sita (spouse of Rama), is also called Janaka ; 
 a name common in this line, and borne by the third prince in succession 
 after Suvarna Roma, the ' golden-haired ' chief Mithila. 
 I ' [Rohtas in the modern Shahabad district ; Charapapura in Ehagalpur.]
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF ANCIENT CITIES 47 
 
 to have ITeen founded by Sahasra Arjuna, of the Haihaya tribe. 
 This was Mahishmati on tlie Nerbudda, still existing in Mahes- 
 war.^ The rivalry between the Lnnar race and that of the Suryas 
 of Ayodhya, in whose aid the priesthood armed, and expelled 
 Sahasra Arjuna from Mahishmati, has been mentioned. A small 
 branch of these ancient Haihayas ^ yet exist in the line of the 
 Nerbudda, near the very top of the valley at Sohagpur, in Baghel- 
 khand, aware of their ancient lineage ; and, though few in number, 
 are still celebrated for their valour.^ 
 
 Dwarka. — Kusasthali Dwarka, the capital of Krishna, was 
 founded prior to Prayag, to Surpur, or Mathura. The Bhagavat 
 attributes the foundation of the city to Anrita, the brother of 
 Ikshwaku, of the Solar race, but states not how or when the 
 Yadus became possessed thereof. 
 
 The ancient annals of the Jaisalmer family of the Yadu stock 
 give the priority of foundation to Prayag, next to Mathura, and 
 last to Dwarka. All these cities are too well known to require 
 description ; especially Prayag, at the confluence of the Yamuna 
 and Ganges. The Prasioi were the descendants of Puru * of 
 Prayag, visited by Megasthenes, ambassador of Seleucus, and the 
 principal city of the Yadus, ere it sent forth the four branches 
 from Satwata. At Prayag resided the celebrated Bharat, the 
 son of Sakuntala. 
 
 In the Ramayana the Sasavindus ^ (another Yadu race) are 
 inscribed as allied with the Haihayas in the wars with the race of 
 Surya ; and of this race was Sisupal " (the founder of Chedi ^), 
 one of the foes of Krishna [40]. 
 
 * Familiarly designated as Sahasra Bahu ki Basti, or ' the town of the 
 thousand-armed.' [In Indore State {IGI, xvii. 8).] 
 
 2 The Haihaya race, of the line of Budha, may claim affinity with the 
 Chinese race which first gave nionarchs to China [?]. 
 
 * Of this I have heard the most romantic proofs in very recent times. 
 
 * Puru became the patronymic of this branch of the Lunar race. Of this 
 Alexander's historians made Porus. The Suraseni of Methoras (descendants 
 of the Sursen of Mathura) were all Purus, the Prasioi of Megasthenes [see 
 p. .37, n.]. Allahabad yet retains its Hindu name of Prayag, pronounced 
 Prag. 
 
 ^ The Hares. Sesodia is said to have the same derivation. [From 
 Sesoda in Mewar.] 
 
 * The princes of Ranthambhor, expelled by Prithwiraja of Delhi, were 
 of this race. 
 
 ' The modern Chanderi [in the Gwalior State, IQI, x. 163 f.] is said to be
 
 48 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Surpur. — We are assured by Alexander's historians that the 
 country and people round Mathura, when he invaded India, were 
 termed Surasenoi. There are two princes of the name of Sursen 
 in the immediate ancestry of Krishna ; one his grandfather, the 
 other eight generations anterior Which of these founded the 
 capital Surpur/ whence the country and inhabitants had their 
 appellation, we cannot say Mathura and Cleisobara are men- 
 tioned by the historians of Alexander as the chief cities of the 
 Surasenoi. Though the Greeks sadly disfigure names, we cannot 
 trace any affinity between Cleisobara and Surpur. 
 
 this capito.l, and one of the few to which no Englishman has obtained 
 entrance, though I tried hard in 1807. Doubtless it would afford food for 
 curiosity ; for, being out of the path of armies in the days of conquest and 
 revolution, it may, and I believe does, retain much worthy of research. 
 [The capital of the Chedi or Kalachuri dynasty was Tripura or Karanbel, 
 near Jabalpur {IGI, x. 12).] 
 
 ^ I had the pleasure, in 1814, of discovering a remnant of this city, which 
 the Yamuna has overwhelmed. [The ancient Surj^apura was near Batesar, 
 40 miles south-east of Agra city. Sir H. Elliot (Supplemental Glossary, 187) 
 remarks that it is strange that the Author so often claims the credit of dis- 
 covery when its position is fixed in a set of familiar verses. For Suryapura 
 see A. Fiihrer, Monumental Antiquities and Inscriptions, 69.] The sacred 
 place of pilgrimage, Batesar, stands on part of it. My discovery of it was 
 doubly gratifying, for while I found out the Surasenoi of the Greeks, I 
 obtained a medal of the little known ApoUodotus, who carried his arms to 
 the mouths of the Indus, and possibly to the centre of the land of the Yadus. 
 He is not included by Bayer in his lists of the kings of Bactria, but wo have 
 only an imperfect knowledge of the extent of that dynasty. The Bhagavat 
 Purana asserts thirteen Yavan or Ionian princes to have ruled in Balichdes 
 [?] or Bactria, in which they mention Pushpamitra Dvimitra. We are 
 justified in asserting this to be Demetrius, the son of Euthydemus, but who 
 did not succeed his father, as Menander intervened. Of this last conqueror 
 I also possess a medal, obtained amongst the Surasenoi, and struck in com- 
 memoration of victory, as the winged messenger of heavenly peace extends 
 the palm branch from her hand. These two will fill up a chasm in the 
 Bactrian annals, for Menander is well known to them. ApoUodotus would 
 have perished but for Arrian, who wrote the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea 
 in the second century, while commercial agent at Broach, or classically 
 Brigukachchha, the Barugaza of the Greeks. [The Periplus of the Erythraean 
 Sea was written by an unknown Greek merchant of first century a.d. 
 (McCrindlo, Commerce and Navigation, Introd. p. 1).] 
 
 Without the notice this writer has afforded us, my ApoUodotus would 
 have lost half its value. Since my arrival in Europe I have also been made 
 acquainted with the existence of a medal of Demetrius, discovered in 
 Bokhara, and on which an essay has been written by a savant at St. 
 Petersburg.
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF ANCIENT CITIES 49 
 
 Hastinapura. — The city of Hastinapura was built by Hastin 
 a name celebrated in the Lunar dynasties. The name of this 
 city is still preserved on the Ganges, about forty miles south of 
 Hardwar,^ where the Ganges breaks through the Siwalik moun- 
 tains and enters the plains of India. This mighty stream, rolling 
 its masses of waters from the glaciers of the Himalaya, and joined 
 by many auxiliary streams, frequently carries destruction before 
 it. In one night a column of thirty feet in perpendicular height 
 has been known to bear away all within its sweep, and to such an 
 occurrence the capital of Hastin is said to have owed its ruin.^ 
 As it existed, however, long after the Mahabharata, it is surpris- 
 ing it is not mentioned by the historians of Alexander, who in- 
 vaded India probably about eight centuries after that event. In 
 this abode of the sons of Puru resided Porus, one of the two 
 princes of that name, opponents of Alexander, and probably 
 Bindusara the son of Chandragupta, surmised to be the Abisares ^ 
 and Sandrakottos of Grecian authorities. Of the two princes 
 named Porus mentioned by Alexander's [41] historians, one 
 resided in the very cradle of the Puru dynasties ; the abode of 
 the other bordered on the Panjab : warranting an assertion that 
 the Pori of Alexander were of the Lunar race, and destroying 
 all the claims various authors * have advanced on behalf of the 
 princes of Mewar.* 
 
 Hastin sent forth three grand branches, Ajamidha, Dvimidha, 
 and Purumidha. Of the two last we lose sight altogether ; but 
 Ajamidha's progeny spread over all the northern parts of India, 
 in the Panjab and across the Indus. The period, probably one 
 thousand six hundred years before Christ. 
 
 ^ The portal of Hari or Hara, whose trisula or trident is there. 
 
 ^ Wilford says this event is mentioned in two Puranas as occurring in the 
 sixth or eighth generation of the Great War. Those who have travelled in 
 the Duab must have remarked where both the Ganges and Jumna have 
 shifted their beds. 
 
 ' [Abisares is Abhisara in the modern Kashmir State (Smith, EHI, 59).] 
 
 * Sir Thomas Roe ; Sir Thomas Herbert ; the Holstein ambassador (by 
 Olearius) ; Delia Valle ; Churchill, in his collection : and borrowing from 
 these, D'Anville, Bayer, Orme, Rennell, etc. 
 
 '' The ignorance of the family of Mewar of the fact would by no means 
 be a conclusive argument against it, could it be otherwise substantiated ; 
 but the race of Surya was completely eclipsed at that period by the Lunar 
 and new races which soon poured in from the west of the Indu.s, and in time 
 displaced them all. 
 
 VOL. I E
 
 50 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 From Ajamidha/ in the fourth generation, was Bajaswa, who 
 obtained possessions towards the Indus, and whose five sons gave 
 their name, Panchala, to the Panjab, or space watered by the 
 five rivers. The capital founded by the younger brother, Kam- 
 pila, was named Kampilnagara.^ 
 
 The descendants of Ajamidha by his second "wife, Kesini, 
 founded another kingdom and dynasty, celebrated in the heroic 
 history of Northern India. This is the Kausika dynasty. 
 
 Kanauj. — Kusa had four sons, two of whom, Kusanablia and 
 Kusamba, are well known to traditional history, and by the still 
 surviving cities founded by them. Kusanabha founded the city of 
 Mahodaya on the Ganges, afterwards changed to Kanyakubja, or 
 Kanauj, which maintained its celebrity until the Muhammadan 
 invasion of Shihabu-d-din (a.d. 1193), when this overgrown city 
 was laid prostrate for ever. It was not unfrequently called 
 Gadhipura, or the ' city of Gadhi.' This practice of multiply- 
 ing names of cities in the east is very destructive to history. 
 Abu-1 Fazl has taken from Hindu authorities an account of 
 Kanauj ; and could we admit the authority of a poet on such 
 subjects, Chand, the bard of Prithwiraja,* would afford materials. 
 Ferishta states it in the early ages to have been twenty- 
 five coss [42] (thirty-five miles) in circumference, and that 
 there were thirty thousand shops for the sale of the areca or 
 beetle - nut only ; * and this in the sixth century, at which 
 period the Rathor dynasty, which terminated with Jaichand, 
 in the twelfth, had been in possession from the end of the fiftli 
 century. 
 
 Kusamba also founded a city, called after his own name 
 
 ^ Ajamidha, by his wife Nila, had five sons, who spread their branches 
 (Sakha) on both sides the Indus. Regarding three the Puranas are silent, 
 which impHes their migration to distant regions. Is it possible they might 
 be the origin of the Medes ? Tliese Medes are descendants of Yayati, third 
 son of the patriarch Manu ; and Madai, founder of the Medes, was of Japhet's 
 line. Ajamidha, the patronymic of the branch of Bajaswa, is from Aja, ' a 
 goat.' The Assyrian Mode, in Scripture, is typified by the goat. [These 
 speculations are worthless.] 
 
 ^ Of this house was Draupadi, the wife, in common, of the five Pandava 
 brothers : manners peculiar to Scythia. 
 
 ' King of Delhi. 
 
 * [Briggs i. 57. The accounts of tlie size of the citj' are extravagant 
 (Elphinstone, HI, 3.32 note ; Cunningham, ASR, i. 270 tf.).]
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF ANCIENT CITIES 51 
 
 Kaiisambi.^ The name was in existence in the eleventh century ; 
 and ruins might yet exist, if search were made on the shores of 
 the Ganges, from Kanauj southward. 
 
 The otlier sons built two capitals, Dharmaranya and Vasumati ; 
 but of neither have we any correct knowledge. 
 
 Kuru had two sons, Sudhanush and Parikhshita. The descend- 
 ants of the former terminated with Jarasandha, whose capital was 
 Rajagriha (the modern Rajmahal) on the Ganges, in the province 
 of Bihar.^ From Parikhshita descended the monarchs Santanu 
 and Balaka : the first producing the rivals of the Great War, 
 Yudhishthira and Duryodhana ; the other the Balakaputras. 
 
 Duryodhana, the successor to the throne of Kuru, resided at 
 the ancient capital, Hastinapura ; while the junior branch, 
 Yudhishthira, founded Indraprastha, on the Yamuna or Jumna, 
 which name in the eighth century was changed to Delhi. 
 
 The sons of Balaka founded two kingdoms : Palibothra, on 
 the lower Ganges ; and Aror,' on the eastern bank of the Indus, 
 founded by Sahl [43]. 
 
 ^ An inscription was discovered at Kara on the Ganges, in which Yaspal 
 is mentioned as prince of the realm of Kausambi {As. Res. vol. ix. p. 440). 
 WiKord, in his Essay on the Geography of the Purans, says " Causambi, 
 near Alluhabad " {As. Res. vol. xiv.). [The site is uncertain (Smith, EHI, 
 29.3, note).] ^ [Rajglr in Patna District.] 
 
 ' Aror, or Alor, was the capital of Sind in remote antiquity : a bridge 
 over the stream which branched from the Indus, near Dara, is almost the 
 sole vestige of this capital of the Sogdoi of Alexander. On its site the 
 shepherds of the desert have estabhshed an extensive hamlet ; it is placed 
 on a ridge of siliceous rock, seven miles east of the insular Bakhar, and free 
 from the inundations of the Indus. The Sodha tribe, a powerful branch of 
 the Pramara race, has ruled in these countries from remote antiquity, and 
 to a very late period they were lords of Umarkot and Umrasurara, in which 
 divisions was Aror. Sahl and his capital were known to Abu-1 Fazl, though 
 he was ignorant of its position, which he transferred to Debal, or Dewal, the 
 modern Tatta. This indefatigable historian thus describes it : '' In ancient 
 times there lived a raja named Siharas (Sahl), whose capital was Alor, and 
 his dominions extended north to Kashmir and south to the ocean " [Atn, 
 ii. 343]. Sahl, or Sahr, becaine a titular appellation of the country, its 
 princes, and its inhabitants, the Sehraes. [See p. 21 above.] Alor appears 
 to have been the capital of the kingdom of Sigerdis, conquered by Menander 
 of Bactria. Ibn Haukal, the Arabian geographer, mentions it ; but a 
 superfluous point in writing has changed Aror into Azor, or Azour, as 
 translated by Sir W. Ouseley. The illustrious D'AnviUe mentions it ; but, 
 in ignorance of its position, quoting AbuLfeda, says, in grandeur " Azour 
 est presque comparable a Mooltan." I have to claim the discovery of
 
 52 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 One great arm of the tree of Yayati remains unnoticed, that of 
 Uru or Urvasu, written by others Turvasu. Uru was the father 
 of a hne of kings who founded several empires. Virupa, the 
 eighth prince from Uru, had eight sons, two of whom are particu- 
 larly mentioned as sending forth two grand shoots, Druhyu and 
 Bhabru. From Druhyu a dynasty was established in the north. 
 Aradwat, with his son Gandhara, is stated to have founded a 
 State : Prachetas is said to have become king of Mlecchhades, or 
 the barbarous regions. This line terminated with Dushyanta, 
 the husband of the celebrated Sakuntala, father of Bharat, and 
 who, labouring under the displeasure of some offended deity, is 
 said by the Hindus to have been the cause of all the woes which 
 subsequent^ befell the race. The four grandsons of Dushyanta, 
 Kalanjar, Keral, Pand, and Chaul, gave their names to countries. 
 
 Kalanjar.^ — Kalanjar is the celebrated fortress in Bundelkhand, 
 so well known for its antiquities, which have claimed considerable 
 notice. 
 
 Kerala. — Of the second, Kerala, it is only known that in the list 
 of the thirty-six royal races in the twelfth century, the Kerala 
 makes one, but the capital is unknown.^ 
 
 several ancient capital cities in the north of India : Surpur, on the Jumna, 
 the capital of the Yadus ; Alor, on the Indus, the capital of the Sodhas ; 
 Mandodri, capital of the Pariharas ; Chandravati, at the foot of the Aravalli 
 mountains ; and Valabhipura, in Gujarat, capital of the Balaka-raes, the 
 Balharas of Arab travellers. The Bala Rajput of Saurashtra may have 
 given the name to Valabhipura, as descendants of Balaka, from Sahl of 
 Aror. The blessing of the bard to them is yet, Tatta Multan ka Rao ( ' lord 
 of Tatta and Multan,' the seats of the Balaka-putras) : nor is it improbable 
 that a branch of these under the Indian Hercules, Balaram, who left India 
 after the Great War, may have founded Bahch, or Balkh, emphatically 
 called the ' mother of cities.' The Jaisalmer annals assert that the Yadu 
 and Balaka branches of the Indu race ruled Khorasan after the Great War, 
 the Indo-Scythic races of Grecian authors. Besides the Balakas, and the 
 numerous branches of the Indo-Medes, many of the sons of Kuru dispersed 
 over these regions : amongst whom we may place Uttara Kuru (Northern 
 Kurus) of the Puranas, the Ottorokorrhai of the Greek authors. Both the 
 Indu and Surya races were eternally sending their superfluous population 
 to those distant regions, when ])robably the same primeval rchgion governed 
 the races east and west of the Indus. [Much of this is incorrect.] 
 
 ^ [The Chera or Kerala kingdom comj)rised the Southern Konkans or 
 Malabar coast, the present Malabar district with Travancore and Cochin, 
 the dynasty being in e.Kistence early in the Christian era (Smith, EHI, 447 ; 
 IGI, X. 192 f.).]
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF ANCIENT CITIES 53 
 
 Fandya. — The kingdom founded by Pand may be that on the 
 coast of Malabar, the Pandu-Mandal of the Hindus, the Regia 
 Pandiona of the geographers of the west, and of which, probably, 
 Tanjore is the modern capital.^ 
 
 Chaul.— Chaul ^ is in the Saurashtra penmsula, and on the 
 coast, towards Jagat Khunt, ' the world's end,' and still retains its 
 appellation. 
 
 Anga. — The other shoot from Bhabru became celebrated. 
 The thirty-fourth prince, Anga, founded the kingdom of Angadesa, 
 of which Champapuri * was the [44] capital, estabhshed about 
 the same time with Kanauj, probably fifteen himdred years 
 before Christ. With him the patronymic was changed, and the 
 Anga race became famous in ancient Hindu history ; and to this 
 day Un-des still designates the Alpine regions of Tibet bordering 
 on Chinese Tartary. 
 
 Prithusena terminates the line of Anga ; and as he survived 
 the disasters of the Great War, his race probably multiplied in 
 those regions, where caste appears never to have been introduced. 
 
 Recapitulation. — Thus have we rapidly reviewed the dynasties 
 of Surya and Chandra, from Manu and Budha to Rama, Krishna, 
 Yudhishthira, and Jarasandha ; estabhshing, it is hoped, some 
 new points, and perhaps adding to the credibility of the whole. 
 
 The wrecks of almost all the vast cities founded by them are 
 yet to be traced in ruins. The city of Ikshwaku and Rama, on 
 the Sarju ; Indraprastha, Mathura, Surpura, Prayag on the 
 Yamuna ; Hastinapura, Kanyakubja, Rajagriha on the Ganges ; 
 Maheswar on the Nerbudda ; Aror on the Indus ; and Kusasthali 
 
 ^ [The Pandya kingdom included the Madura and Tinnevelly districts, 
 with parts of Trichinopoly, and sometimes Travancore, its capitals being 
 Madura, or Kudal, and Korkai (Smith, op. cil. 449 f. ; IGI, xix. 394 f.).] 
 
 ^ From Chaul on the coast, in journeying towards Junagarh, and about 
 seven miles from the former, are the remains of an ancient city. 
 
 * From the description in the Raraayana of King Dasaratha proceeding 
 to Champamalina, the capital of Lomapada, king of Anga (sixth in descent 
 from the founder), it is evident that it was a very mountainous region, and 
 the deep forests and large rivers presented serious obstructions to his journey. 
 From this 1 should imagine it impossible that Angadesa should apply to a 
 portion of Bengal, in which there is a Champamalina, described by Colonel 
 Francklin in his Essay on PaUbothra. [The Anga kingdom, with its capital 
 at Champapuri, near Bhagalpur, corresponded to the modern districts of 
 North Monghyr, North Bhagalpur, and Purnea west of the Mahananda 
 river {IGI, v. 373).]
 
 54 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Dwarka on the shore of the Indian Ocean. Each has left some 
 memorial of former grandeur : research may discover others. 
 
 There is yet an unexplored region in Panchala ; Kampilana- 
 gara its capital, and those cities established west of the Indus by 
 the sons of Bajaswa. 
 
 Traces of the early Indo-Scythic nations may possibly reward 
 the search of some adventurous traveller who may penetrate into 
 Transoxiana, on the sites of Cyropolis, and the most northern 
 Alexandria ; in Balkh, and amidst the caves of Bamian. 
 
 The plains of India retain yet many ancient cities, from whose 
 ruins somewhat may be gleaned to add a mite to knowledge ; and 
 where inscriptions may be foimd in a character which, though 
 yet unintelligible,- will not always remain so in this age of dis- 
 covery. For such let the search be general, and when once a key 
 is obtained, they will enlighten each other. Wherever the races 
 of Kuru, Urn, and Yadu have swayed, have been found ancient 
 and yet imdeciphered characters. 
 
 Much would reward him who would make a better digest of 
 the historical and geographical matter in the Puranas. But we 
 must discard the idea that the history of Rama, the INIahabharata 
 of Krishna and the five Pandava ^ brothers, are [45] mere alle- 
 gory : an idea supported by some, although their races, their 
 cities, and their coins still exist. Let us master the characters 
 on the columns of Indraprastha, of Prayag and Mewar, on the 
 rocks of Junagarh,^ at Bijolli, on the Aravalli, and in the Jain 
 
 ^ The history and exploits of the Pandavas and Harikulas are best known 
 in the most remote parts of India : amidst the forest-covered mountains of 
 Saurashtra, the deep woods and caves of Hidiniba and Virat (still the shelter 
 of the savage Bhil and KoH), or on the craggy banks of the Charmanvati 
 (Chambal). In each, tradition has locaUzed the shelter of these heroes 
 when exiled from the Yamuna ; and colossal figures cut from the mountain, 
 ancient temples and caves inscribed with characters yet unknown, attributed 
 to the Pandavas, confirm the legendary tale. 
 
 * The ' ancient city,' par eminence, is the only name this old capital, at 
 the foot of, and guarding, the sacred mount Girnar, is known by. Abu-1 
 Fazl says it had long remained desolate and unknown, and was discovered 
 by mere accident. {Ain, ii. 245. For a description of the place see BG, 
 viii. 487 ; E. C. Bayley, Local Muhammadan Dynasties, Gujarat, 182 ff.] 
 Tradition even being silent, they gave it the emphatic appellation of Juna 
 (old) Garh (fortress). J have httle doubt that it is the Aaaldur g a , or | 
 Asalgarh, of the Guhilot annals ; where it is said that prince Asal raised a 
 fortress, called after him, near to Girnar, by the consent of the Dabhi i^rince, 
 his uncle.
 
 LATER DYNASTIES 5S 
 
 temples scattered over India, and then we shall be able to arrive 
 at just and satisfactory conclusions. 
 
 CHAPTER 5 
 
 Having investigated the line from Ikshwaku to Rama, and that 
 from Budha (the parent and first emigrant of the Indu ^ race, I 
 from Saka Dwipa, or Scythia, to Hindustan) to Krishna andj 
 Yudhishthira, a period of twelve hundred years, we proceed to' 
 the second division and second table of the genealogies. 
 
 The Suryavansa or Solar Line. — From Rama all the tribes 
 termed Surj'avansa, or ' Race of the Sun,' claim descent, as the 
 present princes of Mewar, Jaipur, Marwar, Bikaner, and their 
 numerous clans ; while from the Lunar (Indu) line of Budha and 
 Krishna, the families of Jaisalmer and Cutch (the Bhatti ^ and 
 Jareja races), extending throughout the Indian desert from the 
 Sutlej to the ocean, deduce their pedigTees. 
 
 Rama preceded Krishna : but as their historians, Valmiki and 
 Vyasa, who wrote the events they witnessed, were contemporaries, 
 it could not have been by many years [46]. 
 
 The present table contains the dynasties which succeeded these 
 great beacons of the Solar and Lvmar races, and are three in 
 number.^ 
 
 1. The Suryavansa, descendants of Rama 
 
 2. The Induvansa, descendants of Pandu through Yudhish- 
 thira. 
 
 3. The Induvansa, descendants of Jarasandha, monarch of 
 Rajagriha. 
 
 The Bhagavat and Agni Puranas are the authorities for the 
 
 ^ Indu, Som, Chandra, in Sanskrit ' the moon ' ; hence the Lunar race 
 is termed the Chandravansa, Sotnvansa, or Induvansa, most probably the 
 
 ' root of Hindu. [Pers. hindu. Skr. sindhu.] 
 
 ; ^ The isolated and now dependent chieftainship of Dhat, of which 
 
 • Umarkot is the capital, separates the Bhattis from the Jarejas. Dhat is 
 
 ] now amalgamated with Sind ; its prince, of Pramara race and Sodha tribe, 
 
 I ancient lords of all Sind. 
 
 ,! ' A fourth and fifth might have been given, but imperfect. First the 
 descendants of Kusa, second son of Rama, from whence the princes of 
 
 j Narwar and Amber : secondly, the descendants of Krishna, from whom 
 
 [the princes of Jaisalmer.
 
 66 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 lines from Rama and Jarasandha ; while that of Pandu is from 
 the Raja Tarangini and Raj avail. 
 
 The existing Rajput tribes of the Solar race claim descent from 
 Lava and Kusa, the two elder sons of Rama ; nor do I believe 
 any existing tribes trace their ancestry to his other children, or 
 to his brothers. 
 
 From the eldest son, Lava, the Ranas of Mewar claim descent : 
 so do the Bargujar tribe, formerly powerful within the confines 
 of the present Amber, whose representative now dwells at Anup- 
 shahr on the Ganges. 
 
 From Kusa descend the Kachhwaha ^ princes of Narwar and 
 Amber, and their numerous clans. Amber, though the first in 
 power, is but a scion of Narwar, transplanted about one thousand 
 years back, whose chief, the representative of the celebrated 
 Prince Nala, enjoys but a sorry district ^ of all his ancient pos- 
 sessions. 
 
 The house of Marwar also claims descent from this stem, which 
 appears to originate in an error of the genealogists, confounding 
 the race of Kusa with the Kausika of Kanauj and Kausambi. 
 Nor do the Solar genealogists admit this assumed pedigree. 
 
 The Amber prince in his genealogies traces the descent of the 
 Mewar ^ family from Rama to Sumitra, through Lava, the eldest 
 brother, and not through Kusa,* as in some copies of the Puranas, 
 and in that whence Sir William Jones had his lists [47J. 
 
 Mr. Bentley, taking this genealogy from the same authority 
 as Sir William Jones, has mutilated it by a transposition, for 
 
 ^ In modem times always written and pronounced KiUchwdha. 
 
 ^ It is in the plateau of Central India, near Shahabad. 
 
 ^ Whatever dignity attaches to this pedigree, whether true or false, 
 every prince, and every Hindu of learning, admit the claims of the princes 
 of Mewar as heir to ' the chair of Rama ' ; and a degree of reverence has 
 consequently attached, not only to his person, but to the seat of his power. 
 When Mahadaji Sindhia was called by the Rana to reduce a traitorous 
 noble in Chitor, such was the reverence which actuated that (in other 
 respects) little scrupulous chieftain, that he could not be prevailed on to 
 point his cannon on the walls within which consent established ' the throne 
 of Rama.' The Rana himself, then a jouth, had to break the ice, and fired 
 a cannon agauist his own ancient abode. 
 
 * Bryant, in his Analysis, mentions that the children of the Cushite 
 Ham used his name in salutation as a mark of recognition. ' Ram, Ram,' 
 is the common salutation in these Hindu countries ; the respondent often 
 joining Sita's name with that of her consort Rama, ' Sita Ram.'
 
 LATER DYNASTIES 57 
 
 which his reasons are insufficient, and militate against every 
 opinion of the Hindus. Finding the names Vrihadbala and 
 Vridasura, declared to be princes contemporary with Yudhish- 
 thira, he transposes the whole ten princes of his list intervening 
 between Takshak ^ and Bahuman.^ 
 
 Bahuman,* or ' the man witli arms ' (Darazdaslit or Longi- 
 manus) is the thirty-fourth prince from Rama ; and his reign 
 must be placed nearly intermediate between Rama and Sumitra, 
 or his contemporary Vikrama, and in the sixth century from 
 either. 
 
 Sumitra concludes the line of Surya or Rama from the Bhaga- 
 vat Purana. Thence it is connected with the present line of 
 Mewar, by Jai Singh's authorities ; which list has been compared 
 with various others^ chiefly Jain, as will be related in the annals 
 of Mewar. , 
 
 It will be seen that the line of Surya exliibits fifty-six princes, \ 
 from Lava, the son of Rama, to Sumitra, the last prince given in I 
 the Puranas. Sir William Jones exhibits fifty-seven. 
 
 To these fifty-six reigns I sliould be willing to allow the average 
 of twenty years, which would give 1120 from Rama to Sumitra, 
 who preceded by a short period Vikramaditya ; and as 1100 have 
 been already calculated to have preceded the era of Rama and 
 Yudhishthira, the inference is, that 2200 years elapsed from 
 Ikshwaku, the founder of the Solar line, to Sumitra. 
 
 Chandravansa or the Lunar Line. — From the Raja Tarangini 1 
 and Rajavali the Induvansa family (descendants of Pandu 1 
 tlirough Yudhishthira) is supplied. These works, celebrated in 
 llajwara as collections of genealogies and historical facts, by the | 
 
 ^ Twenty-eighth prince from Rama in JMr. Bentley's list, and twenty- ^ 
 fifth in mine. 
 
 2 Thirty-seventh in Mr. Bentley's hst and thirty-fourth in mine ; but 
 the intervening names being made to follow Rama, Bahuman (written by 
 him Banumat) follows Takshak. 
 
 * The period of time, also, would allow of their grafting the son of 
 Artaxerxes and father of Darius, the worshipper of Mthras, on the stem 
 of the adorers of Surya, while a curious notice of the Raja Jai Singh's on a 
 subsequent name on this list which he calls Naushirwan, strengthens the 
 coincidence. Bahuman (see article ' Bahaman,' D'Herbelot's Bibl. Orient.) 
 actually carried his arms into India, and invaded the kingdoms of the Solar 
 race of Mithila and Magadha. The time is appropriate to the first Darius 
 and his father ; and Herodotus [iii. 94] tells us that the richest and best of 
 the satrapies of his empire was the Hindu,
 
 58 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Pandils Vidyadhara and Raghunatli, were compUed under the 
 eye of the most learned prince of his period, Sawai Jai Singh of 
 Amber, and give the various dynasties which ruled at Indra- 
 prastha, or Delhi, from Yudhishtliira to Vikramaditya ; and 
 although barren of events, may be considered of value in filling up 
 a period of entire darkness [48]. 
 
 The Tarangini commences with Adinath ^ or Rishabhdeva,^ 
 being the Jain * theogony. Rapidly noticing the leading princes 
 of the dynasties discussed, they pass to the birth of the kings 
 Dhritarashtra and Pandu, and their offspring, detailing the 
 causes of their civil strife, to that conflict termed the Mahabharata 
 or Great War. 
 
 The Pandava Family. — The origin of every family, whether 
 of east or west, is involved in fable. That of the Pandu * is 
 entitled to as much credence as the birth of Romulus, or other 
 founders of a race. 
 
 Such traditions ^ were probably invented to cover some great 
 disgrace in the Pandu family, and have relation to the story 
 already related of Vyasa, and the debasement of this branch of 
 the Harikulas. Accordingly, on the death of Pandu, Duryo- 
 dhana, nephew of Pandu (son of Dhritarashtra, who from blindness 
 could not inherit), asserted their illegitimacy before the assembled 
 kin at Hastinapura. With the aid, however, of the priesthood, 
 and the blind Dhritarashtra, his nephew, Yudhishthira, elder son 
 of Pandu, was invested by him with the seal of royalty, in the 
 capital, Hastinapura. 
 
 Duryodhana's plots against the Pandu and his partisans were 
 
 1 First lord. ^ j^qj.^ ^f ^^^^ 5^11. 
 
 ^ Vidhyadhar was a Jain. 
 
 * Pandu not being blessed with progeny, his queen made use of a charm 
 by which she enticed the deities from their spheres. To Dharma Raj 
 (Minos) she bore Yudhishthira ; by Pavan (Aeolus) she had Bhima ; by 
 Indra (Jupiter Coelus) she had Arjuna, who was taught by his sire the use 
 of the bow, so fatal in the Great War ; and Nakula and Sahadeva owed 
 their birth to Aswini Kumar (Aesculapius) the physician of the gods. 
 
 * We must not disregard the intellect of the Amber prince, who allowed 
 these ancient traditions to be incorporated with the genealogy compiled 
 under his eye. The prince who obtained De Silva from Emmanuel III. of 
 Portugal, who combined the astronomical tables of Europe and Asia, and 
 raised these monuments of his scientific genius in his favourite pursuit 
 (astronomy) in all the capital cities of India, while engrossed in war and 
 pohtics, requires neither eulogy nor defence.
 
 LATER DYNASTIES 59 
 
 so numerous that the five brothers determined to leave for a 
 while their ancestral abodes on the Ganges. They sought shelter 
 in foreign countries about the Indus, and were first protected by 
 Drupada, king of Panchala, at whose capital, Kampilanagara, 
 the surrounding princes had arrived as suitors for the hand of his 
 daughter, Draupadi.^ But the prize was destined for the exiled 
 Pandu, and the skill of Arjuna in archery obtained him the fair, 
 who " threw roimd his neck the (barmala) garland of marriage." 
 The disappointed princes indulged their resentment against the 
 exile ; but by Arjuna's bow they suffered the fate of Penelope's 
 suitors, and the Pandu brought home his bride, who became the 
 wife in common of the five brothers : manners ^ decisively 
 Scythic [49]. 
 
 The deeds of the brothers abroad were bruited in Hastinapura 
 and the blind Dhritarashtra's influence effected their recall. To 
 stop, however, their intestine feuds, he partitioned the Pandu 
 sovereignty ; and while his son, Duryodhana, retained Hastina- 
 pura, Yudhishthira founded the new capital of Indraprastha ; but 
 shortly after the Mahabharata he abdicated in favour of his gi-and- 
 nephew, Parikshita, introducing a new era, called after himself, 
 which existed for eleven hundred years, when it was overturned, 
 and Indraprastha was conquered by Vila-amaditya Tuar of Ujjain, 
 of the same race, who established an era of his own. 
 
 On the division of the Pandu sovereignty, the new kingdom 
 of Indraprastha eclipsed that of Hastinapura. The brothers 
 reduced to obedience the surrounding ^ nations, and compelled 
 their princes to sign tributary engagements {paenama)^ 
 
 Yudhishthira, firmly seated on his throne, determined to 
 
 ^ Drupada was of the Aswa race, being descended from Bajaswa (or 
 Hyaswa) of the line of Ajamidha. 
 
 ^ This marriage, so inconsistent with Hindu deUcacy, is glossed over. 
 Admitting the polyandry, but in ignorance of its being a national custom, 
 puerile reasons are interpolated. In the early annals of the same race, 
 predecessors of the Jaisalmer family, the younger son is made to succeed : 
 also Scythic or Tatar. The manners of the Scythae described by Herodotus 
 are found still to exist among their descendants : "a pair of shppers at the 
 wife's door " is a signal well understood by all Eimauk husbands (Elphin- 
 stone's Caubul, vol. ii. p. 251). 
 
 ' Tarangini. 
 
 * Paenama is a [Persian] word pecuharly expressive of subserviency to 
 paramount authority, whether the engagement be in money or service : 
 from pae, ' the foot.'
 
 60 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 signalize his reign and paramount sovereignty, by the imposing 
 and solemn rites of Asvamedha ^ and Rajasuya. 
 
 The Asvamedha. — In these magnificent ceremonies, in which 
 princes alone officiate, every duty, down to that of porter, is per- 
 formed by royalty. 
 
 The ' Steed of Sacrifice ' was liberated under Arjuna's care, 
 having wandered whither he listed for twelve months ; and none 
 daring to accept this challenge of supremacy, he was reconducted 
 to Indraprastha, Avhere, in the meanwhile, the hall of sacrifice was 
 prepared, and all the princes of the land were summoned to 
 attend. 
 
 The hearts of the Kurus ^ burned with envy at the assumption 
 of supremacy by the Pandus, for the Prmce of Hastinapura's 
 office was to serve out the sacred food [50]. 
 
 The rivalry between the races burst forth afresh ; but Duryo- 
 dhana, who so often failed in his schemes against the safety of his 
 antagonists, determined to make the virtue of Yudhishthira the 
 instrument of his success. He availed himself of the national 
 propensity for play, in which the Rajput continues to preserve 
 his Scythic ^ resemblance. Yudhishthira fell into the snare 
 prepared for him. He lost his kingdom, his wife, and even his 
 personal liberty and that of his brothers, for twelve years, and 
 became an exile from the plains of the Yamuna. 
 
 The traditional historj'^ of these wanderers during the term of 
 probation, their many lurking jilaces now sacred, the return 
 to their ancestral abodes, and the grand battle (Mahabharata) 
 which ensued, form highly interesting episodes in the legends of 
 Hindu antiquity. 
 
 To decide this civil strife, every tribe and chief of fame, from 
 the Caucasus to the ocean, assembled on Kurukshetra, the field 
 
 ^ Sacrifice of the horse to the sun, of which a full description is given 
 hereafter. 
 
 ^ Duryodhana, as the elder ))ranch, retained his title as head of the 
 Kurus ; while the junior, Yudhishthira, on the separation of authority, 
 adopted his father's name, Pandu, as the patronymic of his new dynasty. 
 The site of the great conflict (or Mahabharata) between these rival clans, is 
 called Kurukshetra, or ' Field of the Kurus.' 
 
 * Herodotus describes the ruinous passion for play amongst the Scythic 
 hordes, and which may have been carried west by Odin into Scandinavia 
 and Germany. Tacitus tells us that the Germans, like the Pandus, staked 
 even iiersonal liberty, and were sold as slaves by the winner [Germania, 24].
 
 LATER DYNASTIES 61 
 
 on which the empire of India has since more than once been 
 contested ^ and lost. 
 
 This combat was fatal to the dominant influence of the " fifty- 
 six tribes of Yadu." On each of its eighteen days' combat, myriads 
 were slain ; for " the father knew not the son, nor the disciple his 
 preceptor." 
 
 Victory brought no happiness to Yudhishthira. The slaughter 
 of his friends disgusted him with the world, and he determined 
 to withdraw frona it ; previously performing, at Hastinapura, 
 funeral rites for Duryodhana (slain by the hands of Bhima), 
 whose ambition and bad faith had originated this exterminating 
 war. " Having regained his kingdom, he proclaimed a new era, 
 and placing on the throne of Indraprastha, Parikshita, grandson 
 to Arjuna, retired to Dwarka with KJrislina and Baldeva : and 
 since the war to the period of writing, 4638 j^ears have elapsed." - 
 
 Yudhishthira, Baldeva, and Krishna, having retired with the 
 wreck of this ill-fated struggle to Dwarka, the two former had 
 soon to lament the death of Krishna, slain by one of the aboriginal 
 tribes of Bhils ; against whom, from their shattered condition, 
 they were luiable to contend. After this event, Yudhishthira, 
 with [51] Baldeva and a few followers, entirely withdrew from 
 India, and emigrating northwards, by Sind, to the Himalayan 
 mountains, are there abandoned by Hindu traditional history, 
 and are supposed to have perished in the snows.' 
 
 ^ On it the last Hindu monarch, Prithwiraja, lost his kingdom, his hberty, 
 and life. 
 
 2 Rajatarangini. The period of writing was a.d. 1740. ; 
 
 ^ Having ventured to surmise analogies between the Hercules of the east 
 and west, I shall carry them a point further. Amidst the snows of Caucasus, 
 Hindu legend abandons the Harikulas, under their leaders Yudhishthira 
 and Baldeva : yet if Alexander estabhshed his altars in Panchala, amongst 
 the sons of Puru and the Harikulas, what physical impossibility exists that 
 a colony of them, under Yudhishthira and Baldeva, eight centuries anterior, 
 should have penetrated to Greece ? Comparatively far advanced in science 
 and arms, the conquest would have been easy. When Alexander attacked 
 the ' free cities ' of Panchala, the Purus and Harikulas who opposed him 
 evinced the recollections of their ancestor, in carrying the figure of Hercules 
 as their standard. Comparison proves a common origin to Hindu and 
 Grecian mythology ; and Plato says the Greeks had theirs from Egypt and 
 the East. May not this colony of the Harikulas be the Herachdae, who pene- 
 trated into the Peloponnesus (according to Volney) 1078 years before Christ, 
 sufficiently near our calculated period of the Great War ? The Herachdae 
 claimed from Atreus : the Harikxilas claim from Atri. Eurysthenes was
 
 62 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 From Parikshita, who succeeded Yudhishthira, to Vikrama- 
 ditya, four ^ dynasties are given in a continuous chain, exhibiting 
 sixty-six princes to Rajpal, who, invading Kumaon, was slain by 
 Sukwanti. The Kumaun conqueror seized upon Delhi, but was 
 soon dispossessed by Vikramaditya, who transferred the seat of 
 imperial power from Indraprastha to Avanti, or Ujjain, from 
 which time it became the first meridian of the Hindu astronomy. 
 
 Indraprastha ceased to be a regal abode for eight centuries, 
 when it was re-established by Anangpal,^ the founder of the Tuar 
 race, claiming descent from the Pandus. Then the name of Delhi 
 superseded that of Indraprastha. 
 
 the first king of the HeracUdae : Yudhishthira has suflEicient affinity in 
 name to the first Spartan king not to startle the etymologist, the d and 
 r being always permutable in Sanskrit. The Greeks or lonians are de- 
 scended from Yavan, or Javan, the seventh from Japhet. The Harikulas 
 are also Yavans claiming from Javan or Yavan, the thirteenth in descent 
 from Yayati, the third son of the primeval patriarch. The ancient Hera- 
 clidae of Greece asserted they were as old as the sun, and older than the 
 moon. May not this boast conceal the fact that the Heliadae (or Suryct- 
 vansa) of Greece had settled there anterior to the colony of the Indu (Lunar) 
 race of Harikula ? In all that relates to the mythological history of the 
 Indian demi-gods, Baldeva (Hercules), Krishna or Kanhaiya (Apollo), and 
 Budha (Mercury), a powerful and almost perfect resemblance can be traced 
 ))etween those of Hindu legend, Greece, and Egypt. Baldeva (the god of 
 strength) Harikula, is still worshipped as in the days of Alexander ; his 
 shrine at Baldeo in Vraj (the Surasenoi of the Greeks), his club a plough- 
 share, and a lion's skin his covering. A Hindu intaglio of rare value 
 represents Hercules exactly as described by Arrian, with a monogram con- 
 sisting of two ancient characters now unknown, but which I have found 
 wherever tradition assigns a spot to the Harikulas ; especially in Saurashtra, 
 where they were long concealed on their exile from Delhi. This we may 
 at once decide to be the exact figure of Hercules which Arrian describes 
 his descendants to have carried as their standard, when Porus opposed 
 Alexander. The intaglio will appear in the Trans. li.A.S. [The specula- 
 tions in this note have no authority.] 
 
 ^ The twenty-eighth prince, Khemraj, was the last in lineal descent from 
 Parikshita, the grand-nephew of Yudhishthira. The first dynasty lasted 
 1 864 years. The second dynasty was of Visarwa, and consisted of fourteen 
 princes ; this lasted five hundred years. The third dynasty was headed by 
 Mahraj, and terminated by Antinai, the fifteenth prince. The fourth 
 dynasty was headed by Dudhsen, and terminated by Rajpal, the ninth and 
 last king (Rajatarangini). 
 
 '^ The Rajatarangini gives the date A.v. 848, or a.v. 792, for this ; and 
 adds : " Princes from Siwalik, or northern hills, held it during this time, 
 and it long continued desolate until the Tuars."
 
 LATER DYNASTIES 63 
 
 " Sukwanti, a prince from the northern mountains of Kumaun, 
 ruled fourteen [52] years, when he was slain by Vikramaditya ; ^ 
 and from the Bharat to this period 2915 years have elapsed." * 
 
 Such a period asserted to have elapsed while sixty-six princes 
 occupied the throne, gives an average of forty-four years to each ; 
 which is incredible, if not absolutely impossible. 
 
 In another passage the compiler says : " I have read many 
 books (shastras), and all agreed to make one hundred princes, 
 all of Khatri ^ race, occupy the throne of Delhi from Yudhishthira 
 to Pritliwiraja, a period of 4100 years,* after which the Ravad * 
 race succeeded." 
 
 It is fortunate for these remnants of historical data that thej^ 
 have only extended the duration of reigns, and not added more 
 heads. Sixty-six links are quite sufficient to connect Yudhishthira 
 and Vikramaditya. 
 
 We cannot object to the " one hundred princes " who fill the 
 space assigned from Yudhishthira to Prithwiraja, though there 
 is no proportion between the number which precedes and that 
 which follows Vikramaditya, the former being sixty-six, the latter 
 only thirty-four princes, although the period cannot differ half 
 a century. 
 
 I^et us apply a test to these one hundred kings, from Yudhish 
 thira to Prithwiraja : the result will be 2250 years. 
 
 This test is derived from the average rate of reigns of the chief 
 dynasties of Rajasthan, during a pei-iod of 63.S ® to 663 ' years, I 
 or from Prithwiraja to the present date. \>^©:.\ OP K<^^ 
 
 1 .50 B.C. [Cunningham remarks that the defeat of Raja Pal of Delhi Vw'^ 
 bj^ Sukwanti, Sukdati, or Sukaditya, Raja of Kumaun, must be assigned to 
 A.D. 79 : but he has little confidence in such. traditions, iniless supported by 
 independent evidence {ASB, i. 1.38).] 
 
 - Raghunath. ^ J^^jput, or Kshatriya. 
 
 * 'J'his period of 4100 years may have been arrived at by the compiler 
 taking for granted the number of years mentioned by Raghunath as having 
 elapsed from the Mahabharata to Vikrainaditya, namely 291.5, and adding 
 thereto the well-authenticated period of Prithwiraja, who was born in 
 iSamvat 1215 : for if 2915 be subtracted from 4100, it leaves 1185, the period 
 within thirty years of the birth of Prithwiraja, according to the Chauhan 
 chronicles. 
 
 * Solar. 
 
 * From S. 1250, or a.d. 1194, captivity and dethronement of Pritliwiraja. 
 ' From S. 1212, a.d. 1516, the founding of Jaisalmer by Jaisal, to the 
 
 accession of Gaj Singh, the present prince, in S. 1876, or a.d. 1820.
 
 64 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Of Mewar . . 34 ^ princes, or 19 years to each reign. 
 
 Of Marwar . . 28 princes, or 23i „ ,, 
 
 Of Amber . . 29 princes, or 22i ,, ,, 
 
 Of Jaisalmer . . 28 princes, or 23J ,, ,, 
 
 giving an average of twenty-two years for each reign [53]. 
 
 It would not be proper to ascribe a longer period to each reign, 
 and it were perhaps better to give the minimum, nineteen, to 
 extended dynasties ; and to the sixty-six princes from Yudhish- 
 thira and Vikramaditya not even so much, four revolutions ^ and 
 usurpations marking this period. 
 
 Jarasandha. — The remaining line, that of Jarasandha, taken 
 from the Bhagavat, is of considerable importance, and will afford 
 scope for further speculation. 
 
 Jarasandha was the monarch of Rajagriha,^ or Bihar, whose 
 son Sahadeva, and grandson Marjari, are declared to have been 
 contemporaries of the Mahabharata, and consequently coeval 
 with Parikshita, the Delhi sovereign. 
 
 The direct line of Jarasandha terminates in twenty-three 
 descents with Ripimjaya, who was slain, and his throne assumed 
 by his minister, Sanaka, whose dynasty terminated in the fifth 
 generation with Nandivardandhana. Sanaka derived no personal 
 advantage from his usurpation, as he immediately placed his son, 
 Pradyota, on the throne. To these five princes one hundred and 
 thirty-eight years are assigned. 
 
 A new race entered Hindustan, led by a conqueror termed 
 Sheshnag, from Sheshnagdesa,* who ascended the Pandu throne, 
 
 ^ Many of its early princes were killed in battle ; and the present prince's 
 father succeeded his own nephew, which was retrograding. 
 
 ^ The historians sanction the propriety of these changes, in their remarks, 
 that the deposed were " deficient in [capacity for] the cares and duties of 
 government." 
 
 ® Rajagriha, or Rajmahal, capital of Magadhades, or Bihar. [In Patna 
 district, lOI, xxi. 72.] 
 
 * Figuratively, the country of the ' head of the Snakes ' ; Nag, Talc, or 
 Takshak, being synonymous : and which I conclude to be the abode of the 
 ancient Scythic Tachari of Strabo, the Tak-i-uks of the Cliinese, the Tajiks 
 of the present day of Turkistan. This race appears to be the same with 
 that of the Turushka (of the Puranas), who ruled on the Arvarma (the 
 Araxes), in Sakadwipa, or Scytliia. [This is a confused reference to the 
 Saisunaga dynasty, which took its name from its founder, Sisunaga, and 
 comprised roughly the present Patna and Gaya districts, its capital being
 
 LATER DYNASTIES 65 
 
 and whose line terminates in ten descents with Mahanandin, of 
 spurious birth. This last prince, who was also named Baikyat, 
 carried on an exterminating warfare against the ancient Rajput 
 princes of pui-e blood, the Puranas declaring that since the dynasty 
 of Sheshnag the princes were Sudras. Three hundred and sixty 
 years are allotted to these ten princes. 
 
 Chandragupta Maurya. — A fourth dynasty commenced with 
 Chandragupta Maurya, of the same Takshak race.^ The Maurya 
 dynasty consisted of ten princes, who are stated to have passed 
 away in one hundred and thirty-seven years. [322-185 B.C.] 
 
 Sunga, Kanva Dynasties. — The fifth dynasty of eight princes 
 were from Sringides, and are said to have ruled one hundred and 
 twelve years, when a prince of Kanvades deprived the last of life 
 and kingdom. Of these eight princes, four were of pure blood, 
 when Kistna, by a Sudra woman, succeeded. The dynasty of 
 Kanvades terminates in twenty-three generations with Sus- 
 arman* [54]. 
 
 Recapitulation. — Thus from the Great War six successive 
 dynasties are given, presenting a continuous chain of eighty-two 
 princes, reckoning from Sahadeva, the successor of Jarasandha, 
 to Susarman. 
 
 To some of the short dynasties periods are assigned of moderate 
 length : but as the first and last are without such data, the test 
 
 Rajagriha ; the modern Rajglr-Sisunaga means ' a young elephant,' and 
 has no connexion with Sheshnag, the serpent king {Vishnu Purana, 466 f. ; 
 Smith, EHI, 31).] 
 
 ^ [Chandragupta Maurya was certainly not a " Takshak " : he was 
 probably " an illegitimate scion of the Nanda family " (Smith, EHI, 42).] 
 
 2 ]\'Ir. Bentley {' On the Hindu System of Astronomy,' As. Res. vol. viii. 
 pp. 236-7) states that the astronomer, Brahmagupta, flourished about 
 A.D. 527, or of Vikrama 583, shortly preceding the reign of Susarman ; that 
 he was the founder of the system called the Kalpa of Brahma, on v/hich the 
 present Hindu chronology is founded, and to which Mr. Bentley says their 
 historical data was transferred. This would strengthen my calculations ; 
 but the weight of Mr. Bentley's authority has been much weakened by his 
 unwarrantable attack on Mr. Colebrooke, whose extent of knowledge is of 
 double value from his entire aversion to hypothesis. [The Sunga dynasty, 
 founded by Pushyamitra, about 185 B.C., lasted till about 73 B.C., when the 
 tenth king, Devabhuti, was slain by his Brahman minister, Vasudeva, who 
 founded the Kanva dynasty. He was followed by three kings, and the 
 dynasty lasted only forty-five years, the last member of it being slain, about 
 28 B.C., by a king of the Andhra or Satavahana dynasty, then reigning in 
 the Deccan. For the scanty details see Smith, EHI, 198 fr.l 
 
 VOL. I F
 
 66 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 already decided on must be applied ; which will yield 1704 years, 
 being six hundred and four after Vikramaditya, whose contem- 
 porary will thus be Basdeva, the fifty-fifth prince from Sahadeva 
 of the sixth dynasty, said to be a conqueror from the country of 
 Katehr [or Rohilkhand]. If these calculations possess any value, 
 the genealogies of the Bhagavat are brought down to the close of 
 the fifth century following Vikramaditya. As we cannot admit 
 the gift of prophecy to the compilers of these books, we may infer 
 that they remodelled their ancient chronicles during the reign of 
 Susarman, about the year of Vikrama 600, or a.d. 540. 
 
 With regard to calculations already adduced, as to the average 
 number of years for the reigns of the foregoing dynasties, a com- 
 parison with those which history affords of other parts of the 
 world will supply the best criterion of the correctness of the 
 assumed data. 
 
 From the revolt of the ten tribes against Rehoboam ^ to the 
 capture of Jerusalem, a period of three hundred and eighty-seven 
 years, twenty kings sat on the throne of Judah, making each reign 
 nineteen and a half years ; but if we include the three anterior 
 reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, prior to the revolt, the result 
 will be twenty-six and a half years each. 
 
 From the dismemberment of the Assjrrian ^ empire under 
 Sardanapalus, nearly nine hundred years before Christ, the three 
 consequent confluent dynasties of Babylonia, Assyria, and Media 
 afford very different results for comparison. 
 
 The Assyrian preserves the medium, while the Babylonish and 
 Median run into extremes. Of the nine princes who swayed 
 Babylon, from the period of its separation from, till its reunion 
 to Assyria, a space of fifty-two years, Darius, who ruled Media 
 sixty [thirty-six] years [55], outhved the whole. Of the line of 
 Darius there were but six princes, from the separation of the 
 kingdoms to their reunion imder Cyrus, a period of one hundred 
 and seventy-four years, or twenty-nine to each reign. 
 
 The Assjo-ian reigns form a juster medium. From Nebuchad- 
 nezzar to Sardanapalus we have twenty-two years to a reign ; 
 but from thence to the extinction of this dynasty, eighteen. 
 
 The first eleven kings, the Heraclidae of Laced aemon, com- 
 
 ^ 987 years l^efore Christ. 
 
 ^ For these and tV.e following elates I am indebted to Goguet's chrono- 
 logical tables in his Origin of Laws.
 
 LATER DYNASTIES 67 
 
 mencing with Eiirysthenes (1078 before Christ), average thirty- 
 two years ; while in repubhcan Athens, nearly contemporary^ 
 from the first perpetual archon until the office became decennial 
 in the seventh Olympiad, the reigns of the twelve chief magis- 
 trates average twenty-eight years and a half. 
 
 Thus we have three periods, Jewish, Spartan, and Athenian, 
 each commencing about eleven hundred years before Christ, not 
 half a century remote from the Mahabharata ; with those of 
 Babylonia, Assyria, and Media, commencing where we quit the 
 Grecian, in the eighth century before the Christian era, the Jewish 
 ending in the sixth century. 
 
 However short, compared with our Solar and Lunar dynasties, 
 yet these, combined Avith the average reigns of existing Hindu 
 dynasties, will aid the judgment in estimating the periods to be 
 assigned to the lines thus afforded, instead of following the improb- 
 able value attached by the Brahmans. 
 
 From such data, longevity appears in unison with climate and 
 simplicity of life : the Spartan yielding the maximimi of thirty- 
 two to a reign, while the more luxurious Athens gives twenty- 
 eight and a half. The Jews, from Saul t6 their exile " to the waters 
 of Babylon," twenty-six and a half. The Medes equal the Lace- 
 daemonians, and in all history can only be paralleled by the 
 princes of Anhilwara, one of whom, Chawand, almost equalled 
 Darius.^ ^ 
 
 Of the separated ten tribes, from the revolt to the captivity, 
 twenty kings of Israel passed away in two centuries, or ten years 
 eacli. 
 
 The Spartan and Assyrian present the extremes of thirty-two 
 and eighteen, giving a medium of twenty-five years to a reign. 
 
 The average result of our four Hindu dynasties, in a period of 
 nearly seven hundred years, is twenty-two years. 
 
 From all which data, I would presume to assign from twenty 
 to twenty- two years to each reign in lines of fifty princes [56]. 
 
 If the value thus obtained be satisfactory, and the lines of 
 dynasties derived from so many authorities correct, we shall 
 arrive at the same conclusion with Mr. Bentley ; who, by the 
 more philosophical process of astronomical and genealogical 
 
 ^ [It is not clear to whom the author refers ; Chamunda Chavada (a.d. 
 880-908): or Chamunda Chauhikya (a.d. 997-1010), {EG, i. Part 1. 151, 
 162).]
 
 68 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 combination, places Yudhishtliira's era in the year 2825 of the 
 world ; which being taken from 4004 (the world's age at the birth 
 of Christ) will leave 1179 before Christ for Yudhishthira's era, 
 or 1123 before Vikramaditya.^ 
 
 CHAPTER 6 
 
 Rajputs and Mongols. — Having thus brought down the genea- 
 logical history of the ancient martial races of India, from the earliest 
 period to Yudhishthira and Krishna, and thence to Vikrama- 
 ditya and the present day, a few observations on the races invading 
 India during that time, and now ranked amongst the thirty-six 
 royal races of Rajasthan, affording scope for sonic curious analogies, 
 may not be inopportune. 
 
 The tribes here alluded to are the Haihaya or Aswa, the Takshak, 
 and the Jat or Getae ; the similitude of whose theogony, names 
 in their early genealogies, and many other points, with the Chinese, 
 Tatar, Mogul, Hindu, and Scythic races, would appear to warrant 
 the assertion of one common origin. 
 
 Though the periods of the passage of these tribes into India 
 cannot be stated with exactitude, the regions whence they migrated 
 may more easily be ascertained. 
 
 Mongol Origin. — Let us compare the origin of the Tatars and 
 Moguls, as given by their historian, Abulghazi, with the races we 
 have been treating of from the Puranas. 
 
 Mogol was the name of the Tatarian patriarch. His son was 
 Aghuz,'' the founder of all the races of those northern regions, 
 called Tatars and Mogol [57]. Aghuz had six sons.^ First, Kun,* 
 ' the sun,' the Surya of the Puranas ; secondly, Ai,^ ' the moon,' 
 
 ^ [The evidence quoted in this chapter bj^ which the author endeavours 
 1 1 frame a chronology for this early period, is untrustworthy. Mr. Pargiter 
 tentatively dates the great Bharata battle about 1000 B.C., but the evidence 
 is very uncertain {JRAS, January 1910, p. 56 ; April 1914, p. 294).] 
 
 ^ Query, if from Mogol and Aghuz, compounded, we have not the Magog, 
 son of Japhet, of Scripture ? 
 
 ^ The other four sons are the remaining elements, personified : whence 
 the six races of Tatars. The Hindus had long but two races, till the four 
 AgnOcula made them also six, and now thirty-six ! 
 
 * In Tatar, according to Abulghazi, the sun and moon. 
 
 ^ De Giiignes.
 
 I 
 
 MONGOL AND HINDU TRADITIONS 69 
 
 the Indu of the Puranas. In the latter, Ai, we have even the 
 same name [Ayus] as in the Puranas for the Lunar ancestor. The 
 Tatars all claim from Ai, ' the moon,' the Indus of the Puranas. 
 Hence with them, as with the German tribes, the moon was always 
 a male deity. The Tatar Ai had a son, Yulduz. His son^was 
 Hyu, from whom ^ came the first race of the kings of China. The 
 Puranic Ayus had a son, Yadu (pronounced Jadon) ; from whose 
 third son, Haya, the Hindu genealogist deduces no line, and 
 from whom the Chinese may claim their Indu ^ origin. II Khan 
 (ninth from Ai) had two sons : first, Kian ; and secondly, Nagas ; 
 whose descendants peopled all Tatary. From Kian, Jenghiz 
 Ivlian claimed descent.^ Nagas was probablj- the founder of the 
 Takshak, or Snake race ' of the Puranas and Tatar genealogists, 
 the Tak-i-uk Moguls of De Guignes. 
 
 Such are the comparative genealogical origins of the three 
 races. Let us compare their thcogony, the fabulous birth assigned 
 by each for the founder of the Indu race. 
 
 Mongol and Hindu Traditions. — 1. The Puranic. " Ila {the 
 earth), daughter of the sun-born Ikshwaku, while wandering in the 
 forests was encountered by Budha {Mercury), and from the rape 
 of Ila sprimg the Indu race." 
 
 2. The Chinese account of the birth of Yu (Ayu), their first 
 monarch. " A star * (Mercury or Fo) struck his mother while 
 journeying. She conceived, and gave to the world Yu, the 
 founder of the first dynasty which reigned in China. Yu divided 
 China into nine provinces, and began to reign 2207 ^ years before 
 Christ " [58]. 
 
 Thus the Ai of the Tatars, the Yu of the Chinese, and the Ayus 
 
 ^ Sir W. Jones says the Chinese assert their Hindu origin ; but a com- 
 parison proves both these Indu races to be of Scj^thic origin. [Yadu was son 
 of Yayati, and Haya was Yadu's grandson, not son. The comparison of 
 Mongol with Hindu tradition is of no value.] 
 
 ^ [For the Mongol genealogy see Howorth, History of the Mongols, Part i. 
 35. Abu-I Fazl {Akbarnama, trans. H. Beveridge, i. 171 f.) gives the names 
 as follows : Aghuz Khan, whose sons were — Kun (Sun) ; Ai (Moon) ; Yulduz 
 (Star) ; Kok or Gok (Sky) ; Tagh (Mountain) ; Tangiz (Sky)]. 
 
 ^ Naga and Takshak are Sanskrit names for a snake or serpent, the 
 emblem of Budha or Mercury. The Naga race, so well known to India, 
 the Takshaks or Takiuks of Scythia, invaded India about six centuries 
 before Clirist. 
 
 * De Guignes, Sur Us Dynasties des Huns, vol. i. p. 7. 
 
 ^ Nearly the calculated period from the Puranas.
 
 70 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 of the Puranas, evidently indicate the great Indu (Lunar) pro- 
 genitor of the three races. Budha (Mercury), the son of Indu 
 (the moon), became the patriarchal and spiritual leader ; as Fo, 
 in China ; Woden and Teutates,^ of the tribes migrating to 
 Europe. Hence it follows that the religion of Buddha must be 
 coeval with the existence of these nations ; that it was brought 
 into India Proper by them, and guided them until the schism of 
 Krishna and the Suryas, worshippers of Bal, in time depressed 
 them, when the Buddha reUgion was modified into its present mild 
 form, the Jain.^ 
 
 Scythian Traditions. — Let us contrast with these the origin of 
 the Scythic nations, as related by Diodorus ; * when it will be 
 observed the same legends were known to him which have been 
 handed down by the Puranas and Abulghazi. 
 
 " The Scythians had their first abodes on the Araxes.* Their 
 origin was from a virgin born of the earth ^ of the shape of a 
 woman from the waist upwards, and below a serpent (symbol 
 of Budlia or Mercury) ; that Jupiter had a son by her, named 
 Scythes," whose name the nation adopted. Scythes had two 
 sons, Palas and Napas (qu. the Nagas, or Snake race, of the Tatar 
 genealogy ?), who were celebrated for their great actions, and who 
 divided the countries ; and the nations were called after them, 
 the Palians {qu. Pali ?) ' and Napians. They led their forces as 
 far as the Nile on Egypt, and subdued many nations. They 
 enlarged the empire of the Scythians as far as the Eastern ocean, 
 
 ^ Taulh, ' father ' in Sanskrit [? tata]. Qu. Tenths, and Toth, the 
 Mercury of Egypt ? 
 
 * [The author seems to confuse Budha (Mercury) with Gautama Bnddha, 
 the teacher. Buddhism arose in India, not in Central Asia, and Jainism 
 was not a milder form of it, but an independent, and probably earher, 
 rehgion.] 
 
 3 Diodorus Siculus book ii. 
 
 * The Arvarma of the Puranas ; the Jaxartes or Sihun. The Puranas 
 thus describe Sakadwipa or Scythia. Diodorus (Mb. ii.) makes the Hemodus 
 the boundary between Saka-Scythia and India Proper. 
 
 ^ Ila, the mother of the Lunar race, is the earth personified. Ertha of 
 the Saxons ; e'pa of the Greeks ; ard in Hebrew [?]. 
 
 * Scythes, from Sakaiai, ' Sakadwipa,' and is, ' Lord ' : Lord of Sakatai, 
 or Scythia [?]. 
 
 ^ Qu. Whether the Scythic Pali may not be the shepherd invaders of 
 Egypt [?]. The Pali character yet exists, and appears the same as ancient 
 fragments of the Buddha inscriptions in my possession : manj'^ letters 
 assimilate with the Coptic.
 
 LATER GENEALOGIES 71 
 
 and to the Caspian and lake INIoeotis. The nation had many kings, 
 from whom the Sacans (Sakae), the Massagetae ( Getae or Jats), the 
 Ari-aspians (Aswas of Aria), and many other races. They over- 
 ran Assyria and Media ^ [59], overturning the empire, and trans- 
 I^hinting the inliabitants to tlie Araxes under the name of Sauro- 
 Matians." ^ 
 
 As the Sakae, Getae, Aswa, and Takshak are names which 
 have crept in amongst our thirty-six royal races, common with 
 others also to early civilization in Europe, let us seek further 
 ancient authority on the original abodes. 
 
 Strabo ^ says : " All the tribes east of the Caspian are called 
 Scythic. The Dahae * next the sea, the Massagetae (great Gete) 
 and Sakae more eastward ; but every tribe has a particular name. 
 All are nomadic : but of these nomads the best -known are the 
 Asii,^ the Pasiani, Tochari, Sacarauli, who took Bactria from the 
 Greeks. The Sakae " (' races ') have made in Asia irruptions 
 similar to those of the Cimmerians ; thus they have been seen to 
 possess themselves of Bactria, and the best district of Armenia, 
 called after them Sakasenae." ' 
 
 Which of the tribes of Rajasthan are the offspring of the Aswa 
 and Medes, of Indu race, returned under new appellations, we 
 
 ^ The three great branches of the Indu (Lunar) Aswa bore the epithet of 
 Midia (pronounced Mede), viz. Urumidha, Ajamidha, and Dvimidha. Qii. 
 The Aswa invaders of Assyria and Media, the sons of Bajaswa, expressly 
 stated to have multiplied in the countries west of the Indus, emigrating 
 from their paternal seats in Panchalaka ? {Mldha means ' pouring out 
 seed, prolific,' and has no connexion with Mede, the Madai of Genesis 
 X. 2 ; the Assyrian Mada.] 
 
 ^ Sun-worshippers, the Suryavansa. 
 
 3 Strabo lib. xi. p. 511. 
 
 * Dahya (one of the thirty-six tribes), now extinct. 
 
 * The Asii and Tochari, the Aswa and Takshak, or Turushka races, of 
 the Puranas, of Sakadwipa [?]. " C'est vraisemblablement d'apres le nom 
 de Tachari, que M. D'Anville aura cru devoir placer les tribus ainsi de- 
 nommees dans le territoire qui s'appelle aujourdhui Tokarist'hpon, situe, 
 dit ce grand geographe, entre les montagnes et le Gihon ou Amou " (Note 3, 
 hv. xi. p. 254, Strabon). 
 
 * Once more I may state Sakha in Sanskrit has the aspirate : literally, 
 the ' branches ' or ' races.' [Saka and Sakha have no connexion ; see 
 Smith, EHI, 226.] 
 
 ' " La Sacasene etoit une contree do I'Armenie sur les confins de I'Albanie 
 ou du Shirvan" (Note 4, tome i. p. 191, Strabon). " The Sacasenae v.'cre 
 the ancestors of the Saxons" (Turner's History of the Anglo -Saxons).
 
 72 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 shall not now stop to inquire, limiting our hypothesis to the fact 
 of invasions, and adducing some evidence of such being simul- 
 taneous with migrations of the same bands into Europe. Hence 
 the inference of a common origin between the Rajput and early 
 races of Europe ; to support which, a similar mythology, martial 
 manners and poetry, language, and even music and architectural 
 ornaments, may be adduced.^ 
 
 Of the first migrations of the Indu-Scythic Getae, Takshak, 
 and Asii, into India, that of Sheshnag (Takshak), from Shesh- 
 nagdes (Tocharistan ?) or Sheshnag, six centuries, by calculation, 
 before Christ, is the first noticed by the Puranas.^ About this 
 period a grand irruption of the same races conquered Asia Minor, 
 and [60] eventually Scandinavia ; and not long after the 
 Asii and Tochari overturned the Greek kingdom of Bactria, the 
 Romans felt the power of the Asi,' the Chatti, and Cimbri, from 
 the Baltic shore. 
 
 " If we can show the Germans to have been originally Scythae 
 or Goths (Getes or Jits), a wide field of curiosity and inquiry is 
 open to the origin of government, manners, etc. ; all the anti- 
 quities of Europe will assume a new appearance, and, instead of 
 being traced to the bands of Germany, as Montesquieu and the 
 greatest writers have hitherto done, may be followed through 
 long descriptions of the manners of the Scythians, etc., as given 
 by Herodotus. Scandinavia was occupied by the Scythae five 
 hundred years before Christ. These Scythians worshipped 
 Mercury (Budha), Woden or Odin, and believed themselves his 
 progeny. The Gothic mythology, by parallel, might be shown 
 
 ^ Herodotus (iv. 12) says : " The Cimmerians, expelled by the Massa- 
 getae, migrated to the Crimea." Here were the Thj'ssagetae, or western 
 Getae [the lesser Getae, Herodotus iv..22]; and thence both the Getae and 
 Cimbri found their way to the Baltic. Rubruc{uis the Jesuit, describing the 
 monuments of the Comani in the Dasht-i Kipchak, whence these tribes, saj's : 
 " Their monuments and circles of stones are like our Celtic or Druidical 
 remains " (Bell's Collection). The Khuman are a branch of the Kathi tribe 
 of Saurashtra, whose paliyas, or funeral monumental pillars, are seen in 
 groups at every town and village. The Chatti were one of the early German 
 tribes. [Needless to say, the German Chatti had no connexion with the 
 Kathi of Gujarat.] 
 
 ^ [The reference, again, is to the Saisunaga dynasty, p. 64 above.] 
 ' Asi was the term applied to the Getes, Yeuts, or Juts, when they in- 
 vaded Scandinavia and founded Yeutland or Jutland (see ' Edda,^ Mallet's 
 Introduction).
 
 SCYTHIANS AND GERMANS 73 
 
 to be Grecian, whose gods were the progeny of Coehis and Terra 
 (Budha and EUa).^ Dryads, satyrs, fairies, and all the Greek 
 and Roman superstition, may be found in the Scandinavian 
 creed. The Goths consulted the heart of victims^ had oracles, 
 had sibyls, had a Venus in Freya, and Parcae in the Valkyrie." ^ 
 
 The Scythian Descent of the Rajputs. — Ere we proceed to trace 
 these mythological resemblances, let us adduce further opinions 
 in proof of the'position assumed of a common origin of the tribes 
 of early Europe and the Scj^thic Rajput. 
 
 The translator of Abulghazi, in his preface, observes : " Our 
 contempt for the Tatars would lessen did we consider how nearly 
 we stand related to them, and that our ancestors originally came 
 from the north of Asia, and that our customs, laws, and way of 
 living were formerly the same as theirs. In short, that we are 
 no other than a colony of Tatars. 
 
 " It was from Tatary those jDcople came, who, imder the suc- 
 cessive names of Cymbrians,* Kelts, and Gauls, possessed all the 
 northern part of Europe. What were the Goths, Huns, Alans, 
 Swedes, Vandals, Franks, but swarms of the same hive ? The 
 Swedish chronicles bring the Swedes * from Cashgar, and [61] the 
 affinity between the Saxon language and Kipchak is great ; and 
 the Keltick language still subsisting in Britany and Wales is a 
 demonstration that the inhabitants are descended from Tatar 
 nations." 
 
 ^ Mercury and earth. 
 
 ^ Pinkerton, On the Goths, vol. ii. p. 94. [All this is obsolete.] 
 
 ^ Camari was one of the eight sons of Japhet, says Abulghazi : whence 
 the Camari, Cimmerii, or Cimbri. Karaari is one of the tribes of Saurashtra. 
 [Kymry = fellow-countrymen (Rhys, Celtic Britain, 116).] 
 
 * The Suiones, Suevi, or Su. Now the Su, Yueh-chi, or Yuti, are Getes, 
 according to De Guignes. Marco Polo calls Cashgar, where he was in the 
 sixth century, the birthplace of the Swedes ; and De la Croix adds, that in 
 1691 Sparvenfeldt, the Swedish ambassador at Paris, told him he had read 
 in Swedish chronicles that Cashgar was their country. When the Huns 
 were chased from the north of China, the greater part retired into the 
 southern countries adjoining Europe. The rest passed directly to the Oxus 
 and Jaxartes ; thence they spread to the Caspian and Persian frontiers. 
 In Mawaru-1-nahr (Transoxiana) they mixed with the Su, the Yueh-chi, or 
 Getes, who were particularly powerful, and extended into Europe. One 
 would be tempted to regard them as the ancestors of those Getes who were 
 known in Europe. Some bands of Su might equally pass into the north of 
 Europe, known as the Suevi. [The meaning of Suevi is uncertain, but the 
 word has no connexion with that of any Central Asian tribe.]
 
 74 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 From between the parallels of 30° and 50° of north latitude, 
 and from 75° to 95° of east longitude, the highlands of Central 
 Asia, alike removed from the fires of the equator and the cold of 
 the arctic circle, migrated the races which passed into Europe and 
 within the Indus. We must therefore voyage up the Indus, 
 cross the Paropanisos, to the Oxus or Jihun, to Sakatai ^ or 
 Sakadwipa, and from thence and the Dasht-i Kipchak conduct 
 the Takshaks, the Getae, the Kamari, the Chatti, and the Huns, 
 into the plains of Hindustan. 
 
 We have much to learn in these unexplored regions, the abode 
 of ancient civilisation, and which, so late as Jenghiz Khan's 
 invasion, abounded with large cities. It is an error to suppose 
 that the nations of Higher Asia were merely pastoral ; and De 
 Guignes, from original authorities, informs us that when the Su 
 invaded the Yueh-chi or Jats, they found upwards of a hundred 
 cities containing the merchandise of India, and with the currency 
 bearing the effigies of the prince. 
 
 Such was the state of Central Asia long before the Christian 
 era, though now depopulated and rendered desert by desolating 
 wars, which have raged in these countries, and to which Europe 
 can exhibit no parallel. Timur's wars, in more modern times, 
 against the Getic nation, will illustrate the paths of his ambitious 
 predecessors in the career of destruction. 
 
 If we examine the political limits of the great Getic nation in 
 the time of Cyrus, six centuries before Christ, we shall find them 
 little circumscribed in power on the rise of Timur, though twenty 
 centuries had elapsed [62]. 
 
 Jats and Getae. — At this period (a.d. 1.330), under the last 
 prince of Getic race, Tuglilak Timur Khan, the kingdom of 
 Chagatai ^ was bounded on the west by the Dasht-i Kipchak, and 
 
 ^ Mr. Pinkerton's research had discovered Sakatai, though he does not 
 give his authority (D'Anville) for the Sakadwipa of the Puranas ! " Sakitai, 
 a region at the fountains of the Oxus and Jaxartes, styled Sakita from the 
 Sacae" (D'Anville, Anc. Geog.). The Yadus of Jaisalmer, who ruled 
 Zabulistan and founded Ghazni, claim the Chagatais as of their own Indu 
 stock : a claim which, without deep reflection, appeared inadmissible ; 
 but which I now deem worthy of credit. 
 
 - Chagatai, or Sakatai, the Sakadwipa of the Puranas (corrupted by the 
 Greeks to Scythia), " whose inhabitants worship the sun and whence is the 
 river Arvarma." [For the Chagatai Mongols see EUas-Ross, History of the 
 Moghuh of Central Asia, Introd. 28 if.]
 
 JATS and GETAE 75 
 
 on the south by the Jihun, on which river the Getic Khan, hke 
 Tomyris, had his capital. Kokhand, Tashkent, Utrar,^ Cyropolis, 
 and the most northern of the Alexandrias, were within the bounds 
 of Chagatai. 
 
 The Getae, Jut, or Jat, and Takshak races, which occupy 
 places amongst the thirty-six royal races of India, are all from 
 the region of Sakatai. Regarding their earliest migrations, v/e 
 shall endeavour to make the Puranas contribute ; but of their 
 invasions in more modem times the histories of Mahmud of Ghazni, 
 and Timur abundantly acquaint us. 
 
 From the mountains of Jud ^ to the shores of Makran,' and 
 along the Ganges, the Jat is widely spread ; while the Takshak 
 name is now confined to inscriptions or old writings. 
 
 Inquiries in their original haunts, and among tribes now under 
 different names, might doubtless bring to light their original 
 designation, now best known within the Indus ; whUe the Takshak 
 or Takiuk may probably be discovered in the Tajik, still in his 
 ancient haunts, the Transoxiana and Chorasinia of classic authors ; 
 the Mawaru-n-nahr of the Persians ; the Turan, Turkistan, or 
 Tocharistan of native geography ; the abode of the Tochari, 
 Takshak, or Turushka invaders of India, described in the Puranas 
 and existing inscriptions. 
 
 The Getae had long maintained their independence when 
 Tomyris defended their liberty against Cyrus. Driven in success- 
 ive wars across the Sutlej, we shall elsewhere show them preserv- 
 ing their ancient habits, as desultory cavaliers, under the Jat 
 leader of Lahore, in pastoral communities in Bikaner^ the Indian 
 
 ^ Utrar, probably the Uttarakuru of ancient geography : the uttara 
 (northern) kuru (race) ; a branch of Indu stock. 
 
 2 Jadu ka dang, the Joudes of Rennell's map ; the Yadu hills high up in 
 the Panjab, where a colony of the Yadu race dwelt when expelled Saurashtra. 
 [The Salt Range in the Jhelum, Shahpur, and Mian wall districts of the 
 Panjab, was known to ancient historians as Koh-i-Jud, or ' the hiUs of Jud,' 
 the name being applied by the Muhammadans to this range on account of 
 its resemblance to Mount Al-Jiidi, or Ararat. The author constantly refers 
 to it, and suggests that the name was connected with the Indian Yadu, or 
 Yadava tribe (IGI, xxi._412; Abu-1 Fazl, Akbarndma, i. 237; Elliot- 
 Dowson, ii. 235, v. 561 ; Aln, ii. 405 ; ASR, ii. 17 ; Hughes, Diet, of Islam, 
 23).] 
 
 ^ The Numri, or Lumri (foxes) of Baluchistan, are Jats [?]. These are 
 the Noniardies of Rennell. [They are beheved to be aborigines {IGI, xvi. 
 146; Census Report, Baluchistan, 1911, i. 17).]
 
 76 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 desert and elsewhere, though they have lost sight of their early 
 history. The transition from pastoral to agricultural pursuits is 
 but short, and the descendant of the nomadic Getae of Transoxiana 
 is now the best husbandman on the plains of Hindustan^ [63]. 
 
 The invasion of these Indu-Scytliic tribes, Getae, Takshaks, 
 Asii, Chatti, Rajpali,^ Huns, Kamari, introduced the worship of 
 Budha, the founder of the Indu or Lunar race. 
 
 Herodotus says the Getae were theists,^ and held the tenets 
 of the soul's immortality ; so with the Buddhists. 
 
 Before, however, touching on points of religious resemblance 
 between the Asii, Getae, or Jut of Scandinavia (who gave his 
 name to the Cimbric Chersonese) and the Getae of Scythia and 
 India, let us make a few remarks on the Asii or Aswa. 
 
 The Aswa. — To the Indu race of Aswa (the descendants of 
 Dvimidha and Bajaswa), spread over the countries on both sides 
 the Indus, do we probably owe the distinctive appellation of 
 Asia. Herodotus * says the Greeks denominated Asia from the 
 wife of Prometheus ; while others deduce it from a grandson of 
 Manes, indicating the Aswa descendants of the patriarch Manu. 
 Asa,* Sakambhari,^ Mata,' is the divinity Hope, ' mother-pro- 
 tectress of the Sakha,' or races. Every Rajput adores Asapurna, 
 ' the fulfiller of desire ' ; or, as Sakambhari Devi (goddess pro- 
 tectress), she is invoked previous to any undertaking. 
 
 The Aswas were chiefly of the Indu race ; yet a branch of the 
 Suryas also bore this designation. It appears to indicate their 
 celebrity as horsemen.* All of them worshipped the horse, which 
 they sacrificed to the sun. This grand rite, the Asvamedha, on 
 
 ^ [There is no evidence, beyond resemblance of name, to connect the 
 Jats with the Getae.] ^ Royal pastors [?]. 
 
 ^ [iv. 59.] The sun was their ' great deity,' though they had in Xamolxis 
 a lord of terror, with aiJSnity to Yama, or the Hindu Pluto. " The chief 
 divinity of the Fenns, a Scythic race, was Yammalu " (Pinkerton's Hist, 
 of the Goths, vol. ii. p. 215). 
 
 * iv. 45 [Asia probably means ' land of the rising sun.'] 
 ' Asa, ' hope.' 
 
 ® Sakambhari : from sakham, the plural of sahha, ' branch or race,' and 
 ambhar, ' covering, protecting.' [The word means ' herb nourishing.'] 
 ' IMata, ' mother.' 
 
 * Asica and haya are synonymous Sanskrit terms for ' horse ' ; as]} in 
 Persian ; and as apphed by the prophet Ezelciel [xxxviti. 6] to the Getic 
 invasion of Scythia, a.c. 600 : " the sons of Togarmah riding on hojses " ; 
 described by Diodorus, the period the same as the Takshak invasion of India.
 
 JATS AND GETAE 77 
 
 the festival of the winter solstice, would alone go far to exemplify 
 their common Scythic origin with the Getic Saka, authorising the 
 inference of Pinkerton, " that a grand Scythic nation extended 
 from the Caspian to the Ganges." 
 
 The Asvamedha. — The Asvamedha was practised on the 
 Ganges and Sarju by the Solar princes [64], twelve hundred years 
 before Christ, as by the Getae in the time of Cyrus ; " deeming it 
 right," says Herodotus [i. 216] " to offer the swiftest of created 
 to the chief of uncreated beings " : and this worship and sacrifice 
 of the horse has been handed down to the Rajput of the present 
 day. A description of this grand ceremony shall close these 
 analogies. 
 
 The Getic Asii carried this veneration for the steed, symbolic 
 of their chief deity the sun, into Scandinavia : equally so of all 
 the early German tribes, the Su, Suevi, Chatti, Sucimbri, Getae, 
 in the forests of Germany, and on the banks of the Elbe and Weser. 
 The milk-white steed was supposed to be the organ of the gods, 
 from whose neighing they calculated future events ; notions 
 possessed also by the Aswa, sons of Budha (Woden), on the 
 Yamuna and Ganges, when the rocks of Scandinavia and the 
 shores of the Baltic were yet untrod by man. It was this omen 
 which gave Darius Hystaspes ^ (hinsna, ' to neigh,' aspa, ' a horse ') 
 a crown. The bard Chand makes it the omen of death to his 
 principal heroes. The steed of the Seandina%aan god of battle 
 was kept in the temple of Upsala, and always " found foaming 
 and sweating after battle." " Money," says Tacitus, " was only 
 acceptable to the German when bearing the effigies of the horse." * 
 
 In the Edda we are informed that the Getae, or Jats, who 
 entered Scandinavia, were termed Asi, and their first settlement 
 As-gard.^ 
 
 Pinkerton rejects the authority of the Edda and follows 
 Torfaeus, who " from Icelandic chronicles and genealogies con- 
 cludes Odin to have come into Scandinavia in the time of Darius 
 Hystaspes, five hundred years before Christ." 
 
 ^ [Hystaspes is from old Persian, Vishtaspa, ' possessor of horses.' The 
 author derives it from a modern Hindi word hinsna, ' to neigh,' possibly 
 from recollection of the story in Herodotus iii. 85.] 
 
 ^ [He possibly refers to the statement (Gennania, v.), that their coins 
 bore the impress of a two-horse chariot.] 
 
 ^ Asirgarb, ' fortress of the Asi ' [IGI, vi. 12].
 
 78 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 This is the period of the last Buddha, or Mahavira, whose era 
 is four hundred and seventy-seven years before Vikrama, or five 
 hundred and thirty-three before Christ. 
 
 The successor of Odin in Scandinavia was Gotama ; and 
 Gautama was the successor of the last Buddha, Mahavira,^ who 
 as Gotama, or Gaudama, is still adored from the Straits of Malacca 
 to the Caspian Sea. 
 
 " Other antiquaries," says Pinkerton, " assert another Odin, 
 who was put as the supreme deity one thousand years before 
 Christ" [65]. 
 
 Mallet admits two Odins, but Mr. Pinkerton wishes he had 
 abided Ijy that of Torfaeus, in 500 a.c. 
 
 It is a singular fact that the periods of both the Scandinavian 
 Odins should assimilate with the twenty-second Buddha [Jain 
 Tirthakara], Neminath, and twenty-fourth and last, Mahavira ; 
 the first the contemporary of Krishna, about 1000 or 1100 years, 
 the last 533, before Christ. The Asii, Getae, etc., of Europe 
 worshipped Mercury as founder of their line, as did the Eastern 
 Asi, Takshaks, and Getae. The Chinese and Tatar historians 
 also say Buddha, or Fo, appeared 1027 years before Christ. " The 
 Yuchi, established in Bactria and along the Jihun, eventually 
 bore the name of Jeta or Yetan,^ that is to say, Getae. Their 
 empire subsisted a long time in this part of Asia, and extended 
 even into India. These are the people whom the Greeks knew 
 under the name of Indo-Scythes. Their manners are the same 
 as those of the Turks .^ Revolutions occurred in the very heart 
 of the East, whose consequences were felt afar." * 
 
 The period allowed by all these authorities for the migration 
 of these Scythic hordes into Europe is also that for their entry 
 into India. 
 
 The sixth century is that calculated for the Takshak from 
 Sheshnagdesa ; and it is on this event and reign that the Puranas 
 declare, that from this period " no prince of pure blood would be 
 
 ^ The great [maha) warrior [vir). [Buddha lived 567-487 b.c. : Mahavira, 
 founder of Jainism, died about 527 B.C.] 
 
 - Yeutland was the name given to the whole Cimbric Chersonese, or 
 Jutland (Pinkerton, On the Goths). 
 
 * Turk, Turushka, Takshak, or ' Taunak, fils de Tnrc ' (Abulghazi, 
 History of the Tatars). 
 
 * Histoire des Huns, vol. i. p. 42.
 
 PERSONAL HL^BITS, DRESS, THEOGONY, RITES 79 
 
 found, but that the Sudra, the Turushka, and the Yavan, would 
 prevail." 
 
 All these Indu-Scythic invaders held the religion of Buddha : 
 and hence the conformity of manners and mythology between the 
 Scandinavian or German tribes and the Rajputs increased by 
 comparing their martial poetry. 
 
 Similarity of religious manners affords stronger proofs of 
 original identity than language. Language is eternally changing 
 — so are manners ; but an exploded custom or rite traced to its 
 source, and maintained in opposition to climate, is a testimony 
 not to be rejected. 
 
 Personal Habits, Dress. — When Tacitus informs us that the 
 first act of a German on rising was ablution, it will be conceded 
 this habit was not acquired in [66] the cold climate of Germany, 
 but must have been of eastern ^ origin ; as were " the loose 
 flowing robe ; the long and braided hair, tied in a knot at the top 
 of the head " ; with many other customs, personal habits, and 
 superstitions of the Scj'thic Cimbri, Juts, Chatti, Suevi, analogous 
 to the Getic nations of the same name, as described by Herodotus, 
 Justin, and Strabo, and which yet obtain amongst the Rajput 
 Sakhae of the present day. 
 
 Let us contrast what history affords of resemblance in religion 
 or manners. First, as to religion. 
 
 Taeogony. — Tuisto (IVIercury) and Ertha (the earth) were the 
 chief divinities of the early German tribes. Tuisto ^ was born of 
 the Earth (Ila) and Manus (Manu). Ke is often confounded 
 with Odin, or Woden, the Budha of the eastern tribes, though 
 they are the Mars and Mercury of these nations. 
 
 ^ Though Tacitus calls the German tribes indigenous, it is evident he 
 knew their claim to Asiatic origin, when he asks, " Who would leave the 
 softer abodes of Asia for Germany, where Nature yields nothing but 
 deformity ? " 
 
 2 In an inscription of the Geta or Jat Prince of SaUndrapur (Salpur) of the 
 fifth century, he is styled " of the race of Tusta " {qu. Tuisto ?). It is in that 
 ancient nail-headed character used by the ancient Buddhists of India, and 
 still the sacred character of the Tatar Lamas : in short, the Pali. All the 
 ancient inscriptions I possess of the branches of the Agnikulas, as the 
 Chauhan, Pramara, Solanki, and Parihara, are in this cha,racter. That of 
 the Jat prince styles liim " Jat Kathida " {qu. of (da) Cathay ?). From Tuisto 
 and Woden v.e have our Tuesdaj^ and Wednesday. In India, Wednesday is 
 Budhwar (Dies Mercurii), and Tuesday Mangalwar (Dies Martis), the Mardi 
 of the French.
 
 80 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Religious Rites. — The Suiones or Suevi, the most powerful 
 Getie nation of Scandinavia, were divided into many tribes, one 
 of whom, the Su (Yueh-chi or Jat), made human sacrifices in their 
 consecrated groves ^ to Ertha (Ila), whom all worshipped, and 
 whose chariot was drawn by a cow.^ The Suevi worshipped Tsis 
 (Isa, Gauri, the Isis and Ceres of Rajasthan), in whose rites the 
 figure of a ship is introduced ; " symbolic," observes Tacitus, 
 " of its foreign origin." ^ The festival of Isa, or Gauri, wife of 
 Iswara, at Udaipur, is performed on the lake, and appears to be 
 exactly that of Isis and Osiriain Egypt, as described by Herodotus. 
 On this occasion Iswara (Osiris), who is secondary to his wife, has 
 a stalk of the onion in blossom in his hand ; a root detested by 
 the Hindus generally, though adored by the Egyptians. 
 
 Customs of War. — They sung hymns in praise of Hercules, as 
 well as Tuisto or Odin, whose banners and images they carried 
 to the field ; and fought in clans, using the feram or javelin, both 
 in close and distant combat. In all maintaining [67] the resem- 
 blance to the Harikula, descendants of Budha, and the Aswa, 
 offspring of Bajaswa, who peopled those regions west of the 
 Indus, and whose redundant population spread both east and 
 west. 
 
 The Suevi, or Suiones, erected the celebrated temple of Upsala, 
 in which they placed the statues of Thor, Woden, and Freya, the 
 triple divinity of the Scandinavian Asii, the Trimurti of the Solar 
 and Lunar races. The first (Thor, the thunderer, or god of war) 
 is Hara, or Mahadeva, the destroyer ; the second (Woden) is 
 Budha,* the preserver ; and the third (Freya) is Uma, the creative 
 power. 
 
 The grand festival to Freya was in spring, when all nature 
 revived ; then boars were offered to her by the Scandinavians, 
 and even boars of paste were made and swallowed by the 
 peasantry. 
 
 As Vasanti, or spring personified, the consort of Hara is 
 worshipped by the Rajput, who opens the season with a grand 
 
 ^ Tacitus, Germania, xxxviii. 
 
 ^ The gau, or cow, symbolic of Prithivi, the earth. On this see note, 
 p. 33. 
 
 ' [Oermania, ix.] 
 
 * Krishna is the preserving deity of the Hindu triad. Krishna is of the 
 Tndu line of Budha, whom he worshipped prior to his own deification.
 
 COMPARISON OF RAJPUTwS WITH N. EUROPEANS 81 
 
 hunt/ led by the j^rince and his vassal chiefs, when they chase, 
 slay, and eat the boar. Personal danger is disregarded on this 
 day, as want of success is ominous that the Great Mother will 
 refuse all petitions throughout the year. 
 
 Pinkerton, quoting Ptolemy (who was fifty years after Tacitus), 
 says there were six nations in Yeutland or Jutland, the country 
 of the Juts, of whom were the Sablingii (Suevi,^ or Suiones), the 
 Chatti and Hermandri, who extended to the estuary of the Elbe 
 and Weser. There they erected the pillar Irmansul to " the god 
 of war," regarding which Sammes ^ observes : " some will have 
 it to be Mars his pillar, others Hermes Saul, or the pillar of Hermes 
 or Mercury " ; and he naturally asks, " how did the Saxons come 
 to be acquainted with the Greek name of Mercury ? " 
 
 Sacrificial pillars are termed Sula in Sanskrit ; which, con- 
 joined with Hara,* the Indian god of war, would be Harsula. The 
 Rajput warrior invokes Hara with his trident (trisula) to help 
 him in battle, while his battle-shout is ' mar ! mar ! ' The 
 Cimbri, one of the most celebrated of the six tribes of Yeutland, 
 derive their name from their fame as warriors [68].^ 
 
 Kumara * is the Rajput god of war. He is represented with 
 seven heads in the Hindu mythology : the Saxon god of war has 
 six.' The six-headed Mars of the Cimbri Chersonese, to whom 
 was raised the Ii'mansul on the Weser, was worshipped by the 
 Sakasenae, the Chatti, the Siebi or Suevi, the Jotae or Getae, and 
 the Cimbri, evincing in name, as in religious rites, a common 
 origin with the martial warriors of Hindustan. 
 
 Rajput Religion. — ^The religion of the martial Rajput, and the 
 rites of Hara, the god of battle, are little analogous to those of 
 
 1 ' Mahurat ka shikar.' 2 ^he Siebi of Tacitus. 
 
 ^ Sammes's Saxon Ardiquities. 
 
 * Hara is the Thor of Scandinavia ; Hari is Budha, Hermes, or Mercury. 
 
 ^ Mallet derives it from kempfer, ' to fight.' [The name is said to mean 
 'comrades' (Rhys, Celtic Britain, 116). Irmansul means ' a colossus,' and 
 has no connexion with Skr. sfda (CTrimm, Teutonic 3Iythologi/, i. 115).] 
 
 ** Ku is a mere prefix, meaning ' evil ' ; ' the evil striker (Mar).' Hence, 
 probably, the Mars of Rome. The birth of Kumar, the general of the army 
 of the gods, with the Hindus, is exactly that of the Grecians, born of the 
 goddess Jahnavi (Juno) without sexual intercourse. Kumara is always 
 accompanied by the peacock, the bird of Juno. [Kumara probably means 
 ' easily dying ' ; there is no connexion with Mars, originally a deity of 
 vegetation.] 
 
 ' For a drawing of the Scandinavian god of battle see Sammes. 
 
 VOL I Q
 
 82 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 the meek Hindus, the followers of the pastoral divinity, the 
 worshippers of kine, and feeders on fruits, herbs, and water. 
 The Rajput delights in blood : his offerings to the god of battle 
 are sanguinary, blood and wine. The cup (kharpara) of libation 
 is the human skull. He loves them because they are emblematic 
 of the deity he worships ; and he is taught to believe that Hara 
 loves them, who in war is represented with tb.e skull to drink 
 the foeman's blood, and in peace is the patron of wine and women. 
 With Parbati on his knee, his eyes rolling from the juice of the 
 phul (ardent spirits) and opium, such is this Bacchanalian divinity 
 of war. Is this Hinduism, acquired on the burning plains of 
 India ? Is it not rather a perfect picture of the manners of the 
 Scandinavian heroes ? 
 
 The Rajput slays buffaloes, hunts and eats the boar and deer, 
 and shoots ducks and wild fowl (kukkut) ; he worships his horse, 
 his sword, and the sun, and attends more to the martial song of 
 the bard than to the litany of the Brahman. In the martial 
 mythology and warlike poetry of the Scandinavians a wide field 
 exists for assimilation, and a comparison of the poetical remains 
 of the Asi of the east and west would alone suffice to suggest a 
 common origin. 
 
 Bards. — In the sacred Bardai of the Rajput we have the bard 
 of our Saxon ancestry ; those reciters of warlike poetry, of whom 
 Tacitus says, " with their barbarous strains, they influence their 
 minds in the day of battle with a chorus of military virtue." 
 
 A comparison, in so extensive a field, would include the whole 
 of their manners and religious opinions, and must be reserved for 
 a distinct work.'- The Valkyrie [69], or fatal sisters of the Suevi 
 or Siebi, would be the twin sisters of the Apsaras, who summon the 
 Rajput warrior from the field of battle, and bear him to " the 
 mansion of the sun," equally the object of attainment with the 
 children of Odin in Scandinavia, and of Budha and Surya in the 
 
 ^ I have in contemplation to give to the public a few of the sixty-nine 
 books of the poems of Chand, the last great bard of the last Hindu emperor 
 of India, Prithwiraja. They are entirely heroic : each book a relation of 
 one of the exploits of this prince, the first warrior of his time. Thej' will 
 aid a comparison between the Rajput and Scandinavian bards, and sliow 
 how far the Proven9al Troubadour, the Neustrienne Trouveur, and Minne- 
 singer of Germany, have anytliing in common witli the Rajput Bardai. 
 [For Rajput bards on horseback, drunk with opium, singing songs to arouse 
 warriors' courage, see Manucci ii. 4'M f.l
 
 COMPARISON OF RAJPUTS WITH N. EUROPEANS 83 
 
 plains of Scythia and on the Ganges, like the Elysium ^ of the 
 Heliadae of Greece. 
 
 In the day of battle we should see in each the same excitements 
 to glory and contempt of death, and the dramatis personae of the 
 field, both celestial and terrestrial, move and act alike. We should 
 see Thor, the thunderer, leading the Siebi, and Hara (Siva) the 
 Indian Jove, his own worshippers (Sivseva) ; in which Freya, 
 or Bhavani, and even the preserver (Krislma) himself, not 
 un frequently mingle. 
 
 War Chariots. — The war chariot is peculiar to the Indu-Seythic 
 nations, from Dasaratha,^ and the heroes of the Mahabharata, to 
 the conquest of Hindustan by the Muhammadans, when it was 
 laid aside. On the plains of Kurukshetra, Krishna became 
 charioteer to his friend Arjun ; and the Getic hordes of the 
 Jaxartes, when they aided Xerxes in Greece, and Darius on the 
 plains of Arbela,' had their chief strength in the war chariot. 
 
 The war chariot continued to be used later in the south-west 
 of India than elsewhere, and the Kathi,* Khuman, Kumari of 
 
 . ^ 'EXvaioi, from "HXtos, ' the sun ' ; also a title of Apollo, the Hari of 
 India. [The two words, from the accentuation, can have no connexion.] 
 
 ^ This title of tlie father of Rama denotes a ' charioteer ' [' having ten 
 chariots.' Harsha (a.d. 612-647) discarded the chariot (Smith, EHI, 339)]. 
 
 ^ The Indian satrapy of Darius, saj's Herodotus [iii. 94], was the richest 
 of all the Persian provinces, and yielded six himdred talents of gold. Arrian 
 informs us that his Indo-Scythic subjects, in his wars with Alexander, were 
 the elite of his army. Besides the Sakasenae, we find tribes in name similar 
 to those included in the thirty-six Rajkula ; especially the Dahae (Dahya, 
 one of the thirty-six races). The Indo-Scythic contingent was two hundred 
 war chariots and fifteen elephants, which were marshalled with the Parthii 
 on the right, and also near Darius's person. By this disposition they were 
 opposed to the cohort commanded by Alexander in person. The chariots 
 commenced the action, and prevented a manoeuvre of Alexander to turn 
 the left flank of the Persians. Of their horse, also, the most honourable 
 mention is made ; they penetrated into the division where Parmenio com- 
 manded, to whom Alexander was compelled to send reinforcements. The 
 Grecian historian dwells with pleasure on Indo-Scythic valour : " there 
 were no equestrian feats, no distant fighting with darts, but each fought as 
 if victory depended on his sole arm." They fought the Greeks hand to 
 hand [Arrian, Anabasis, iii. 15]. 
 
 But the loss of empire was decreed at Arbela, and the Sakae and Indo 
 Scythae had the honour of being slaughtered by the Yavans of Greece, far 
 from their native land, in the aid of the king of kings. 
 
 * The Kathi are celebrated in Alexander's wars. The Kathiawar Kathi 
 can be traced from Multan {the ancient abode) {mtdasthcma, ' principal place '].
 
 84 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Saurashtra have to recent times retained their Scythie habits, as 
 their monumental stones testify, expressing their being slain 
 from their cars [70]. 
 
 Position of Women. — In no point does resemblance more 
 attach between the ancient German and Scandinavian tribes, and 
 the martial Rajput or ancient Getae, than in their delicacy towards 
 females, 
 
 " The Germans," says Tacitus [Germania, viii.], " deemed the 
 advice of a woman in periods of exigence oracular." So does the 
 Rajput, as the bard Chand often exemplifies ; and hence they 
 append to her name the epithet Devi (or contracted De), ' god- 
 like.' " To a German mind," says Tacitus, " the idea of a woman 
 led into captivity is insupportable " ; and to prevent this the 
 Rajput raises the poignard against the heart which beats only for 
 him, though never to survive the dire necessity. It is then they 
 perform the sacrifice ' johar,' when every sakha (branch) is cut 
 off : and hence the Rajput glories in the title of Sakha-band, from 
 having performed the sakha ; an awful rite, and with every 
 appearance of being the sacaea of the Scythie Getae, as described 
 by Strabo.^ 
 
 The Dahya (Dahae), Johya (the latter Hunnish), and Kathi are amongst 
 the thirty-six races. All dwelt, six centuries ago, within the five streams 
 and in the deserts south of the Ghara. The two last have left but a name. 
 ^ The Sakae had invaded the inhabitants on the borders of the Pontic 
 Sea : whilst engaged in dividing the booty, the Persian generals surprised 
 them at night, and exterminated them. To eternize the remembrance of 
 this event, the Persians heaped up the earth round a rock in the plain where 
 the battle was fought, on which they erected two temples, one to the goddess 
 Anaitis, the other to the divinities Omanus and Anandate, and then founded 
 the anmial festival called Sacaea, still celebrated by the possessors of Zela. 
 Such is tlie account by some authors of the origin of Sacaea. According to 
 others it dates from the reign of Cyrus only. This prince, they say, having 
 carried the war into the country of the Sakae (Massagetae of Herodotus) 
 lost a battle. Compelled to fall back on his magazines, abundantly stored 
 with provisions, but especially wine, and having halted some time to refresh 
 his army, he departed before the enemy, feigning a flight, and leaving his 
 camp standing full of provisions. The Sakae, who pursued, reaching the 
 abandoned camp stored with provisions, gave themselves up to debauch. 
 Cyrus returned and surprised the inebriated and senseless barbarians. 
 Some, buried in profound sleep, were easily massacred ; others occupied in 
 drinking and dancing, without defence, fell into the hands of armed foes : 
 so that all perished. The conqueror, attributing his success to divine pro- 
 tection, consecrated this day to the goddess honoured in his country, and 
 decreed it should be called ' the day of the Sacaea.' This is the battle
 
 GAMING, OMENS, AUGURIES 85 
 
 Gaming. — In passion for play at games of cliance, its extent 
 and dire consequences, the Rajput, from the earliest times, has 
 evinced a predilection, and will stand comparison with the Scythian 
 and his German offspring. The German staked his personal 
 liberty, became a slave, and was sold as the property of the 
 winner. To this vice the Pandavas owed the loss of their 
 sovereignty and personal liberty, involving at last the destruction 
 of all the Indu [71] races ; nor has the passion abated. Religion 
 even consecrates the vice ; and once a year, on ' the Festival of 
 Lamps ' (Diivali), all propitiate the goddess of wealth and fortune 
 (Lakshmi) by offering at her shrine. 
 
 Destitute of mental pursuits, the martial Rajput is often 
 slothful or attached to sensual pleasures, and when roused, reck- 
 less on what he may wreak a fit of energy. Yet when order and 
 discipline prevail in a wealthy chieftainship, there is much of that 
 patriarchal mode of life, with its amusements, alike suited to the 
 Rajput, the Getae of the Jihun, or Scandinavian. 
 
 Omens, Auguries. — Divination by lots, auguries, and omens 
 by flights of birds, as practised by the Getic nations described by 
 Herodotus, and amongst the Germans by Tacitus, will be found 
 amongst the Rajputs, from whose works ^ on this subject might 
 have been supplied the whole of the Augurs and Aruspices, 
 German or Roman. 
 
 Love of Strong Drink. — Love of liquor, and indulgence in it to 
 excess, were deep-rooted in the Scandinavian Asi and German 
 tribes, and in which they showed their Getic origin ; nor is the 
 
 related by Herodotus, to which Strabo alludes, between the Persian monarch 
 and Tomyris, queen of the Getae. Amongst the Rajput Sakha, all grand 
 battles attended with fatal results are termed sakha. When besieged, 
 without hope of relief, in the last effort of despair, the females are immolated, 
 and the warriors, decorated in saffron robes, rush on inevitable destruction. 
 This is to perform sakha., where every branch (sakha) is cut off. Chitor has 
 to boast of having thrice (and a half) suffered sakha. Chitor sakha ka pap, 
 ' by the sin of the sack of Chitor,' the most solemn adjuration of the Guhilot 
 Rajput. If such the origin of the festival from the slaughter of the Sakae 
 of Tomyris, it will be allowed to strengthen the analogy contended for 
 between the Sakae east and west the Indus. [For the Sacaea festival see 
 Sir J. Frazer, The Golden Bough, The Dying God, 113 ff. It has no connexion 
 with the Rajput Sakha, ' a fight,' which, again, is a different word from 
 Sakha, ' a branch, clan.'] 
 
 ^ I presented a work on this subject to the Royal Asiatic Society, as well 
 as another on Palmistry, etc.
 
 86 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Rajput behind his brethren either of Scythia or Europe, It is 
 the free use of this and similar indulgences, prohibited by ordin- 
 ances which govern the ordinary Hindu, that first induced me to 
 believe that these warlike races were little indebted to India. 
 
 The Rajput welcomes his guest with the munawzoar ph/ala, or 
 ' cup of request,' in which they drown ancient enmities. The 
 heroes of Odin never relished a cup of mead more than the Rajput 
 his madhu ; -^ and the bards of Scandinavia and Rajwara are alike 
 eloquent in the praise of the bowl, on which the Bardai exhausts 
 every metaphor, and calls it ambrosial, immortal.^ " The bard, 
 as he sipped the ambrosia, in which sparkled the ruby seed of the 
 pomegranate, rehearsed the glory of the" race of the fearless.^ 
 May the king live for ever, alike bounteous in gifts to the bard 
 and the foe ! " Even in the heaven of Indra, the Hindu warrior's 
 paradise, akin to Valhalla [72], the Rajput has his cup, which is 
 served by the Apsaras, the twin sister of the celestial Hebe of 
 Scania. " I shall quaff full goblets amongst the gods," says the 
 dying Getic warrior ; * "I die laughing " : sentiments which 
 would be appreciated by a Rajput. 
 
 A Rajput inebriated is a rare sight : but a more destructive 
 and recent vice has usurped much of the honours of the ' invita- 
 tion cup,' which has been degi-aded from the pure ' flower ' * 
 to an infusion of the poppy, destructive of every quality. Of this 
 pernicious habit we may use the words which the historian of 
 Gerinan manners applies to the tribes of the Weser and Elbe, in 
 respect to their love of strong drink : " Indulge it, and you need not 
 employ the terror of your arms ; their own vices will subdue them." 
 
 ^ Madlm is intoxicating drink, from madhu, ' a bee,' in Sanskrit [madhu, 
 ' anything sweet ']. It is well known that mead is from honey. It would 
 be curious if the German mead was from the Indian madhu (bee) : then 
 both cup {kharpnra) and beverage would be borrowed. [3IadJm does not 
 mean ' a bee ' in Sanskrit.] 
 
 2 Anirila (immortal), from the initial privative and mrit, ' death.' Thu.s 
 the Immurthal, or ' vale of immortality,' at Neufchatel, is as good Sanskrit 
 as German [?]. 
 
 =» Abhai Singh, ' the fearless lion,' prince of Marwar, whose bard makes 
 this speech at the festal board, when the prince presented with his own 
 hand the cup to the bard. 
 
 * Regner Lodbrog, in his dying ode, when the destinies summon him. 
 
 * Phul, the flower of the mahua tree, the favourite drink of a Rajput. 
 Classically, in Sanskrit it is madhuka, of the class Polyandria Monogynia 
 [Bassia latifolia] (see As. Ecs. vol. i. p. 300).
 
 FUNERAL CEREMONIES 87 
 
 The Clip of the Scandinavian worshippers of Thor, the god of 
 battle, was a human skull, that of the foe, in which they showed 
 their thirst of blood ; also borrowed from the chief of the Hindu 
 Triad, Hara, the god of battle, who leads his heroes in the ' red 
 field of slaughter ' with the kkopra ^ in his hand, with which he 
 gorges on the blood of the slain. 
 
 Kara is the patron of all who love war and strong drink, and is 
 especially the object of the Rajput warrior's devotion : accord- 
 ingly blood and wine form the chief oblations to the great god of 
 the Indus. The Gosains,^ the peculiar priests of Hara, or Bal, 
 the sun, all indulge in intoxicating drugs, herbs, and drinks. 
 Seated on their lion, leopard, or deer skins, their bodies covered 
 with ashes, their hair matted and braided, with iron tongs to 
 5'ecd the penitential fires, their savage appearance makes them fit 
 organs for the commands of the blood and slaughter. Contrary, 
 lllcewise, to general practice, the minister of Hara, the god of war, 
 at his death is committed to the earth, and a circular tumulus is 
 raised over him ; and with some classes of Gosains, small tumuli, 
 whose form is the frustrum of a cone, with lateral steps, the apex 
 crowned with a cylindrical stone [73].' 
 
 Funeral Ceremonies. — In the last rites for the dead, compari- 
 son will yield proofs of original similarity. The funeral cere- 
 monies of Scandinavia have distinguished the national eras, and 
 the ' age of fire ' and ' the age of hills,' * designated the periods 
 when the warrior was committed to mother earth or consumed 
 on the pyre. 
 
 Odin (Budha) introduced the latter custom, and the raising 
 of tiunuli over the ashes when the body was burned ; as also the 
 practice of the wife burning with her deceased lord. These 
 
 ^ A human skull ; in the dialects pronounced kho2Mr : Qu. cup in Saxon ? 
 JCup, in Low Latin cuppa.] 
 
 ' The Kanphara [or Kanphata] Jogis, or Gosains, are in great bodies, 
 often in many thousands, and are sought as aUies, especially in defensive 
 warfare. In the grand miutary festivals at Udaipur to the god of war, 
 the scyiuitar, symboho of Mars, worshipped by the Guhilots, is entrusted 
 to them [I A, vii. 47 ff. ; BO, ix. part i. 543]. 
 
 ' An entire cemetery of these, besides many detached, I have seen, and 
 also the sacred rites to their manes by the disciples occupying these abodes 
 of austerity, when the flowers of the ak [Calatropis gigantea] and leaves of 
 evergreen were strewed on the grave, and sprinkled with the pure element. 
 
 * Mallet's Northern Antiquities, chap. xii.
 
 88 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 manners were carried from Sakadwipa, or Saka Scythia, " where 
 the Geta," says Herodotus [v. 5], " was consumed on the pyre 
 or burned ahve with her lord." With the Getae, the Siebi or 
 Suevi of Scandinavia, if the deceased had more than one wife, 
 the elder claimed the privilege of burning.'^ Thus, " Nanna was 
 consumed in the same fire with the body of her husband, Balder, 
 one of Odin's companions." But the Scandinavians were anxious 
 to forget this naark of their Asiatic origin, and were not always 
 willing to burn, or to make " so cruel and absurd a sacrifice to the 
 manes of their husbands, the idea of which had been picked up 
 by their Scythian ancestors, when they inhabited the warmer 
 climates of Asia, where they had their first abodes." - 
 
 " The Scythic Geta," says Herodotus [iv. 71], " had his horse 
 sacrificed on his funeral pyre ; and the Scandinavian Geta had 
 his horse and arms buried with him, as they could not approach 
 Odin on foot." ^ The Rajput warrior is carried to his final abode 
 armed at all points as when alive, his shield on his back and brand 
 in hand ; while his steed, though not sacrificed, is often presented 
 to the deity, and becomes a perquisite of the priest. 
 
 Sati. — The burning of the dead warrior, and female immolation, 
 or Sati, are well-known rites, though the magnificent cenotaphs 
 raised on the spot of sacrifice are little known or visited by Euro- 
 peans ; than which there are no better memorials of the rise and 
 decline of the States of the Rajput heptarchy. It is the son who 
 raises the mausoleum to the memory of his father ; which last 
 token of respect, or laudable vanity, is only limited by the means 
 of the treasury. It is commemorative [74] of the splendour of 
 his reign that the dome of his father sbould eclipse that of his 
 predecessor. In every principality of Rajwara, the remark is 
 applicable to chieftains as well as princes. 
 
 Each sacred spot, termed ' the place of great sacrifice ' (Maha- 
 sati), is the haunted ground of legendary lore. Amongst the 
 altars on which have burned the beauteous and the brave, the 
 harpy * takes up her abode, and stalks forth to devour the hearts 
 
 1 Mallet chap. xii. vol. i. p. 289. ^ Edda. 
 
 ^ Mallet's Northern Antiquities, chap. xii. The Celtic Franks had the 
 same custom. The arms of Chilperic, and the bones of the horse on which 
 he was to be presented to Odin, were found in his tomb. 
 
 * The Dakini (the Jigarkhor of Sindh) is the genuine vampire [Atn, ii. 
 338 f .]. Captain Waugh, after a long chase in the valley of Udaipur, speared
 
 FUNERAL RITES 89 
 
 of her victims. The Rajput never enters these places of silence 
 but to perform stated rites, or anniversary offerings of flowers 
 and water to the manes (pitri-deva ^) of his ancestors. 
 
 Odin ^ guarded his warriors' final abode from rapine by means 
 of " wandering fires which played around the tombs " ; and the 
 tenth chapter of the Salic law is on punishments against " carrying 
 off the boards or carpets of the tombs." Fire and water are 
 interdicted to such sacrilegious spoliators. 
 
 The shihaba,^ or wandering meteoric fires, on fields of battle 
 and in the places of ' great sacrifice,' produce a pleasing yet 
 melancholy effect ; and are the source of superstitious dread and 
 reverence to the Hindu, having their origin in the same natural 
 cause as the ' wandering fires of Odin ' ; the phosphorescent 
 salts produced from animal decomposition. 
 
 The Scandinavian reared the tumulus over the ashes of the 
 dead ; so did the Geta of the Jaxartes, and the officiating priests 
 of Hara, the Hindu god of battle. 
 
 The noble picture drawn by Gibbon of the sepulture of the 
 Getic Alaric is paralleled by that of the great Jenghiz Khan. 
 When the lofty mound was raised, extensive forests were planted, 
 to exclude for ever the footsteps of man from his remains. 
 
 The tumulus, the cairn, or the pillar, still rises over the Rajput 
 who falls in [75] battle ; and throughout Rajwara these sacri- 
 ficial monuments are foimd, where are seen carved in relief the 
 warrior on his steed, armed at all points ; his faithful wife (Sati) 
 
 a hyena, whose abode was the tombs, and well known as the steed on which 
 the witch of Ar sallied forth at night. Evil was predicted : and a dangerous 
 fall, subsequently, in chasing an elk, was attributed to his sacrilegious 
 slaughter of the weird sister's steed. 
 
 ^ Pitri-deva, ' Father-lords.' ^ MaUet chap. xii. 
 
 ^ At Gwalior, on the east side of that famed fortress, where myriads of 
 M^arriors have fattened the soil, these phosphorescent lights often present a 
 singular appearance. I have, with friends whose eyes this will meet, marked 
 the procession of these lambent night-fires, becoming extinguished at one 
 place and rising at another, which, aided by the unequal locale, have been 
 frequently mistaken for the Mahratta prince returning with his numerous 
 torch-bearers from a distant day's sport. I have dared as bold a Rajput 
 as ever lived to approach them ; whose sense of the levity of my desire was 
 strongly depicted, both in speech and mien : " men he would encounter, 
 but not the spirits of those erst slain in battle." It was generally about the 
 conclusion of the rains that these lights were observed, v/hen evaporation 
 took place from these marshy grounds impregnated with salts.
 
 90 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 beside him, denoting a sacrifice, and the sun and moon on either 
 side, emblematic of never-dying fame. • 
 
 Cairns, Pillars. — In Saurashtra, amidst the Kathi, Khuman, 
 Bala, and others of Scythic descent, the Paliya, or Jujhar (sacri- 
 ficial pillars), are conspicuous under the walls of every town, in 
 lines, irregular groups, and circles. On each is displayed in rude 
 relief the warrior, with the manner of his death, lance in hand, 
 generally on horseback, though sometimes in his ear ; and on the 
 coast ' the pirates of Budha ' ^ are depicted boarding from the 
 shrouds. Amidst the Khuman of Tatary the Jesuits found stone 
 circles, similar to those met with wherever the Celtic rites pre- 
 vailed ; and it would require no great ingenuity to prove an 
 analogy, if not a common origin, between Druidic circles and the 
 Indo-Scythic monumental remains. The trilithon, or seat, in 
 the centre of the judicial circle, is formed by a number sacred to 
 Hara, Bal, or the sun, whose priest expounds the law. 
 
 Worship o£ Arms. The Sword. — The devotion of the Rajput 
 is still paid to his arms, as to his horse. He swears ' by the steel,' 
 and prostrates himself before his defensive buckler, his lance, his 
 sword, or his dagger. 
 
 The worship of the sword (asi) may divide with that of the 
 horse (aszva) the honour of giving a name to the continent of Asia. 
 It prevailed amongst the Scythic Getae, and is described exactly 
 by Herodotus [iv. 62]. To Dacia and Thrace it was carried by 
 Getic colonies from the Jaxartes, and fostered by these lovers of 
 liberty when their hordes overran Europe. 
 
 The worship of the sword in the Acropolis of Athens by the 
 Getic Attila, with all the accompaniments of pomp and place, 
 forms an admirable episode in the history of the decline and fall 
 of Rome ; and had Gibbon witnessed the worship of the double- 
 edged sword (khanda) by the prince of Mewar and all his chivalry, 
 he might even have embellished his animated account of the 
 adoration of the scymitar, the symbol of Mars. 
 
 Initiation to Arms. — Initiation to military fame was the same 
 with the [76] German as with the Rajput, when the youthful 
 candidate was presented with the lance, or buckled with the 
 sword ; a ceremony which will be noticed when their feudal 
 
 ^ At I)warka, the god of thieves is called Budha Trivikrama, or of triple 
 energy : the Hermes Triplex, or three-headed Mercury of the Egyptians. 
 [No such cult is mentioned in the account of Dwarka, BG, viii. GOl.J
 
 INITIATION TO ARMS : ASVAAIEDHA 91 
 
 manners are described ; many other traits of character will then 
 be depicted. It would be easy to swell the list of analogous 
 customs, which even to the objects of dislike in food ^ would 
 furnish comparison between the ancient Celt and Rajput ; but 
 they shall close with the detail of the most ancient of rites. 
 
 Asvamedha, the Horse Sacrifice. — There are some things, 
 animate and inanimate, which have been common objects of 
 adoration amongst the nations of the earth, the sun, the moon, 
 and all the host of heaven ; the sword ; reptiles, as the serpent ; 
 animals, as the noblest, the horse. This last was not worshipped 
 as an abstract object of devotion, but as a type of that glorious 
 orb which has had reverence from every child of nature. The 
 plains of Tatary, the sands of Libya, the rocks of Persia, the valley 
 of the Ganges, and the wilds of Orinoco, have each yielded votaries 
 alike ardent in devotion to his effulgence : 
 
 Of this great world both eye and soul. 
 
 His symbolic worship and offerings varied with clime and habit ; 
 and while the altars of Bal in Asia, of Belenus among the Celts 
 of Gaul and Britain, smoked with human sacrifices, the bull ^ 
 bled to Mithras in Babylon, and the steed was the victim to Surya 
 on the Jaxartes and Ganges. 
 
 The father of history says that the great Getae of Central Asia 
 deemed it right to offer the swiftest of created to the swiftest of 
 non-created beings. It is fair to infer that the sun's festival with 
 the Getae and Aswa nations of the Jaxartes, as with those of 
 Scandinavia, was the winter solstice, the Sankrant of the Rajput 
 
 ^ Caesar informs us that the Celts of Britain would not eat the hare, 
 goose, or domestic fowl. The Rajput will hunt the first, but neither eats it, 
 nor the goose, sacred to the god of battle (Hara). The Rajput of Mewar 
 eats the jungle fowl, but rarely the domestic. 
 
 '^ As he did also to Balnath (the god Bal) in the ancient times of India. 
 The baldan, or gift of the bull to the sun, is well recorded. [Balddn, baliddna 
 does not mean the offering of a bull : it is the daily presentation of a portion 
 of the meat to Earth and other deities.] There are numerous temples in 
 Rajasthan of Baahm [?] ; and Balpur (Mahadeo) has several in vSaurashtra. 
 All represent the sun — 
 
 Peor his other name, when he enticed 
 Israel in Sittim, on their march from Nile. 
 
 Paradise Lost, book i. 412 f. [77], 
 
 The temple of Solomon was to Bal, and all the idolaters of that day seem- 
 to have held to the grosser tenets of Hinduism.
 
 92 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 and Hindu in general. Hi, Haija, Hyimr, Aswa denote the 
 steed in Sanskrit and its dialects. In Gothic, hyrsa ; Teutonic, 
 hors ; Saxon, horse. The grand festival of the German tribes of 
 the Baltic was the Hiul, or Hid (already commented on), the 
 Asvamedha ^ of the children of Surya, on the Ganges. 
 
 The Asvamedha Ceremonies. — The ceremonies of the Asvamediia 
 are too expensive, and attended with too great risk, to be attempted 
 by modern princes. Of its fatal results we have many historical 
 records, from the first dawn of Indian history to the last of its 
 princes, Prithwiraja. The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the 
 poems of Chand all illustrate this imposing rite and its effects.^ 
 
 The Ramayana affords a magnificent picture of the Asvamedha. 
 Dasaratha, monarch of Ayodhya, father of Rama, is represented 
 as commanding the rite : " Let the sacrifice be prepared, and the 
 horse ' liberated from the north bank of the Sarju ! " * A year 
 being ended, and the horse having returned from his wanderings,* 
 the sacrificial ground was prepared on the spot of liberation. 
 
 ^ In Aswa {medha signifies ' to kill ') we have the derivation of the ancient 
 races, sons of Bajaswa, who peopled the countries on both sides the Indus, 
 and the probable etymon of Asia [?]. The Assakenoi, the Ariaspai of 
 Alexander's historians, and Aspasianae, to whom Arsaces fled from Seleucus, 
 and whom Strabo terms a Getic race, have the same origin ; hence Asigarh, 
 ' the fortress of the Asi ' (erroneously termed Hansi), and Asgard were the 
 first settlements of the Getic Asi in Scandinavia. Alexander received the 
 homage of all these Getic races at ' the mother of cities,' Balkh, ' seat of 
 Cathaian Khan ' (the Jat Kathida of my inscription), according to Marco 
 Polo, from whom Milton took his geography. 
 
 ^ The last was undertaken by the celebrated Sawai Jai Singh of Amber ; 
 but the milk-white steed of the sun, I believe, was not turned out, or 
 assuredly the Ratliors would liave accepted the challenge. 
 
 ^ A milk-white steed is selected with peculiar marks. On hberation, 
 properly guarded, he wanders where he listeth. It is a virtual challenge. 
 Arjuna guarded the steed liberated by Yudhishthira ; but that sent round 
 by Parikshita, his grandson, " was seized by the Takshak of the north." 
 The same fate occurred to Sagara, father of Dasaratha, which involved the 
 loss of his kingdom. 
 
 * The Sarju, or Gandak, from the Kumaun mountains, passes through 
 Kosalades, the dominion of Dasaratha. 
 
 * The liorse's return after a year evidently indicates an astronomical 
 revolution, or the sun's return to the same point in the echptic. Tliis 
 return from his southern dechnation must have been always a day of rejoic- 
 ing to the Scythic and Scandinavian nations, who could not, says Gibbon, 
 fancy a worse hell than a large abode open to the cold wind of the north. 
 To the south they looked for the deity ; and hence, with the Rajputs, a 
 religious law forbids their doors being to the north.
 
 THE ASVAMEDHiV 93 
 
 Invitations were sent to all surrounding monarchs to repair 
 to Ayodhya : King Kaikeya,^ the king of Kasi,^ Lomapada of 
 Angadesa,^ Kosala of Magadhadesa,* with the kings of Sindhu/ 
 Sauvira,® and Saurashtra [78].' 
 
 WTien the sacrificial pillars are erected, the rites commence. 
 This portion of the ceremony, termed Yupochchraya, is tlius 
 minutely detailed : " There were twenty-one yupas, or pillars,* 
 of octagonal shape, each twenty-one feet in height and four feet 
 in diameter, the capitals bearing the figure of a man, an elephant, 
 or a bull. They were of the various sorts of wood appropriated 
 to holy rites, overlaid with plates of gold and ornamented cloth, 
 and adorned with festoons of flowers. Wliile the yupas were 
 erecting, the Adhvaryu, receiving his instructions from the Hotri. 
 or sacrificing priest, recited aloud the incantations. 
 
 ^ Kaike3^a is supposed by the translator, Dr. Carey, to be a king of Persia, 
 the Kaivansa preceding Dariu'i. The epithet Kai not unfrequently occurs 
 in Hindu traditional couplets.- One, which I remember, is connected with 
 the ancient ruins of Abhaner in Jaipur, recording the marriage of one of its 
 princes with a daughter of Kaikamb. 
 
 Tu beti Kaikamb /./, 7iam Panyiala ho, etc. ' Thou art the daughter of 
 Kaikamb : thy name Fairy Garland.' Kai was the epithet of one of the 
 Persian dynasties. Qu. Kam-bakhsh, the Cambj^ses of the Greeks ? [Cam- 
 byses, Kabuziya or Kambuzlya, possibly ' a bard ' (Rawlinson, Herodotvs, 
 iii. 543).] ^ Benares. 
 
 3 Tibet or Ava [N. Bengal]. * Bihar. s Sind valley. 
 
 ^ Unknown to me [W. and S. Panjab and its vicinity]. 
 
 ' Peninsula of Kathiawar. 
 
 * I have seen several of these sacrificial pillars of stone of very ancient 
 date. Many years ago, when all the Rajput States were suffering from the 
 thraldom of the Mahrattas, a most worthy and wealthy banker of Surat, 
 known by the family name of Trivedi, who felt acutely for the woes inflicted 
 by incessant predatory foes on the sons of Rama and Krishna, told me, 
 with tears in his eyes, that the evils which afflicted Jaipur were to be attri- 
 buted to the sacrilege of the prince, Jagat Singh, who had dared to abstract 
 the gold plates of the sacrificial pillars, and send them to his treasure' : 
 worse than Rehoboam, who, when he took awaj' from the temple " the 
 shields of gold Solomon had made," had the grace to substitute others of 
 brass. Whether, when turned into currencj', it went as a war contribution 
 to the Mahrattas, or was applied to the less worthj' use of his concubine 
 queen, ' the essence of camphor/ it was of a piece with the rest of this 
 prince's unwise conduct. Jai Singh, who erected the pillars, did honour to his 
 countrj', of which he was a second founder, and under whom it attained the 
 height from which it has now fallen. [Some sacrificial pillars (yiipa) were 
 recently found in the bed of the .Jumna near I'lathura, with inscriptions 
 dated in the twenty -fourth j'car of Kanishka's reign, about a.d. 102.]
 
 94 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 " The sacrificial pits were in triple rows, eighteen in number, 
 and arranged in the form of the eagle. Here were placed 
 the victims for immolation ; birds, aquatic animals, and the 
 horse. 
 
 " Thrice was the steed of King Dasaratha led round the sacred 
 fire by Kosala, and as the priests pronounced the incantations he 
 was immolated ^ amidst shouts of joy. 
 
 " The king and queen, placed by the high priest near the horse, 
 sat up all night watching the birds ; and the officiating priest, 
 having taken out the hearts, dressed them agreeably to the holy 
 books. The sovereign of men smelled the smoke of the offered 
 hearts, acknowledging his transgressions in the order in which 
 they were committed. 
 
 " The sixteen sacrificing priests then placed (as commanded in 
 the ordinances) on the fire the parts of the horse. The oblation 
 of all the animals was made on wood, except that of the horse, 
 which was on cane. 
 
 " The rite concluded with gifts of land to the sacrificing priests 
 and augurs ; but the holy men preferring gold, ten millions of 
 jambunada ^ were bestowed on them" [79]. 
 
 Such is the circumstantial account of the Asvamedha, the 
 most imposing and the earliest heathen rite on record. It were 
 superfluous to point out the analogy between it and similar rites 
 of various nations, from the chosen people to the Auspex of 
 Rome and the confessional rite of the Catholic church. 
 
 The Sankrant,^ or Sivaratri (night of Siva), is the winter 
 solstice. On it the horse bled to the sun, or Balnath. 
 
 ^ On the Nauroz, or festival of the new year, the Great Mogul slays a 
 camel with his own hand, which is distributed, and eaten by the court 
 favourites. [A camel is sacrificed at the Tdu-1-azha festival (Hughes, Did. 
 Islam, 192 ff.).] 
 
 2 This was native gold, of a pecuharly dark and brilliant hue, which was 
 compared to the fruit jambu (not unlike a damson). Everything forms an 
 allegory with the Hindus ; and the production of this metal is appropriated 
 to the period of gestation of Jahnavi, the river-goddess (Ganges), when by 
 Agni, or fire, she produced Kumara, the god of war, the commander of the 
 army of the gods. This was when she left the place of her birth, the Hima- 
 laya mountain (the great storehouse of metallic substances), whose daughter 
 she is : and doubtless this is in allusion to some very remote period, when, 
 bursting her rock-bound bed, Ganga exposed from ' her side ' veins of this 
 precious metal. 
 
 ^ Little bags of brocade, filled with seeds of the sesamum or cakes of the
 
 SACRED TREES 95 
 
 The Scandinavians termed the longest night the ' mother 
 night,' ^ on which they held that the world was born. Hence 
 the Beltane, the fires of Bal or Belenus ; the Hiul of northern 
 nations, the sacrificial fires on the Asvamedha, or worship of the 
 sun, by the Suryas on the Ganges, and the Swians (I'VO find 
 Sauromatae on the shores of the Mediterranean. 
 
 The altars of the Phoenician Ileliopohs, Balbec ^ or Tadmor,* 
 were sacred to the same divmity as on the banks of Sarju, or 
 Balpiir, in Saurashtra, where " the horses of the sun ascended 
 from his fountain {Surya-kund),'" to carry its princes to conquest. 
 
 From Syria came the instructors of the Celtic Druids, v,^ho 
 made human sacrifices, and set up the pillar of Belenus on the 
 hills of Cambria and Caledonia. 
 
 Wlien " Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and built 
 them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill and 
 under every tree," the object was Bal, and the pillar (the lingam) 
 was his symbol. It was on his altar they burned incense, and 
 " sacrificed unto the calf on the fifteenth * day of the month " 
 (the sacred Amavas of the Hindus). The calf of Israel is the 
 bull (nandi) of Balkesar or Iswara ; the Apis of the Egyptian 
 Osiris [80]. 
 
 Sacred Trees. — The ash was sacred to the sun-god in the west. 
 The asvattha (or pipal) ^ is the ' chief of trees,' say the books 
 
 same, are distributed by the chiefs to friends on this occasion. While the 
 author writes, he has before him two of these, sent to hini by the young 
 Mahratta prince, Holkar. 
 
 ^ Sivaratri would be ' father night ' [?]. Siva-Iswara is the ' universal 
 father.' 
 
 ^ Ferishta, the compiler of the imperial history of India, gives us a 
 Persian or Arabic derivation of this, from Bal, ' the sun,' and bee, ' an idol." 
 [This has not been traced in Dow or Briggs.] 
 
 ^ Corrupted ^o Palmyra, the etymon of which, I beUeve, has never been 
 given, which is a version of Tadiiior. In Sanskrit, tal, or tar, is the ' date- 
 tree ' ; mor signifies ' chief.' We have more than one ' city of palms ' 
 {Talpur) in India ; and the tribe ruhng in Haidarabad, on the Indus, is 
 called Talpuri, from the place whence they originated. [Tadmor is Semitic, 
 probably meaning ' abounding in palms.' The suggested derivation is 
 impossible.] 
 
 * 1 Kings xiv. 23. 
 
 * Ficus religiosa. It presents a perfect resemblance to the popul (poplar) 
 of Germany and Italy, a species of which is the aspen. [They belong to 
 different orders.] So similar is it, that the specimen of the pipal from 
 Carohna is called, in the Isola Bella of the Lago Maggiore, Populufi angulata ;
 
 96 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 sacred to Bal in the East : and death, or loss of Hmb, is incurred 
 by the sacrilegious mutilator of his consecrated groves/ where a 
 pillar is raised bearing the inhibitory edict. 
 
 We shall here conclude the analogy between the Indo-Scythic 
 Rajput races and those of early Europe. Much more might be 
 adduced ; the old Runic characters of Scandinavia, the Celtic, 
 and the Osci or Etruscan, might, by comparison with those found 
 in the cave temples and rocks in Rajasthan and Saurashtra, yield 
 yet more important evidence of original similarity ; and the very 
 
 and another, in the Jardin des Plantes at Toulon, is termed the Ficuspopuli- 
 folia, oufiguier dfeuilles de peuplier. The aspen, or ash, held sacred by the 
 Celtic priests, is said to be the mountain-ash. ' The calf of Bal ' is generally 
 placed under the pipal ; and Hindu tradition sanctifies a never-dying stem, 
 which marks the spot where the Hindu ApoUo, Ilari (the sun), was slain by 
 the savage Bhil on the shores of Saurashtra. [This is known as the Prachi 
 Pipal, and death rites are performed close to it (BQ, viii. 271, note 2).] 
 
 ^ The rehgious feelings of the Rajput, though outraged for centuries by 
 Moguls and mercenary Pathans, wiU not permit him to see the axe appUed 
 to the noble pipal or umbrageous bar (Ficus indica), without execrating the 
 destroyer. Unhappy the constitution of mind which knowingly wounds 
 rehgious prejudices of such ancient date ! Yet is it thus with our country- 
 men in the East, who treat all foreign prejudices with contempt, shoot the 
 bird sacred to the Indian Mars, slay the calves of Bal, and fell the noble 
 pipal before the eyes of the native without remorse. He is unphilosophic 
 and unwise who treats such prejudices with contumely : prejudices beyond 
 the reach of reason. He is uncharitable who does not respect them ; im- 
 politic, who does not use every means to prevent such offence by ignorance 
 or levity. It is an abuse of our strength, and an ungenerous advantage 
 over their weakness. Let us recollect who are the guardians of these fanes 
 of Bal, his pipal, and sacred bird (the peacock) ; the children of Surya and 
 Chandra, and the descendants of the sages of yore, they who fill the ranks 
 of our array, and are attentive, though silent, observers of all our actions : 
 the most attached, the most faithful, and the most obedient of mankind ! 
 Let us maintain them in duty, obedience, and attachment, by respecting 
 their prejudices and conciliating their pride. On the fulfilment of this 
 depends the maintenance of our sovereignty in India : but the last fifteen 
 years have assuredly not increased their devotion to us. Let the question 
 be put to the unprejudiced, whether their welfare has advanced in pro- 
 portion to the dominion they have conquered for us, or if it has not been in 
 the inverse ratio of this prosperity ? Have not their allowances and com- 
 forts decreased ? Does the same relative standard between the currency 
 and conveniences of life exist as twenty years ago ? Has not the first 
 depreciated twenty-five per cent, as baM-batta stations and duties have 
 increased ? For the good of ruler and servant, let these be rectified. With 
 the utmost solemnity, I aver, 1 have but the welfare of all at heart in these 
 observations. I loved the service, I loved the native soldier. I have
 
 THE THIRTY-SIX ROYAL RACES 97 
 
 name of German (from wer, bellum) ^ might be found to be deri\'ed 
 from the feud (vair) and foe-man (vairi) of the Rajput. 
 
 If these coincidences are merely accidental, then has too much 
 been already said ; if not, authorities are here recorded, and 
 hypotheses founded, for the assistance of others [81 J. 
 
 CHAPTER 7 
 
 Having discussed the ancient genealogies of the martial races 
 of Rajasthan, as well as the chief points in their character and 
 religion analogous to those of early Europe, we proceed to the 
 catalogue of the Chhattis Rajkula, or ' thirty-six royal races.' ^ 
 
 The table before the reader presents, at one view, the authori- 
 ties on which this list is given : they are as good as al)undant. 
 The first is from a detached leaf of an ancient work, obtained 
 from a Yati of a Jain temple at the old city of Nado!, in Marwar. 
 The second is from the poems of Chand,^ the bard of the last 
 Hmdu kino- of Dellii. The third is from an estimable work 
 
 proved what he will do, where devoted, when, in 1817, thirty-two firelocks 
 of my guard attacked, defeated, and dispersed a camp of fifteen hundred 
 men, sla3ring thrice their numbers.* Having quitted the scene for ever, I 
 submit my opinion dispassionately for the welfare of the one, and with it 
 the stability or reverse of the other. 
 
 ^ D'Anville's derivation of Gersnan, from wer (bellum) and nMnus. 
 [Possiblv 0. Irish, gair, ' neighbour,' or (jairm, ' battle-cry ' {New Eng. Diet. 
 s.v.).] 
 
 ^ [This catalogue is now of historical or traditional, rather than of 
 ethnographical value. It includes some which are admittedly extinct : 
 others wiiich are proved to be derived from Gurjara and other foreign tribes, 
 while it omits many clans which are most influential at the present day, 
 and some of those included in the list are now represented by scattered 
 groups outside Rajputana.] 
 
 ^ Of his works I possess the most complete copy existing. 
 
 * What says the Thermopylae of India, Corygaum ? Five hundred fire- 
 locks against twenty thousand men ! Do the annals of Napoleon record a 
 more brilUant exploit ? Has a column been reared to the manes of the 
 brave, European and native, of this memorable day, to excite to future 
 achievement ? What order decks the breast of the gaUant Fitzgerald, for 
 the exploit on the field of Nagpur ? At another time and place his word.s, 
 " At my peril be it ! Charge ! " would have crowned his crest ! These 
 things call for remedy ! [Koregaon in Poona District, where Captain 
 Staunton defeated a large force of Mahrattas on January 1, 1818 (Wilson- 
 Mill, Hist, of India, ii. (1846), 303 ff.).] 
 
 VOL. I H
 
 98 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 contemporary with Chand's, the Kumarjjal Charitra' or " History 
 of the Monarchy of Anhilwara Patan." The fourth list is from 
 the Khichi bard.^ The fifth, from a bard of Saurashtra. 
 
 From every one of the bardic profession, from all the collectors 
 and collections of Rajasthan, lists have been received, from which 
 the catalogue No. 6 has been formed, admitted by the genealogists 
 to be more perfect than any existing document. From it, there- 
 fore, in succession, each race shall have its history rapidly 
 sketched ; though, as a text, a single name is sufficient to fill 
 many pages. 
 
 The first list is headed by an invocation to Mata Sakambhari 
 Devi, or mother-goddess, protectress of the races (sakha) [the 
 mother of vegetation]. 
 
 Each race (sakha) has its Gotracharya,^ a genealogical creed, 
 describing [82] the essential peculiarities, religious tenets, and 
 pristine locale of the clan. Every Rajput should be able to 
 repeat this ; though it is now confined to the family priest or the 
 genealogist. Many chiefs, in these degenerate days, would be 
 astonished if asked to repeat their gotracharya, and would refer 
 to the bard. It is a touchstone of affinities, and guardian of the 
 laws of intermarriage. When the inhibited degrees of propinquity 
 have been broken, it has been known to rectify the mistake, 
 where, however, " ignorance was bliss." * 
 
 ^ Presented to the Royal Asiatic Society. 
 
 2 Moghji, one of the most intelligent bards of the present day ; but, 
 heartbroken, he has now but the woes of his race to sing. Yet has he forgot 
 them for a moment to rehearse the deeds of Parsanga, who sealed his fidelity 
 by his death on the Ghaggar. Then the invisible mantle of Bhavani was 
 wrapt around him ; and with the birad (fvror poeticus) flowing freely of 
 their deeds of yore, their present degradation, time, and place were all 
 forgot. But the time is fast approaching when he may sing with the 
 Cambrian bard : 
 
 " Ye lost companions of my tuneful art, 
 Where are ye fled ? " 
 
 ^ One or two specimens shall be given in the proper place. 
 
 * A prince of Bundi had married a Rajputni of the Malani tribe, a name 
 now unknown : but a bard repeating the ' gotracharya,' it was discovered 
 to have been about eight centuries before a ramification (sa! ha) (if the 
 Chauhan, to which the Hara of Bundi belonged— divorce and expiatory 
 rites, with great unhappiness, were the consequences. What a contrast to 
 the unhallowed doctrmes of polyandry, as mentioned amongst the Pandavas, 
 the Scythic nations, the inhabitants of Sirmor of the present day,- and 
 pertaining even to Britain in the days of Caesar ! — " Uxores habent deni
 
 ANCIENT MSS.l 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 Ikshwaku. 
 
 Surya. 
 
 Soma or Chandra. 
 
 Yadu. • I 
 
 Chahuman (Chauha 
 
 Pramara. 1 
 
 Chalukya or Solany 
 
 Parihara. 
 
 Chawara. 
 
 Dudia. 
 
 Rathor. 
 
 Gohil. 
 
 Dabhi. 
 
 Makwahaua. 
 
 Norka. 
 
 Aswaria. 
 
 Salar or Silara. 
 
 Sinda. 
 
 Sepat. 
 
 Huu or nun. 
 
 Kirjal. 
 
 Haraira. 
 
 Rajpali. 
 
 Dhanpali. 
 25 Agnipali. 
 
 Bala. 
 
 Jhala. 
 
 Bhagdola. 
 
 Motdan. 
 30 Mohor. 
 
 Kagair. 
 
 Karjeo. 
 
 Chadlia. 
 
 Pokara. 
 
 Nikumbha. 
 3<) Salala. 
 
 LKI MaTA 
 
 do not, 
 feie. 
 
 ace). 
 
 35 
 26 
 16 
 12 
 
 Single. 
 
 CORRECTED LIST BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Ikshwaku, Kakutstha, or Surya 
 
 Anwai, Indu, Som, or Chandra. 
 
 Grahilot or Guhilot . . 24 Saljha. 
 
 Yadu 4 
 
 5 Tuar . . . . | jy 
 
 Rathor . . . . .13 
 
 Kushwaha or Kachluvaha.' 
 
 l^ramara 
 
 Chahuman or Chauhan 
 10 Chalukya or Solanki . 
 
 Parihara 
 
 Chawara 
 
 Tak, Tak, or Takshak. 
 
 Jat or Geta. 
 15 Hun or Htin. 
 
 Kathi. 
 
 Bala. 
 
 Jhala 2 
 
 Jethwa or Kaniari. 
 20 Gohil. 
 
 Sarfveya. 
 
 Silar. 
 
 Dabhi. 
 
 Gaur 5 
 
 Doda or Dor. 
 
 Gaharwal. 
 
 Bargujar ... 3 
 
 Sengar ....." single. 
 
 Sikarwal . . . Ho 
 
 30 Bais . . . . ; do' 
 
 Dahia. 
 
 Johya. 
 
 Mohll. 
 
 Nikumbha. 
 
 RajpaU. 
 36 Dahima .... do. 
 
 Extni. 
 
 Hul. 
 Daharya. 
 
 25 
 
 1 The author, aftei 
 
 2 The bard Chand ?i Are." 
 
 i As the work is chn to the last " of all the mightiest is the Chauhan 
 
 ■» By name Moghji,
 
 
 LIST OP THE 1 
 
 HIBTV.SIX KOVAJ 
 
 [. BACK OF BA.IAST 
 
 «N.-Oa!S.ii»«.iiu.. M 
 
 ITA 
 
 
 
 ««..^».,.. 
 
 ncia -^ 
 
 l oiuiunu.. 
 
 Kiuom o»..i..' 
 
 Ikflhwnku, Kalrauihs 
 
 HEAUTUOi.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^!!'m?',.r i.-|,uailrn. 
 
 S"""-' 
 
 
 aatohnr Oohll. 
 
 ci'SS'tSS: 
 
 G^ahliototliuiXt"' 
 
 . ai Sokba. 
 
 
 ICalEuttha. 
 
 
 K^tbt'''^' 
 
 Saluikl. 
 
 Yodu . 
 
 . 4 
 
 ^ r'ra^ri"" "'''""'^'' 
 
 'Sis 
 
 1-n^m. 
 
 
 TUM." ■ 
 
 "HiU..;!.;,,,,, 
 
 . IT 
 
 in ^'iiV™""- 
 
 i« S." 
 
 '|Sx^^ 
 
 SSSi. 
 
 as- 
 
 10 vS: 
 
 
 "''"■. 3S 
 
 Hr 
 
 
 ■. fiS'""'' 
 
 ',. i'ls:"' 
 
 
 Parihara" ""^ . " "I' 
 
 ■i , 
 
 
 axiS"- 
 
 ohSjij; 
 
 
 "-'■Jiijs-jsras- 
 
 gkr^..^.rTnk;>.«k 
 
 . .,„i.. 
 
 
 "it . 
 
 " aSi,«i 
 
 " sr'' 
 
 ,5 sEL 
 
 Jcf*hi« or Eaman 
 
 , 
 
 
 "st- 
 
 .. iiKr- 
 
 
 Sir' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " a* 
 
 "!''■ 
 
 ..|C'" 
 
 ^S!."- 
 
 SZAV 
 
 "eSr^^j.""^- 
 
 ■ ' 
 
 JboJft. 
 
 fas:-- 
 
 Kr-* 
 
 
 " fss'- 
 
 16 gjSC'' 
 
 Sli- : : 
 
 : si,.i.. 
 
 30 Mohor. 
 
 
 
 10 uSSu. 
 
 >!:K: 
 
 
 
 KMraJr. 
 
 
 
 sag. 
 
 
 
 8*n^ru"(rMol/ri«i 
 
 " fww"? '"^■'" """■ 
 
 S.^. 
 
 
 an aliSi'*'''"' 
 
 
 
 ass 
 
 lirr"""' 
 
 30 SS""' . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 _. __ 
 
 
 
 
 
 gliry. 
 

 
 THE THIRTY-SIX ROYAL RACES 99 
 
 Most of tlie kula (races) are divided into numerous branches ^ 
 (sakha), and these sakha subdivided into innumerable clans 
 (gotra),^ the most important of which shall be given. A few of 
 the kula never ramified : these are termed eka, or ' single ' ; and 
 nearly one-third are eka. 
 
 A table of the ' eighty-four ' mercantile tribes, chiefly of 
 Rajput origin, shall also be furnished, in which the remembrance 
 of some races are preserved which would have perished. Lists 
 of the aboriginal, the agricultural and the pastoral tribes are also 
 given to complete the subject. 
 
 Solar and Lunar Races. — In the earlier ages there were but 
 two races, Surya and Chandra, to which were added the four 
 Agnikulas * ; in all six. The others are subdivisions of Surya 
 and Chandra, or the sakha of Indo-Seythic origin, who found no 
 difficulty in obtaining a place (though a low one), before the 
 Muhammadan era, amongst the thirty-six regal races of Rajasthan. 
 The former we may not imaptly consider as to the time, as the 
 Celtic, the latter as the Gothic, races of India. On the generic 
 terms Surya and Chandra, I need add nothing [83]. 
 
 Grahilot or Guhilot. — Pedigree * of the Suryavansi Rana, of 
 royal race, Lord of Chitor, the ornament of the thirty -six royal 
 races. 
 
 By universal consent, as well as by the gotra of this race, its 
 princes are admitted to be the direct descendants of Rama, of the 
 Solar line. The pedigree is deduced from him, and connected 
 
 duodenique inter se communes," says that accurate writer, speaking of the 
 natives of this island ; " et maxime fratres cum fratribus, parentesque cum 
 liberis : sed si qui sint ex his nati, eorura habentur liheri, quo primura virgo 
 quaeque deducta est." A strange medley of polyandry and polygamy ! 
 
 ^ Aparam sakham, ' of innumerable branches,' is inscribed on an ancient 
 tablet of the Guhilot race. 
 
 2 Got, khanp, denote a clan ; its subdivisions have the patronymic 
 terminating with the syllable ' of,' ' awat,' ' sot,' in the use of which euphony 
 alone is their guide : thus, Saldawat, ' sons of Sakta ' ; Kurmasot, ' of 
 Kurma ' ; Mairawat, or mairot, mountaineers, ' sons of the mountains.' 
 Such is the Greek Mainote, from maina, a mountain, in the ancient Albanian 
 dialect, of eastern origin. 
 
 * From agni {qu. ignis ?) ' fire,' the sons of Vulcan, as the others of Sol 
 and Luna, or Lunus, to change the sex of the parent of the Indu (moou) 
 race. 
 
 * Vansavali, Suryavansi Rajkuli Rana Chitor ka Dhani, ChJiattis Kuli 
 Sengar. — MSS. from the Rana's library, entitled KJiuman Raesa.
 
 100 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 with Sumitra, the last prince mentioned in the genealogy of the 
 Puranas. 
 
 As the origin and progressive history of this family will be 
 fully discussed in the " Annals of Mewar," we shall here only 
 notice the changes which have marked the patronymic, as well 
 as the regions which have been under their sway, from Kanaksen, 
 who, in the second century, abandoned his native kingdom, 
 Kosala, and established the race of Surya in Saurashtra. 
 
 On the site of Vairat, the celebrated abode of the Pandavas 
 during exile, the descendant of Ikshwaku established his line, and 
 his descendant Vijaya, in a few generations, built Vijayapur.^ 
 
 They became sovereigns, if not founders, of Valabhi, which 
 had a separate era of its own, called the Valabhi Samvat, according 
 with S. Vikrama 375.^ Hence they became the Balakaraes, or 
 kings of Valabhi ; a title maintained by successive dynasties of 
 Saurashtra for a thousand years after this period, as can be 
 satisfactorily proved by genuine history and inscriptions. 
 
 Gajni, or Gaini, was another capital, whence the last prince, 
 Siladitya (who was slain), and his family, were expelled by 
 Parthian invaders in the sixth century. 
 
 A posthumous son, called Grahaditya, obtained a petty 
 sovereignty at Idar. The change was marked by his name 
 becoming the patronymic, and Grahilot, vulgo Guhilot, designated 
 the Suryavansa of Rama. 
 
 With reverses and migration from the wilds of Idar to Ahar,' 
 the Guhilot was changed to Aharya, by which title the race con- 
 tinued to be designated till the twelfth century, when the elder 
 brother, Rahup, abandoned his claim to " the [84] throne of Chitor," 
 obtained ^ by force of arms from the Mori,* and settled at Dungar- 
 
 ^ Always conjoined with Vairat — ' Vijayapur Vairatgarh.' [Vairat 
 forty-one miles north of Jaipur city. The reference in the text is merely 
 a bardie fable, there being no connexion between Vijaya and this place 
 {ASM, ii. 249).] 
 
 2 A.D. 319. The inscription recording this, as well as others relating to 
 Valabhi and this era, I discovered in Saurashtra, as well as the site of this 
 ancient capital, occupying the position of ' Byzantium ' in Ptolemy's geo- 
 graphy of India. They will be given in the Transactions of the Royal 
 Asiatic Society. [The Valabhi agrees with the Gupta era (Smith, EH I, 20).] 
 
 3 Anandpur Ahar, or ' Ahar the city of repose.' By the tide of events, 
 the family was destined to fix their last capital, Udaipur, near Ahar. 
 
 * The middle of the eighth century. 
 
 * [Or Maurya], a Pramara prince.
 
 THE THIRTY-SIX ROYAL RACES 
 
 101 
 
 pur, which he yet holds, as well as the title Aliarya ; while the 
 younger, Mahup. established the seat of power at Sesoda, whence 
 Sesodia set aside both Aharya and Guhilot. 
 
 Sesodia is now the common title of the race ; but being only 
 a subdivision, the Guhilot holds its rank in the kula. 
 
 The Guliilot kula is subdivided mto twenty-four saklia,^ or 
 ramifications, few of which exist : 
 
 1. Aharya 
 
 2. Mangalia 
 
 3. Sesodia 
 
 4. Pipara 
 
 5. Kalam 
 
 6. Gahor 
 
 7. Dhornia 
 
 8. Goda 
 
 9. Magrasa 
 
 10. Bhiinla 
 
 11. Kamliotak 
 
 12. Kotecha 
 1.3. Sora 
 
 14. Uhar 
 
 15. Useba 
 
 16. Nirrup 
 
 17. Nadoria 
 
 18. Nadhota 
 
 19. Ojakra 
 
 20. Kuclilira 
 
 21. Dosadh 
 
 22. Betwara 
 
 23. Paha 
 
 24. Purot 
 
 At Dungarpur. 
 
 In the Deserts. 
 
 Mewar. 
 
 In Marwar. 
 
 , In few numbers, and mostly 
 ' now imknown. 
 
 ' ^\Jmost extinct. 
 
 i [85] 
 
 Yadu, Yadava. — The Yadu was the most illustrious of all the 
 tribes of Ind, and became the patronymic of the descendants 
 of Budha, progenitor of the Lunar (Indu) race. Yudhishthira 
 and Baladeva, on the death of Krishna and their expulsion from 
 Delhi and Dwaraka, the last stronghold of their power, retired 
 by Multan across the Indus. The two first are abandoned by 
 
 [For a different list, see Census Report, RajputMna, 1911, i. 256.]
 
 102 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 tradition ; but the sons of Krishna, who accompanied them after 
 an intermediate halt in the further Duab ^ of the five rivers, 
 eventually left the Indus behind, and passed into Zabulistan,^ 
 founded Gajni, and peopled these countries even to Samarkand. 
 
 The annals of Jaisalmer, which give this early history of their 
 founder, mix up in a confused manner ^ the cause of their being 
 again driven back into India ; so that it is impossible to say 
 whether it was owing to the Greek princes who ruled all these 
 countries for a century after Alexander, or to the rise of 
 Islamism. 
 
 Driven back on the Indus, they obtained possession of the 
 Panjab and founded Salivahanpur. Thence expelled, they re- 
 tired across the Sutlej and Ghara into the Indian deserts ; whence 
 expelling the Langahas, the Johyas, Mohilas, etc., they founded 
 successively Tanot, Derawar, and Jaisalmer,* in S. 1212/ the 
 present capital of the Bhattis, the lineal successors of Krishna. 
 
 Bhatti was the exile from Zabulistan, and as usual with the 
 Rajput races on any such event in their annals, his name set aside 
 the more ancient patronymic, Yadu. The Bhattis subdued all 
 the tracts south of the Ghara ; but their power has been greatly 
 circumscribed since the arrival of the Rathors. The Map defines 
 their existing limits, and their annals will detail their past 
 history. 
 
 Jareja, Jadeja is the most important tribe of Yadu race next 
 to the Bhatti. Its history is similar. Descended from Krishna, 
 and migrating simultaneously with the remains of the Harikulas, 
 there is the strongest ground for believing that their range was not 
 so wide as that of the elder branch, but that they settled them- 
 selves in the valley of the Indus, more especially on the west shore 
 in Seistan ; and in nominal and armorial distinctions, even in 
 Alexander's time, they retained the marks of their ancestry [86]. 
 
 Sambos, who brought on him the arms of the Grecians, was in 
 
 ^ The place where they found refuge was in the cluster of hills still called 
 Yadu ka dang, ' the Yadu hills ' : — the Joudes of Rennell's geography 
 [see p. 75 above]. 
 
 2 [Zabuhstan, with its capital, Ghazni, in Afghanistan.] 
 
 ' The date assigned long prior to the Christian era, agrees with the 
 Grecian, but the names and manners are Muhammadan. 
 
 * Lodorwa Patau, whence they expelled an ancient race, was their capital 
 before Jaisalmer. There is much to leam of these regions. 
 
 fi A.D. 1155.
 
 THE THIRTY-SIX ROYAL RACES 103 
 
 all likelihood a Harikula ; and the Minnagara of Greek historians 
 Samanagara (' city of Sama '), his capital.^ 
 
 The most common epithet of Krishna, or Hari, was Shania or 
 Syama, from his dark complexion. Hence the Jareja bore it as a 
 patronymic, and the whole race were Samaputras (children of 
 Sama), whence the titular name Sambos of its princes.^ 
 
 Tlie modern Jareja, who, from circumstances has so mixed 
 with the Muhammadans of Sind as to have forfeited all pretensions 
 to purity of blood, partly in ignorance and partly to cover dis- 
 grace, says that his origin is from Sham, or Syria, and of the stock 
 of tlie Persian Jamshid : consequently, Sam has been converted 
 into Jam ^ ; which epithet designates one of the Jareja petty 
 governments, the Jam Raj. 
 
 These are the most conspicuous of the Yadu race ; but there 
 are others who still bear the original title, of which the head is 
 the prince of the petty State of Karauli on the Chambal. 
 
 This portion of the Yadu stock would appear never to have 
 strayed far beyond the ancient limits of the Suraseni,* their 
 ancestral abodes. They held the celebrated Bay ana ; whence 
 expelled, they established Karauli west, and Sabalgarh east, of 
 the Chambal. The tract under the latter, called Yaduvati, has 
 been wrested from the family by Sindhia. Sri Mathura ^ is an 
 independent fief of Karauli, held by a junior branch. 
 
 The Yadus, or as pronounced in the dialects Jadon, arc 
 scattered over India, and many chiefs of consequence amongst 
 the Mahrattas are of this tribe. 
 
 There are eight sakha of the Yadu race : , 
 
 1. Yadu . . . Chief Karauli. 
 
 2. Bhatti . . Chief Jaisalmer. 
 
 3. Jareja . . Chief Cutch Bhuj. 
 
 4. Samecha . . Muhammadans in Sind. 
 
 ^ [The capital of Sambos was Sindiraana, perhaps the modern Sihwan 
 (Smith, EHI, 101).] 
 
 2 [This is very doubtful.] 
 
 ^ They have an infinitely better etymology for this, in being descendants 
 of Jambuvati, one of Hari's eight wives. [The origin of the term Jam is 
 very doubtful : see Yule, Hobson-Jobson, s.v.] 
 
 * The Suraseni of Vraj, the tract so named, thirty miles around Mathura. 
 
 ^ Its chief, Rao Manohar Singh, was well known to me, and was, I may 
 say, my friend. For years letters passed between us, and he had made for 
 me a transcript of a valuable copy of the Mahabharata.
 
 104 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 5. Madecha 
 
 6. Bidman . . j. Unknown [87]. 
 
 7. Baddi 
 
 8. Soha 
 
 7. Badda . . j 
 
 Tuar, Tonwar, Tomara. — The Tuar, though acknowledged as 
 a subdivision of the Yadu, is placed by the best genealogists 
 as one of the ' thirty-six,' a rank to which its celebrity justly 
 entitles it. 
 
 We have in almost every ease the etymon of each celebrated 
 race. For the Tuar we have none ; and we must rest satisfied 
 in delivering the dictum of the Bardai, who declares it of Pandu 
 origin. 
 
 If it had to boast only of Vikramaditya, the paramoimt lord of 
 India, whose era, established fifty-six years before the Christian, 
 still serves as the grand beacon of Hindu clironology, this alone 
 would entitle the Tuar to the highest rank. But it has other 
 claims to respect. Delhi, the ancient Indraprastha, founded by 
 Yudhishthira, and which tradition says lay desolate for eight 
 centuries, was rebuilt and peopled by Anangpal Tuar, in 8. 848 
 (a.d. 792), who was followed by a dynasty of twenty princes, 
 which concluded with the name of the founder, Anangpal, in 
 S. 1220 (a.d. 1164),^ when, contrary to the SaUc law of the Raj- 
 puts, he abdicated (having no issue) in favour of his grandchild, 
 the Chauhan Prithviraja. 
 
 The Tuar must now rest on his ancient fame ; for not an inde- 
 pendent possession remains to the race ^ which traces its lineage 
 to the Pandavas, boasts of Vikrama, and which furnished the 
 last dynasty, emperors of Hindustan. 
 
 It would be a fact unparalleled in the history of the world, 
 could we establish to conviction that the last Anangpal Tuar was 
 the lineal descendant of the founder of Indraprastha; that the 
 issue of Y'^udhishthira sat on the throne which he erected, after a 
 lapse of 2250 years Universal consent admits it, and the fact is 
 
 ^ [Vigraha-raja, known as Visaladeva, BTsal Deo, in the middle of the 
 twelfth century, is alleged to have conqueredDelhi from a chief of the 
 Tomara clan. That chief was a descendant of Anangapala, who, a century 
 before, had built the Red Fort (Smith, EHI, 386).] 
 
 * Several Mahratta chieftains deduce their origin from the Tuar race, as 
 Ram Rao Phalkia, a very gallant leader of horse in Sindhia's State.
 
 THE THIRTY-SIX ROYAL RACES 105 
 
 us well established as most others of a historic nature of such a 
 distant period : nor can any dynasty or family of Europe produce 
 evidence so strong as the Tuar, even to a much less remote 
 antiquity. 
 
 The chief possessions left to the Tuars are the district of 
 Tuargarh, on the right bank of the Chambal towards its junction 
 with the Jumna, and the small [88] chieftainship of Patau Tuar- 
 vati in the Jaipur State, and whose head claims affinity with the 
 ancient kings of Indraprastha. 
 
 Rathor. — A doubt hangs on the origin of this justly celebrated 
 race. The Rathor genealogies trace their pedigi'ee to Kusa, the' 
 second son of Rama ; consequently they would be Suryavansa. 
 But by the bards of this race they are denied this honour ; and 
 although Kushite, they are held to be the descendants of Kasyapa, 
 of the Solar race, by the daughter of a Daitya (Titan). The pro- 
 geny of Hiranyakasipu is accordingly stigmatized as being of 
 demoniac origin. It is rather singular that they should have suc- 
 ceeded to the Lunar race of Kusanabha, descendants of Ajamidha, 
 the fomiders of Kanauj. Indeed, some genealogists maintain the 
 Rathors to be of Kusika race. 
 
 The pristine locale of the Rathors is Gadhipura, or Kanauj, 
 A\here they are found entlironed in the fifth centurj^ ; and though 
 beyond that period they connect their line with the princes of 
 Kosala or Ayodhya, the fact rests on assertion only. 
 
 From the fifth century their history is cleared from the mist 
 of ages, which envelops them all prior to this time ; and in the 
 period approaching the Tatar conquest of India, we find them 
 contesting with the last Tuar and Chauhan kings of Delhi, and the 
 Balakaraes of Anhilwara, the right to paramount importance 
 amidst the princes of Ind. The combats for this phantom supre- 
 macy destroyed them all. Weakened by internal strife, the 
 Chauhan of Delhi fell, and his death exposed the north-west 
 frontier. Kanauj followed ; and while its last prince, Jaichand, 
 found a grave in the Ganges, his son sought an asylum in Marust- 
 hali, ' the regions of death.' ^ Siahji was this son ; the founder 
 of the Rathor dynasty in Marwar, on the ruins of the Pariharas of 
 Mandor. Here they brought their ancient martial spirit, and a 
 more valiant being exists not than can be found amongst the sons 
 of Siahji. The Mogul emperors were indebted for half their 
 1 [This is a pure myth (Smith, EUI, 385, 413).]
 
 106 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 conquests to the Lakh Tarwar Rathoran, ' the 100,000 swords of 
 the Rathors ' ; for it is beyond a doubt that 50,000 of the blood 
 of Siahji have been embodied at once. But enough of the noble 
 Rathors for the present. 
 
 The Rathor has twenty-four sakha : Dhandal, Bhadel, Chachkit, 
 Duharia, Khokra, Badara, Chajira, Ramdeva, Kabria, Hatundia, 
 Malavat, Sunda, Katecha, Maholi, Gogadeva, Mahecha, .Taisingha, 
 Mursia, Jobsia, Jora, etc., etc.^ [89]. 
 
 Rathor Gotracharya. — Gotama ^ Gotra (race), — Mardawandani 
 Sakha (branch), — Sukracharya Guru (Regent of the planet Venus, 
 Preceptor), — Garupata Agni,' — Pankhani Devi (tutelary goddess, 
 winged).* 
 
 Kachhwaha. — The Kachhwaha race ^ is descended from Kusa^ 
 the second son of Rama. They are the Kushites ® as the Rajputs 
 of Mewar are the Lavites of India. Two branches migrated from 
 Kosala : one founded Rohtas on the Son, the other established 
 a colony amidst the ravines of the Kuwari, at Lahar.' In the 
 course of time they erected the celebrated fortress of Narwar, or 
 Nirwar, the abode of the celebrated Raja Nala, whose descendants 
 continued to hold possession throughout all the vicissitudes of 
 the Tatar and Mogul domination, when they were deprived of 
 
 ^ [For a fuller list, see Census Report, Rajputana, 1911, i. 255 f.] 
 ^ From this I should be inclined to pronounce the Rathors descendants 
 of a race (probably Scythic) professing the Buddhist faith, of which Gotama 
 was the last great teacher, and disciple of the last Buddha Mahivira, in S. 477 
 (a.d. 533). [Buddhism and Jainism are, as usual, confused.] 
 
 * Enigmatical — ' Clay formation by fire ' (agni). 
 
 * [The Kuldevi, or family goddess, of the Rathors in Nagnaichian, whose 
 original title was Rajeswari or Ratheswari, her present name being taken 
 from tl^e village of Nagana in Pachbhadra ; and she has a temple in the 
 Jodhpur fort, with shrines under the mm tree {AzadirocJda Indica) which is 
 held sacred in all Rathor settlements [Census Report, Marwar, 1891, ii. 25).] 
 
 ^ Erroneously written and pronounced Kutchwaha. 
 
 ^ The resemblance between the Kushite Ramcsa of Ayodhya and the 
 Rameses of Egypt is strong. Each was attended by his army of satyrs, 
 Anubis and Cynocephalus, which last is a Greek misnomer, for the animal 
 bearing this title is of the Simian family, as his images (in the Turin museum) 
 disclose, and the brother of the faithful Hanuman. The comparison be- 
 tween the deities within the Indus (called Nilab, ' blue waters ') and those 
 of the Nile in Egypt, is a point well worth discussifhi. [These speculations 
 are untenable.] 
 
 ^ A name in comphment, probably, to the elder branch of their race, 
 Lava.
 
 THE THIRTY-SIX ROYAL RACES 107 
 
 it by the Mahrattas, and the abode of Nala is now a dependency 
 of Sindhia. 
 
 In the tenth century a branch emigrated and founded Amber, 
 dispossessing the aborigines, the Minas, and adding from the 
 Rajput tribe Bargujar, who held Rajor and large possessions 
 around. But even in the twelfth century the Kachhwahas were 
 but principal vassals to the Chauhan king of Delhi ; and they 
 have to date their greatness, as the other families (espeoi^-lly the 
 Ranas of Mewar) of Rajasthan their decline, from the ascent of 
 the house of Timur to the throne of Delhi. The map shows the 
 limits of the sway of the Kachhwahas, including their branches, 
 the independent Narukas of Macheri, and the tributary con- 
 federated Shaikhavats. The Kachhwaha subdivisions have been 
 mislaid ;^ but the present partition into Kothris (chambers), of 
 which there are twelve, shall be given in their annals. 
 
 Agnikulas, Pramara. — 1st Pramara. There are four races to 
 whom the Hindu genealogists have given Agni, or the element 
 of fire, as progenitor. The Agnikulas are therefore the sons of 
 Vulcan, as the others are of Sol,^ Mercurius, and Terra [90]. 
 
 The Agnikulas are the Pramara, the Parihara, the Chalukya 
 or Solanki, and the Chauhan.^ 
 
 That these races, the sons of Agni, were but regenerated, and 
 converted by the Brahm'ans to fight their battles, the clearest 
 interpretations of their allegorical history will disclose ; and, 
 
 ' [See a list in Census Report, Rajputana, 1911, i. 255.] 
 ^ There is a captivating elegance thrown around the theogonies of Greece 
 and Rome, which we fail to impart to the Hindu ; though that elegant 
 scholar. Sir Wilham Jones, could make even Sanskrit literature fascinating ; 
 and that it merits the attempt intrinsically, we may infer from the charm 
 it possesses to the learned chieftain of Rajasthan. That it is perfectly 
 analogous to the Greek and Roman, we have but to translate the names to 
 show. For instance : — 
 
 Sol XT. 
 
 Lunar. 
 
 Maricha 
 
 (Lux) . . Atri. 
 
 Kasyapa 
 
 (Uranus) . Samudra (Oceanus). 
 
 Vaivaswata or Surya 
 
 (Sol) . . Soma, or Ind (Luna ; qu. Lunus ?). 
 
 Vaivaswa Manu 
 
 (Fihus Soils) Brihaspati (Jupiter). 
 
 Ha . . . . 
 
 (Terra) . Budha (Mercurius). 
 
 ^ [Hoernle {JRAS, 1905, p. 20) believes that the Pariharas were the only 
 sept which claimed fire-origin before Chand (flor. a.d. 1191). But a legend 
 of the kind was current in South India in the second century a.d. {IA, 
 xxxiv. 263).]
 
 108 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 as the most ancient of their inscriptions are in the Pali character, 
 discovered wherever the Buddhist rehgion prevailed, their being 
 declared of the race of Tasta or Takshak,^ warrants our asserting 
 the Agnikulas to be of this same race, which invaded India about 
 two centuries before Christ. It was about this period that 
 Parsvanatha the twenty-third Buddha,^ appeared in India ; his 
 symbol, the serpent. The legend of the snake (Takshak) escap- 
 ing wife the celebrated work Pingala, which was recovered by 
 Garuda, the eagle of Krishna, is purely allegorical ; and descrip- 
 tive of the contentions between the followers of Parswanatha, 
 figured under his emblem, the snake, and those of Krishna, 
 depicted under his sign, the eagle. 
 
 The worshippers of Surya probably recovered their power on 
 the exterminating civil wars of the Lunar races, but the creation 
 of the Agnikulas is expressly stated to be for the preservation of 
 the altars of Bal, or Iswara, against the Daityas, or Atheists. 
 
 The ijelebrated Abu, or Arbuda, the Olympus of Rajasthan, 
 was tlic scene of contention between the mmisters of Surya and 
 these Titans, and their relation might, with the aid of imagination, 
 be equally amusing with the Titanic war of the ancient poets of 
 the west [91]. The Buddhists claim it for Adinath, their first 
 Buddlia ; the Brahmans for Iswara, or, as the local divinity styled 
 Achaleswara.* The Agnikunda is still shown on the summit of 
 Abu, where the four races were created by the Brahmans to fight 
 the battles of Achaleswara and polytheism, against the mono- 
 theistic Buddhists, represented as tlie serpents or Takshaks. The 
 probable period of this conversion has been hinted at ; but of the 
 
 ^ Figuratively, ' the serpent.' 
 
 ^ To me it appears that there were four distinguished Buddhas or -wise 
 men, teachers of monotheism in India, which they brought from Central 
 Asia, with their science and its written character, the arrow or nail-headed, 
 which I have discovered wherever they have been,— in the deserts of Jaisal- 
 mer, in the heart of Rajasthan, and the shores of Saurashtra ; which were 
 their nurseries. 
 
 The first Budha is the parent of the Lunar race, a.c. 2250. 
 The second (twenty-second of the Jains), Nemnath, a.c. 1120. 
 The third (twenty-third do. ), Parsawanath, a.c. 650. 
 
 The fourth (twenty-fourth do. ), Mahivira, A.c. 533. 
 
 [The author confuses Budha, Mercury, with Buddha, the Teacher, and mixes 
 up Buddhists with Jains.] 
 
 ^ AcJial, ' immovable,' eswara, ' lord.'
 
 THE PRAMARAS 109 
 
 dynasties issuing from the Agnikulas, many of the princes 
 professed the Buddhist or Jain faith, to periods so late as the 
 Muhammadan invasion. 
 
 The Pramara, though not, as his name implies, the ' chief 
 warrior,' was the most potent of the Agnikulas. He sent forth 
 thirty-five sakha, or branches, several of whom enjoyed extensive 
 sovereignties. ' The world is the Pramar's,' is an ancient saying, 
 denoting their extensive sway ; and the Naukot ^ Marusthali 
 signified the nine divisions into which the country, from th<» 
 Sutlej to the ocean, was partitioned amongst them. 
 
 Maheswar, Dhar, Mandu, Ujjain, Chandrabhaga, Chitor, Abu, 
 Chandravati, Mhau Maidana, Parmavati, Umarkot, Bakhar, 
 Lodorva, and Patau are the most conspicuous of the cajjitals 
 they conquered or founded. 
 
 Though the Pramara family never equalled in wealth the 
 famed Solanki princes of Anhilwara, or shone with such lustre as 
 the Chauhan, it attained a wider range and an earlier consolida- 
 tion of dominion than either, and far excelled in all, the Parihara, 
 the last and least of the Agnikulas, which it long held tributary. 
 
 Maheswar, the ancient seat of the Haihaya kings, appears to 
 have been the first seat of government of the Pramaras. They 
 subsequently founded Dharanagar, and Mandu on the crest of 
 the Vindhya hills ; and to them is even attributed the city of 
 Ujjain, the first meridian of the Hindus, and the seat of Vikrama. 
 
 There are numerous records of the family, fixing eras in their 
 history of more modern times ; and it is to be hoped that the 
 interpretation of yet undeciphered inscriptions may carry us 
 back beyond the seventh century. 
 
 The era ^ of Bhoj, the son of Munja, has been satisfactorily 
 settled ; and an [92] inscription * in the nail-headed character, 
 carries it back a step further,* and elicits an historical fact of 
 infinite value, giving the date of the last prince of the Pramaras 
 of Chitor, and the consequent accession of the Guhilots. 
 
 ^ It extended from the Indus almost to the Jumna, occupying all the 
 sandy regions, Naukot, Arbuda or Abu, Dhat, Mandodri, Kheralu, Parkar, 
 Lodorva, and Pugal. 
 
 2 See Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 227. [Raja 
 Munja of Malwa reigned a.d. 974-995. The famous Bhoja, his nephew, not 
 bis son, 1018-60 (Smith, EHI, 395).] 
 
 3 Which will be given in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society. 
 * S. 770, or A.D. 714.
 
 110 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 The Nerbudda was no limit to the power of the Pramaras 
 About the very period of the foregoing inscription, Ram Pramar 
 held his court in Telingana, and is invested by the Chauhan Bard, 
 Chand, with the dignity of paramount sovereign of India, and 
 head of a splendid feudal ^ association, whose members became 
 independent on his death. The Bard makes this a voluntary act 
 of the Pramaras ; but coupled with the Guhilots' violent acquisi- 
 tion of Chitor, we may suppose the successor of Ram was unable 
 to maintain such supremacy. 
 
 While Hindu literature survives the name of Bhoj Pramara 
 and ' the nine gems ' of his court cannot perish ; though it is 
 difficult to say which of the three ^ princes of this name is particu- 
 larly alluded to, as they all appear to have been patrons of science 
 
 Chandragupta, the supposed opponent of Alexander, was a 
 Maurya, and in the sacred genealogies is declared of the race of 
 Takshak. The ancient inscriptions of the Pramars, of which the 
 Maurya is a principal branch, declare it of the race of Tasta and 
 Takshak, as does that now given from the seat of their power, Chitor.^ 
 
 Salivahana, the conqueror of Vikramaditya, was a Takshak, 
 and his era set aside that of the Tuar in the Deccan. 
 
 Not one remnant of independence exists to mark the greatness 
 of the Pramaras : ruins are the sole records of their power. The 
 
 1 " When the Pramar of Tilang took sanctuary with Har, to the thirty- 
 six tribes he made gifts of land. To Kehar he gave Katehr, to Rae Pahar 
 the coast of Sind, to the heroes of the shell the forest lands. Ram Pramar 
 of Tilang, the Chal<ravartin lord of Uj jain, made the gift. He bestowed Delhi 
 on the Tuars, and Patan on the Chawaras ; Sambhar on the Chauhans, and 
 Kanauj on the Kamdliuj ; Mardes on the Parihar, Sorath on the Jadon, the 
 Deccan on Jawala, and Cutch on the Charan '' (Poems of Chand). [This is 
 an invention of the courtly bard.] 
 
 2 The inscrii^tion gives S. 1100 (a.d. 1044) for the third Bhoj : and this 
 date agrees with the period assigned to this prince in an ancient Chrono- 
 grammatic Catalogue of reigns embracing all the Princes of the name of 
 Bhoj, which may therefore be considered authentic. This authority assigns 
 S. 631 and 721 (or a.d. 575 and 665) to the first and second Bhoj. 
 
 ^ Herbert has a curious story of Chitor being called Taxila ; thence the 
 story of the Ranas being sons of Porus. I have an inscription from a temple 
 on the Chambal, within the ancient limits of Mewar, which mentions Taksha- 
 silanagara, ' the stone fort of the Tak,' but I cannot apply it. The city of 
 Toda (Tonk, or properly Tanka) is called in the Chauhan chronicles, Takat- 
 pur. [Takshasila, the Taxila of the Greeks, the name meaning ' the hewn 
 rock,' or more probably, ' the rock of Taksha,' the Naga king, is the modern 
 Shahderi in the Rawalpindi District, Panjab (IGI, xxii. 200 f.).]
 
 THE PRAMARAS 111 
 
 prince of Dhat,^ in the Indian [93] desert, is the last phantom of 
 royalty of the race ; and the descendant of the prince who pro- 
 tected Humayun, when driven from the throne of Tin\ur, in 
 whose capital, Umarkot, the great Akbar was born, is at the foot 
 of fortune's ladder ; his throne in the desert, the footstool of the 
 Baloeh, on whose bounty he is dependent for support. 
 
 Among the thirty-five sakha of the Pramaras the Vihal was 
 eminent, the princes of which line appear to have been lords of 
 Chandravati, at the foot of the Aravalli. The Rao of Bijolia, 
 one of the sixteen superior nobles of the Rana's court, is a Pramara 
 of the ancient stock of Dhar, and perhaps its most respectable 
 representative. 
 
 Thirty-Five Sakha of the Pramaras 
 
 Mori [or Mauryn]. — Of which was Chandragupta, and the 
 princes of Chitor prior to the Guhilot. 
 
 Sodha. — Sogdoi of Alexander, the princes of Dhat in the 
 Indian desert. 
 
 Sankhla. — Chiefs of Pugal, and in Marwar. 
 
 Khair. — Capital Khairalu. 
 
 Umra and Suinra. — Anciently in the desert, nowMuhammadans. 
 
 Vihal, or Bihal. — Princes of Chandravati. 
 
 Mepawat. — Present chief of Bijolia in Mewar. 
 
 Balhar. — Northern desert. 
 
 Kaba. — Celebrated in Saui-ashtra in ancient times, a few yet 
 in Sirohi. 
 
 Vmata. — The princes of Umatwara in Malwa, there established 
 for twelve generations. Umatwara is the largest tract left to 
 the Pramaras. Since the war in 1817, being under the British 
 interference, they cannot be called independent. 
 
 Rehar 
 
 IGu 
 
 Dhunda . • . • \ Girasia petty chiefs in Malwa. 
 
 Sorathia 
 
 Harer^ . . . ' 
 
 ^ Of the Sodha tribe, a grand division of the Pramaras, and who held all 
 the desert regions in remote times. Their subdivisions, Umra and Sumra, 
 gave the names to Umarkot and Umrasumra, in which was the insular Bakhar, 
 on the Indus : so that we do not misapply etymology, when we say in Sodha 
 we have the Sogdoi of Alexander. " 
 
 2 [For a different list see Census Report MaJ2nitana, 1911, i. 255.]
 
 112 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Besides others unknown ; as Chaonda, Khejar, Sagra, Barkota, 
 Puni, Sampal, Bhiba, Kalpusar, Kalmoh, KohiJa, Papa, Kahoria, 
 Dhand, Deba, Barhar, Jipra, Posra, Dhunta, Rikamva, and 
 Taika. Many of these are proselytes to Islamism, and several 
 beyond the Indus [94]. 
 
 Chahuman or Chauhan. — On this race so much has been said 
 elsewhere,^ that it would be superfluous to give more than a 
 rapid sketch of them here. 
 
 This is the most vahant of the Agnikulas, and it niay be 
 asserted not of them only, but of the whole Rajput race. Actions 
 may be recorded of the greater part of each of the Chhattis-kula, 
 which would yield to none in the ample and varied pages of 
 history ; and though the ' Talwar Rathoran ' would be ready to 
 contest the point, impartial decision, with a knowledge of their 
 respective merits, must assign to the Chauhan the van in the 
 long career of arms. 
 
 Its branches (sakha) have maintained all the vigour of the 
 original stem ; and the Haras, the Khichis, the Deoras, the 
 Sonigiras, and others of the twenty-four, have their names 
 immortalised in the song of the bard. 
 
 The derivation of Chauhan is coeval vnth his fabulous birth : 
 'the four-handed warrior' {Chatur-bhuja Chatur-bahu Vira). 
 All failed when sent against the demons, but the Chauhan, the 
 last creation of the Brahmans to fight their battles against 
 infidelity. 
 
 A short extract may be acceptable fi-om the original respecting 
 the birth of the Chauhan, to guard the rites of our Indian Jove 
 on this Olympus, the sacred Abu : " the Guru of mountains, like 
 Sumer or Kailas, which Achaleswara made his abode. Fast but 
 one day on its summit, and your sins will be forgiven ; reside 
 there for a year, and you may become the preceptor of mankind." 
 
 The Agnikunda Fire-pit. — Notwithstanding the sanctity of 
 Abu, and the little temptation to disturb the anchorites of Bal, 
 " the Munis, who passed their time in devotion, whom desire 
 never approached, who drew support from the cow, from roots, 
 fruits, and flowers," yet did the Daityas, envying their felicity, 
 render the sacrifice impure, and stop in transit the share of the 
 gods. " The Brahmans dug' the pit for burnt-sacrifice to the 
 
 ^ See Traiisactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 133, ' Comments 
 on a Sanskrit Inscription.' ^
 
 THE CHAUHANS 113 
 
 south-west (nairrit) ; but the demons ^ raised storms which 
 darkened the air and filled it with clouds of sand, showering 
 ordure, blood, bones and flesh, with every imjijurity, on their 
 rites. Their penance was of no avail." 
 
 Again they kindled the sacred fire ; and the priests, assembling 
 round the Agnikunda,^ prayed for aid to Mahadeo [95]. " From 
 the fire-fountain a figure issued forth, but he had not a warrior's 
 mien. The Brahmans placed him as guardian of the gate, and 
 thence his name, Prithivi-dwara.* A second issued forth, and 
 being formed in the palm (challu) of the hand was named Chalukya. 
 A third appeared and was named Pramara.* He had the blessing 
 of the Rishis, and with the others went against the demons, but 
 they did not prevail. Again Vasishtha,* seated on the lotus, 
 prepared incantations ; again he called the gods to aid : and, as 
 he poured forth the libation, a figure arose, lofty in stature, of 
 elevated front, hair like jet, eyes rolling, breast expanded, fierce, 
 terrific, clad in armour, quiver filled, a bow in one hand and a 
 brand in the other, quadriform (Chaturanga),^ whence his name, 
 Chauhxin. 
 
 " Vasishtha prayed that his hope ' might be at length fulfilled, 
 as the Chauhan was despatched against the demons. Sakti-devi * 
 on her lion, armed with the trident, descended, and bestowed her 
 blessing on the Chauhan, and as Asapurna, or Kalika, promised 
 always to hear his prayer. He went against the demons ; their 
 leaders he slew. The rest fled, nor halted till they reached the 
 depths of hell. Anhal slew the demons. The Brahmans were 
 made happy ; and of his race was Prithwiraja." ^ 
 
 ^ Asura-Daitya, which Titans were either the aboriginal Bhils or tlie 
 Scythic hordes. 
 
 - I have visited this classic spot in Hindu mythology. An image of 
 Adipal (the ' first-created '), in marble, still adorns its embankment, and is 
 a piece of very fine sculpture. It was too sacred a relic to remove. 
 
 ^ ' Portal or door (dwar) of the earth ' ; contracted to Prithihara and 
 Parihara. * ' The first striker.' 
 
 ^ [In the Hara version of the legend the presiding priest is Visvamitra.] 
 
 ^ Clmtur ; anga, ' body ' [chaturbdh^i']. 
 
 ' Asa, ' hope,' puma, to ' fulfil ' ; whence the tutelary goddess of the 
 Chauhan race, Asapurna. 
 
 ^ The goddess of energy (Sakti). 
 
 ^ [Cunningham points out that in the original story only the Chauhan 
 was created from the fire-pit, the reference to other clans being a later addi- 
 tion (ASR, ii. 255).] 
 
 VOL. I 1
 
 114 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 The genealogical tree of the Chauhans exhibits thirty-nine 
 princes, from Anhal, the first created Chauhan, to Prithwiraja, 
 the last of the Hindu emperors of India.^ But whether the chain 
 is entire we cannot say. The inference is decidedly against its 
 being so ; for this creation or regeneration is assigned to an age 
 centuries anterior to Vikramaditya : and we may safely state 
 these converts to be of the Takshak race, invaders of India ut a 
 very early period. 
 
 Ajaipal is a name celebrated in the Chauhan chronicles, as the 
 founder of the fortress of Ajmer, one of the earliest establishments 
 of Chauhan power. ^ 
 
 Sambhar,^ on the banks of the extensive salt lake of the same 
 name, was probably anterior to Ajmer, and yielded an epithet 
 to the princes of this race, who [96] were styled Sambhari Rao. 
 These continued to be the most important places of Chauhan 
 power, until the translation of Prithwiraja to the imperial throne 
 of Delhi threw a parting halo of splendour over the last of its 
 independent kings. There were several princes whose actions 
 emblazon the history of the Chauhans. Of these was Manika 
 Rae, who first opposed the progress of the Muhammadan arms. 
 Even the history of the conquerors records that the most obstinate 
 opposition which the arms of Mahmud of Ghazni encountered 
 was from the prince of Ajmer,* who forced him to retreat, foiled 
 and disgraced, from this celebrated stronghold, in his destructive 
 route to Saurashtra. 
 
 The attack on Manika Rae appears to have been by Kasim, the 
 general of Walid, on the close of the first century of the Hegira.' 
 The second attack was at the end of the fourth century. A third 
 was (luring the reign of Bisaladeva, who headed a grand con- 
 
 ^ Born in S. 1215, or a.d. 1159. [Anhala or Agnipala is here the head of 
 the Chauhan line ; but a different list appears in the Hammira Maha- 
 kavya of Nayachhandra Suri (I A, viii. 55 ff.).] 
 
 " [Ajmer is commonly said to have been founded by Raja Aja, a.d. 145. 
 It was founded by Ajayadeva Chauhan about a.d. 1100 {lA, xxv. 162 f.).] 
 
 ' A name derived from the goddess Sakambhari, the tutelar^' divinity of 
 the tribes, whose statue is in the middle of the lake. 
 
 * Dharma Dhiraj, father of Bisaladeva, must have been the defender on 
 this occasion. 
 
 ^ [Muhammad bin Kasim seems to have marched along the Indus valley, 
 not in the direction of Ajmer (Malik Muhammad Din, Bcihawalpur Gazet- 
 teer, i. 28).]
 
 THE CHAUHANS 115 
 
 federacy of the Rajput princes against the foes of their religion. 
 The celebrated Udayaditya Pramar is enumerated amongst the 
 chiefs acting in subserviency to the Chauhan prince on this 
 occasion, and as his death has been fixed by unerring records in 
 A.D. 1096, this combination must have been against the Islamite 
 king Maudud, the fourth from Mahmud ; and to this victory is the 
 allusion in the inscription on the ancient pillar of Delhi.^ But 
 these irruptions continued to the captivity and death of the last 
 of the Chauhans, whose reign exhibits a splendid picture of 
 feudal manners. 
 
 The Chauhans sent forth twenty-four branches, of whom the 
 most celebrated are the existing families of Bundi and Kotah, in 
 the division termed Haravati. They have well maintained the 
 Chauhan reputation for valour. Six princely brothers shed their 
 blood in one field, in the support of the aged Shah Jahan against his 
 rebellious son Aurangzeb, and of the six but one survived his wounds. 
 
 The Khichis ^ of Gagraun and Raghugarh, the Deoras of Sirohi, 
 the Sonigiras of Jalor, the Chauhans of Sui Bah and Sanchor, and 
 the Pawechas of Pawagarh, have all immortalized themselves by 
 the most heroic and devoted deeds. Most of these famihes yet 
 exist, brave as in the days of Prithwiraja. 
 
 Many chiefs of the Chauhan race abandoned their faith to 
 preserve their lands, the Kaimkhani,^ the Sarwanis, the Lowanis, 
 the Kararwanis, and the Bedwanas [97], chiefly residing in Shaik- 
 havati, are the most conspicuous. No less than twelve petty 
 princes thus deserted their faith : which, however, is not contrary 
 to the Rajput creed ; for even Manu says, they may part with 
 wife to preserve their land. Isaridas, nephew of Prithwiraja, was 
 the first who set this example. 
 
 Twenty-four Sakha of the Chauhans. — Chauhan, Hara, Khichi, 
 Sonigira, Deora, Pabia, Sanchora, Goelwal, Bhadauria, Nirwan, 
 Malani, Purbia, Sura, Madrecha, Sankrecha, Bhurecha, Balecha, 
 Tasera, Chachera, Rosia, Chanda, Nikumbha, Bhawar, and 
 Bankat.* 
 
 ^ [This is doubtful. Maudud seems to have not come further south 
 than Sialkot (Al Badaoni, Muntakhabu-t-tawdrilch, i. 49 ; EIIiot-Dowson 
 ii. 273, iv. 139 f., 199 f., v. 160 f.)-] 
 
 ^ [The author has barely noticed the Khichis ; for an account of them 
 see ASR, ii. 249 ff.] ^ About Fatehp ir Jhunjhunu. 
 
 * [For a different Ust see Rajputana Censiis Report, 1911, i. 255.]
 
 116 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Chalukya or Solanki. — Though we cannot trace the history of 
 this branch of the Agnikulas to such periods of antiquity as the 
 Pramara or Chauhan, it is from the deficiency of materials, rather 
 than any want of celebrity, that we are unable to place it, in this 
 respect, on a level with them. The tradition of the bard makes 
 the Solankis important as princes of Sura on the Ganges, ere 
 the Rathors obtained Kanauj.^ The genealogical test^ claims 
 Lohkot, said to be the ancient Lahore, as a residence, which 
 makes them of the same Sakha (Madhwani) as the Chauhans. 
 Certain it is, that in the eighth century we find the Langahas ' 
 and Togras inhabiting Multan and the surrounding country, the 
 chief opponents of the Bhattis on their establishment in the 
 desert. They were princes of Kalyan, on the Malabar coast,* 
 which city still exhibits vestiges of ancient grandeur. It was 
 from Kalyan that a scion of the Solanki tree was taken, and 
 engrafted on the royal stem of the Chawaras of Anhilwara Patan. 
 
 It was in S. 987 (a.d. 931) that Bhojraj, the last of the Chawa- 
 ras, and the Salic law of India were both set aside, to make way 
 for the young Solanki, Mulraj,* who ruled Anhilwara for the space 
 of fifty-eight years. During the reign of his son and successor, 
 Chamimd Rae,*^ Mahmud of Ghazni carried his desolatiag arms into 
 the kingdom of Anhilwara. With its wealth he raised those [98] 
 magnificent trophies of his conquest, among which the ' Celestial 
 
 ^ [The Chalukya is a Gurjara tribe, the name being the Sanskritized form 
 of the old dynastic title, Chalkya, of the Deccan dynasty (a.d. 552—973) ; and 
 of this Solanki is a dialectical variant {lA, xi. 24 ; BG, i. Part i. 156, Part ii. 
 336).] 
 
 2 Solanki Gotracharya is thus: ''Madhwani Sakha — Bharadwaja 
 Gotra — Garh Lohkot nikas — Sarasvati Nadi (river) — Sama Veda — Kapalis- 
 war Deva — Karduman Rikheswar — Tin Parwar Zunar (zone of three threads) 
 — -Keonj Devi — Mahipal Putra (one of the Penates)." [Lohkot is Lohara 
 in Kashmir (Stein, Bajatarangini, i. Introd. 108, ii. 293 ff.)-] 
 
 * Called Malkhani, being the sons of Mai Khan, the first apostate from 
 his faith to Islamism. Whether these branches of the Solankis were com- 
 pelled to quit their religion, or did it voluntarily, we know not. 
 
 * Near Bombay. [In Thana District, not Malabar coast.] 
 
 ^ Son of Jai Singh Solanki, the emigrant prince of Kalyan, who married 
 the daughter of Bhojraj. These particulars are taken from a valuable little 
 geographical and historical treatise, incomplete and without title. [Mul- 
 araja Chaulnkya, a.d. 961—96, was son of Bhubhata : Chamunda, a.d. 997- 
 1010 ; it was in the reign of Bhima I. (1022-64) that Mahmiid's invasion in 
 A.D. 1024 occurred {BG, i. Part i. 156 ff. 164).] 
 
 * ('ailed Chamund by Muhammadan historians.
 
 THE CHALUKYAS 117 
 
 Bride ' might have vied with anything ever erected by man as 
 a monument of folly .^ The wealth abstracted, as reported in 
 the liistory of the conquerors, by this scourge of India, though 
 deemed incredible, would obtain belief, if the commercial riches 
 of Anhilwara could be appreciated. It was to India what Venice 
 was to Europe, the entrepot of the products of both the eastern 
 and western hemispheres. It fully recovered the shock given by 
 Mahmud and the desultory wars of his successors ; and we find 
 Siddharaja Jayasingha,^ the seventh from the founder, at the 
 head of the richest, if not the most warlike, kingdom of India. 
 Two-and-twenty principalities at one time owned his power, from 
 the Carnatic to the base of the Himalaya Mountains ; but his 
 unwise successor drew upon himself the vengeance of the Chauhan, 
 PrithAviraja, a slip of which race was engrafted, in the person of 
 Kumarapala, on the genealogical tree of the Solankis ; * and it is 
 a curious fact that this dynasty of the Balakaraes alone gives us 
 two examples of the Salic law of India being violated. Kumara- 
 pala, installed on the throne of Anhilwara, ' tied round his head 
 the turban of the Solanki.' He became of the tribe into which 
 he was adopted. Kumarapala, as well as Siddharaja, was the 
 patron of Buddhism ; * and the monuments erected under them 
 and their successors claim our admiration, from their magnificence 
 and the perfection of the arts ; for at no period were they more 
 cultivated than at the courts of AnhUwara. 
 
 The lieutenants of Shihabu-d-din disturbed the close of Kumara- 
 pal's reign ; and his successor, Balo Muldeo, closed this dynasty 
 in S. 1284 (a.d. 1228), when a new dynasty, called the Vaghela 
 (descendants of Siddharaja) under BIsaldeo, succeeded.^ The 
 dilapidations from religious persecution were repaired ; Somnath, 
 renowned as Delphos of old, rose from its ruins, and the kingdom 
 
 1 [Ferishta i. 61.] 
 
 2 He ruled from S. 1150 to 1201 [a.d. 1094-1143]. It was his court that 
 was visited by EI Edrisi, commonly called the Nubian geographer, who 
 particularly describes this ijrince as following the tenets of Buddha. [He 
 was probably not a Jain {BG, i. Part i. 179).] 
 
 * [The Gujarat account of the campaign is different (BG, i. Part i. 184 f.).] 
 
 * [Kumarapala made many benefactions to the Jains {Ibid. i. Part i. 
 190 f.).] 
 
 * [Ajayapala succeeded Kumarapala. BhimaIl.(A.D. 1179-1242), called 
 Bholo, ' the simpleton,' was the last of the Ghaulukya dynasty, which was 
 succeeded by that of the \'aghelas (1219-1304). Visaladeva reigned a.d. 
 1243-61. See a full account. Ibid. 194 ff.]
 
 118 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 of the Balakaraes was attaining its pristine magnificence, when, 
 under the fourth prince, Karandeva, the angel of destruction 
 appeared in the shape of Alau-d-din, and the kingdom of Anhilw^ra 
 was annihilated. The lieutenants of the Tatar despot of Delhi 
 let loose the spirit of intolerance and avarice on the rich cities 
 and fertile plains of Gujarat and Saurashtra. In contempt of 
 their faith, the altar of an Islamite Darvesh was placed in contact 
 with the shrine of Adinath, on the [99] most accessible of their 
 sacred mounts : ^ the statues of Buddha [the Jain Tirthankaras] 
 were thrown down, and the books containing the mysteries of 
 their faith suffered the same fate as the Alexandrian library. 
 The walls of Anhilwara were demolished ; its foundations ex- 
 cavated, and again filled up with the fragments of their ancient 
 temples.^ 
 
 The remnants of the Solanki dynasty were scattered over the 
 land, and this portion of India remained for upwards of a century 
 without any paramount head, until, by a singular dispensation 
 of Providence, its splendour was renovated, and its foundations 
 rebuilt, by an adventurer of the same race from which the Agni- 
 kulas were originally converts, though Saharan the Tak hid his 
 name and his tribe under his new epithet of Zafar Khan, and as 
 Muzaffar ascended the throne of Gujarat, which he left to his son. 
 This son was Ahmad, who founded Ahmadabad, whose most 
 splendid edifices were built from the ancient cities around it.* 
 
 Baghels. — Though the stem of the Solankis was thus uprooted, 
 yet was it not before many of its branches (Sakha), like their own 
 indigenous bar-tree, had fixed themselves in other soils. The 
 most conspicuous of these is the Baghela * family, which gave its 
 
 1 Satranjaya. [IGI, xix. 361 ff.] 
 
 ^ In 1822 I made a journey to explore the remains of antiquity in Sau- 
 rashtra. I discovered a ruined suburb of the ancient Patan stil] bearing the 
 name of Anhilwara, the Nahrwara, which D'Anville had "fort a cceur de 
 retrouver." I meditate a separate account of this kingdom, and the 
 dynasties which governed it. 
 
 * [Zafar Khan, son of Saharan of the Tank tribe of Rajputs, embraced 
 Islam, and became viceroy of Gujarat. According to Ferishta, he threw 
 off his allegiance to Delhi in 1396, or rather maintained a nominal allegiance 
 till 1403. Ahmad was grandson, not son, of Muzaffar. (Ferishta iv. 2 f. ; 
 Bayley, Dynasties of Gujarat, 67 ff. ; BG, i. Part i. 232 f.).] 
 
 * The name of this subdivision is from Bagh Rao, the son of Siddharaja ; 
 though the bards have another tradition for its origin. [They take their 
 name from the village Vaghela near Anhilwara {BG, i. Part i. 198).]
 
 THE CHALUKYAS AND PARIHARAS 119 
 
 name to an entire division of Hindustan ; and Bagtielkhand lias 
 now been ruled for many centuries by the descendants of Siddha- 
 raja. 
 
 Besides Bandhugarh, tliere are minor cliieftainsliips still in 
 Gujarat of the Baghela tribe. Of these, Pethapur and Tharad 
 are the most conspicuous. One of the chieftains of the second 
 class in Mewar is a Solanki, and traces his line immediately from 
 Siddharaja : this is the chief of Rupnagar,^ whose stronghold com- 
 mands one of the passes leading to Marwar, and whose family 
 annals would furnish a fine picture of the state of border-feuds. 
 Few of them, till of late years, have died natural deaths. 
 
 The Solanki is divided into sixteen branches [100]. 
 
 1. Baghela — Raja of Baghelkhand (capital Bandhugarh), 
 
 Raos of Pitapur, Tharad, and Adalaj, etc. 
 
 2. Birpura — Rao of Lunawara. 
 
 3. Bahala — Kalyanpur in Mewar, styled Rao, but serving 
 
 the chief of Salumbar. 
 
 ' ^ , ^ , oil" Baru, Tekra, and Chahir, in Jaisalmer. 
 
 5. Kalacha ^ J 
 
 6. Langaha — ^Muslims about Multan. 
 
 7. Togra— -Muslims in the Panjnad. 
 
 8. Brika — ,, „ 
 
 9. Surki — In Deccan. 
 
 10. Sarwaria ' — Girnar in Saurashtra. 
 
 11. Raka — Toda in Jaipur. 
 
 12. Ranakia — Desuri in Mewar. 
 
 13. Kharara — Alota and Jawara, in Malwa. 
 
 14. Tantia — Chandbhar Sakanbari.* 
 
 15. Almecha — No land. 
 
 16. Kalamor — Gujarat.^ 
 
 Pratihara or Parihara. — Of this, the last and least of _the 
 
 ^ I knew this chieftain well, and a very good specimen he is of the race. 
 He is in possession of the famous war-shell of Jai Singh, which is an heirloom. 
 ^ Famous robbers in the deserts, known as the Malduts. 
 ' Celebrated in traditional history. 
 
 * Desperate robbers. I saw this place fired and levelled in 1807, when 
 the noted Karim Pindari was made prisoner by Sindhia. It afterwards 
 cost some British blood in 1817. 
 
 * [For another list see Census Report, Eajputana, 1911, i. 256.]
 
 120 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Agnikulas, we have not much to say. The Pariharas never 
 acted a conspicuous part in the history of Rajasthan. They are 
 always discovered in a subordinate capacity, acting in feudal 
 subjection to the Tuars of Delhi or the Chauhans of Aimer ; and 
 the brightest page of their history is the record of an abortive 
 attemi^t of Nahar Rao to maintain his independence against 
 Prithwiraja. Though a failure, it has immortalized his name, 
 and given to the scene of action,^ one of the passes of the Aravalli, 
 a merited celebrity. Mandor ^ (classically Maddodara) was the 
 capital of the Parihars, and was the chief city of Marwar which 
 owned the sway of this tribe prior to the invasion and settlement 
 of the Rathors. It is placed five miles northward of the modern 
 [101] Jodhpur, and preserves some specimens of the ancient Pali 
 character, fragments of sculpture and Jain temples. 
 
 The Rathor emigrant princes of Kanauj found an asylum with 
 the Parihars. They repaid it by treachery, and Chonda, a name 
 celebrated in the Rathor annals, dispossessed the last of the 
 Parihars, and pitched the flag of the Rathors on the battlements 
 of Mandor. The power of the Parihars had, however, been much 
 reduced previously by the princes of Mewar, who not only ab- 
 stracted much territory from them, but assumed the title of its 
 princes— Rana.^ 
 
 The Parihara is scattered over Rajasthan, but I am unaware 
 of the existence of any independent chieftainship there. At the 
 confluence of the Kuhari, the Sind, and the Chambal, there is a 
 colony of this race, which has given its name to a commune of 
 twenty-four villages, besides hamlets, situated amidst the ravines 
 of these streams. They were nominally subjects of Sindhia ; 
 but it was deemed requisite for the line of defence along the 
 Chambal that it should be included within the British demarca- 
 tion, by which we incorporated with our rule the most notorious 
 body of thieves in the annals of Thug history. 
 
 The Parihars had twelve subdivisions, of which the chief were 
 
 ^ Though now desolate, the walls of this fortress attest its antiquity, 
 and it is a work that could not be undertaken in this degenerate age. The 
 remains of it bring to mind those of Volterra or Cortona, and other ancient 
 cities of Tuscany : enormous squared masses of stone without any cement. 
 [For a full account of Mandor, see Ersldne iii. ^.196 ff.] 
 
 * This Avas in the thirteenth century [a.d. 1381], whc:i Mandor was cap- 
 tured, and its prince slain, by the Rawal of Chitor.
 
 THE CHAWARAS OR CHAURAS 121 
 
 the Indha and Sindhal : a few of both are still to be found about 
 the banks of the Luni.^ 
 
 Chawara or Chaura. — This tribe was once renowned in the 
 history of India, though its name is now scarcely kno\^Ti, or only 
 in the chronicles of the bard. Of its origin we are in ignorance. 
 It belongs neither to the Solar nor Lunar race, and consequently 
 v/e iTiay presume it to be of Scythic origin.^ The name is un- 
 known in Hindustan, and is confined, with many others originat- 
 ing from beyond the Indus, to the peninsula of Saurashtra. If 
 foreign to India proper, its establishment must have been at a 
 remote period, as we find individuals of it intermarrying with the 
 Suryavansa ancestry of the present princes of Mewar, when this 
 family were the lords of Valabhi. 
 
 The capital of the Chawaras was the insular Deobandar, on 
 the coast of Saurashtra, and the celebrated temple of Sonmath, 
 with many others on this coast, dedicated to Balnath, or the sun, 
 is attributed to this tribe of the Sauras,* or [102] worshippers of 
 the sun ; most probably the generic name of the tribe as well as 
 of the peninsula.* 
 
 By a natural catastrophe, or as the Hindu superstitious 
 chroniclers will have it, as a punishment for the piracies of the 
 prince of Deo, the element whose privilege he abused rose and 
 overwhelmed his capital. As all this coast is very low, such an 
 occurrence is not improbable ; though the abandonment of Deo 
 might have been compelled by the irruptions of the Arabians, 
 who at this period carried on a trade with these parts, and the 
 plunder of some of their vessels may have brought this punisli- 
 meut on the Chawaras. That it was owing to some such political 
 
 ^ [Six sub-clans are named in Census Report, Bajputana, 1911, i. 255.] 
 
 " [They have been supposed to be a branch of the Pramars, but they arc 
 certainly of Gurjara origin {IA,\y. 145 f. ; BG,i^. Parti. 124, 488 f. ; i. Parti. 
 149 ff.). According to Wilberforce-Bell, the word Chaura in Gujarat means 
 ' robber ' {History of Katliiawad, 51).] 
 
 ' The "ZvpoL of the Greek writers on Bactria, the boundary of the Bactrian 
 kingdom under ApoUodotus. On this see the paper on Grecian medals in 
 the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. 
 
 * Many of the inhabitants of the south and west of India cannot pro- 
 nounce the ch, and invariably substitute the s. Thus the noted Pindari 
 leader Chitu was always called Situ by the Deccanis. Again, with many 
 of the tribes of the desert, the s is alike a stumbHng-block, which causes 
 many singular mistakes, when Jaisalmer, the ' hill of Jaisal,' becomes 
 Jahlmer, ' the hiU of fools.'
 
 122 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 catastrophe, we have additional gxounds for beh'ef from the annals 
 of Mewar, which state that its princes inducted the Chawaras into 
 the seats of the power they abandoned on the continent and penin- 
 sula of Saurashtra. 
 
 At all events, the prince of Deo laid the foundation of Anhil- 
 wara Patan in S. 802 (a.d. 74.6), which henceforth became the 
 capital city of this portion of India, in lieu of Valabhipura, which 
 gave the title of Balakaraes to its princes, the Balhara of the 
 earlier Arabian travellers, and following them, the geographers 
 of Europe. "^ 
 
 Vana Raja (or, in the dialects, Banraj) was this founder, and 
 his dynasty ruled for one hundred and eighty-four years, when, 
 as related in the sketch of the Solanki tribe, Bhojraj, the seventh 
 from the founder, was deposed by his nephew.^ It was during 
 this dynasty that the Arabian travellers ^ visited this court, of 
 which they have left but a confused picture. We are not, how- 
 ever, altogether in darkness regarding the Chawara race, as in 
 the Khuman Raesa, one of the chronicles of Mewar, mention 
 is made of the auxiliaries under a leader named Chatansi, in 
 the defence of Chitor against the first attack on record of the 
 Muhammadans . 
 
 When Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Saurashtra and captured 
 its capital, Anhilwara, he deposed its jDrince, and placed upon the 
 throne, according to Ferishta, a prince of the former dynasty, 
 renowned for his ancient line and purity of blood, and who is 
 styled Dabichalima ; a name which has jiuzzled all European 
 commentators. Now the Dabhi was a celebrated tribe, said by 
 some to be a branch of the [103] Chawara, and this therefore may 
 be a compound of Dabhi Chawara, or the Chaurasima, by some 
 called a branch of the ancient Yadus.* 
 
 ^ [The Balhara of Arab travellers of the tenth century were the Rash- 
 trakuta dynasty of Malkhed, Balhara teing a corruption of Vallabha- 
 raja, Vallabha being the royal title {BG, i. Part ii. 209).] 
 
 ^ [Vanaraja reigned from a.d. 765 to 780, and the dynasty is said to have 
 lasted 196 years, but the evidence is still incomplete. The name of Bhojraj 
 does not appear in the most recent lists [BG, i. Part i. 152 ff.).] 
 
 ^ Relations anciennes des Voyageurs, par Renaudot. 
 
 * [The true form of this puzzling term seems to be Dabshalim, whose 
 story is told in EUiot-Dowson (ii. 500 ff., iv. 183). Much of the account is 
 mere tradition, but it has been plausibly suggested that when Bhima I., the 
 Chaulukya king of Anhilwara was defeated by Mahmud of Ghazni in a.d.
 
 THE TAKS or TAKSHAKS 123 
 
 This ancient connexion between the Surya\ansi cliiefs and the 
 Chawaras, or Sauras, of Saurashtra, is still maintained after a 
 lapse of more than one thousand years ; for although an alliance 
 with the Rana's family is deemed the highest honour that a Hindu 
 prince can obtain, as being the first in rank in Rajasthan, yet is 
 the humble Chawara sought out, even at the foot of fortune's 
 ladder, whence to carry on the blood of Rama. The present 
 heir-apparent of a line of ' one hundred kings,' the prince Jawan 
 Singh [1828-38], is the offspring of a Chawara mother, the daughter 
 of a petty chieftain of Gujarat. 
 
 It were vain to give any account of the present stale of the 
 families bearing this name. They must depend upon the fame 
 of past days ; to this we leave them. 
 
 Tak or Takshak. — Takshak appears to be the generic term of 
 the race from which the various Scythic tribes, the early invaders 
 of India, branched off. It appears of more ancient application 
 than Getae, which was the parent of innumerable sakha. It 
 might not be judicious to separate them, though it would be 
 speculative to say which was the primitive title of the races called 
 Scythic, after their country, Sakatai or Sakadwipa, the land of 
 the great Getae. 
 
 Abulghazi makes Taunak^ the son of Turk or Targetai, who 
 appears to be the Turushka of the Puranas, the Tukyuks of the 
 Chinese historians, the nomadic Tokhari of Strabo, who aided to 
 overturn the Greek kingdom of Bactria, and gave their name to 
 
 1024, the latter may have appointed Durlabha, uncle of Bhima, to keep 
 order in Gujarat, and that the two Dabshalims may be identified with 
 Durlabha and his son [BG, i. Part i. 168). Also see Ferishta i. 76 ; Bayley, 
 Muhammadan Dynasties of Gujarat, 32 ff.] 
 
 ^ Abulghazi [Hist, of the Turks, Moguls, and Tartars, 1730, i. 5 f .] says, 
 when Noah left the ark he divided the earth amongst his three sons : Shem 
 had Iran : Japhet, the country of ' Kuttup Shamach,' the name of the 
 regions between the Caspian Sea and India. There he Hved two hundred 
 and fifty years. He left eight sons, of whom Turk was the elder and the 
 seventh Camari, supposed the Gomer of Scripture. Turk had four sons ; 
 the eldest of whom was Taunak, the fourth from whom was Mogul, a cor- 
 ruption of Mongol, signifying sad, whose successors made the Jaxartes their 
 winter abode. [The word means ' brave ' (Howorth, Hist, of the Mongols, 
 i. 27).] Under his reign no trace of the true rehgion remained : idolatry 
 reigned everywhere. Aghuz Khan succeeded. The ancient Cimbri, who 
 went west with Odin's horde of Jats, Chattis, and Su , were probably the tribes 
 descended from Camari, the son of Turk.
 
 124 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 the grand division of Asia, Tokharistan ^ or Turkistan : and there 
 is every appearance of that singular race, tlie Tajik,* still 
 scattered over these [104] regions, and whose history appears a 
 mystery, being the descendants of the Takshak. 
 
 It has been already observed, that ancient inscriptions in t)ie 
 Pali or Buddhist character have been discovered in various parts 
 of Rajasthan, of the race called Tasta, Takshak, and Tak, relating 
 to the tribes, the Mori [or Maurya], Pramara, their descendants. 
 Naga and Takshak are synonymous appellations in Sanskrit for 
 the snake, and the Takshak is the celebrated Nagvansa of the 
 early heroic history of India. The Mahabharata describes^ in its 
 usual allegorical style, the wars between the Pandavas of Indra- 
 prastha and the Takshaks of the north. The assassination of 
 Parikshita by the Takshak, and the exterminating warfare carried 
 on against them by his son and successor, Janamejaya, who at 
 last compelled them to sign tributary engagements, divested of 
 its allegory,' is plain historical fact. 
 
 ^ Tacash continued to be a proper name with the great Khans of 
 Kharizm (Chorasmia) until they adopted the faith of Muhammad. The 
 father of Jala], the foe of Jenghiz Khan, was named Tacash. Tashkent on 
 the .Jaxartes, the cajDital of Turkistan, may be derived from the name of the 
 race. Bayer says, " Tocharistan was the region of the Tochari, who were 
 • the ancient Tijxapoi (Tochari), or Taxcipot(TachaA'oi)." Amraianus Marcellinus 
 says, " many nations obey the Bactrians, whom the Tochari surjoass " 
 (Hist. Beg. Bad. p. 7). 
 
 ^ This singular race, the Tajiks, are repeatedly mentioned by Mr. Elpliin- 
 stone in his admirable account of the kingdom of Kabul. They are also 
 particularly noticed as monopoHsing the commercial transactions of the 
 kingdom of Bokhara, in that interesting work. Voyage (TOrenbourg a Bokhara, 
 the map accompanying whicli, for the first time, lays down authentically the 
 sources and course of the Oxus and Jaxartes. [The term Tajik means the 
 settled population, as opposed to the Turks or tent-dM'ellers. It is the same 
 word as Tazi, ' Arab,' still surviving in the name of the Persian greyhound, 
 which was apparently introduced by the Arabs. Sykes (Hist, of Persia, ii. 
 153, note) and Skrine-Ross {The Heart of Asia, 3, 364 note) state that the 
 Tajiks represent the Iranian branch of the Aryans.] 
 
 3 The Mahabharata describes this warfare against the snakes literally : 
 of which, in one attack, he seized and made a burnt-oft'ering (hom) of twenty 
 thousand. It is surprising that the Hindu will accept these things hterally. 
 It might be said he had but a choice of difficulties, and that it would be as 
 impossible for any human being to make the barbarous sacrifice of twenty 
 thousand of his species, as it would be difficult to find twenty thousand 
 snakes for the purpose. The author's knowledge of what barbarity will 
 inflict leaves the fact of the human sacrifice, though not perhaps to this 
 extent, not even improbable. In 1811 his duties called him to a survey
 
 THE TAKS OR TAKSHAKS 125 
 
 When Alexander invaded India, he found the Paraitakai, the 
 mountain (pahar) Tak, inhabiting the Paropamisos range ; nor 
 is it by any means unlikely that Taxiles,^ the ally of the Mace- 
 donian king, was the chief (es) of the Taks ; and in the early 
 history of the Bhatti princes of Jaisalmer, when driven from 
 Zabulistan, they dispossessed the Taks on the Indus, and estab- 
 lished themselves in their land, the capital of which was called 
 Salivahanpura ; and as the date of this event is given as 3008 of 
 the Yudhishthira era, it is by no means unlikely that Salivahana, 
 or Salbhan (who was a Takshak), the conqueror of the Tuar 
 Vikrama, was of the very family dispossessed by the Bhattis, 
 who compelled them to migrate to the south. 
 
 The calculated period of the invasion of the Takshaks, or 
 . Nagvansa, under Sheshnag, is about six or seven centuries before 
 the Christian era, at which very [105] period the Scythic invasion 
 of Egypt and Syria, " by the sons of Togarmah riding on horses " 
 (the Aswas, or Asi), is alike recorded by tlie prophet Ezekiel and 
 Diodorus. The Abu Mahatma calls the Takshaks " the sons of 
 Himachal," all evincing Scythic descent ; and it was only eight 
 reigns anterior to this change in the Lunar dynasties of India, 
 that Parsvanath, the twenty-third Buddha [Jain Tirthankara], 
 introduced his tenets into India, and fixed his abode in the holy 
 mount Sarnet.^ 
 
 amidst the ravines of the Chambal, the tract called Gujargarh, a district 
 inhabited by the Gujar tribe. Turbulent and independent, like the sons of 
 Esau, their hand against every man and every man's hand against them, 
 their nominal prince, SurajmaU, the Jat chief of Bharatpur, pursued exactlj' 
 the same plan towards the population of these villages, whom they captured 
 in a night attack, that Janamejaya did to the Takshaks : he threw them 
 into pits with combustibles, and actually thus consumed them ! This 
 occurred not three-quarters of a century ago. 
 
 ^ Arrian says that his name was Omphis [Ambhi], and that his father 
 dying at this time, he did homage to Alexander, who invested him with the 
 title and estates of his father Taxiles. Hence, perhaps (from Tak), the name 
 of the Indus, Attak ; [?] not Atak, or ' forbidden,' according to modern 
 signification, and which has only been given since the Muhammadan religion 
 for a time made it the boundary between the two faiths. [All these specu- 
 lations are valueless.] 
 
 2 In Bihar, during the reign of Pradyota, the successor of Ripunjaya. 
 Parsva's symbol is the serpent of Takshak. His doctrines spread to the 
 remotest parts of India, and the princes of Valabhipura of Ma'ndor and 
 Anhilwara all held to the tenets of Buddha. [As usual, Jains are con- 
 founded with Buddhists. There is no reason to beheve that the Nagas, a 
 serpent-wor.shipping tribe, were not indigenous in India.]
 
 126 HISTORY OP THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Enough of the ancient history of the Tak ; we wiU now descend 
 to more modern times, on which we shall be brief. We have 
 already mentioned the Takshak Mori [or Maurya] as being lords 
 of Chitor from a very early period ; and but a few generations 
 after the Guhilots supplanted the Moris, this palladium of Hindu 
 liberty was assailed by the arms of Islam. We find amongst the 
 numerous defenders who appear to have considered the cause of 
 Chitor their own, " the Tak from Asirgarh." ^ This race appears to 
 liave retained possession of Asir for at least two centuries after this 
 event, as its chieftain was one of the most conspicuous leaders in 
 the array of Prithwiraja. In the poems of Chand he is called the 
 " standard-bearer, Tak of Asir." ^ 
 
 This ancient race, the foe of Janamejaya and the friend of 
 Alexander, closed its career in a blaze of splendour. The celeb-, 
 rity of the kings of Gujarat will make amends for the obscurity 
 of the Taks of modern times, of whom a dynasty of fourteen kings 
 followed each other in succession, commencing and ending with 
 the proud title of Muzaffar. It was in the reign of Muhammad,^ 
 son of the first Tughlak, that an accident to his nephew Firoz 
 proved the dawn of the fortunes of the Tak ; purchased, however, 
 with the change of name and religion. Saharan the Tak was the 
 lirst apostate of his line, who, under the name of Wajihu-1-mulk, 
 concealed both his origin and tribe. His son, Zafar Khan, was 
 raised by his patron Firoz to the government of Gujarat, about the 
 period when Timur invaded India. Zafar availed himself of the 
 weakness of his master and the distraction of the times, and 
 mounted the throne of Gujarat under the name of [106] Muzaffar.* 
 He was assassinated by the hand of his grandson, Ahmad, who 
 changed the ancient capital, Anhilwara, for the city founded by 
 himself, and called Ahmadabad, one of the most splendid in the 
 east. With the apostasy of the Tak,^ the name appears to have 
 
 ^ Tliis is the celebrated fortress in Khandesh, now in the possession of the 
 British. 
 
 2 In the list of the wounded at the battle of Kanauj he is mentioned by 
 name, as " Chatto the Tak." ^ He reigned from a.d. 1324 to 1351. 
 
 * 'The victorious' [see p. 118 above]. 
 
 '' Tlie Miratu-l-Sikandari gives the ancestry of the apostate for twenty- 
 three generations ; the last of whom was Sesh, the same which introduced 
 the Nagvansa, seven centuries before the Christian era, into India. The 
 author of the work gives the origin of the name of Tak, or Tank, frojn tarka, 
 ' expulsion,' from his caste, which he styles Khatri, evincing his ignorance of 
 this ancient race.
 
 THE JATS 127 
 
 been obliterated from the tribes of Rajasthan ; nor has my 
 search ever discovered one of this name now existing. 
 
 Jat, Jat. — In all the ancient catalogues of the thirty-six royal 
 races of India the Jat has a place, though by none is he ever 
 styled ' Rajput ' ; nor am I aware of any instance of a Rajput's 
 intermarriage with a Jat.^ It is a name widely disseminated 
 over India, though it does not now occupy a very elevated place 
 amongst the inhabitants, belonging chiefly to the agricultural 
 classes. 
 
 In the Panjab they still retain their ancient name of Jat. On 
 the Jumna and Ganges they are styled Jats, of whom the chief 
 of Bharatpur is the most conspicuous. On the Indus and in 
 Saurashtra they are termed Jats. The greater portion of tlie 
 husbandmen in Rajasthan are Jats ; and there are numerous 
 tribes beyond the Indus, now proselytes to the Muhammadan 
 religion, who derive their origin from this class. 
 
 Of its ancient history sufficient has been already said. We 
 will merely add, that the kingdom of the great Getae, whose 
 capital was on the Jaxartes, preserved its integrity and name 
 from the period of Cyrus to the fourteenth century, when it was 
 converted from idolatry to the faith of Islam. Herodotus [iv. 
 93-4] informs us that the Getae were theists and held the tenet 
 of the soul's immortality ; and De Guignes,^ from Chinese authori- 
 ties, asserts that at a very early period they had embraced the 
 religion of Fo or Buddha. 
 
 The traditions of the Jats claim the regions west of the Indus 
 as the cradle of the race, and make them of Yadu extraction ; 
 thus corroborating the annals of the Yadus, whieli state their 
 migration from Zabulistan, and almost inducing us to [107] dis- 
 pense with the descent of this tribe from Krishna, and to pro- 
 
 1 [Thougli apparently there is no legal connubium between Jats and 
 Rajputs, the two tribes are closely connected, and it has been suggested 
 that both had their origin in invaders from Central Asia, the leaders becoming 
 Rajputs, the lower orders Jat peasants. The author, at the close of Vol. II., 
 gives an inscription recording the marriage of a Jat with a Yadava princess.] 
 
 ^ " The superiority of the Chinese over the Turks caused the great Khan 
 to turn his arms against the Nomadic Getae of Mawaru-l-nahr (Transoxiana), 
 descended fi-om the Yueh-chi, and bred on the Jihun or Oxus, whence they 
 had extended themselves along the Indus and even Ganges, and are there 
 yet found. These Getae had embraced the religion of Fo " {Hist. Gen. 
 des Huns, tom. i. p. 375).
 
 128 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 nounee it an important colony of the Yueh-chi, Yuti, or Jats. 
 Of the first migration from Central Asia of this race within the 
 Indus we have no record ; it might have been simultaneous with 
 the Takshak, from the wars of Cyrus or his ancestors. 
 
 It has been already remarked that the Jat divided with the 
 Takshak the claim of being the parent name of the various tribes 
 called Scythic, invaders of India ; and there is now before the 
 author an inscription of the fifth century applying both epithets 
 to the same prince/ who is invested moreover with the Scythic 
 quality of worshipping the sun. It states, likewise, that the 
 mother of this Jat prince was of Yadu race : strengthening their 
 claims to a niche amongst the thirty-six Rajkulas, as well as their 
 Yadu descent. 
 
 The fifth century of the Christian era, to which this inscription 
 belongs, is a period of interest in Jat history. De Guignes, from 
 original authorities, states the Yueh-chi or Jats to have estab- 
 lished themselves in the Panjab in the fifth and sixth centuries, 
 and the inscription now quoted applies to a prince whose capital 
 is styled Salindrapura in these regions ; and doubtless the Saliva- 
 hanpur ^ where the Yadu Bhattis established themselves on the 
 expulsion of the Tak. 
 
 '^ " To my foe, salutation ! This foe how shall I describe ? Of the race 
 of Jat Kathida, whose ancestor, the warrior Takshak, formed the garland 
 on the neck of Mahadeva." Though this is a figurative allusion to the snake 
 necklace of the father of creation, yet it evidently pointed to the Jat's 
 descent from the Takshak. But enough has been said elsewhere of the 
 snake race, the parent of the Scythic tribes, which the divine Milton seems 
 to have taken from Diodorus's account of the mother of the Scythae : 
 " Woman to the waist, and fair ; 
 But ended foul in many a scaly fold ! " 
 
 Paradise Lost, Book ii. 650 f. 
 
 Whether the Jat Kathida is the Jat or Getae of Cathay {da being the mark 
 of the genitive case) we will leav^e to conjecture [?]. [Ney Ehas {History 
 of the Moghuls of Central Asia, 75) suggests that the theory of the connexion 
 between Jats and Getae was largely based on an error regarding the term 
 jatah, ' rascal,' apphed as a mark of reproach to the Moguls by the 
 Chagatai.] 
 
 ^ This place existed in the twelfth century as a capital ; since an in- 
 scription of Kamarpal, prince of Anhilwara, declares that this monarch 
 carried his conquests " even to Salpur." There is Sialkot in Rennell's 
 geography, and Wilford mentions " Sangala, a famous city in ruins, sixty 
 miles west by north of Lahore, situated in a forest, and said to be built by 
 Piiru.'
 
 THE JATS 129 
 
 How much earlier than this the Jat penetrated into Rajasthan 
 must be left to more ancient inscriptions to determine : suffice 
 it that in a.d. 440 we find him in power. ^ 
 
 When the Yadu was expelled from Salivahanpura, and forced 
 to seek refuge [108] across the Sutlej among the Dahia and Johya 
 Rajputs of the Indian desiert, where they founded their first 
 capital, Derawar, many from compulsion embraced the Muham- 
 madan faith ; on which occasion they assumed the name of Jat,^ 
 of which at least twenty different offsets are enumerated in the 
 Yadu chronicles. 
 
 That the Jats continued as a powerful community on the east 
 bank of the Indus and in the Panjab, fully five centuries after 
 the period our inscription and their annals illustrate, we have the 
 most interesting records in the history of Mahmud, the conqueror 
 of India, whose progress they checked in a manner unprecedented 
 in the annals of continental warfare. It was in 416 of the Hegira 
 (a.d. 1026) that Mahmud marched an army against the Jats, who 
 had harassed and insulted him on the return from his last expedi- 
 tion against Saurashtra. The interest of the account authorizes 
 its being given from the original. 
 
 " The Jats inhabited the country on the borders of Multan, 
 along the river that runs by the mountains of Jud.* When 
 Mahmud reached Multan, finding the Jat country defended by 
 great rivers, he built fifteen hundred boats,* each armed with six 
 iron spikes projecting from their prows, to prevent their being 
 
 i At this time (a.d. 449) the Jut brothers, Hengist and Horsa, led a 
 colony from Jutland and founded the kingdom of Kent {qu. Kantha, ' a 
 coast,' in Sanskrit, as m Gothic Konta ?). The laws they there introduced, 
 more especially the still prevailing one of gavelkind, where all the sons share 
 equally, except the youngest who has a double portion, are purely Scythic, 
 and brought by the original Goth from the Jaxartes. Alaric had finished 
 his career, and Theodoric and Genseric {ric, ' king,' in Sanskrit [?]) were 
 carrying their arms into Spain and Africa. [These speculations are valueless.] 
 
 2 Why should these proselytes, if originally Yadu, assume the name of 
 Jat or Jat ? It must be either that the Yadus were themselves the Scythic 
 Yuti or Yueh-chi, or that the branches intermarried with the Jats, and' 
 consequently became degraded as Yadus, and the mixed issue bore the name 
 of the mother. 
 
 ^ The Jadu ka Dang, ' or hills of Yadu,' mentioned in the sketch of this 
 race as one of their intermediate points of halt when they were driven from 
 India after the Mahabharata. 
 
 * Near the spot where Alexander built his fleet, which navigated to 
 Babylon thirteen hundred years before. 
 
 VOL. I K
 
 130 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 boarded by the enemy, expert in this kind of warfare. In each 
 boat he placed twenty archers, and some with fire-balls of naphtha 
 to burn the Jat fleet. The monarch having determined on their 
 extirpation, awaited the result at Multan. The Jats sent their 
 wives, children, and effects to Sind Sagar,^ and laimched four 
 thousand, or, as others say, eight thousand boats well armed to 
 meet the Ghaznians. A terrible conflict ensued, but the project- 
 ing spikes sunk the Jat boats while others were set on fire. Few 
 escaped from this scene of terror ; and those who did, met with 
 the more severe fate of capti\'ity." ^ 
 
 Many doubtless did escape ; and it is most probable that the 
 Jat communities, on whose overthrow the State of Bikaner was 
 founded, were remnants of this very warfare [109]. 
 
 Not long after this event the original empire of the Getae was 
 overturned, when many fugitives found a refuge in India. In 
 1360 Togultash Timur was the great Khan of the Getae nation ; 
 idolaters even to this period. He had conquered Khorasan,. 
 invaded Transoxiana (whose prince fled, but whose nephew. 
 Amir Timur, averted its subjugation), gained the friendship of 
 Togultash, and commanded a hundred thousand Getae warriors. 
 In 1369, when the Getic Klian died, such was the ascendancy 
 obtained by Timur over his subjects, that the Kuriltai, or general 
 assembly, transferred the title of Grand Khan from the Getic to 
 the Chagatai Timur. In 1370 he married a Getic princess, and 
 added Khokhand and Samarkand to his patrimony, Transoxiana. 
 Rebellions and massacres almost depopulated this nursery of 
 mankind, ere the Getae abandoned their independence ; nor was 
 it tUl 1388, after six invasions, in which he burnt their towns, 
 brought away their wealth, and almost annihilated the nation, 
 that he felt himself secure.* 
 
 ^ Translated by Dow, ' an island.' Sind Sagar is one of the Duabas of 
 the Panjab. I have compared Dew's translation of the earlier portion of 
 the history of Ferishta with the original, and it is infinitely more faithful 
 than the world gives him credit for. His errors are most considerable in 
 numerals and in weights and measures ; and it is owing to this that he has 
 made the captured wealth of India appear so incredible. 
 
 ^ Ferishta vol. i. [The translation in the text is an abstract of that of 
 Dow (i. 72). That of Briggs (i. 81 f.) is more accurate. In neither version 
 is there any mention of the Sind Sagar. Rose (Glossary, ii. 359) discredits 
 the account of this naval engagement, and expresses a doubt whether the 
 Jats at this period occupied Jud or the Salt Ranges.] 
 
 ^ [By the ' Getae ' of the text the author apparently means Mongols.]
 
 THE JATS, HUNS 131 
 
 In his expedition into India, having overrun great part of 
 Europe, " taken Moscow, and slain the soldiers of the barbarous 
 Urus/' he encountered his old foes " the Getae, who inhabited 
 the plains of Tohim, where he put two thousand to the syord, 
 pursuing them into the desert and slaughtering many more near 
 the Ghaggar." -^ 
 
 Still the Jat maintained himself in the Panjab, and the most 
 powerful and independent prince of India at this day is the Jat 
 prince of Lahore, holding dominion over the identical regions 
 where the Yueh-chi colonized in the fifth century, and where the 
 Yadus, driven from Ghazni, established themselves on the ruins 
 of the Taks. The Jat cavalier retains a portion of his Scythic 
 manners, and preserves the use of the chakra or discus, the weapon 
 of the Yadu Krishna in the remote age of the Bharat. 
 
 Hun or Hiin. — Amongst the Scythic tribes who have secured 
 for themselves a niche with the thirty-six races of India, is the 
 Hun. At what period this race, so well known by its ravages 
 and settlement in Europe, invaded India, we know not.^ Doubt- 
 less it was in the society of many others yet found in the peninsula 
 of [110] Saurashtra, as the Kathi, the Bala, the Makwana, etc. 
 It is, however, confined to the genealogies of that peninsula ; for 
 although we have mention of the Hun in the chronicles and in- 
 scriptions of India at a very early period, he failed to obtain a 
 place in the catalogue of the northern bards. 
 
 The earliest notice of the tribe is in an inscription ^ recording 
 the power of a prince of Bihar, who, amidst his other conquests, 
 " humbled the pride of the Hiins." In the annals of the early 
 history of Mewar, in the catalogue of princes who made common 
 cause with this the chief of all the Rajputs, when Chitor was 
 assailed in the first irruption of the Muhammadans, was Angatsi, 
 
 ^ Abulghazi vol. ii. chap. 16. After his battle with Sultan Mahmud of 
 Delhi, Timur gave orders, to use the word of his historian, " for the slaughter 
 of a hundred thousand infidel slaves. The great mosque was fired, and the 
 souls of the infidels were sent to the abj^ss of hell. Towers were erected of 
 their heads, and their bodies were thrown as food to the beasts and birds of 
 prey. At Mairta the infidel Guebres were flayed alive." This was by order 
 of Tamerlane, to whom the dramatic historians of Europe assign every great 
 and good quaUty ! 
 
 2 [The first Hun invasion occurred in 455 a.d., and about 500 they over- 
 threw the Gupta Empire (Smith, EHI, 309, 316).] 
 
 ' Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 136.
 
 132 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 lord of the Huns, who led his quota on this occasion. De Guignes i 
 describes Angat as being the name of a considerable horde of 
 Huns or Moguls ; and Abulghazi says that the Tartar tribe who 
 guarded the great wall of China were termed Angatti, who had 
 a distinct prince with high pay and honour. The countries in- 
 habited by the Hiong-nou and the Ou-huon, the Turks and Moguls, 
 called ' Tatar ' from Tatan,^ the name of the country from the 
 banks of the Irtish along the mountains of Altai to the shores of 
 the Yellow Sea, are described at large by the historian of the 
 Huns ; following whom and other original sources, the historian 
 of the Fall of Rome has given great interest to his narrative of 
 their march into Europe. But those who are desirous to learn 
 all that relates to the past history and manners of this people, 
 must consult that monument of erudition and research, the 
 Geography of Malte-Brun.* 
 
 D'Anville,* quoting Cosmas the traveller, informs us that the 
 White Huns (X^vkoI Oi'i'i'ot) * occupied the north of India ; and it 
 is most probable a colony of these found their way into Saur- 
 ashtra and Mewar, 
 
 It is on the eastern bank of the Chambal, at the ancient Barolh, 
 that tradition assigns a residence to the Hun ; and one of the 
 ' celebrated temples at that place, called the Singar Chaori, is the 
 marriage hall of the Hun prince, who is also declared to have been 
 possessed of a lordship on the opposite bank, occupying the [111] 
 site of the present town of Bhainsror. In the twelfth century 
 the Hun must have possessed consequence, to occupy the place 
 he holds in the chronicle of the princes of Gujarat. The race is 
 not extinct. One of the most intelligent of the living bards of 
 India assured the author of their existence ; and in a tour where 
 he accompanied him, redeemed his pledge, by pointing out the 
 
 ^ Hist. Gen. des Huns, torn. iii. p. 238. 
 
 2 [The name Tatar is derived from that of the Ta-ta Mongols {EB, xxvi. 
 448).] 
 
 ^ Precis de Geographie universelle. Malte-Brun traces a connexion 
 between the Hungarians and the Scandinavians, from similarity of language : 
 " A ces sieclcs primitifs ou les Huns, les Goths, les Jotes, les Ases, et bieh 
 d'autres peuples etaient reunis autour des anciens autels d'Odin." Several 
 of the words which he affords us are Sanskrit in origin. Vol. vi. p. 370. 
 
 * Eclair cissemens Geographiques sur la Carte de VInde, p. 43 [Smith, 
 EHI, 315 ff.]. 
 
 ^ An orthography which more assimilates with the Hindu pronunciation 
 of tlie name Huon, or Oun, than Hun.
 
 THE JATS, KATHIS 133 
 
 residence of some in a village on the estuary of the Mahi, though 
 degraded and mixed with other classes.^ 
 
 We may infer that few convulsions occurred in Central Asia, 
 which drove forth these hordes of redundant population to seek 
 subsistence in Europe, without India participating in such over- 
 flow. The only singular circumstance is, by what means they 
 came to be recognized as Hindus, even though of the lowest class. 
 Sudra we cannot term them ; for although the Kathi and the 
 Bala cannot be regarded as, or classed with Rajputs, they would 
 scorn the rank of Sudra. 
 
 Kathi. — Of the ancient notices of this people much has been 
 already said, and all the genealogists, both of Rajasthan and 
 Saurashtra, concur in assigning it a place amongst the royal races 
 of India. It is one of the most important tribes of the western 
 peninsula, and which has effected the change of the name from 
 Saurashtra to Kathiawar. 
 
 Of all its inhabitants the Kathi retains most originality : his 
 religion, his manners, and his looks, all are decidedly Scythic. He 
 occupied, in the time of Alexander, that nook of the Panjab near 
 the confluent five streams. It was against these Alexander 
 marched in person, when he nearly lost his life, and where he left 
 such a signal memorial of his vengeance. The Kathi can be 
 traced from these scenes to his present haunts. In the earlier 
 portion of the Annals of Jaisalmer mention is made of their con- 
 flicts with the Kathi ; and their own traditions ^ fix their settle- 
 ment in the peninsula from the south-eastern part of the valley 
 of the Indus, about the eighth century. 
 
 In the twelfth century the Kathi were conspicuous in the wars 
 with Prithwiraja, there being several leaders of the tribe attached 
 
 ^ The same bard says that there are three or four houses of these Huns 
 at Trisawi, three coss from Baroda ; and the Khichi bard, Moghji, says their 
 traditions record the existence of many powerful Hun princes in India. 
 [On the Huns in W. India see BG, i. Part i. 122 ff. The difficulty in the text 
 is now removed by the proof that many of them became Rajputs.] 
 
 - The late Captain Macmurdo, whose death was a loss to the service and 
 to literature, gives an animated account of the habits of the Kathi. His 
 opinions coincide entirely with my own regarding this race. See vol. i. p. 
 270, Trans. Soc. of Bombay. [For accounts of the Kathi see BG, ix. Part i. 
 252 ft'., viii. 122 ff. Under the Mahrattas Kathiawar, the name of the 
 Kathi tract, was extended to the whole of Saurashtra (Wilberforce-Bell, 
 Hist, of Kathiawad, 132 f.).]
 
 134 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 to his army, as well as to that of [112] his rival, the monarch of 
 Kanauj.^ Though on this occasion they acted in some degree of 
 subservience to the monarch of Anhilwara, it would seem that 
 this was more voluntary than forced. 
 
 The Kathi still adores the sun,^ scorns the peaceful arts, and 
 is much less contented with the tranquil subsistence of industry 
 than the precarious earnings of his former predatory pursuits. 
 The Kathi was never happy but on horseback, collecting his 
 blackmail, lance in hand, from friend and foe. 
 
 We will conclude this brief sketch with Captain Macmurdo's 
 character of this race, " The Kathi differs in some respects from 
 the Rajput. He is more cruel in his disposition, but far exceeds 
 him in the virtue of bravery ; ^ and a character possessed of more 
 energy than a Kathi does not exist. His size is considerably 
 larger than common, often exceeding six feet. He is sometimes 
 seen with light hair and blue-coloured eyes. His frame is athletic 
 and bony, and particularly well adapted to his mode of life. His 
 countenance is expressive, but of the worst kind, being harsh, 
 and often destitute of a single mild feature." * 
 
 Bala. — ^All the genealogists, ancient and modern, insert the 
 Bala tribe amongst the Rajkulas. The birad, or ' blessing,' of 
 the bard is Taita Multan ka rao,^ indicative of their original abodes 
 on the Indus. They lay claim, however, to descent from the 
 Suryavansi, and maintain that their great ancestor, Bala or Bapa, 
 was the offspring of Lava, the eldest son of Rama ; that their first 
 settlement in Saurashtra was at the ancient Dhank, in more 
 remote periods called Mungi Paithan ; and that, in conquering 
 the country adjacent, they termed it Balakshetra (their capital 
 Valabhipura), and assumed the title? of Balarae. Here they 
 claim identity with the Guliilot race of Mewar : nor is it impos- 
 
 ^ It is needless to particularise them here. In the poems of Chand, some 
 books of which I have translated and purpose giving to the pubhc, the 
 important part the Kathi had assigned to them will appear. 
 
 ^ [In the form of a symbol like a spider, the rays forming the legs {BO, 
 ix. Part i. 257).] 
 
 * It is the Rajput of Kathiawar, not of Rajasthan, to whom Captain 
 Macmurdo alludes. 
 
 * Of their personal appearance, and the blue eyQ indicative of their 
 Gothic or Getic origin, the author will have occasion to speak more particu- 
 larly in his personal narrative. 
 
 " ' Princes of Tatta and Multan.'
 
 THE KATHIS, BALAS 135 
 
 siblc that they may be a branch of this family, which long held 
 power in Saurashtra.^ Before the Guhilots adopted the worship 
 of Mahadeo, which period is indicated in their annals, the chief 
 object of their adoration was the sun, giving them that Scythic 
 resemblance to which the Balas have every appearance of claim 
 [113]. 
 
 The Balas on the continent of Saurashtra, on the contrary, 
 assert their origin to be Induvansa, and that they are the Balaka- 
 putras who were the anciept lords of Aror on the Indus. It 
 would be presumption to decide between these claims ; but I 
 would venture to surmise that they might be the offspring of 
 Salya, one of the princes of the Mahabharata, who founded 
 Aror. 
 
 The Kathis claim descent from the Balas : an additional proof 
 of northern origin, and strengthening their right to the epithet 
 of the bards, ' Lords of Multan and Tatta.' The Balas were of 
 sufficient consequence in the thirteenth century to make incur- 
 sions on Mewar, and the first exploit of the celebrated Rana Hamir 
 was his kiUing the Bala chieftain of Chotila.^ The present chief 
 of Dhank is a Bala, and the tribe yet preserves importance in the 
 peninsula. 
 
 Jhala Makwana. — This tribe also inhabits the Saurashtra 
 peninsula. It is styled Rajput, though neither classed with the 
 Solar, Lunar, nor Agnikula races ; but though we cannot directly 
 prove it, we have every right to assign to it a northern origin. 
 It is a tribe little known in Hindustan or even Rajasthan, into 
 which latter country it was introduced entirely through the medium 
 of the ancient lords of Saurashtra, the present family of Mewar ; 
 a sanction which covers every defect. A splendid act of self- 
 devotion of the Jhala chief, when Rana Partap was oppressed 
 with the whole weight of Akbar's power, obtained, with the 
 gratitude of this prince, the highest honours he could confer, — 
 his daughter in marriage, and a seat on his right hand. That it 
 was the act, and not his rank in the scale of the thirty-six tribes, 
 which gained him this distinction, we have decided proof in later 
 times, when it was deemed a mark of great condescension that 
 the present Rana should sanction a remote branch of his own 
 
 ^ [The origin of the Balas is not certain : they were probably Gurjaras 
 (Ibid. 495 £.).] 
 
 2 [Chotila in Kathiawar {BG, viii. 407).]
 
 166 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 family bestowing a daughter in marriage on the Jhala ruler of 
 Kotah.^ This tribe has given its name to one of the largest 
 divisions of Saurashtra, Jhalawar, which possesses several towns 
 of importance. Of these Bankaner, Halwad, and Dhrangadra 
 are the principal. 
 
 Regarding the period of the settlement of the Jhalas tradition 
 is silent, as also on their early history : but the aid of its quota 
 was given to the Rana against the [114] first attacks of the 
 Muhammadans ; and in the heroic history of Prithwiraja we 
 have ample and repeated mention of the Jhala chieftains who 
 distinguished themselves in his service, as well as in that of his 
 antagonist, and the name of one of these, as recorded by the bard 
 Chand, I have seen inscribed on the granite rock of the sacred 
 Girnar, near their primitive abodes, where we leave them. There 
 are several subdivisions of the Jhala, of which the Makwana is the 
 princiijal. 
 
 Jethwa, Jaithwa, Kamari. — This is an ancient tribe, and by all 
 authorities styled Rajput ; though, like the Jhala, little known 
 out of Saurashtra, to one of the divisions of which it has given 
 its name, Jethwar. Its present possessions are on the western 
 coast of the peninsula : the residence of its prince, who is styled 
 Rana, is Porbandar. 
 
 In remote times their capital was Ghumli, whose ruins attest 
 considerable power, and afford singular scope for analogy, in 
 architectural device, with the style termed Saxon of Europe,^ 
 The bards of the Jethwas run through a long list of one hundred 
 and thirty crowned heads, and in the eighth century have chron- 
 icled the marriage of their prince with the Tuar refounder of Delhi. 
 At this period the Jethwa bore the name of Kamar ; and Sahl 
 Kamar is reported to be the prince who was driven from Ghumli, 
 in the twelfth century, by invaders from the north. With this 
 change the name of Kamar was sunk, and that of Jethwa assumed, 
 
 ^ His son, Madho Singh, the present administrator, is the offspring of 
 the celebrated Zalim and a Ranawat chieftain's daughter, which has entitled 
 his (Madho Singh's) issue to marry far above their scale in rank. So much 
 does superiority of blood rise above all worldly considerations with a Rajput, 
 that although ZaUm Singh held the reins of the richest and best ordered 
 State of Rajasthan, he deemed his family honoured by his obtaining to wife 
 for his grandson the daughter of a Kachhwaha minor chieftain. 
 
 - [Ghumli in the Barda hills, about 40 miles east of Porbandar (Wilber- 
 iorce-Bell, Hist, of Kathiawad, 49 f. ; BG, viii. 440).]
 
 THE JETHWAS, GOHILS, SARWAIYAS 137 
 
 which has induced the author to style them Kamari ; ^ and as they, 
 with the other inhabitants of this peninsula, have all the appear- 
 ance of Scythic descent, urging no pretensions to connexion with 
 the ancient races of India, they may be a branch of that celebrated 
 race, the Cimmerii of higher Asia^ and the Cimbri of Europe. 
 
 Their legends are as fabulous as fanciful. They trace their 
 descent from the monkey-god Hanuman, and confirnn it by 
 alleging the elongation of the spine of their princes, who bear the 
 epithet of Puncharia, or the 'long-tailed,' Ranas of Saurashtra. 
 But the manners and traditions of this race will appear more fully 
 in the narrative of the author's travels amongst them. 
 
 Gohil." — This was a distinguished race : it claims to be Surya- 
 vansi, and with some pretension. The first residence of the 
 Gohils was Juna Khergarh, near the bend of the Luni in Marwar.' 
 How long they had been established here we know not. They 
 took it from one of the aboriginal Bhil chiefs named Kherwa, and 
 had been in possession of it for twenty generations when expelled 
 by the [115] Rathors at the end of the twelfth century. Thence 
 migrating to Saurashtra, they fixed at Piramgarh ; * which being 
 destroyed, one branch settled at Bhagwa, and the chief inarrying 
 the daughter of Nandanagar or Nandod,^ he usurped or obtained 
 his father-in-law's estates ; and twenty-seven generations are 
 enumerated, from Sompal to Narsingh, the present Raja of 
 Nandod. Another branch fixed at Sihor, and thence founded 
 Bhaunagar and Gogha. The former town, on the gulf of the 
 Mahi, is the residence of the Gohils, who have given their name, 
 Gohilwar, to the eastern portion of the peninsula of Saurashtra. 
 The present chief addicts himself to commerce, and possesses 
 ships which trade to the gold coast of Sofala. 
 
 Sarwaiya or Sariaspa. — Of this race tradition has left us only 
 the knowledge that it once was famous ; for although, in the 
 catalogues of the bard, it is introduced as the " essence of the 
 Khatri race," " we have only a few legends regarding its present 
 
 ^ [The terms Kamar and Kamari seem to have disappeared.] 
 ^ A compound word from goh, ' strength ' ; Ha, ' the earth.' [This is 
 out of the question : of. Guhilot.] 
 
 ^ [For Kher, ' the cradle of the Rathors,' see Erskine iii. A. 199.] 
 
 * [For the island of Piram in Ahmadabad district see IGI, xx. 149 f., and 
 for the tradition Wilberforce-Bell, op. cit. 71 f. ; BG, iv. 348, viii. 114.] 
 
 * [The ancient Nandapadra in Rajplpla, Bombay (IGI, xviii. 361 ; BG, 
 i. Part ii. 314).] * Sarwaiya Kliatri tain sar.
 
 138 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 degradation. Its name, as well as this epithet of the bard, 
 induces a belief that it is a branch of the Aswas, with the prefix 
 of sar, denoting ' essence,' or priority. But it is useless to specu- 
 late on a name. 
 
 Silar or Salar. — Like the former, we have here but the shade 
 of a name ; though one which, in all probability, originated the 
 epithet Larike, by which the Saurashtra peninsula was known to 
 Ptolemy and the geographers of early Europe. The tribe of Lar 
 was once famous in Saurashtra, and in the annals of Anhilwara 
 mention is made of Siddharaja Jayasingha having extirpated 
 them throughout his dominions. Salar, or Silar, would therefore 
 be distinctively the Lar.^ Indeed, the author of the Kumarpal 
 Charitra styles it Rajtilak, or ' regal prince ' ; but the name only 
 now exists amongst the mercantile classes professing the faith 
 of Buddha [Jainism] : it is inserted as one of the eighty-four. 
 Tlie greater portion of these are of Rajput origin. 
 
 Dabhi. — Little can be said of this tribe but that it was once 
 celebrated in Saurashtra. By some it is called the branch of the 
 Yadu, though all the genealogists give it distinct importance. It 
 now possesses neither territory nor numbers.^ 
 
 Gaur. — The Gaur tribe was once respected in. Rajasthan, 
 though it never there attained to any considerable eminence. 
 The ancient kings of Bengal were of this race, and gave their 
 name to the capital, Lakhnauti [116]. 
 
 We have every reason to believe that they were possessors of 
 the land afterwards occupied by the Chauhans, as they are styled 
 in all the old chronicles the ' Gaur of Ajmer.' Repeated mention is 
 made of them in the wars of Prithwiraja, as leaders of considerable 
 renown, one of whom formed a small State in the centre of India, 
 which survived through seven centuries of Mogul domination, 
 till it at length fell a prey indirectly to the successes of the British 
 over the Mahrattas, when Sindhia in 1809 annihilated the power 
 of the Gaur and took possession of his capital, Sheopur.* A 
 
 ^ Su, as before observed, is a distinctive prefix, meaning ' excellent.' 
 [The derivation is impossible. Lata was S. Gujarat.] 
 
 2 [For the Dabhi tribe, see lA, iii. 69 ff., 193 f. ; Forbes, Rasmdla, 237 f.] 
 ' In 1807 the author passed through this territory, in a soHtary ramble 
 to explore these parts, then Uttle known ; and though but a young Sub., 
 was courteously received and entertained both at Baroda and Sheopur. 
 In 1809 he again entered the country under very different circumstances, 
 in the suite of the British envoy with Sjndhia's court, and had the grief to
 
 DORS, GAHARWARS, CHANDELS 139 
 
 petty district, yielding about £5000 annually, is all this rapacious 
 head of a predatory government has left to the Gaur, out of about 
 twelve lacs of annual revenue. The Gaur has five sakha : Untahar? 
 Silhala, Tur, Dusena, and Budana.^ 
 
 Dor or Doda. — We have little to say of this race. Though 
 occupying a place in aU the genealogies, time has destroyed all 
 knowledge of the pa'st history of a tribe, to gain a victory over 
 whom was deemed by Prithwiraja worthy of a tablet.'^ 
 
 Gaharwar. — The Gaharwar Rajput is scarcely known to his 
 brethren in Rajasthan, who will not admit his contaminated 
 blood to mix with theirs ; though, as a brave warrior, he is 
 entitled to their fellowship. The original country of the Gahar- 
 war is in the ancient kingdom of Kasi.* Their great ancestor was 
 Ivhortaj Deva, from whom Jasamida, the seventh in descent, in 
 consequence of some grand sacrificial rites performed at Vindhya- 
 vasi, gave the title of Bundela to his issue. Bundela has now 
 usurped the name of Gaharwar, and become the appellation of 
 the immense tract which its various branches inhabit in Bundel- 
 khand, on the ruins of the Chandelas, whose chief cities, Kalanjar, 
 Mohini, and Mahoba, they took possession of.* 
 
 Chandel. — The Chandela, classed by some of the genealogists 
 amongst the thirty-six tribes, were powerful in the twelfth cen- 
 tury, possessing the whole of the regions between [117] the Jumna 
 and Nerbudda, now occupied by the Bundelas and Baghelas. 
 
 witness the operations against Sheopur, and its fall, unable to aid his friends. 
 The Gaur prince had laid aside the martial virtues. He became a zealot in 
 the worship of Vishnu, left off animal food, was continually dancing before 
 the image of the god, and was far more conversant in the mystical poetry 
 of Krishna and his beloved Radha than in the martial song of the bard. 
 His name was Radhikadas, ' the slave of Radha ' ; and, as far as he is 
 personally concerned, we might cease to lament that he was the last of his 
 race. 
 
 ^ [Only two sub-clans are named in Rajpuiana Census Report, 1911, i. 
 255. Gaur Rajjiuts are numerous in the United Provinces, and the Gaur 
 Brahmans of Jaipur represent a foreign tribe merged into Hindu society 
 {lA, xi. 22). They can have no connexion with the Pala or Sena dynasty 
 of Bengal (Smith, EHI, 397 ff.).] 
 
 ^ See Transactions of Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 133. [They are 
 found in the Upper Ganges-Jumna Duab, and are Musalmans.] 
 
 ^ Benares. 
 
 * [For the Gaharwar, see Crooke, Tribes and Castes N.W.P. and Oudh, 
 ii. 32 if., and for the Gaharwar dynasty of Kanauj (Smith, EHI, 384 £f.).]
 
 140 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 Their wars with Prithwiraja, forming one of the most inter- 
 esting of his exploits, ended in the humihation of the Cliandela, 
 and prepared the way for their conquest by the Gaharwars ; 
 the date of the supremacy of the Bundela Manvira was about 
 A.D. 1200. Madhukar Sah, the thirteenth in descent from him, 
 founded Orchha on the Betwa, by whose son, Birsingh Deva, 
 considerable power was attained. Orchha became the chief of 
 the numerous Bundela principalities ; but its founder drew upon 
 himself everlasting infamy, by putting to death the wise Abu-1 
 Fazl,^ the historian and friend of the magnanimous Akbar, and 
 the encomiast and advocate of the Hindu race. 
 
 From the period of Akbar the Bundelas bore a distinguished 
 part in all the grand conflicts, to the very close of the monarchy : 
 nor, amongst all the brave chiefs of Rajasthan, did any perform 
 more gallant or faithful services than the Bundela chieftains of 
 Orchha and Datia. Bhagwan of Orchlia commanded the ad- 
 vanced guard of the army of Shah Jahan. His son, Subhkarana, 
 was Aurangzeb's most distinguished leader in the Deccan, and 
 Dalpat fell in the war of succession on the plains of Jajau.* His 
 descendants have not degenerated ; nor is there anything finer 
 in the annals of the chivalry of the West, than the dignified and 
 heroic conduct of the father of the present chief.* The Bundela 
 is now a numerous race, while the name Gaharwar remains in their 
 original haunts. 
 
 Bargujar. — This race is Suryavansi, and the only one, with the 
 exception of the Guhilot, which claims from Lava, the elder son 
 
 ^ Slain at the instigation of Prince Salim, son of Akbar, afterwards the 
 emperor Jahangir. See this incident stated in the emperor's own Com- 
 mentaries l^Ain, i. Introd. xxiv. ff.]. 
 
 * [For Subhkaran Singh, see Manucci (i. 270, 272). Dalpat was one of 
 his patients (Ibid. ii. 298).] 
 
 ' On the death of Mahadaji Sindhia, the females of his family, in appre- 
 hension of his successor (Daulat Rao), sought refuge and protection with 
 the Raja of Datia. An array was sent to demand their surrender, and 
 hostihty was proclaimed as the consequence of refusal. This brave man 
 would not even await the attack, but at the head of a devoted band of three 
 hundred horse, with their lances, carried destruction amongst their assailants, 
 neither giving nor receiving quarter : and thus he fell in defence of the laws 
 of sanctuary and honour. Even when grievously wounded, he would 
 accept no aid, and refused to leave the field, but disdaining all compromise 
 awaited his fate. The author has passed upon the spot where this gallant 
 deed was performed ; and from his son, the present Raja, had the annals 
 of his house. «
 
 SENGARS, SAKARWALS, BAIS, DAHIAS 141 
 
 of Rama, The Bargujar held considerable possessions in Dhun- 
 dhar/ and their capital was the hill fortress of Rajor ^ in the 
 principality of Macheri. Rajgarh and Alwar were also their [118] 
 possessions. The Bargujars were expelled these abodes by the 
 Kachhwahas. A colony found refuge and a new residence at 
 Anupshahr on the Ganges. 
 
 Sengar. — Of this tribe little is known, nor does it appear ever 
 to have obtained great celebrity. The sole chieftainship of the 
 Sengars is Jagmohanpur on the Jumna.' 
 
 Sakarwal. — This tribe, like the former, never appears to have 
 claimed much notice amidst the princes of Rajasthan ; nor is 
 there a single independent chieftain now remaining, although 
 there is a small district called after them, Sakarwar, on the right 
 bank of the Chambal, adjoining Jaduvati, and like it now incor- 
 porated in the province of Gwalior, in Sindhia's dominions. The 
 Sakarwal is therefore reduced to subsist by cultivation, or the 
 more precarious employment of his lance, either as a follower of 
 others, or as a common depredator. They have their name from 
 the town of Sikri (Fatehpur), which was formerly an independent 
 principality.* 
 
 Bais. — The Bais has obtained a place amongst the thirty-six 
 races, though the author believes it but a subdivision of the 
 Suryavansi, as it is neither to be met with in the lists of Chand, 
 nor in those of the Kumarpal Charitra. It is now numerous, and 
 has given its name to an extensive district, Baiswara in the Duab, 
 or the land between the Ganges and Jumna. ^ 
 
 Dahia. — This is an ancient tribe, whose residence was the 
 banks of the Indus, near its confluence with the Sutlej ; and 
 although they retain a place amongst the thirty-six royal races, 
 we have not the knowledge of any as now existing. They are 
 
 ^ Amber or Jaipur, as well as Macheri, were comprehended in Dhundhar, 
 the ancient geographical designation [said to be derived from an ancient 
 sacrificial mound (dhundh), on the western frontier of the State, or from a 
 demon-king, Dhundhu {IGI, xiii. 385).] 
 
 * The ruins of Rajor are about fifteen miles west of Rajgarh. A person 
 sent there by the author reported the existence of inscriptions in the temple 
 of Nilkantha Mahadeo. 
 
 ' [They are numerous in the United Provinces, but their origin and 
 traditions are uncertain.] 
 
 * [See Crooke, Tribes and Castes N.W.P. and Oudh, iv. 263 ff.] 
 
 ^ [They are almoa^ certainly of mixed origin (Crooke, op. cif. i. 118 ff.).]
 
 142 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 mentioned in the annals of the Bhattis of Jaisalmer, and from 
 name as well as from locale, we may infer that they were the 
 Dahae of Alexander.^ 
 
 Joiya, Johya. — This race possessed the same haimts as the 
 Dahia, and are always coupled with them. They, however, 
 extended across the Ghara into the northern desert of India, 
 and in ancient chronicles are entitled ' Lords of Jangaldesa,' a 
 tract which comprehended Hariana, Bhatner, and Nagor. The 
 author possesses a work relative to this tribe, like the Dahia, 
 now extinct.^ 
 
 Mohil. — We have no mode of judging of the pretensions of 
 this race to the place it is allowed to occupy by the genealogists. 
 All that can be learned of its past history is, that it inhabited 
 a considerable tract so late as the foundation of the present State 
 of Bikaner, the Rathor founders of which expelled, if not extir- 
 pated, the Mohil. With the Malan, Malani, and Mallia, also ex- 
 tinct, it may [119] claim the honour of descent from the ancient 
 Malloi, the foes of Alexander, whose abode was Multan. ( Qu. 
 Mohilthan ? ) « 
 
 Nikumbha. — Of this race, to which- celebrity attaches in all the 
 genealogies, we can only discover that they were proprietors of 
 the district of Mandalgarh prior to the Guhilots.* 
 
 Rajpali.— It is difficult to discover anything regarding this 
 race, which, under the names of Rajpali, Rajpalaka, or simply 
 Pala, are mentioned by all the genealogists ; especially those of 
 Saurashtra, to which in all probability it was confined. This 
 tends to make it Scythic in origin ; the conclusion is strengthened 
 by thcr derivation of the name, meaning ' royal shepherd ' : it 
 was probably a branch of the ancient Pali.^ 
 
 Dahariya. — The Kumarpal Charitra is our sole authority for 
 
 ^ [They lived east of the Caspian Sea, and can have uo connexion with 
 the Indian Dahia (Sykes, Hist, of Persia, i. 330).] 
 
 ^ [Their origin is very uncertain ; in Bahawalpur they now repudiate 
 Rajput descent, and claim to be descendants of the Prophet (Rose, Glossary, 
 ii. 410 ff. ; Malik Muhammad Din, Gazetteer Bahawalpur, i. 23, 133 ff.).] 
 
 3 [The Malloi (Skt. Malava) occupied the present Montgomery District, 
 and parts of Jhang. They had no connexion with Multan (Skt. Miilasthana- 
 pura), (Smith, EHI, 96 ; McCrindle, Alexander, 350 ff.).] 
 
 * [They are a mixed race, early settlers in Alwar (Crooke, Tribes and 
 Castes N.W.P. and Oudh, iv. 86 ff.)".] 
 
 ^ The final syllable lea is a mark of tlie genitive cas^[?].
 
 THE DAHARIYA, DAHIIVIA 143 
 
 classing this race with the thirty-six. Of its historj' we know 
 nothing. Amongst the princes who came to the aid of Chitor, 
 when first assailed by the arms of Islam, was ' the lord of Debal, 
 Dahir, Despati.' ^ From the ignorance of the transcriber of the 
 Guhilot annals, Delhi is written instead of Debal ; but we not 
 only have the whole of the names of the Tuar race, but Delhi was 
 not in existence at this time. Slight as is the mention of this 
 prince in the Chitor annals, it is nevertheless of high value, as 
 stamping them with authenticity ; for this Dahir v/as actually 
 the despot of Sind, whose tragical end in his capital Debal is 
 related by Abu-1 Fazl. It was in the ninety-ninth year of the 
 Hegira that lie was attacked by Muhammad bin Kasim, the 
 lieutenant of the Caliph of Bagdad, and treated with the gi-eatest 
 barbarity.^ Whether this prince used Dahir as a proper name, 
 or as that of his tribe, must be left to conjecture. 
 
 Dahima. — The Dahima has left but the wreck of a great name.^ 
 Seven centuries have swept av/ay all recollection of a tribe who 
 once afforded one of the proudest themes for the song of the bard. 
 The Dahima was the lord of Bayana, and one of the most powerful 
 vassals of the Chauhan emperor, Prithwiraja. Three brothers of 
 this house held the highest offices under this monarch, and the 
 period during which the elder, Kaimas, was his minister, was the 
 brightest in the history of the Chauhan : but he fell a victim to 
 a blind jealousy. Pundir, the second brother [120], commanded 
 the frontier at Lahore. The third, Chawand Rae, was the 
 principal leader m the last battle, where Prithwiraja fell, with the 
 whole of his chivalry, on the banks of the Ghaggar. Even the 
 historians of Shihabu-d-din have preserved the name of the 
 gallant Dahima, Chawand Rae, whom they style Khandirai ; and 
 to whose valour, they relate, Shihabu-d-din himself nearly fell a 
 sacrifice. With the Chauhan, the race seems to have been 
 extinguished. Rainsi, his only son, was by this sister of Chawand 
 Rae, but he did not survive the capture of Delhi. This marriage 
 
 1 'Chief of a country,' from des, 'country,' and pati, 'chief.' {Qu.. 
 deairoTTjs ?) 
 
 - [Ain, ii. 344 f. Dahir was killed in action : the real tragedy was the 
 death of Muhammad bin Kasim in consequence of a false accusation (Elliot- 
 Dowson i. 292).] 
 
 * [Elliot {Suppltmental Glossary, 262) writes the name Dhahima, and 
 says they are found in Meerut District.]
 
 144 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 forms the subject of one of the books of the bard, who never was 
 more eloquent than in the praise of the Dahima.^ 
 
 Abokiginal Races ^ 
 
 Bagri, Mer, Kaba^ Mina, Bhil, Sahariya, Thori, Khangar, 
 Gond, Bhar, Janwar, and Sarad. 
 
 Agricultukal and Pastoral Tribes 
 Abhira or Ahir, Goala, Kurmi or Kulumbi, Gujar, and Jat 
 
 Rajput Tribes to which no Sakha is assigned 
 
 Jaha, Peshani, Sohagni, Chahira, Ran, Simala, Botila,Gotchar, 
 Malan, Uhir, Hul, Bachak, Batar, Kerach, Kotak, Busa, and 
 Bargota. 
 
 Catalogue of the Eighty-Four Mercantile Tribes 
 
 Sri Sri ISIal, Srimal, Oswal, Bagherwal, Dindu, Pushkarwal, 
 Mertawal, Harsora, Surawal, Pihwal, Bhambu, Kandhelwal, 
 Dohalwal, Kederwal, Desawal, Gujarwal, Sohorwal, Agarwal, 
 Jaelwal, Manatwal, Kajotiwal, Kortawal, Chehtrawal, Soni, 
 Sojatwal, Nagar, Mad, Jalhera, Lar, Kapol, Khareta, Barari, 
 Dasora, Bambarwal, Nagadra, Karbera, Battewara, Mewara, 
 Narsinghpura, Khaterwal, Panehamwal, Hanerwal, Sirkera, 
 Bais, Stukhi, Kambowal, Jiranwal, Baghelwal, Orchitwal, Baman- 
 wal, Srigur, Thakurwal, Balmiwal, Tepora, Tilota, Atbargi, 
 
 ^ Chand, the bard, thus describes Bayana, and the marriage of Prith- 
 wiraja with the Dahimi : "On the summit of the hills of Druinadahar, 
 whose awful load oppressed the head of Sheshnag, was placed the castle of 
 Bayana, resembling Kailas. The Dahima had three sons and two fair 
 daughters : may his name be perpetuated throughout this iron age ! One 
 daughter was married to the Lord of Mewat, the other to the Chauhan. 
 With her he gave in dower eight beauteous damsels and sixty-three female 
 slaves, one hundred chosen horses of the breed of Irak, two elephants, and 
 ten shields, a pallet of silver for the bride, one hundred wooden images, one 
 hundred chariots, and one thousand pieces of gold." The bard, on taking 
 leave, says : " the Dahima lavished his gold, and filled his coffers with the 
 praises of mankind. The Dahimi produced a jewel, a gem without price, 
 the Prince Rainsi." 
 
 The author here gives a fragment of the ruins of Bayana, the ancient 
 abode of the Dahima. 
 
 2 [Many names in the following list are not capable of identification, and 
 their correct form is uncertain. Those of the mercantile tribes are largely 
 groups confined to Rajputana.]
 
 THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 145 
 
 Ladisakha, Badnora, Khicha, Gasora, Bahaohar, Jemo, Padmora, 
 Maharia, Dhakarwal, Mangora, Goelwal, Mohorwal, Chitora, 
 Kakalia, Bhareja, Andora, Sachora, Bhungrawal, Mandahala, 
 Bramania, Bagria, Dindoria, Borwal, Serbia, Orwal, Nuphag, and 
 Nagora. (One wanting.) 
 
 CHAPTER 8 
 
 Having thus taken a review of the tribes which at various 
 times inhabited and still inhabit Hindustan, the subject must 
 be concluded. 
 
 In so extensive a field it was impossible to introduce all that 
 could have been advanced on the distinctive marks in religion 
 and manners ; but this deficiency will be remedied in the annals 
 of the most prominent races yet ruling, by which we shall prevent 
 repetition. 
 
 The same religion governing the institutions of all tliese tribes 
 operates to counteract that dissimilarity in manners, which would 
 naturally be expected amidst so great a variety, from situation 
 or climate ; although such causes do produce a material difference 
 in external habit. Cross but the elevated range which divides 
 upland Mewar from the low sandy region of Marwar, and the 
 difference of costume and manners will strike the most casual 
 observer. But these changes are only exterior and personal ; the 
 mental character is less changed, because the same creed, the 
 same religion (the principal former and reformer of manners), 
 guides them all. 
 
 Distinctions between the Rajput States. — We have the same 
 mythology, the same theogony, the same festivals, though com- 
 memorated with peculiar distinctions. There are niceties in 
 thought, as in dress, which if possible to communicate would 
 excite but little interest ; when the tie of a turban and the fold 
 of a robe are, like Masonic symbols, distinguishing badges of 
 tribes. But it is in their domestic circle that manners are best 
 seen [122] ; where restraint is thrown aside, and no authority 
 controls the freedom of expression. But does the European seek 
 access to this sanctum of nationality ere he gives his debtor and 
 creditor account of character, his balanced catalogue of virtues and 
 vices ? He may, however, with the Rajput, whose independence 
 of mind places him above restraint, and whose hospitality 
 voi- I t,
 
 146 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 and love of character will alv/ays afford free communication to 
 those who respect his opinions and his prejudices, and who are 
 devoid of that overweening opinion of self, which imagines that 
 nothing can be learned from such friendly intercourse. The 
 personal dissimilarity accordingly arises from locale ; the mental 
 similarity results from a grand fixed principle, which, whatever 
 its intrinsic moral effect, whatever its incompatibility with the 
 elevated notions we entertain, has preserved to these races, as 
 nations, the enjoj^ment of their ancient habits to this distant 
 period. May our boasted superiority in all that exalts man 
 above his fellows, ensure to our Eastern empire like duration ; 
 and may these notions of our own peculiarly favoured destiny 
 operate to prevent us from laying prostrate, in our periodical 
 ambitious visitations, these the most ancient relics of civilization 
 on the face of the earth. For the dread of their amalgamation 
 with our empire will prevail, though such a result would be 
 opposed not only to their happiness, but to our own stability. 
 
 Alliances with the British. — With our present system of alli- 
 ances, so pregnant with evil from their origin, this fatal conse- 
 quence (far from desired by the legislative authorities at home) 
 must inevitably ensue. If the wit of man had been taxed to 
 devise a series of treaties with a view to an ultimate rupture, 
 these would be entitled to applause as specimens of diplomacy. 
 
 There is a perpetual variation between the spirit and the letter 
 of every treaty ; and while the internal independence of each 
 State is the groundwork, it is frittered away and nullified by 
 successive stipulations, and these positive and negative qualities 
 continue mutually repelling each other, until it is apparent that 
 independence cannot exist under such conditions. Wliere dis- 
 cipline is lax, as with these feudal associations, and where each 
 subordinate vassal is master of his own retainers, the article of 
 military contingents alone would prove a source of contention. 
 By leading to interference with each individual chieftain, it would 
 render such aid worse than useless. But this is a minor con- 
 sideration to the tributary pecuniary stipulation which, unsettled 
 and undetermined, leaves a door open to a [123] system of espionage 
 into their revenue accounts — a system not only disgusting, but 
 contrary to treaty, which leaves ' internal administration' sacred. 
 These openings to dispute, and the general laxity of their 
 governments coming in contact with our regular system, present
 
 THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 147 
 
 dangerous handles for ambition : and who so Wind as not to know 
 that ambition to be distinguished must influence every viceregent 
 in the East ? While deeds in arms and acquisition of territory 
 outweigh the meek eclat of civil virtue, the periodical visitations 
 to these kingdoms will ever be like the comet's, 
 
 Foreboding change to princes. 
 
 Our position in the East has been, and continues to be, one in 
 which conquest forces herself upon us. We have yet the power, 
 however late, to halt, and not anticipate her further orders to 
 march. A contest for a mud-bank has carried our arms to the 
 Aurea Chersonesus, the limit of Ptolemy's geography. With the 
 Indus on the left, the Brahmaputra to the right, the Himalayan 
 barrier towering like a giant to guard the Tatarian ascent, the 
 ocean and our ships at our back, such is our colossal attitude ! 
 But if misdirected ambition halts not at the Brahmaputra, but 
 plunges in to gather laurels from the teak forest of Arakan, what 
 surety have we for these Hindu States placed by treaty within 
 the grasp of our control ? 
 
 But the hope is cherished, that the same generosity which 
 form.ed those ties that snatched the Rajputs from degradation 
 and impending destruction, will maintain the pledge given in 
 the fever of success, " that their mdependence should be sacred " ; 
 that it will palliate faults we may not overlook, and perpetuate 
 this oasis of ancient rule, in the desert of destructive revolution, 
 of races whose virtues are their own, and whose vices are the 
 grafts of tyranny, conquest, and religious intolerance.^ 
 
 To make them known is one step to obtain for them, at least, 
 the boon of sympathy ; for with the ephemeral poAver of our 
 governors and the agents of government, is it to be expected that 
 the rod will more softly fall when ignorance of their history pre- 
 vails, and no kind association springs from a knowledge of their 
 martial achievements and yet proud bearing, their generosity, 
 courtesy, and extended hospitality ? These are Rajput virtues 
 yet extant amidst all their revolutions, and which have survived 
 ages of Muhammadan bigotry and power ; though to the honour 
 of the virtuous and magnanimous few among the crowned heads 
 
 ^ [The present relations of the States to the Government of India justify 
 these expectations.]
 
 148 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 of eight centuries, both Tatar and Mogul, there were some great 
 souls [124] ; men of high worth, who appeared at intervals to 
 redeem the oppression of a whole preceding dynasty. 
 
 The high ground we assumed, and the lofty sentiments with 
 which we introduced ourselves amongst the Rajputs, arrogating 
 motives of purity, of disinterested benevolence, scarcely belonging 
 to humanity, and to which their sacred writings alone yielded a 
 parallel, gave such exalted notions of our right of exerting the 
 attributes of divinity, justice, and mercy, that they expected 
 little less than almighty wisdom in our acts ; but circumstances 
 have throughout occurred in each individual State, to show we 
 were mere mortals, and that the poet's moral ; 
 
 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
 
 was true in politics. Sorrow and distrust were the consequences 
 — anger succeeded ; but the sense of obligation is still too power- 
 ful to operate a stronger and less generous sentiment. These 
 errors may yet be redeemed, and our Rajput allies yet be retained 
 as useful friends : though they can only be so while in the en- 
 joyment of perfect internal independence, and their ancient 
 institutions. 
 
 " No political institution can endure," observes the eloquent 
 historian of the Middle Ages, " which does not rivet itself to the 
 heart of men by ancient prejudices or acknowledged merit. The 
 feudal compact had much of this character. In fulfilling the 
 obligations of mutual assistance and fidelity by military service, 
 the energies of friendship were awakened, and the ties of moral 
 sympathy superadded to those of positive compact." 
 
 We shall throw out one of the assumed causes which give 
 stability to political institutions ; ' acknowledged merit,' which 
 never belonged to the loose feucl^l compact of Rajwara ; but the 
 absence of this strengthens the necessary substitute, ' ancient 
 prejudices,' which supply many defects. 
 
 Our anomalous and inconsistent interference in some cases, 
 and our non-interference in others, operate alike to augment the 
 dislocation induced by long predatory oppression in the various 
 orders of society, instead of restoring that harmony and con- 
 tinuity which had previously existed. The great danger, nay, 
 the inevitable consequence of perseverance in this line of conduct, 
 will be their reduction to the same degradation with our other
 
 THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 149 
 
 allies, and their ultimate incorporation with our already too 
 extended dominion [125]. 
 
 It may be contended, that the scope and tenor of these alliances 
 were not altogether unfitted for the period when they were formed, 
 and our circumscribed knowledge ; but was it too late, when this 
 knowledge was extended, to purify them from the dross which 
 deteriorated the two grand principles of mutual benefit, on which 
 all were grounded, viz. ' perfect internal independence ' to them, 
 and ' acknowledged supremacy ' to the protecting power ? It 
 will be said, that even these corner-stones of the grand political 
 fabric are far from possessing those durable qualities which the 
 contracting parties define, but that, on the contrary, they are 
 the Ormuzd and Alirimanes, the good and evil principles of con- 
 tention. But when we have superadded pecuniary engagements 
 of indefinite extent, increasing in the ratio of their prosperity, 
 and armed quotas or contingents of their troops, whose loose 
 habits and discipline would ensure constant complaint, we may 
 certainly take credit for having established a system which must 
 compel that direct interference, which the broad principle of each 
 treaty professes to check. 
 
 The inevitable consequence is the perpetuation of that de- 
 nationalising principle, so well understood by the Mahrattas, 
 ' divide et impera.' We are few ; to use an Oriental metaphor, 
 our agents must ' use the eyes and ears of others.' That mutual 
 dependence, which would again have arisen, our interference will 
 completely nullify. Princes will find they can oppress their 
 chiefs, chiefs will find channels by which their sovereign's com- 
 mands may be rendered nugatory, and irresponsible ministers 
 must have our support to raise these undefined tributary supplies ; 
 and unanimity, confidence, and all the sentiments of gratitude 
 which they owe, and acknowledge to be our due, will gradually 
 fade with the national degradation. That our alliances have this 
 tendency cannot be disputed. By their very nature they transfer 
 the respect of every class of subjects from their immediate 
 sovereign to the paramount authority and its subordinate agents. 
 Who will dare to urge that a government, which camiot support 
 its internal rule without restriction, can be national ? that with- 
 out power unshackled and unrestrained by exterior council or 
 espionage, it can maintain self-respect, the corner-stone of every 
 virtue with States as with individuals ? This first of feelings
 
 150 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 these treaties utterly annihilate. Can we suppose such denational- 
 ised allies are to be depended upon in emergencies ? or, if allowed 
 to retain a spark of their ancient moral inheritance, that it [126] 
 will not be kindled into a flame against us when opportunity 
 offers, instead of lighting up the powerful feeling of gratitude 
 which yet exists towards us in these warlike communities ? 
 
 Like us they were the natural foes of that predatory system 
 which so long disturbed our power, and our preservation and theirs 
 were alike consulted in its destruction. WTien we sought their 
 alliance, we spoke in the captivating accents of philanthropy ; 
 we courted them to disunite from this Ahrimanes of political 
 convulsion. The benevolent motives of the great mover of these 
 alliances we dare not call in question, and his policy coincided 
 with the soundest wisdom. But the treaties might have been 
 revised, and the obnoxious parts which led to discord, abrogated, 
 at the expense of a few paltry lacs of tribute and a portion of 
 sovereign homage. It is not yet too late. True policy would 
 enfranchise them altogether from our alliance ; but till then let 
 them not feel their shackles in the galling restraint on each internal 
 operation. Remove that millstone to national prosperity, the 
 poignant feeling that every increased bushel of corn raised in 
 their long-deserted fields must send its tithe to the British gran- 
 aries. Let the national mind recover its wonted elasticity, and 
 they wiU again attain their former celebrity. We have the power 
 to advance this greatness, and make it and its result our own ; or, 
 by a system unworthy of Britain, to retard and even quench it 
 altogether.^ 
 
 Never were their national characteristics so much endangered 
 as in the seducing calm which folloAved the tempestuous agita- 
 tions in which they had so long floated ; doubtful, to use their 
 own figurative expression, whether ' the gilt of our friendship, 
 
 •^ If Lord Hastings' philanthropy, which rejoiced in snatching these 
 ancient States from the degradation of predatory warfare, expected that in 
 four short years order should rise out of the chaos of a century, and " was 
 prepared to visit with displeasure all symptoms of internal neglect, arising 
 from supineness, indifference, or concealed ill-will " ; if he signified that 
 " government would take upon itself the task of restoring order," and that 
 " all changes " on this score " would be demanded and rigidly exacted " : 
 in fine, that " such arrangements would be made as would deprive them 
 of the power of longer abusing the spirit of hberal forbearance, the motives 
 of which they were incapable of understanding or appreciating " ; what 
 have they to hope from those without his sympathies ?
 
 THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 151 
 
 or our arms,' were fraught with greater evil. The latter they 
 could not withstand ; though it must never be lost sight of, that, 
 like ancient Rome when her glory was fading, we use ' the arms 
 of the barbarians ' to defend our conquests against them ! Is 
 the mind ever stationary ? are virtue and high notions to be 
 acquired from contact and example ? Is there no mind above 
 tlie level of £10 monthly pay in all the native legions of the three 
 presidencies of India ? no Odoacer, no Sivaji, [127] again to 
 revive ? Is the book of knowledge and of truth, which we hold 
 up, only to teach them submission and perpetuate their weak- 
 ness ? Can we without fresh claims expect eternal gratitude, 
 and must we not rationally look for reaction in some grand im- 
 pulse, which, by furnishing a signal instance of the mutability 
 of power, may afford a lesson for the benefit of posterity ? 
 
 Is the mantle of protection, which we have thrown over these 
 warlike races, likely to avert such a result ? It might certainly, 
 if imbued with all those philanthropic feelings for which we took 
 credit, act with soporific influence, and extinguish the embers of 
 international animosity. ' The lion and the lamb were to drink 
 from the same fountain ' ; they were led to expect the holy 
 Satya Yug, when each man reposed under his own fig-tree, which 
 neither strife nor envy dared approach. 
 
 When so many nations are called upon, in a period of great 
 calamity and danger, to make over to a foreigner, their opposite 
 in everything, their superior in most, the control of their forces 
 in time of war, the adjudication of their disputes in time of peace, 
 and a share in the fruits of their renovating prosperity, what must 
 be the result ; when each Rajput may hang up his lance in the 
 haU, convert his sword to a ploughshare, and make a basket of 
 his buckler ? What but the prostration of every virtue ? It 
 commences with the basis of the Rajput's — the martial virtues ; 
 extinguish these and they will soon cease to respect themselves. 
 Sloth, low cunning and meanness will follow. Wliat nation ever 
 maintained its character that devolved on the stranger the 
 power of protection ! To be great, to be independent, its martial 
 spirit must be cherished : happy if within the bounds of modera- 
 tion. Led away by enthusiasm, the author experienced the 
 danger of interference, when observing but one side of the picture 
 — the brilliant lights which shone on their long days of darkness, 
 not calculating the shade which would follow the sudden glare.
 
 152 HISTORY OF THE RAJPUT TRIBES 
 
 On our cessation from every species of interference alone 
 depends their independence or their amalgamation — a crisis 
 fraught with danger to our overgrown rule. 
 
 Let Alexander's speech to his veterans, tired oi conquest and 
 refusing to cross the Hyphasis^ be applied, and let us not reckon 
 too strongly on our empire of ojoinion : " Fame never represents 
 matters truly as they are, but on the contrary magnifies every- 
 thing. This is evident ; for our o^vn reputation and glory, though 
 founded on solid truth, is yet more obliged to rumour than 
 reality." ^ 
 
 We may conclude with the Macedonian conqueror's reasons 
 for showing the [128] Persians and his other foreign allies so 
 much favour : " The possession of what we got by the sword is 
 not very durable, but the obligation of good offices is eternal. 
 If we have a mind to keep Asia, and not simply pass through it. 
 our clemency must extend to them also, and their fidelity wUl 
 make our empire everlasting. As for ourselves, we have more 
 than we know what to do with, and it must be an insatiable, 
 avaricious temper which desires to continue to fill what already 
 runs over." ^ [129] 
 
 ^ Quintus Curtius, lib. ix. [ii. 6]. 
 2 Ibid. Ub. viii. [viii. 27].
 
 BOOK III 
 SKETCH OF A FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 Feudalism in Rajasthan. — It is more than doubtful whether any 
 code of civil or criminal jurisprudence ever existed in any of 
 these principalities ; though it is certain that none is at this day 
 discoverable in their archives. But there is a martial system 
 peculiar to these Rajput States, so extensive in its operation as 
 to embrace every object of society. This is so analogous to the 
 ancient feudal system of Europe, that I have not hesitated to 
 hazard a comparison between them, with reference to a period 
 when the latter was yet imperfect. Long and attentive observa- 
 tion enables me to give this outline of a system, of which there 
 exists Uttle written evidence. Curiosity originally, and subse- 
 quently a sense of public duty (lest I might be a party to injustice), 
 co-operated in inducing me to make myself fully acquainted with 
 the minutiae of this traditionary theory of government ; and 
 incidents, apparently trivial in themselves, exposed parts of a 
 widely - extended system, which, though now disjointed, still 
 continue to regulate the actions of extensive communities, and 
 lead to the inference, that at one period it must have attained a 
 certain degree of perfection. 
 
 Many years have elapsed since I first entertained these opinions, 
 long before any connexion existed between these States and the 
 British Government ; when their geography was little known to 
 us, and their history still less so. At that period I frequently 
 travelled amongst them for amusement, making these objects 
 subservient thereto, and laying the result freely before my Govern- 
 
 153
 
 154 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 ment. I had [130] abundant sources of intelligence to guide me 
 in forming my analogies ; Montesquieu, Hume, Millar, Gibbon ^ : 
 but I sought only general resemblances and lineaments similar 
 to those before me. A more perfect, because more familiar 
 picture, has since appeared by an author,^ who has drawn aside 
 the veil of mystery which covered the subject, owing to its being 
 till then but imperfectly understood. I compared the features of 
 Rajput society with the finished picture of this eloquent writer, 
 and shall be satisfied with having substantiated the claim of these 
 tribes to participation in a system, hitherto deemed to belong 
 exclusively to Europe. I am aware of the danger of hypothesis, 
 and shall advance nothing that I do not accompany by incon- 
 testable proofs. 
 
 The Tribal System. — The leading features of government 
 amongst semi -barbarous hordes or civilized independent tribes 
 must have a considerable resemblance to each other. In the 
 same stages of society, the wants of men must everywhere be 
 similar, and wUl produce the analogies which are observed to 
 regulate Tatar hordes or German tribes, Caledonian clans, the 
 Rajput Kula (race), or Jareja Bhayyad (brotherhood). All the 
 countries of Europe participated in the system we denominate 
 feudal ; and we can observe it, in various degrees of perfection 
 or deterioration, from the mountains of Caucasus to the Indian 
 Ocean. But it requires a persevering toil, and more discriminat- 
 ing judgement than I possess, to recover all these relics of civiliza- 
 tion : yet though time, and still more oppression, have veiled 
 the ancient institutions of Mewar, the mystery may be penetrated, 
 and will discover parts of a system worthy of being rescued from 
 oblivion. 
 
 Influence of Muhammadans and Mahrattas. — Mahratta cunning, 
 engrafted on Muhammadan intolerance, had greatly obscured 
 tliese institutions. The nation itself was passing rapidly away : 
 the remnant which was left had become a matter of calcula- 
 tion, and their records and their laws partook of this general 
 decay. The nation may recover ; the physical frame may be 
 renewed ; but the morale of the society must be recast. In this 
 chaos a casual observer sees nothing to attract notice ; the theory 
 of government appears, without any of the dignity which now 
 marks our regular system. Whatever does exist is attributed 
 1 Miscellaneous Works, vol. iii. ^ Hallam's Middle Ages.
 
 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 155 
 
 to fortuitous causes — to nothing systematic : no fixed principle 
 is discerned, and none is admitted ; it is deemed, a mechanism 
 witliout a plan. Tliis opinion is hasty. Attention to distinctions, 
 though often merely nominal [131], will aid us in discovering the 
 outhnes of a picture which must at some period have been more 
 finished ; when real power, unrestrained by foreign influence, 
 upheld a system, the plan of which was original. It is in these 
 remote regions, so little known to the Western world, and where 
 original manners lie hidden under those of the conquerors, that 
 we may search for the germs of the constitutions of European 
 States.^ A contempt for all that is Asiatic too often marks our 
 countrymen in the East : though at one period on record the 
 taunt might have been reversed. 
 
 In remarking the curious coincidence between the habits, 
 notions, and governments of Europe in the Middle Ages, and those 
 of Rajasthan, it is not absolutely necessary we should conclude 
 that one system was borrowed from the other ; each may, in 
 truth, be said to have the patriarchal form for its basis. I have 
 sometimes been inclined to agree with the definition of Gibbon, 
 who styles the system of our ancestors the offspring of chance 
 and barbarism. " Le systeme feodal, assemblage monstriieux de 
 tant de parties que le terns et I'hazard ont reunies, nous offre im 
 objet tres complique : pour I'etudier il faut le decomposer." ^ 
 This I shall attempt. 
 
 The form, as before remarked, is truly patriarchal in these 
 
 ^ It is a liigli gratification to be su^jported by such authority as M. 8t. 
 Martin, who, in his Discours sur VOrigine et VHistoire des Arsacides, thus 
 speaks of the system of government termed feudal, which I contend exists 
 amongst the Rajputs : " On pensc assez generalement que cette sorte de 
 gouvernemeat qui dominait il y a quelques siecles, et qu'on appelle systeme 
 feodal, etait particuliere a I'Europe, et que c'est dans les forets de la Germanie 
 qu'il faut en chercher I'origine. Cependant, si au heu d'admettre les faits 
 sans les discuter, comme il arrive trop souvent, on examinait un peu cette 
 opinion, eile disparaitrait devant la critique, ou du moins elle se modifierait 
 singuherement ; et Ton verrait que, si c'est des forets de la Germanie que 
 nous avons tire le gouvernement feodal, il ii'en est certainement pas originaire. 
 Si Ton veut comparer I'Europe, telle qu'eUe etait au xii" siecle, avec la 
 monarchie fondee en Asie par les Arsacides trois siecles avant notre ere, 
 partout on verra des institutions et des usages pareils. On y trouvera les 
 memes dignites, et jusqu'aux memes titres, etc., etc. Boire, chasser, com- 
 battre, faire et dcfaire des rois, c'etaient la les nobles occupations d'uu 
 Parthe " {Journal Asiatique, vol. i. p. 65). It is nearly so with the Rajput. 
 
 - Gibbon, Miscell. vol. iii. Du gouvernement feodal.
 
 156 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 States, where the greater portion of the vassal chiefs, from the 
 highest of the sixteen peers to the holders of a charsa ^ of land, 
 claim affinity in blood to the sovereign.^ 
 
 The natural seeds are implanted in every soil, but the tree did 
 not gain [132] maturity except in a favoured aspect. The jDcr- 
 fection of the system in England is due to the Normans, who 
 brought it from Scandinavia, whither it was probably conveyed 
 by Odin and the Sacasenae, or by anterior migrations, from Asia : 
 which would coincide with Richardson's hypothesis, who con- 
 tends that it was introduced from Tatary. Although speculative 
 reasoning forms no part of my plan, yet when I observe analogy 
 on the subject in the customs of the ancient German tribes, the 
 Franks or Gothic races, I shall venture to note them. Of one 
 thing there is no doubt — knowledge must have accompanied the 
 tide of migration from the east : and from higher Asia emerged 
 in the Asi, the Chatti, and the Cimbric Lombard; who spread 
 the system in Scandinavia, Friesland, and Italy. 
 
 Origin of Feuds. — " It has been very common," says the 
 enlightened historian of the Feudal System in the Middle Ages, 
 " to seek for the origin of feuds, or at least for analogies to them, 
 in the history of various countries ; but though it is of great 
 importance to trace the similarity of customs in different parts of 
 the world, we should guard against seeming analogies, which 
 vanish away when they are closely observed. It is easy to find 
 partial resemblances to the feudal system. The relation of patron 
 and client in the republic of Rome has been deemed to resemble 
 it, as well as the barbarians and veterans who held frontier lands 
 on the tenure of defending them and the frontier ; but they were 
 
 ^ A ' skin or hyde.' Millar (chap. v. p. 85) defines a ' hyde of land,' 
 the quantity which can be cultivated by a single plough. A charsa, ' skin 
 or hyde ' of land, is as much as one man can water ; and what one can 
 water is equal to what one i)lough can cultivate. If irrigation ever had 
 existence by the founders of the system, we may suppose this the meaning 
 of the term which designated a knighfs fee. It may have gone westward 
 with emigration. [The English ' hide ' : '' the amount considered adequate 
 for the supjDort of one free family with its dependants : at an early date 
 defined as being as much land as could be tilled by one plough in a year," 
 has no connexion with ' hide,' ' a skin.' It is O.E. Md, from hitv, hig, 
 ' household." ' Hide,' ' a skin,' is O.E. hyd {New English Diet, ssv.).] 
 
 " Bapji, ' sire,' is the appellation of royalty, and, strange enough, 
 whether to male or female ; while its offsets, which form a numerous branch 
 of vassals, are called babas, ' the infants.'
 
 FEUDAE SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 157 
 
 bound not to an individual, but to the state. Such a resemblance 
 of fiefs may be found in the Zamindars of Hindustan and the 
 Timariots of Turke}-. The clans of the Highlanders and Irish 
 followed their chieftain into the field : but their tie was that of 
 imagined kindred and birth, not the spontaneous compact of 
 vassalage." ^ 
 
 I give this at length to show, that if I still persist in deeming 
 the Rajput system a pure relation of feuds, I have before my eyes 
 the danger of seeming resemblances. But grants, deeds, charters, 
 and traditions, copies of all of which will be found in the Appendix, 
 will establish my opinions. I hope to prove that the tribes in the 
 northern regions of Hindustan did possess the system, and that 
 it was handed down, and still obtains, notwithstanding seven 
 centuries of paramount sway of the Mogul and Pathan dynasties, 
 altogether opposed to them except in this feature of government 
 where there was an original similarity. In some of these States 
 — ^those least affected by conquest — the system remained freer 
 from innovation. It is, however, from INIewar chiefly that I shall 
 deduce my examples, as its internal [133] rule was less influenced 
 by foreign policy, even to the period at which the imperial power 
 of Delhi Avas on the decline. 
 
 Evidence from Mewar. — As in Europe, for a length of time, 
 traditionary custom was the only regulator of the rights and 
 tenures of this system, varying in each State, and not unfre- 
 quently (in its minor details) in the different provinces of one 
 State, according to their mode of acquisition and the description 
 of occupants when required. It is from such circumstances that 
 the variety of tenure and customarj^ law proceeds. To account 
 for this variety, a knowledge of them is requisite ; nor is it until 
 every part of the system is developed that it can be fully under- 
 stood. The most trifling cause is discovered to be the parent of 
 some important result. If ever these were embodied into a code 
 (and we are justified in assuming such to have been the case), 
 the varied revolutions which have swept away almost all relics 
 of their history were not likely to spare these. ISIention is made 
 of several princes of the house of Mewar who legislated for their 
 country ; but precedents for every occurring case lie scattered 
 in formulas, grants, and traditionary sayings. The inscriptions 
 still existing on stone would alone, if collected, form a body of 
 ^ Hallam's Middle Ages, vol. i. ]i. 200.
 
 158 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RA/ASTHAN 
 
 laws sufficient for an infant community ; and these were always 
 first committed to writing, and registered ere the column was 
 raised. The seven centuries of turmoil and disaster, during which 
 these States were in continual strife with the foe, produced many 
 princes of high intellect as w^ell as valour. Sanga Rana, and his 
 antagonist. Sultan IJabur, v/ei'c revived in their no less celebrated 
 grandsons, the great Akhar and Rana Partap : the son of the 
 latter, Amra, the foe of Jahangir, was a character of whom the 
 proudest nation might be vain. 
 
 Evidence from Inscriptions.^ — The pen has recorded, and tradi- 
 tion handed down, many isolated fragments of the genius of these 
 Rajput princes, as statesmen and warriors, touching the political 
 division, regulations of the aristocracy, and commercial and 
 agricultural bodies. Sumptuary laws, even, which append to a 
 feudal system, are to be traced in these inscriptions : the annul- 
 ling of monopolies and exorbitant taxes ; the regulation of transit 
 duties ; prohibition of profaning sacred days by labour ; im- 
 inunities, privileges, and charters to trades, corporations, and 
 towns ; such as would, in climes more favourable to liberty, have 
 matured into a league, or obtained for these branches a voice in 
 the coimcils of the State. My search for less perishable docu- 
 ments than parchment when I found the cabinet of the prince 
 contained them not, was unceasing ; but though the bigoted 
 Muhammadan destroyed [134] most of the traces of civilization 
 within his reach, perseverance was rewarded with a considerable 
 number. They are at least matter of curiosity. They will 
 evince that monopolies and restraints on commerce were well 
 understood in Rajvt^ara, though the doctrines of political economy 
 never gained footing there. The setting up oi these engraved 
 tablets or pillars, called Seoras,^ is of the highest antiquity. 
 Every subject commences with invoking the sun and moon as 
 witnesses, and concludes with a denunciation of the severest 
 penalties on those who break the spirit of the imperishable bond. 
 Tablets of an historical nature I have of twelve and fourteen 
 hundred years' antiquity, but of grants of land or privileges 
 about one thousand years is the oldest. Time has destroyed 
 many, but man more. They became more numerous during the 
 last three centuries, when successful struggles against their foes 
 produced new, privileges, granted in order to recall the scattered 
 ^ Sanskrit, Silla.
 
 EVIDENCE FROM INSCRIPTIONS 159 
 
 inhabitants. Thus one contains an abolition of the monopoly of 
 tobacco ; ^ another, the remission of tax on printed cloths, with 
 permission to the country manufacturers to sell their goods free 
 of duty at the neighbouring tov/ns. To a tliird, a mercantile 
 city, the abolition of war contributions,^ and the establishment 
 of its internal judicial authority. Nay, even where good manners 
 alone are concerned, the lawgiver appears, and with an amusing 
 simplicity : ^ " From the public feast none shall attempt to carry 
 anything away." " None shall eat after sunset," shows that a 
 Jain obtained the edict. To yoke the bullock or other animal for 
 any work on the sacred Amavas,* is also declared pimishable. 
 Others contain revocations of vexatious fees to officers of the 
 crown ; "of beds and quilts ^ " ; " the seizure of the carts, imple- 
 ments, or cattle of the husbandmen," ^ — the sole boon in our own 
 Magna Charta demanded for the husbandman. These and several 
 others, of which copies are annexed, need not be repeated. If 
 even from such memoranda a sufficient number could be collected 
 of each prince's reign up to the olden time, what more could we 
 desire to enable us to judge of the genius of their princes, the 
 wants and habits of the people, their acts and occupations ? 
 The most ancient written customary law of France is a.d. 1088,^ 
 at which time Mewar was in high [135] prosperity ; opposing, at 
 the head of a league far more powerful than France could form 
 for ages after, the progress of revolution and foreign conquest. 
 Ignorance, sloth, and all the \aces which wait on and result from 
 continual oppression in a perpetual struggle for existence of ages' 
 duration, graduallj^ diminished the reverence of the inhabitants 
 themselves for these relics of the wisdom of their forefathers. 
 In latter years, they so far forgot the ennobling feeling and respect 
 for ' the stone which told ' their once exalted condition, as to 
 convert the materials of the temple in which many of these stood 
 into places of abode. Thus many a valuable relic is built up in 
 the castles of their barons, or buried in the rubbish of the fallen 
 pile. 
 
 ^ See Appendix, No. XII. 2 g^g Appendix, No. XIII. 
 
 ' See Appendix, No. XIV. 
 
 * ' Full moon ' (See Appendix, No. XIII.). 
 
 ^ It is customary, when officers of the Government are detached on 
 service, to exact from the towns where they are sent both bed and board. 
 
 * Seized for pubhc service, and frequently to exact a composition in 
 money. 7 Hallam, vol. i. p. 197.
 
 160 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 Books oJ Grants. — We have, however, the books of grants to the 
 chiefs and vassals, and also the grand rent-roll of the country. 
 These are of themselves valuable documents. Could we but 
 obtain those of remoter periods, they would serve as a comment- 
 ary on the history of the country, as each contains the detail of 
 every estate, and the stipulated service, in horse and foot, to be 
 performed for it. In later times, when turbulence and disaffec- 
 tion went unpunished, it was useless to specify a stipulation of 
 service that was nugatory ; and too often the grants contained 
 but the names of towns and villages, and their value ; or if they 
 had the more general terms of service, none of its details.^ From 
 all these, however, a sufficiency of customary rules could easily 
 be found to form the written law of fiefs in Rajasthan. In 
 France, in the sixteenth century, the variety of these customs 
 amounted to two hundred and eighty-five, of which only sixty ^ 
 were of great importance. The number of consequence in Mewar 
 which have come to my observation is considerable, and the most 
 important will be given in the Appendix. Were the same plan 
 pursued there as in that ordinance which produced the laws of 
 Pays Coutumiers ^ of France, viz. ascertaining those of each 
 district, the materials are ready. 
 
 Such a collection would be amusing, particularly if the tradi- 
 tionary were added to the engraved laws. They would often 
 appear jejune, and might involve contradictions ; but wc should 
 see the wants of the people ; and if ever our connexion (which God 
 forbid !) should be drawn closer, we could then legislate without 
 offending national customs or religious prejudices. Could this, 
 by any instinctive [136] impulse or external stimulus, be effected 
 by themselves, it would be the era of their emersion from long 
 oppression, and might lead to better notions of government, and 
 consequent happiness to them all. 
 
 Noble Origin of the Rajput Race. — If we compare the antiquity 
 and illustrious descent of the dynasties which have ruled, and 
 some which continue to rule, the small sovereignties of Rajasthan, 
 with many of celebrity in Europe, superiority will often attach 
 to the Rajput. From the most remote periods we can trace 
 nothing ignoble, nor any vestige of vassal origin. Reduced in 
 
 ^ Some of these, of old date, I have seen three feet in length. 
 
 2 Hallam, vol. i. p. 199. 
 
 ' HallaTn notices these laws by this technical plirase.
 
 THE RATHORS, KACHirVVAHAS 161 
 
 power, circumscribed in territory, compelled to yield much of 
 their splendour and many of the dignities of birth, they have not 
 abandoned an iota of the pride and high bearing arismg from a 
 knowledge of their illustrious and regal descent. On this prin- 
 ciple the various revolutions in the Rana's family never en- 
 croached ; and the mighty Jahangir himself, the Emperor of the 
 Moguls, became, like Caesar, the commentator on the history of 
 the tribe of Sesodia.^ The potentate of the twenty-two Satrapies 
 of Hind dwells with proud complacency on this Rajput king 
 having made terms with him. He praises heaven, that what 
 his immortal ancestor Babur, the founder of the Mogul dynasty, 
 failed to do, the project in which Hmnayun had also failed, and 
 in which the illustrious Akbar, his father, had but partial success, 
 was reserved for him. It is pleasing to peruse in the comment- 
 aries of these conquerors, Babur and Jahangir, their sentiments 
 with regard to these princes. We have the evidence of Sir 
 Thomas Roe, the ambassador of Elizabeth to Jahangir, as to the 
 splendour of this race : it appears throughout their annals and 
 those of their neighbours. 
 
 The Rathors of Marwar. — The Rathors can boast a splendid 
 pedigree ; and if we cannot trace its source with equal certainty 
 to such a period of antiquity as the Rana's, we can, at all events, 
 show the Rathor monarch wielding the sceptre at Kanauj, at the 
 time the leader of an unknown tribe of the Franks was paving 
 the way towards the foundation of the future kingdom of France. 
 Unwieldy greatness caused the sudden fall of Kanauj in the 
 twelfth century, of which the existing line of Marwar is a renov- 
 ated scion .^ 
 
 The Kachhwahas oJ Amber. — Amber is a branch of the once 
 illustrious and ancient [137] Nishadha. now Narwar, Avhich pro- 
 duced the ill-fated prince whose story ^ is so interesting. Revolu- 
 tion and conquest compelled them to quit their ancestral abodes. 
 Hindustan was then divided into no more than four great king- 
 doms. By Arabian * travellers we have a confused picture of 
 
 ^ Sesodia is the last change of name which the Rana's race has under- 
 gone. It was first Suryavansa, then Grahilot or Guhilot, Aharj'^a, and 
 Sesodia. These changes arise from revolutions and local circumstances. 
 
 2 [The Rathor dynasty of Kanauj is a myth (Smith, EHI, 385).] 
 
 ^ Nala and Damayanti. 
 
 * Relations anciemtes des Voyageurs, par Renaudot. 
 VOL. I M
 
 162 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 these States. But all the minor States, now existing in the west, 
 arose about the period when the feudal system was approaching 
 maturity in France and England. 
 
 The others are less illustrious, being the descendants of the 
 great vassals of their ancient kings. 
 
 The Sesodias of Mewar. — Mewar exhibits a marked difference 
 from all the other States in her policy and institutions. She was 
 an old-established dynasty when these renovated scions were in 
 embryo. We can trace the losses of Mewar, but with difficulty 
 her acquisitions ; while it is easy to note the gradual aggrandise- 
 ment of Marwar and Amber, and all the minor States. Marwar 
 was composed of many petty States, whose ancient possessions 
 formed an allodial vassalage under the new dynasty. A superior 
 independence of the control of the prince arises from the peculiar- 
 ity of the mode of acquisition ; that is, with rights similar to the 
 allodial vassals of the European feudal system. 
 
 Pride of Ancestry. — The poorest Rajput of this day retains all 
 the pride of ancestry, often his sole inheritance ; he scorns to 
 hold the plough, or to use his lance but on horseback. In these 
 aristocratic ideas he is supported by his reception amongst his 
 superiors, and the respect paid to him by his interiors. The 
 honours and privileges, and the gradations of rank, amongst the 
 vassals of the Rana's house, exhibit a highly artificial and refined 
 state of society. Each of the superior rank is entitled to a banner, 
 kettle-drums preceded by heralds and silver maces, with peculiar 
 gifts and personal honours, in commemoration of some exploit 
 of their ancestors. 
 
 Armorial Bearings. — The martial Rajputs are not strangers 
 to armorial bearings,^ now so indiscriminately used in Europe. 
 
 ^ It is generally admitted that armorial bearings were little known till 
 the period of the Crusades, and that they belong to the east. The twelve 
 tribes of Israel were distinguished by the animals on their banners, and 
 the sacred writings frequently allude to the ' Lion of Judah.' The peacock 
 was a favourite armorial emblem of the Rajput warrior ; it is the bird 
 sacred to their Mars (Kumara), as it was to Juno, his mother, in the west. 
 The feather of the peacock decorates the turban of the Rajput and the 
 warrior of the Crusade, adopted from the Hindu through the Saracens. 
 "Le paon a toujours ete I'embleme de la noblesse. Plusieurs chevaliers 
 ornaient leurs casques des plumes de cet oiseau ; un grand nombre de 
 families nobles le portaient dans leur blazon ou sur leur cimier ; quelques- 
 uns n'en portaient que la qtieue " (Art. "Armoiric," Diet, de Vancien 
 Regime).
 
 TRIBAL PALLADIUM : BANNERS 1G3 
 
 The great banner of Mewar exhibits a golden sun [1 38] on a crimson 
 field ; those of the chiefs bear a dagger. Amber displays the 
 panchranga, or five-coloured flag. The lion rampant on an 
 argent field is extinct with the State of Chanderi.^ 
 
 In Europe these customs were not introduced till the period 
 of the Crusades, and were copied from the Saracens ; while the 
 use of them amongst the Rajput tribes can be traced to a period 
 anterior to the war of Troy. In the Mahabharat, or great war, 
 twelve hundred years before Christ, we find the hero Bhishma 
 exulting over his trophy, the banner of Arjuna, its field adorned 
 with the figure of the Indian Hanuman.^ These emblems had a 
 religious reference amongst the Hindus, and were taken from their 
 mythology, the origin of all devices. 
 
 The Tribal Palladium. — Every royal house has its palladium, 
 which is frequently borne to battle at the saddle-bow of the 
 prince. Rao Bhima Hara, of Kotah, lost his life and protecting 
 deity together. The late celebrated Khichi ' leader, Jai Singh, 
 never took the field without the god before him. ' Victory to 
 Bajrang ' was his signal for the charge so dreaded by the Mahratta, 
 and often has the deity been sprinkled with his blood and that of 
 the foe. Their ancestors, who opposed Alexander, did the same, 
 and carried the image of Hercules (Baldeva) at the head of their 
 array.* 
 
 Banners. — The custom (says Arrian) of presenting banners as 
 an emblem of sovereignty over vassals, also obtained amongst 
 the tribes of the Indus when invaded by Alexander. When he 
 conquered the Saka and tribes east of the Caspian, he divided 
 the provinces amongst the princes of the ancient families, for 
 which they paid homage, engaged to serve with a certain quota 
 of troops, and received from his own hand a banner ; in all of 
 which he followed the customs of the country. But in these we 
 see only the outline of the system; we must descend to more 
 
 ^ I was the first European who traversed this wild country, in 1807, not 
 without some hazard. It was then independent : about three years after 
 it fell a prey to Sindhia. [Several ancient dynasties used a crest (lanchhana), 
 and a banner (dhvaja) : see the list in BO, i. Part ii. 299.] 
 
 2 The monkey-deity. [Known as Bajrang, Skt. vajranga, ' of powerful 
 frame.'] 
 
 * The Khichis are a branch of the Chauhans, and Khiehiwara lies east of 
 Haravati. 
 
 * [Quintus Curtius, viii. 14, 46 ; Arrian, Indika, viii.]
 
 164 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 modern days to observe it more minutely. A grand picture is 
 drawn of the power of Mewar, when the first grand irruption of 
 the Muhammadans occurred in the first century of their era ; 
 when " a hundred ^ kings, its alUes and dependents, had their 
 thrones raised in Chitor," for its defence and their own individu- 
 ally [139], when a new religion, propagated by the sword of con- 
 quest, came to enslave these realms. This invasion was by 
 Sind and Makran ; for it was half a century later ere ' the light ' 
 shone from the heights of Pamir ^ on the plains of the Jumna and 
 Ganges, 
 
 From the commencement of this religious war in the moun- 
 tains westward of the Indus, many ages elapsed ere the ' King of 
 the Faith ' obtained a seat on the throne of Yudhishthira. Chand, 
 the bard, has left us various valuable memorials of this period, 
 applicable to the subject historically as well as to the immediate 
 topic. Visaladeva, the monarch whose name appears on the 
 pillar of victory at Delhi, led an army against the invader, in 
 which, according to the bard, " the banners of eighty-four princes 
 were assembled." The bard describes with great animation the 
 summons sent for this magnificent feudal levy from the heart of 
 Antarbedi,* to the shores of the western sea, and it coincides with 
 the record of his victory, which most probably this very army 
 obtained for him. But no finer picture of feudal manners exists 
 than the history of Prithwiraja, contained in Chand's poems. 
 It is surprising that this epic should have been allowed so long 
 to sleep neglected : a thorough knowledge of it, and of others of 
 the same character, would open many sources of new knowledge, 
 and enable us to trace many curious and interesting coin- 
 cidences.* 
 
 ^ See Annals of Mewar, and note from D'AnviUe. 
 
 ^ The Pamir range is a grand branch of the Indian Caucasus. Chand, 
 the bard, designates them as the " Parbat Pat Pamir," or Pamir Lord of 
 Mountains. From Pahar and Pamir the Greeks may have compounded 
 Paropanisos, in which was situated the most remote of the Alexandrias. [?] 
 
 * The space between the grand rivers Ganges and Jumna, well known 
 as the Duab. 
 
 * Domestic habits and national manners are painted to the hfe, and no 
 man can well understand the Rajput of yore who does not read these. 
 Those were the days of chivalry and romance, when the assembled princes 
 contended for the hand of the fair, who chose her own lord, and threw to 
 the object of her choice, in full court, the barmala, or garland of marriage. 
 Those were the days which the Rajput yet loves to talk of, when the glance
 
 INFLUENCE OF CASTE . 165 
 
 In perusing these tales of the days that are past, we should be 
 induced to conclude that the Kuriltai of the Tatars, the Chaugan 
 of the Rajput, and the Champ de Mars of the Frank, had one 
 common origin. 
 
 Influence of Caste. — Caste has for ever prevented the inferior 
 classes of society from being incorporated with this haughty 
 noblesse. Only those of jjure blood in both lines can hold fiefs 
 of the crown. The highest may marry the daughter of a Rajput, 
 whose sole [140] possession is a ' skin of land ' : ^ the sovereign 
 himself is not degraded by such alliance. There is no moral blot, 
 and the operation of a law like the Salic would prevent any 
 political evil resulting therefrom. Titles are granted, and even 
 fiefs of office, to ministers and civil servants not Rajputs ; they 
 are, however, but official, and never confer hereditary right. 
 These official fiefs may have originally arisen, here and in Europe, 
 from the same cause ; the want of a circulating medium to pay the 
 offices. The Mantris - of Mewar prefer estates to' pecuniary 
 stipend, which gives more consequence in every point of view. 
 All the higher offices — as cup-bearer, butler, stewards of the 
 household, wardrobe, kitchen, master of the horse — aU these are 
 enumerated as ininisterialists ^ at the court of Charlemagne in 
 the dark ages of Europe, and of whom we have the duplicates. 
 These are what the author of the Middle Ages designates as 
 " improper feuds..'' * In Mewar the prince's architect, painter, 
 physician, bard, genealogist, heralds, and all the generation of 
 the foster-brothers, hold lands. Offices are hereditary in this 
 patriarchal government ; their services personal. The title 
 even appends to the family, and if the chance of events deprive 
 them of the substance, they are seldom left destitute. It is not 
 uncommon to see three or four with the title of pardhan or 
 premier.^ 
 
 of an eye weighed with a sceptre : when three things alone occupied him : 
 his horse, his lance, and his mistress ; for she is but the third in his estima- 
 tion, after all : to the two first he owed her. 
 ^ Charsa, a ' hide or skin ' [see p. 156 above]. 
 
 * ' Ministers,' from Mantra, ' mystification ' [' a sacred text, spell ']. 
 
 ' It is probably of Teutonic origin, and akin to Mantri, which embraces 
 all the ministers and councillors of loyalty (Hallam, p. 195). [?] 
 
 * Hallam, p. 193. 
 
 * One I know, in whose family the office has remained since the period 
 of Prithvviraja, who transferred his ancestor to the service of the Rana's
 
 166 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 But before I proceed further in these desultory and general 
 remarks, I shall commence the chief details of the system as 
 described in times past, and, in part, still obtaining in the 
 principality of the Rana of Mewar As its geography and 
 distribution are fully related in their proper place, I must 
 refer the reader to that for a preliminary understanding of its 
 localities. >k. 
 
 Estates of Chief and Fiscal Land. — The local disposition of the 
 estates was admirably contrived. Bounded on three sides, the 
 south, east, and west, by marauding barbarous tribes of Bhils, 
 Mers, and Minas, the circumference of this circle was subdivided 
 into estates for the chiefs, while the khalisa, or fiscal land, the 
 best and richest, was in the heart of the country, and consequently 
 well protected [141]. It appears doubtful whether the khalisa 
 lands amounted to one-fourth of those distributed in grant to the 
 chiefs. The value of the crown demesne as the nerve and sinew 
 of sovereignty, was well known by the former heads of this house. 
 To obtain any portion thereof was the reward of important ser- 
 vices ; to have a grant of a few acres near the capital for a garden 
 was deemed a high favour ; and a village in the amphitheatre or 
 valley, in which the present capital is situated, was the nc plus 
 ultra of recompense. But the lavish folly of the present prince, 
 out of this tract, twenty-five miles in circumference, has not 
 preserved a single village in his khalisa. By this distribution, 
 and by the inroads of the wild tribes in the vicinity, or of Moguls 
 and Mahrattas, the valour of the chiefs were kept in constant 
 play. 
 
 The country was partitioned into districts, each containing 
 from fifty to one hundred towns and villages, though sometimes 
 exceeding that proportion. The great number of Chaurasis ^ 
 leads to the conclusion that portions to the amount of eighty- 
 four had been the general subdivision. Many of these yet remain : 
 
 house seven hundred years ago. He is not merely a nominal- hereditary 
 minister, for his uncle actually held the office ; but in consequence of having 
 favoured the views of a pretender to the crown, its active duties are not 
 entrusted to any of the family. 
 
 ^ The numeral eighty-four. [In the ancient Hmdu kingdoms the full 
 estate was a group of 84 villages, smaller units being called Byahsa, 42, 
 or Ch ubisa, 24 (Baden-Powell, The Village Community, 198, and see a 
 valuable article in EUiot, Supplemental Glossary , 178 ff.]
 
 THE CHIEFS OF MEWAH l6t 
 
 as the ' Chaurasi ' of Jahazpur and of Kumbhalmer : tantaniouut 
 to the old ' hundreds ' of onr Saxon ancestry. A circle of posts 
 was distributed, within which the quotas of the chiefs attended, 
 under ' the Faujdar of the Sima ' (vulgo Sim), or conmiander of 
 the border. It was found expedient to appoint from court this 
 lord of the frontier, always accompanied by a portion of the royal 
 insignia, standard, kettle-drums, and heralds, and being genei'ally a 
 civil officer, he united to his military olhce the administration of 
 justice.^ The higher vassals never attended personally at these 
 posts, but deputed a confidential branch of their family, with 
 the quota required. For the government of the districts there 
 were conjoined a civil and a military officer : the latter generally 
 a vassal of the second rank. Their residence was the chief place 
 of the district, commonly a stronghold. 
 
 The division of the chiefs into distinct grades, shows a highly 
 artificial state of society. 
 
 First class. — -We have the Sixteen, whose estates were from 
 hity thousand to one hundred thousand rupees and upwards, of 
 yearly rent. These appear in the [142] presence only on special 
 invitation, upon festivals and solemn ceremonies, and are the 
 hereditary councillors of the crown.^ 
 
 Second class, from five to fifty thousand rupees. Their duty 
 is to be always in attendance. P>om these, chiefly, faujdars and 
 military officers are selected.- 
 
 Third class is that of Gol ^ holding lands chiefly under five 
 thousand rupees, though by favour they may exceed this limit. 
 They are generally the holders of separate villages and portions 
 of land, and in former times they were the most useful class to the 
 prince. They always attended on his person, and indeed formed 
 his strength against any combination or opposition of the higher 
 vassals. 
 
 Fourth class. — The offsets of the younger branches of the 
 Rana's own family, within a certain period, are called the babas, 
 literally ' infants,' and have appanages bestowed on them. Of 
 
 ^ Now each chief claims the right of administering justice in his own 
 domain, that is, in civil matters ; but in criminal cases they ought not 
 without the special sanction of the crown. Justice, however, has long 
 been left to work its own way, and the seK-constituted tribunals, the pan- 
 chayats, sit in judgment in all cases where property is involved. 
 
 ^ See Appendix, No. XX.
 
 168 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 this class are Shahpura and Banera ; too powerful for subjects.* 
 They hold on none of the terms of the great clans, but consider 
 themselves at the disposal of the prince. These are more within 
 the influence of the crown. Allowing adoption into these houses, 
 except in the case of near kindred, is assuredly an innovation ; 
 they ought to revert to the crown, failing immediate issue, as did 
 the great estate of Bhainsrorgarh, two generations back. From 
 these to the holder of a clutrsa, or hide of land, the peculiarity of 
 tenure and duties of each will form a subject for discussion. 
 
 Revenues and Rights of the Crown. — I need not here expatiate 
 upon the variety of items which constitute the revenues of the 
 prince, the details of which will appear in their proper place. 
 The land-tax in the khalisa demesne is, of course, the chief source 
 of supply ; the transit duties on commerce and trade, and those 
 of the larger towns and cominercial marts, rank next. In former 
 times more attention was paid to this important branch of in- 
 come, and the produce was greater because less shackled. The 
 liberality on the side of the crown was only equalled by the 
 integrity of the merchant, and the extent to which it was carried 
 would imply an almost Utopian degree of perfection in their 
 mutual qualities of liberality and honesty ; the one, perhaps, 
 generating the other. The remark of a merchant recently, on 
 the vexatious train of duties and espionage attending their 
 collection, is not merely figurative : " our ancestors tied their 
 invoice to the horns of the oxen ^ at the first frontier post of 
 customs, and no intermediate questions [143] were put till we 
 passed to the opposite or sold our goods, when it was opened 
 and payment made accordingly ; but now every town has its 
 rights." It will be long ere this degree of confidence is restored 
 on either side ; extensive demand on the one is met by fraud and 
 evasion on the other, though at least one-half of these evils have 
 already been subdued. 
 
 Mines and Minerals. — The mines were very productive in 
 former times, and yielded several lacs to the princes of Mewar.^ 
 
 ^ [They are heads of the Ranawat sub-tribe. The latter enjoys the right, 
 on succession, of having a sword sent to him with full honours, on receipt 
 of which he goes to Udaipur to be installed (Erskine ii. A. 92).] 
 
 ^ Oxen and carts are chieflj' used in the Tundas, or caravans, for trans- 
 portation of goods in these countries ; camels further to the north. 
 
 ^ [On the mines of Mewar, see lA, i. 63 f.]
 
 TAXATION 169 
 
 The rich tin mines of Jawara produced at one time a considerable 
 proportion of silver. Those of copper are abundant, as is also 
 iron on the now alienated domain on the Chambal ; but lead least 
 of aU.i 
 
 The marble quarries also added to the revenue ; and where 
 there is such a multiplicity of sources, none are considered too 
 minute to be applied in these necessitous times. 
 
 Barar. — Barar is an indefinite term for taxation, and is con- 
 nected with the thing taxed : as ghanim-barar,^ ' war-tax ' ; gliar 
 ginii-barar,^ ' house-tax ' ; hal-barar, ' plough-tax ' ; neota-barar, 
 ' marriage-tax ' ; and others, both of old and new standing. 
 The war-tax was a kind of substitute for the regular mode of 
 levying the rents on the produce of the soil ; whicii was rendered 
 very difficult during the disturbed period, and did not accord 
 with the wants of the prince. It is also a substitute in those 
 mountainous regions, for the jarib,^ where the produce bears 
 no proportion to the cultivated surface ; sometimes from poverty 
 of soil, but often from the reverse, as in Kumbhalmer, where the 
 choicest crops are produced on the cultivated terraces, and on the 
 sides of its mountains, which abound with springs, yielding the 
 richest canes and cottons, and where experiment has proved 
 that four crops can be raised in the same patch of soil within the 
 year. 
 
 The offering on confirmation of estates (or fine on renewal) is 
 now, though a very small, yet still one source of supply ; as is 
 the annual and triennial payment of the quit-rents of the Bhumia 
 chiefs. Fines in composition of offences may also be mentioned : 
 and they might be larger, if more activity were introduced in the 
 detection of offenders [144]. 
 
 These governments are mild in the execution of the laws ; 
 
 ^ The privilege of coiniug is a reservation of royalty. No subject is 
 allowed to coin gold or silver, though the Salumbar chief has on sufferance 
 a copper currency. The mint was a considerable source of income, and 
 may be again when confidence is restored and a new currency introduced. 
 The Chitor rupee is now thirty-one per cent inferior to the old Bhilara 
 standard, and there was one struck at the capital even worse, and very nearly 
 as bad as the moneta nigra of Philip the Fair of France, who allowed his 
 vassals the privilege of coining it. [For an account of the past and present 
 coinage of Mewai; see W. W. Webb, Currencies of the Hindu States of Raj- 
 puiana, 3 ff.] 
 
 * Enemy. ^ Numbering of houses. 
 
 * A measure of land [usually 55 English j^ards].
 
 170 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 and a heavy fine lias more effect (especially on the hill tribes) 
 than the execution of the offender, who fears death less than the 
 loss of property. 
 
 Khar-Lakar. — The composition for ' wood and forage ' afforded 
 a considerable supply. When the princes of Mewar were oftener 
 in the tented field than in the palace, combating for their pre- 
 servation, it was the duty of every individual to store up wood 
 and forage for the supply of the prince's army. What originated 
 in necessity was converted into an abuse and annual demand. 
 The towns also supplied a certain portion of provisions ; where 
 the prince halted for the day these were levied on the connnunity ; 
 a goat or sheep from the shepherd, milk and flour froin the farmer . 
 The maintenance of these customs is observable in taxes, for the 
 origin of which it is impossible to assign a reason without going 
 into the history of the period ; they scarcely recollect the source 
 of some of these themselves. They are akin to those known 
 under the feudal tenures of France, arising from exactly the same 
 causes, and commuted for money payments ; such as the droit 
 de gisie et de chevauche.^ Many also originated in the perambula- 
 tions of these princes to visit their domains ; ^ a black year in the 
 calendar to the chief and the subject. When he honoured the 
 chief by a visit, he had to present horses and arms, and to enter- 
 tain his prince, in all which honours the cultivators and merchants 
 had to share. The duties on the sale of spirits, opium, tobacco, 
 and even to a share of the garden-stuff, affords also modes of 
 supply [145].' 
 
 CHAPTER 2 
 
 Legislative Authority. — During the period still called " the good 
 times of Mewar,' the prince, with the aid of his civil council, the 
 four ministers of the crown and their deputies, promulgated all 
 the legislative enactments in which the general rights and wants 
 of the community were involved. In these the martial vassals 
 
 ^ Hallam, vol. i. p. 232. 
 
 ■^ Hume describes the necessity for our earlier kings inaking these tours 
 to consume the produce, being in kind. So it is in Mewar ; but I fancy 
 the supply was always too easily convertible into circulating medium to 
 be the cause there. 
 
 ' See Appendix, No. X.
 
 PANCHAYATS 171 
 
 or chiefs had no concern : a wise exclusion, comprehending also 
 their immediate dependents, military, commercial, and agri- 
 cultural. Even now, the little that is done in these matters is 
 effected by the civil administration, though the Rajput Pardhans 
 have been too apt to interfere in matters from which they ought 
 always to be kept aloof, being ever more tenacious of tlieir own 
 rights than solicitous for the welfare of the community. 
 
 Panchayats. — The neglect in the legislation of late years was 
 supplied by the self-constituted tribunals, the useful panchayats, 
 of which enough has been said to render furtlicr illustration 
 unnecessar^^ Besides the resident ruler of the district, who was 
 also a judicial functionary, there was, as already stated, a special 
 officer of the government in each frontier thana, or garrison post. 
 He vmited the triple occupation of embodying the quotas, levying 
 the transit duties, and administering justice, in which he was 
 aided at the chabutra ^ or coiu-t, by assembling the Chauthias or 
 assessors of justice. Each town and village has its chauthia, the 
 members of which are elected by their felloM'-citizens, and remain 
 as long as they conduct themselves imijartially in disentangling 
 the intricacies of complaints preferred to them. 
 
 They are the aids to the Nagarseth, or chief magistrate, an 
 hereditary office in every large city in Rajasthan. Of this 
 chauthia the Patel and Patwari * are generally members. TJie 
 former of these, like the Dasaundhi of the Mahrattas, resembles 
 in his duties the decanus of France and the tithing-man in England. 
 The chauthia and panchayat of these districts are analogous to 
 the assessors of [140] justice called scabi7ii ^ in France, who held 
 the office by election or the concurrence of the people. But these 
 are the special and fixed council of each town ; the general 
 panchayats are formed from the respectable population at large, 
 and were formerly from all classes of society. 
 
 The chabutras, or terraces of justice, were always established 
 in the khalisa, or crown demesne. It was deemed a humiliating 
 intrusion if they sat within the bounds of a chief. To ' erect the 
 flag ' within his limits, whether for the formation of defensive 
 posts or the collection of duties, is deemed a gross breach of his 
 
 ^ Literally ' terrace,' or ' altar.' 
 ^ [Headman and accountant.] 
 
 ^ They were considered a sort of jury, bearing a close analogy to ■4;he 
 judices selecti, who sat with the praetor in the tribunal of Rome (Hallam).
 
 172 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 privileged iadependenee, as to establish them within the walls of 
 his residence would be deemed equal to sequestration. It often 
 becomes necessary to see justice enforced on a chief or his de- 
 pendent, but it begets eternal disputes and disobedience, tUl at 
 length they are worried to compliance by rozina. 
 
 Bozina. — When delay in these matters, or to the general 
 conunands of the prince, is evinced, an officer or herald is deputed 
 with a party of four, ten, or twenty horse or foot, to the hef of 
 the chief, at whose residence they take up their abode ; and 
 carrying, under the seal, a warrant to furnish them with specified 
 daily {rozina) rations, they live at free quarters till he is quickened 
 into compliance with the commands of the prince. This is the 
 only accelerator of the slow movements of a Rajput chieftaia in 
 these days, whether for his appearance at court or the performance 
 of an act of justice. It is often carried to a harassing e±cess, and 
 causes much complaint. 
 
 In cases regarding the distribution of justice or the internal 
 economy of the chief's estates, the government officers seldom 
 interfere. But of their panchayats I will only remark, that their 
 import amongst the vassals is very comprehensive ; and when 
 they talk of the ' punch,' it means the ' collective wisdom.' In 
 the reply to the remonstrance of the Deogarh vassals,^ the chief 
 promises never to undertake any measure without their delibera- 
 tion and sanction. 
 
 On all grand occasions where the general peace or tranquillity 
 of the government is threatened^ the chiefs form the councU of 
 the sovereign. Such subjects are always first discussed in the 
 domestic councUs of each chief ; so that when the [147] witenage- 
 mot of Mewar was assembled, each had prepared himself by 
 previous discussion, and was fortified by abundance of advice. 
 
 To be excluded the council of the prince is to be in utter 
 disgrace. These grand divans produce infinite speculation, and 
 the ramifications which form the opinions are extensive. The 
 council of each chief is, in fact, a miniature representation of the 
 sovereign's. The greater sub-vassals, his civU pardhan, the 
 mayor of the household, the purohit,^ the bard, and two or three 
 of the most intelligent citizens, form the minor councils, and all 
 are separately deliberating while the superior court is in discus- 
 sion. Thus is collected the wisdom of the magnates of Rajwara. 
 ^ See Appendix, No. III. ^ Family priost.
 
 MILITARY SERVICE : ESCUAGE 173 
 
 Military Service. — In Mewar, diiriiig the days of her glory and 
 prosperity, fifteen thousand horse, bound by the ties of fidelity 
 and service, followed their prince into the field, all supported by 
 lands held by grant ; from the chief who headed five hundred of 
 his own vassals, to the single horseman. 
 
 Knight's Fee or Single Horsemen. — A knight's fee in these 
 States varies. For each thousand rupees of annual rent, never 
 less than two, and generally three horsemen were furnished ; and 
 sometimes three horse and three foot soldiers, according to the 
 exigencies of the times when the grant was conferred. The 
 different grants ^ appended will show this variety, and furnish 
 additional proof that this, and all similar systems of policy, must 
 be much indebted to chance for the shape they ultimately take. 
 The knight's fee, when William the Conqueror partitioned England 
 into sixty thousand such portions, from each of which a soldier's 
 service was due, was fixed at £20. Each portion furnished its 
 soldier or paid escuage. The knight's fee of Mewar may be said 
 to be two hundred and fifty rupees, or about £30. 
 
 Limitations of Service. — In Europe, service was so restricted 
 that the monarch had but a precarious authority. He could 
 only calculate upon forty days' annual service from the tenant 
 of a knight's fee. In Rajasthan it is very different : " at home 
 and abroad, service shall be performed when demanded " ; such 
 is the condition of the tenure. 
 
 For state and show, a portion of the greater vassals ^ reside at 
 the capital for [148] some months, when they have permission to 
 retire to their estates, and are relieved by another portion. On 
 the grand military festival the whole attend for a given time ; and 
 when the prince took the field, the whole assembled at their own 
 charge : but if hostilities carried them beyond the frontier they 
 were allowed certain rations. 
 
 Escuage or Scutage. — Escuage or scutage, the phrase in 
 Europe to denote the amercement * for non-attendance, is also 
 known and exemplified in deeds. Failure from disaffection, 
 turbulence, or pride, brought a heavy fine ; the sequestration of 
 the whole or part of the estate.* The princes of these States 
 
 ^ See Appendix, Nos. IV. V. and VI. 
 
 ^ See Appendix, No. XX. art. 6 ; the treaty between the chiefs and his 
 vassals defining service. 
 
 ' Appendix, No. XVI. * Both of which I have witnessed.
 
 174 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTTTAN 
 
 would willingly desire to see escuage more general. All have 
 made this first attempt towards an approximation to a standing 
 army ; but, though the chiefs would make compensation to get 
 rid of some particular service, they are very reluctant to renounce 
 lands, by which alone a fixed force could be maintained. The 
 rapacity of the court would gladly fly to scutages, but in the 
 present impoverished state of the fiefs, such if injudiciously levied 
 would be almost equivalent to resumption ; but this measure is 
 so full of difficulty as to be almost impracticable. 
 
 Inefficiency of this Form of Government. — Throughout Rajas- 
 than the character and welfare of the States depend on that of the 
 sovereign : he is the mainspring of the system — the active power 
 to set and keep in motion all these discordant materials ; if he 
 relax, each part separates, and moves in a narrow sphere of its 
 own. Yet will the impulse of one great mind put the machine 
 in regular movement, which shall endure during two or three 
 imbecile successors, if no fresh exterior force be applied to check 
 it. It is a system full of defects ; yet we see them so often 
 balanced by virtues, that Ave are alternately biassed by these 
 counteracting qualities ; loyalty and patriotism, which combine 
 a love of the institutions, religion, and manners of the country, 
 are the counterpoise to systematic evil. In no country has the 
 system ever proved efficient. It has been one of eternal excite- 
 ment and irregular action ; inimical to order, and the repose 
 deemed necessary after conflict for recruiting the national strength. 
 The absence of an external foe was but the signal for disorders 
 within, which increased to a terrific height in the feuds of the 
 two great rival factions of Mewar, the clans of [149] Chondawat ^ 
 and Saktawat,^ as the weakness of the prince augmented by the 
 abstraction of his personal domain, and the diminution of the 
 services of the third class of vassals (the Gol), the personal re- 
 tainers of the crown ; but when these feuds broke out, even with 
 the enemy at their gates, it required a prince of great nerve and 
 talent to regulate them. Yet is there a redeeming quality in the 
 
 ' A clan called after Chonda, eldest son of an ancient Rana, who resigned 
 his birthright. 
 
 ^ Sakta was the son of Rana Udai Singh, founder of Udayapura, or 
 Udaipur. The feuds of these two clans, like those of the Annagnacs and 
 Bourguignons, " qui couvrirent la France d'un crepe sanglant," have been 
 the destruction of Mewar. It requires but a change of names and places, 
 while reading the one, to understand perfectly the history of the other.
 
 RIVALRY OF THE SUB-CLANS 175 
 
 • 
 
 system, which, imperfect as it is, could render such perilous 
 circumstances but the impulse to a rivalry of heroism. 
 
 Rivalry o£ the Chondawat and Saktawat Sub-clans. — When 
 Jahangir had obtained possession of the palladium of Mewar, the 
 ancient fortress of Chitor, and driven the prince into the wilds and 
 mountains of the west, an opportunity offered to recover some 
 frontier lands in the plains, and the Rana with all his chiefs was 
 assembled for the purpose. But the Saktawats asserted an equal 
 privilege with their rivals to form the vanguard ; ^ a right which 
 their indisputable valour (perhaps superior to that of the other 
 party) rendered not invalid. The Chondawats claimed it as an 
 hereditary privilege, and the sword would have decided the 
 matter but for the tact of the prince. " The harawal to the clan 
 which first enters Untala," was a decision which the Saktawat 
 leader quickly heard ; while the other could no longer plead his 
 right, when such a gauntlet was thrown down for its maintenance. 
 
 Untala is the frontier fortress in the plains, about eighteen 
 miles east of the capital, and covering the road which leads from 
 it to the more ancient one of Chitor. It is situated on a rising 
 groimd, with a stream flowing beneath its walls, which are of 
 solid masonry, lofty, and with round towers at intervals.^ In 
 the centre was the governor's house, also fortified. One gate 
 only gave admission to this castle. 
 
 The clans, always rivals in power, now competitors in glory, 
 moved off at the same time, some hours before daybreak — • 
 LTntala the goal, the harawal the reward ! Animated with hope — 
 a barbarous and cruel foe the object of their prowess — their wives 
 and families spectators, on their return, of the meed of enterprise ; 
 the bard [150], who sang the praise of each race at their outset, 
 demanding of each materials for a new wreath, supplied every 
 stimulus that a Rajput could have to exertion. 
 
 The Saktawats made directly for the gateway, which they 
 reached as the day broke, and took the foe unprepared ; but the 
 walls were soon manned,, and the action commenced. The 
 Chondawats, less skilled in topography, had traversed a swamp, 
 which retarded them — but through which they dashed, fortun- 
 ately meeting a guide in a shepherd of Untala. With more 
 foresight than their opponents, they had brought ladders. The 
 
 ^ Harawal. 
 
 ^ It is now in ruins, but the towers and part of the walls are still standing.
 
 176 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 chief led the escalade, but a ball rolled him back amidst his 
 vassals ; it was not his destiny to lead the harawal ! Each party 
 was checked. The Saktawat depended on the elephant he rode, 
 to gain admission by forcing the gate ; but its projecting spikes 
 deterred the animal from applying its strength. His men were 
 falling thick around him, when a shout from the other party 
 made him dread their success. He descended from his seat, 
 placed his body on the spikes, and commanded the driver, on 
 pain of instant death, to propel the elephant against him. The 
 gates gave way, and over the dead body of their chief his clan 
 rushed to the combat ! But even this heroic surrender of his 
 life failed to purchase the honour for his clan. The lifeless corpse 
 of his rival was already in Untala, and this was the event 
 announced by the shout which urged his sacrifice to honour and 
 ambition. When the Chondawat chief fell, the next in rank and 
 kin took the command. He was one of those arrogant, reckless 
 Rajputs, who signalized themselves wherever there was danger, 
 not only against men but tigers, and his common appellation 
 was the Benda Thakur (' mad chief ') of Deogarh. When his 
 leader fell, he rolled the body in his scarf ; then tying it on his 
 back, scaled the wall, and with his lance having cleared the way 
 before him he threw the dead body over the parapet of Untala, 
 shouting, " The vanguard to the Chondawat ! we are first in ! " 
 The shout was echoed by the clan, and the rampart was in their 
 possession nearly at the moment of the entry of the Saktawats. 
 The Moguls fell under their swords : the standard of Mewar was 
 erected in the castle of Untala, but the leading of the vanguard 
 remained with the Chondawats^ [151]. 
 
 This is not the sole instance of such jealousies being converted 
 
 ^ An anecdote appended by my friend Anira (the bard of the Sangawats, 
 a powerful division of the Chondawats, whose head is Deogarh, often alluded 
 to, and who alone used to lead two thousand vassals into the field) was well 
 attested. Two Mogul chiefs of note were deeply engaged in a game of chess 
 when the tumult was reported to them. Feeling confident of success, they 
 continued their game ; nor would they desist till the inner castle of this 
 ' donjon keep ' was taken, and they were surrounded by the Rajputs, when 
 they cooUy begged they might be allowed to terminate their game. This 
 the enemy granted ; but the loss of their chiefs had steeled their breasts 
 against mercy, and they were afterwards put to death. [Compare the 
 similar case of Ganga; Raja of Mysore, who was surprised, by the treachery 
 of his ministers, while occupied in a game of chess (L. Rice, Mysore Gazeltecr 
 (1897), i. 319.]
 
 RIVALRY OF THE SUB-CLANS 177 
 
 into a generous and patriotic rivalry ; many others could be 
 adduced throughout the greater principaUties, but especially 
 amongst the brave Rathors of Marwar. 
 
 It was a nice point to keep these clans poised against each 
 other ; their feuds were not without utihty, and the tact of the 
 prince frequently turned them to account. One party was certain 
 to be enlisted on the side of the sovereign, and this alone counter- 
 balanced the evil tendencies before described. To this day it 
 has been a perpetual struggle for supremacy ; and the epithets 
 of ' loyalist ' and ' traitor ' have been alternating between them 
 for centuries, according to the portion they enjoyed of the 
 prince's favour, and the talents and disposition of the heads of the 
 clans to maintain their predominance at court. The Saktawats 
 are weaker in numbers, but have the reputation of greater 
 bravery and more genius than their rivals. I am inclined, on the 
 whole, to assent to this opinion ; and the very consciousness of 
 this reputation must be a powerful incentive to its preservation. 
 
 When all these governments were founded and maintained on 
 the same principle, a system of feuds, doubtless, answered very 
 well ; but it cannot exist with a well-constituted monarchy 
 Where individual will controls the energies of a nation, it must 
 eventually lose its liberties. To preserve their power, the princes 
 of Rajasthan surrendered a portion of theirs to the emperors of 
 Delhi. They made a nominal surrender to him of their kingdoms 
 receiving them back with a sanad, or grant, renewed on each 
 lapse : thereby acknowledging him as lord paramount. They 
 received, on these occasions, the khilat of honour and investiture, 
 consisting of elephants, horses, arms, and jewels ; and to their 
 hereditary title of ' prince ' was added by the emperor, one of 
 dignity, mansab.^ Besides this acknowledgment of supremacy, 
 they offered nazarana ^ and homage, especially on the festival 
 of Nauroz (the new year), engaging to attend the royal presence 
 when required, at the head of a stipulated number of their vassals. 
 The emperor presented them with a royal standard, kettle-drums, 
 and other insignia, which headed the array of each prince. Here 
 we have all the chief incidents of a great feudal sovereignty. 
 Whether the Tatar sovereigns borrowed these customs from their 
 
 ^ [' Office, prerogative.' For a full account of the Mansab system, see 
 Irvine, Army of the Indian Moghuls, 3 ff.] 
 ^ Fine of relief. 
 VOL. I N
 
 178 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 princely vassals, or brought them from the highlands of Asia, from 
 the Oxus [152] and Jaxartes, whence, there is little doubt, many 
 of these Sachha Rajputs originated, shall be elsewhere considered. 
 
 Akbar's Policy towards the Rajputs. — The splendour of such an 
 array, whether in the field or at the palace, can scarcely be con- 
 ceived. Though Humayun had gained the services of some of 
 the Rajput princes, their aid was uncertain. It was reserved for 
 his son, the wise and magnanimous Akbar, to induce them to 
 become at once the ornament and support of his throne. The 
 power which he consolidated, and knew so well to wield, was 
 irresistible ; while the beneficence of his disposition, and the 
 wisdom of his policy, maintained what his might conquered. He 
 felt that a constant exhibition of authority would not only be 
 ineffectual but dangerous, and that the surest hold on their 
 fealty and esteern would be the giving them a personal interest 
 in the support of the monarchy. 
 
 Alliances between Moguls and Rajputs. — Akbar determined to 
 unite the pure Rajput blood to the scarcely less noble stream 
 which flowed from Aghuz Khan, through .lenghiz, Timur, and 
 Babur, to himself, calculating that they would more readily yield 
 obedience to a prince who claimed kindred with them, than to 
 one purely Tatar ; and that, at all events, it would gain the 
 support of their immediate kin, and might in the end become 
 general. In this supposition he did not err. We are less ac- 
 quainted with the obstacles which opposed his first success than 
 those he subsequently encountered ; one of which neither he nor 
 his descendants ever overcame in the family of Mewar,'who could 
 never be brought to submit to such alliance. 
 
 Amber, the nearest to Delhi and the most exposed, though 
 more open to temptation than to conquest, in its then contracted 
 sphere, was the first to set the example.^ Its Raja Bhagwandas 
 gave his daughter to Humayun ; ^ and subsequently this practice 
 became so common, that some of the most celebrated emperors 
 were the offspring of Rajput princesses. Of these, Salim, called 
 after his accession, Jahangir ; his ill-fated son, Khusru ; Shah 
 
 ^ [There were earlier instances of alliances between Muhanimadan 
 princes and Hindus. The mother of Firoz Shah, born a.d. 1309, was a 
 Bhatti lady : Khizr Khan married Deval Devi, a Vaghela lady of Gujarat 
 (EUiot-Dowson, iii. 271 f., 545; Elphinstone, 395).] 
 
 ^ [There is no evidence for this statement (Smith, AJchar, 58, 225).]
 
 RAJPUT GENERALS 179 
 
 Jahan ; ^ Kanibakhsh,^ the favourite of his father ; Aurangzeb, 
 and his rebelHous son Akbar, whom his Rajput kin would have 
 placed on the throne had his genius equalled their power, are 
 the most prominent instances. Farruldisiyar, when the empire 
 began to totter, furnislxed the last instance of a Mogul sove- 
 reign [153] marrying a Hindu princess,' the daughter of Raja 
 Ajit Singh, sovereign of INIarwar. 
 
 These Rajput princes became the guardians of the minority 
 of their imperial nephews, and had a direct stake in the empircj 
 and in the augmentation of their estates. 
 
 Rajputs in the Imperial Service. — Of the four hundred and 
 sixteen Mansabdars, or militarj^ commanders of Akbar's empire, 
 from leaders of two hundred to ten thousand men, forty-seven 
 were Rajputs, and the aggregate of their quotas amounted to. 
 fifty-three thousand horse : * exactly one-tenth of the united Man- 
 sabdars of the empire, or five hundred and thirty thousand horse. ^ 
 Of the forty-seven Rajput leaders, there were seventeen whose 
 mansabs were from one thousand to five thousand liorse, and 
 thirty from two hundred to one thousand. 
 
 The princes of Amber, Marwar, Bikaner, Bundi, Jaisalmer, 
 Bundelkhand, and even Shaikhawati, held mansabs of above 
 one thousand ; but Amber only, being allied to the throne, had 
 the dignity of five thousand. 
 
 The Raja Udai Singh of Marwar, surnamed the Fat, chief of 
 
 ^ The son of the Princess Jodh Bai, whose magnificent tomb still excites 
 admiration at Sikandra, near Agra. 
 
 ^ 'Gift of Love.' [Kambakhsh had a' Hindu wife, Kalyan Kumari, 
 daughter of Amar Chand and sister of Sagat Singh, Zamindar of Manoharpur. 
 Professor Jadunath Sarkar has been unable to trace a Hindu wife of Akbar, 
 son of Aurangzeb.] 
 
 ^ To this very marriage we owe the origin of our power. When the 
 nuptials were preparing, the emperor fell ill. A mission was at that time 
 at Delhi from Surat, where we traded, of which Mr. Hamilton was the 
 surgeon. He cured the king, and the marriage was completed. In the 
 oriental style, he desired the doctor to name his reward ; but instead of 
 asking anything for himself, he demanded a grant of land for a factory on 
 the Hoogly for his employers. It was accorded, and this was the origin 
 of the greatness of the British empire in the East. Such an act deserved 
 at least a column ; but neither " storied urn nor animated bust " marks 
 the spot where his remains are laid [C. R. Wilson, Early Annals of the 
 English in Bengal, ii. 235, see p. 468 below]. 
 
 " Abu-1 Fazl [Ain, i. 308 ff.]. 
 
 ^ The infantry, regulars, and mihtia, exceeded 4,000,000.
 
 180 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 the Rathors, held but the mansab of one thousand, while a scion 
 of his house, Rae Singh of Bilvaner, had four thousand. This is 
 to be accounted for by the dignity being thrust upon the head 
 of that house. The independent princes of Chanderi, Karauh, 
 Datia, with the tributary feudatories of the larger principalities, 
 and members of the Shaikhawat federation, were enrolled on the 
 other grades, fi-om four to seven hundred. Amongst these we 
 find the founder of the Saktawat clan, who, quarrelling with his 
 brother, Rana Partap of Mewar, gave his services to Akbar. In 
 short it became general, and what originated in force or persua- 
 sion, was soon coveted from interested motives ; and as nearly 
 all the States submitted in [1.54] time to give queens to the empire, 
 few were left to stigmatize this dereliction from Hindu principle. 
 
 Akbar thus gained a double victory, securing the good opinions 
 as well as the swords of these princes in his aid. A judicious 
 perseverance would have rendered the throne of Timur immov- 
 able, had not the tolerant principles and beneficence of Akbar, 
 Jahangir, and Shah Jahan been lost sight of by the bigoted and 
 bloodthirsty Aurangzeb ; who, although while he lived his com- 
 manding genius wielded the destinies of this immense empire at 
 pleasure, alienated the affections, by insulting the prejudices, 
 of those who had aided in raising the empire to the height on 
 which it stood. This affection withdrawn, and the wealoiess of 
 Farrukhsiyar substituted for the strength of Aurangzeb, it fell 
 and went rapidly to pieces. Predatory warfare and spohation 
 rose on its ruins. The Rajput princes, with a short-sighted 
 policy, at first connived at, and even secretly invited the tumult ; 
 not calculating on its affecting their interests. Each looked to 
 the return of ancient independence, and several reckoned on 
 great accession of power. Old jealousies were not lessened by the 
 part which each had played in the hour of ephemeral greatness ; 
 and the prince of Mewar, who preserved his blood uncontamin- 
 ated, though with loss of land, was at once an object of respect 
 and envy to those who had forfeited the first pretensions ^ of a 
 Rajput. It was the only ovation the Sesodia ^ had to boast for 
 centuries of oppression and spoliation, whilst their neighbours 
 
 1 See, in the Annals of Mewar, the letter of Rae Singh of Bikaner (who had 
 been compelled to subfnit to this practice), on hearing that Rana Partap's 
 reverses were likely to cause a similar result. It is a. noble production, and 
 gives the character of both. 
 
 ^ The tribe to which the princes of Mewar belonged.
 
 RESULTS OF FEUDALISM 181 
 
 were basking in court favour. The great increase of territory of 
 these princes nearly equalled the power of Mewar, and the dignities 
 thus acquired from the sons of Timur, they naturally wished 
 should appear as distinguished as his ancient title. Hence, while 
 one inscribed on his seal " The exalted in dignity, a prince amongst 
 princes, and king of kiags," ^ the prince of Mewar preserved his 
 royal simplicity in "Maharana Bhima Singh, son of Arsi." But 
 this is digression. 
 
 Results of Feudalism. — It would be difficult to say what would 
 be the happiest form of government for these States without refer- 
 ence to their neighbours. Their own feudal customs would seem 
 to have worked well. The experiment of centuries has secured 
 [155] to them political existence, while successive dynasties of 
 Afghans and Moguls, during eight hundred years, have left but 
 the wreck of splendid names. Were they to become more mon- 
 archical, they would have everything to dread from vmchecked 
 despotism, over which even the turbulence of their chiefs is a 
 salutary control. 
 
 Were they somewhat more advanced towards prosperity, the 
 crown demesne redeemed from dissipation and sterility, and the 
 chiefs enabled to bring their quotas into play for protection and 
 police, recourse should never be had to bodies of mercenary 
 troops, which practice, if persevered in, will inevitably change 
 their present form of government. This has invariably been the 
 result, in Europe as weU as Rajasthan, else why the dread of 
 standing armies ? 
 
 Employment of Mercenaries. — Escuage is an approximating 
 step. When Charles VII. of France - raised his companies of 
 ordnance, the basis of the first national standing army ever 
 embodied in Europe, a tax called ' taiUe ' was imposed to pay 
 them, and Guienne rebelled. Kotah is a melancholy instance of 
 subversion of the ancient order of society. Mewar made the 
 experiment from necessity sixty years ago, when rebellion and 
 invasion conjoined ; and a body of Sindis were employed, which 
 completed their disgust, and they fought with each other till 
 almost mutually exterminated, and till all faith in their prince 
 was lost. Jaipur had adopted this custom to a greater extent ; 
 but it was an ill-paid band, neither respected at home nor feared 
 
 ^ Raj Rajeswara, the title of the prince of Marwar : the prince of Amber, 
 Raj Rajindra. * Hallam, vol. i. p. 117.
 
 182 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 abroad. In Marwar the feudal compact was too strong to tolerate 
 it, till Pathan predatory bands, prowling amidst the ruins of 
 Mogul despotism, were called in to partake in each family broil ; 
 the consequence was the weakening of all, and opening the door 
 to a power stronger than any, to be the arbiter of their fate. 
 
 General Duties of the Pattawat, or Vassal Chief of Rajasthan. — 
 " The essential principle of a fief was a mutual contract of support 
 and fidelity. Whatever obligations it laid upon the vassal of 
 service to his lord, corresponding duties of protection were im- 
 posed by it on the lord towards his vassal. If these were trans- 
 gressed on either side, the one forfeited his land, the other his 
 signiory or rights over it." ^ In this is comprehended the very 
 foundation of feudal policy, because in its simplicity we recognize 
 first principles involving mutual preservation. The best [156] 
 commentary on this definition of simple truth will be the senti- 
 ments of the Rajputs themselves in two papers : one containing 
 the opinions of the chiefs of Marwar on the reciprocal duties of 
 sovereign and vassal ; - the other, those of the sub-vassals of 
 Deogarh, one of the largest fiefs in Rajasthan, of their rights, the 
 infringement of them, and the remedy.^ 
 
 If, at any former period in the history of Marwar, its prince 
 had thus dared to act, his signiory and rights over it would not 
 have been of great value ; his crown and life would both have 
 been endangered by these turbulent and determined vassals. How 
 much is comprehended in that manly, yet respectful sentence : 
 " If he accepts our services, then he is our prince and leader ; 
 if not, but our equal, and we again his brothers, claimants of and 
 laying claim to the soil." In the remonstrance of the sub-vassals 
 of Deogarh, we have the same sentiments on a reduced scale. 
 In both we have the ties of blood and kindred, connected with 
 and strengthening national policy. If a doubt could exist as to 
 the principle of fiefs being similar in Rajasthan and in Europe, 
 it might be set at rest by the important question long agitated by 
 the feodal lawyers in Europe, " whether the vassal is bound to 
 follow the standard of his lord against his own kindred or against 
 his sovereign " : which in these States is illustrated by a simple 
 and universal proof. If the question were put to a Rajput to 
 whom his service is due, whether to his chief or his sovereign, the 
 
 1 Hallam, vol. i. p. 173. * See Appendix, No. I. 
 
 3 See Appendix, Noa. II. and III.
 
 DUTIES OP^ THE VASSAL CHIEFS 183 
 
 reply would be, Raj ka malik ivuh, pat ^ ka malik yih : ' He is Lhe 
 'Sovereign of the State, but this is my head' : an ambiguous phrase, 
 but well understood to imply that Iiis own immediate chief is 
 the only authority he regards. 
 
 This will appear to militate against the right of remonstrance 
 (as in the case of the vassals of Deogarh), for they look to the 
 crown for protection against injustice ; they annihilate other 
 rights by admitting appeal higher than this. Every class looks 
 out for some resource against oppression. The sovereign is the 
 last applied to on such occasions, with whom the sub-vassal has 
 no bond of connexion. He can receive no favour, nor perform 
 any service, but through his own immediate superior ; and pre- 
 sumes not to question (in cases not personal to himself) the pro- 
 priety of his chief's actions, adopting implicitly his feelings [157] 
 and resentments. The daily familiar intercourse of life is far too 
 engrossing to allow him to speculate, and with his lord he lives 
 a patriot or dies a traitor. In proof of this, numerous instances 
 could be given of whole clans devoting themselves to the chief 
 against their sovereign ; ^ not from the ties of kindred, for many 
 were aliens to blood ; but from the ties of duty, gratitude, and 
 all that constitutes clannish attachment, superadded to feudal 
 obligation. The sovereign, as before observed, has nothing to do 
 with those vassals not holding directly from the crown ; and 
 those who wish to stand well with their chiefs would be very slow 
 in receiving any honours or favours from the general fountain- 
 head. The Deogarh chief sent one of his sub- vassals to court 
 on a mission ; his address and deportment gained him favour, and 
 his consequence was increased by a seat in the presence of his 
 sovereign. When he returned, he found this had lost him the 
 favour of his chief, who was offended, and conceived a jealousy 
 both of his prince and his servant. The distinction paid to the 
 latter was, he said, subversive of liis proper authority, and the 
 vassal incurred by his vanity the loss of estimation where alone 
 it was of value. 
 
 Obligations of a Vassal. — The attempt to define all the obliga- 
 tions of a vassal would be endless : they involve all the duties of 
 kindred in addition to those of obedience. To attend the court 
 
 ^ Pat means ' head,' ' chief.' 
 
 ^ The death of the chief of Nimaj, in the Annals of Marwar, and Sheogarh 
 Feud, in the Personal Narrative, Vol. II.
 
 184 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 of his chief ; never to absent himself without leave ; to ride with 
 him a-hunting ; to attend him at the court of his sovereign or to 
 war, and even give himself as a hostage for his release ; these are 
 some of the duties of a vassal. 
 
 CHAPTER 3 
 
 Feudal Incidents. — I shall now proceed to compare the more 
 general obligations of vassals, known under the term of ' Feudal 
 Incidents ' in Europe, and show their existence in Rajasthan. 
 These were six in num.ber : 1. Reliefs ; 2. Fines of alienation ; 
 3. Escheats ; 4. Aids ; 5. Wardship ; 6. Marriage [158]. 
 
 Relief. — The first and most essential mark of a feudal relation 
 exists in all its force and purity here : it is a perpetually recurring 
 mark of the source of the grant, and the solemn renewal of the 
 pledge which originally obtained it. In Mewar it is a virtual 
 and bona fide surrender of the fief and renewal thereof. It is 
 thus defined in European polity : "A relief ^ is a sum of money 
 due from every one of full age taking a fief by descent." It was 
 arbitrary, and the consequent exactions formed a ground of dis- 
 content ; nor was the tax fixed till a comparatively recent period. 
 
 By Magna Charta reliefs were settled at rates proportionate 
 to the dignity of the holder." In France the relief was fixed by 
 the customary laws at one year's revenue.' This last has long 
 been the settled amount of nazarana, or fine of relief, in Mewar. 
 
 ^ " Plusieurs possesseurs de fiefs, ayant voulu en laisser perpetuellement 
 la propriete a leurs descendans, prirent des arrangemens avec leur Seigneur ; 
 et, outre ce qu'ils donnerent pour faire le marche, lis s'engagerent, eux et leur 
 posterite, a abandonner pendant une annee, au Seigneur, la jouissance entiere 
 du fief, chaque fois que le dit fief changcrait de main. C'est ce qui forma le 
 droit de relief. Quand un gentilhomme avait deroge, il pouvait effaeer 
 cotte tachc moycnnant finances, et ce qu'il payait s'appelait relief, il recevait 
 pour quittance des lettres de relief ou de rehabilitation-" (Art. ' Refief, 
 Diet, de Vane. Eegime). 
 
 ^ Namely, " the heir or heirs of an earl, for an entire earldom, one hundred 
 pounds ; the heir or heirs of a baron, for an entire barony, one hundred 
 marks ; the heir or heirs of a knight, for a whole knight's fee, one hundred 
 shilhngs at most " (Art. III. Magna Charta). 
 
 ' " Le droit de rachat devoit se payer a chaque mutation d'heritier, et 
 se paya meme d'abord en hgne directe. — La coutume la plus generale 
 i'avait fixe a une annee du revenue " {L'Esprit des Loix, livre xxxi. chap, 
 xxxiii.)
 
 RELIEFS 185 
 
 Fine paid on Succession. — On the demise of a cliief, the prince 
 inuTiediately sends a party, termed the zabti (sequestrator), con- 
 sisting of a civil olBcer and a few soldiers, who take possession of 
 the State in the prince's name. The heir sends his prayer to 
 court to be installed in the property, offering the proper relief. 
 This paid, the chief is invited to repair to the presence, when he 
 performs homage, and makes protestations of service and fealty ; 
 he receives a fresh grant, and the inauguration terminates by the 
 prince girding liim with a sword, in the old forms of chivalry. 
 It is an imposing ceremony, performed in a full assembly of the 
 court, and one of the few which has never been relinquished. 
 The fine paid, and the brand buckled to his side, a steed, turban, 
 plume, and dress of honour given to the chief, the investiture ^ 
 is [159] complete ; the sequestrator returns to court, and the 
 chief to his estate, to receive the vows and congratulations of 
 his vassals.^ 
 
 In this we plainly perceive the original power (whether exer- 
 cised or not) of resumption. On this subject more will appear 
 in treating of the duration of grants. The kharg bandhai, or 
 ' binding of the sword,' is also performed when a Rajput is fit to 
 bear arms ; as amongst the ancient German tribes, when they 
 put into the hands of the aspirant for fame a lance. Such are the 
 substitutes for the toga virilis of the young Roman. The Rana 
 himself is thus ordained a knight by the first of his vassals in 
 dignity, the chief of Salumbar. 
 
 Renunciation o£ Beliefs. — In the demoralization of all those 
 States, some of the chiefs obtained renimciation of the fine of 
 
 ^ That symbolic species of investiture denominated ' improper investi- 
 ture,' the delivery of a turf, stone, and wand, has its analogies amongst the 
 mountaineers of the AravalU. The old baron of Badnor, when the Mer 
 villages were reduced, was clamorous about his feudal rights over those wild 
 people. It was but the point of honour. Erom one he had a hare, from 
 another a bullock, and so low as a pair of sticks which they use on the 
 festivals of the Hoh. These marks of vassalage come under the head of 
 ' petite serjanteri ' (petit serjeantry) in the feudal system of Europe (see 
 Art. XLI. of Magna Charta). 
 
 ^ [" All Rajput Jagirdars, or holders of assigned lands, pay nazarana on 
 the accession of a new Maharana, and on certain other occasions, while most 
 of them pay a fine called Kaid [' imprisonment '] on succeeding to these 
 estates. On the death of a Rajput Jagirdar, his estates immediately revert 
 to the Darbar, and so remain until his son or successor is recognized by the 
 Maharana, when the grant is renewed, and a fresh lease taken " (Erskine 
 ii. A. 71).]
 
 186 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 relief, which was tantamount to making a grant in perpetuity, 
 and annulling the most overt sign of paramount sovereignty. 
 But these and many other important encroachments were made 
 when little remained of the reality, or when it was obscured by 
 a series of oppressions unexampled in any European State. 
 
 It is in Mewar alone, I believe, of all Rajasthan, that these 
 marks of fealty are observable to such an extent. But what 
 is remarked elsewhere upon the fiefs being movable, will support 
 the doctrine of resumption though it might not be practised : a 
 prerogative may exist without its being exercised. 
 
 Fine of Alienation. — Rajasthan never attained this refine- 
 ment indicative of the dismemberment of the system ; so vicious 
 and self-destructive a notion never had existence in these States. 
 Alienation does not belong to a system of fiefs : the lord would 
 never consent to it, but on very peculiar occasions. 
 
 In Cutch, amongst the Jareja ^ tribes, sub-vassals may alienate 
 their estates ; but this privilege is dependent on the mode of 
 acquisition. Perhaps the only knowledge we have in Rajasthan 
 of alienation requiring the sanction of the lord paramount, is in 
 donations for pious uses : but this is partial. We see in the re- 
 monstrance of the Deogarh vassals the opinion they entertained 
 of their lord's alienation of their sub-fees to strangers, and without 
 the Rana's consent ; which, with a similar train of conduct, pro- 
 duced sequestration of his flef till they were reinducted [160]. 
 
 Tenants of the Crown may Alienate. — The agricultural tenants, 
 proprietors of land held of the crown, may alienate their rights 
 upon a small fine, levied merely to mark the transaction. But 
 the tenures of these non-combatants and the holders of fees are 
 entirely distinct, and cannot here be entered on, further than to 
 say that the agriculturist is, or was, the proprietor of the soil ; 
 the chief, solely of the tax levied thereon. But in Europe the 
 alienation of the feuduni paternum was not good without the 
 consent of the kindred in the line of succession.^ This would 
 involve sub-infeudation and frerage, which I shall touch on 
 distinctly, many of the troubles of these countries arising there- 
 from. 
 
 ^ Jareja is the title of the Rajput race in Cutch ; they are descendants 
 of the Yadus, and claim from Krishna. In early ages they inhabited the 
 tracts on the Indus and in Seistan [p. 102 above]. 
 
 * Wright on Tenures, apud Hallam, vol. i. p. 185.
 
 ESCHEATS AND FORFEITURES : AIDS 187 
 
 Escheats and Forfeitures. — The flefs which v/ere only to descend 
 in hneal succession reverted to the crown on failure of heirs, as 
 they could not be bequeathed by will. This answers equally well 
 for England as for Mewar. I have witnessed escheats of this 
 kind, and foresee more, if the pernicious practice of unlimited 
 adoption do not prevent the Rana from regaining lands, alienated 
 by himself at periods of contention. Forfeitures for crimes 
 must, of course, occur, and these are partial or entire, according 
 to the delinquency. 
 
 In Marwar, at this moment, nearly all the representatives of 
 the great fiefs of that country are exiles from their homes : a 
 distant branch of the same family, the prince of Idar, would have 
 adopted a similar line of conduct but for a timely check from the 
 hand of benevolence.^ 
 
 There is, or rather was, a class of lands in Mewar appended to 
 the crown, of which it bestowed life-rents on men of merit. These 
 were termed Chhorutar, and were given and taken back, as the 
 name implies ; in contradistinction to grants which, though origin- 
 ating in good behaviour, not only continued for life but descended 
 in perpetuity. Such places are still so marked in the rent-roll, 
 but they are seldom applied to the proper purpose. 
 
 Aids. — Aids, implying ' free gifts,' or ' benevolences,' as they 
 were termed in a European code, are well known. The barar 
 (war-tax) is well understood in Mewar, and is levied on many 
 occasions for the necessities of the prince or the head of a clan. 
 It is a curious fact, that the dasaundh, or ' tenth,' in Mewar, as in 
 Europe, was the [161] stated sum to be levied in periods of emer- 
 gency or danger. On the marriage of the daughters of the prince, 
 a benevolence or contribution was always levied : this varied. 
 A few years ago, when two daughters and a granddaughter were 
 married to the princes of Jaisalmer, Bikaner, and Kishangarh, a 
 schedule of one-sixth, to portion the three, was made out ; but 
 it did not realize above an eighth. In this aid the civil officers 
 of government contribute equally with the others. It is a point 
 of honour with all to see their sovereign's daughters married, 
 and for once the contribution merited the name of benevolence. 
 
 ^ The Hon. Mr. Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay. As we prevented the 
 spoliation of Idar by the predatory powers, we are but right in seeing that 
 the head does not become the spoliator himself, and make these brave men 
 " wish any change but that which we have given them."
 
 188 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 But it is not levied solely from the coffers of the rich ; by the 
 chiefs it is exacted of their tenantry of all classes, who, of course, 
 wish such subjects of rejoicing to be of as rare occurrence as 
 possible. 
 
 " These feudal aids are deserving of our notice as the com- 
 mencement of taxation, of which they long answered the purpose, 
 till the craving necessities and covetous policy of kings established 
 for them more durable and onerous burthens." ^ 
 
 The great chiefs, it may be assumed, were not backward, on 
 like occasions, to follow such examples, but these gifts were more 
 voluntary. Of the details of aids in France we find enumerated, 
 " paying the relief to the suzerain on taking possession of his 
 lands " ; ^ and by Magna Charta our barons could levy them on 
 the following counts : to make the baron's eldest son a knight, 
 to marry his eldest daughter, or to redeem his person from cap- 
 tivity. The latter is also one occasion for the demand in all these 
 covmtries. The chief is frequently made jDrisoner in their preda- 
 tory invasions, and carried off as a hostage for the payment of a 
 war contribution. Everything disposable is often got rid of on 
 an occasion of this kind. Cceur de Lion would not have remained 
 so long in the dungeons of Austria had his subjects been Rajputs. 
 In Amber the most extensive benevolence, or barar,^ is on the 
 marriage of the Rajkumar, or heir apparent. 
 
 Wardship. — This does exist, to foster the infant vassal during 
 minority ; but often terminating, as in the system of Europe, in 
 the nefarious act of defrauding a helpless infant, to the pecuniary 
 benefit of some court favourite. It is accordingly [1G2] here 
 undertaken occasionally by the head of the clan ; but two strong- 
 recent instances brought the dark ages, and the purchase of 
 wardships for the purpose of spoliation, to mind. The first was 
 in the Deogarh chief obtaining by bribe the entire management 
 of the lands of Sangramgarh, on pretence of improving them for 
 the infant, Nahar Singh, whose father was incapacitated by 
 derangement. Nahar was a junior branch of the clan Sangawat, 
 a subdivision of the Chondawat clan, both Sesodias of the Rana's 
 blood. The object, at the time, was to unite them to Deogarh, 
 though he pleaded duty as liead of the clan. His nomination of 
 young Nahar as liis own heir gives a colouring of truth to his 
 
 ^ Hallara. ^ Ducange, apud Hallam. 
 
 ^ Barar is the generic name for taxation.
 
 WARDSHIP 189 
 
 intentions ; and he succeeded, though there were nearer of kin, 
 who were set aside (at the wish of the vassals of Deogarh and 
 witli the concurrence of the sovereign) as unfit to head them or 
 serve him. 
 
 Another instance of the danger of permitting wardships, 
 particularly where the guardian is the superior in clanship and 
 kindred, is exemplified iii the Kalyanpur estate in Mewar. That 
 property had been derived from the crown only two generations 
 back, and was of the annual value of ten thousand rupees. The 
 mother having little interest at court, the Salumbar chief, by 
 bribery and intrigue, upon paying a fine of about one year's rent, 
 obtained possession — ostensibly to guard the infant's rights ; 
 but the falsehood of this motive was soon apparent. There were 
 duties to perform on holding it which were not thought of. It 
 was a frontier post, and a place of rendezvous for the quotas to 
 defend that border from the incursions of the wild tribes of the 
 south-west. The Salumbar chief, being always deficient in the 
 quota for his own estate, was not likely to be very zealous in his 
 muster-roll for his ward's, and complaints were made which 
 threatened a change. The chief of Chawand was talked of as 
 one who would provide for the widow and minor, who could not 
 perform the duties of defence. 
 
 The sovereign himself often assumes the guardianship of 
 minors ; but the mother is generally considered the most proper 
 guardian for her infant son. All others may have interests of 
 their own ; she can be actuated by his welfare alone. Custom, 
 therefore, constitutes her the guardian ; and with the assistance 
 of the elders of the family, she rears and educates the young chief 
 till he is fit to be girded with the sword [103].^ 
 
 The Faujdar, or military manager, who frequently regulates 
 the household as weU as the subdivisions of the estate, is seldom 
 of the kin or clan of the chief : a wise regulation, the omission of 
 which has been known to produce, in these niaires dii palais on a 
 small scale, the same results as will be described in the larger. 
 This officer, and the civil functionary who transacts all the 
 pecuniary concerns of the estate, with the mother and her family, 
 are always considered to be the proper guardians of the minor. 
 ' Blood which could not inherit,' was the requisite for a guardian 
 
 ^ The charter of Henry I. promises the custody of heirs to the mother or 
 next of kin (Hallam, vol. ii. p. 429).
 
 190 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 in Europe/ as here ; and when neglected, the results are in both 
 cases the same. 
 
 Marriage. — Refinement was too strong on the side of the 
 Rajput to admit this incident, which, with that of wardship 
 (both partial in Europe), illustrated the rapacity ot the feudal 
 aristocracy. Every chief, before he marries, makes it known to 
 his sovereign. It is a compliment which is expected, and is 
 besides attended with some advantage, as the prince invariably 
 confers presents of honour, according to the station of the 
 individual. 
 
 No Rajput can marry in his own clan ; and the incident was 
 originated in the Norman institutes, to prevent the vassal marry- 
 ing out of his class, or amongst the enemies of his sovereign.^ 
 
 Thus, setting aside marriage (which even in Europe was only 
 partial and local) and alienation, four of the six chief incidents 
 marking the feudal system are in force in Rajasthan, viz. relief, 
 escheats, aids, and wardships. 
 
 Duration of Grants. — T shall now endeavour to combine all the 
 knowledge I possess with regard to the objects attained in granting 
 lands, the nature and durability of these grants, whether for life 
 and renewable, or in perpetuity. I speak of the rules as under- 
 stood in Mewar. We ought not to expect much system in what 
 was devoid of regularity, even according to the old principles of 
 European feudal law, which, though now reduced to some fixed 
 ])rinciples, originated in, and was governed by, fortuitous cir- 
 cumstances ; and after often changing its character, ended in 
 despotism, oligarchy, or democracy. 
 
 Classes of Landholders. — There are two classes of Rajput 
 landholders in INIewar, though the one greatly exceeds the other 
 in number. One is the Girasia Thakur, or lord ; the other the 
 Bliumia. The Girasia chieftain is he who holds (giras) by grant 
 (pafto) of the [164] prince, for which he performs service with 
 specified quotas at home and abroad, renewable at every lapse, 
 when all the ceremonies of resumption,^ the fine of relief,'* and the 
 investiture take place. 
 
 The Bhumia does not renew his grant, but holds on prescriptive 
 
 1 Hallam, vol. i. p. 190. 
 
 * [The nile of tribal exogamy, whatever may be its origin, is much more 
 primitive than the author supposed (Sir J. G. Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, 
 i. 54 ff.).] ^ Zahii, 'sequestration.' * Nazarana.
 
 GIRASIA : GRANTS RESUMABLE 191 
 
 possession. He succeeds without any fine, but pays a small 
 annual quit-rent, and can be called upon for local service in the 
 district which he in.habits for a certain period of time. He is the 
 counterpart of the allodial proprietor of the European system, 
 and the real zamindar of these principalities. Both have the 
 same signification ; from bhum and zamin, ' land ' : the latter 
 is an exotic of Persian origin. 
 
 Girasia. — Girasia is from giras, ' a subsistence ' ; literally and 
 familiarly ' a mouthful.' Whether it may have a like origm with 
 the Celtic word gwas,^ said to mean ' a servant,' ^ and whence the 
 word vassal is derived, I shall leave to etymologists to decide, 
 who may trace the resemblance to the girasia, the vassal chieftain 
 of the Rajputs. All the chartularies or pattas ^ commence, 
 " To . . . giras has been ordained." 
 
 Whether Resumable. — It has always been a subject of doubt 
 whether grants were resumable at pleasure, or without some 
 delinquency imputable to the vassal. Their duration in Europe 
 was, at least, the life of the possessor, when they reverted * to 
 the fisc. The whole of the ceremonies in cases of such lapse are 
 decisive on this point in Mewar. The right to resume, therefore, 
 may be presumed to exist ; while the non-practice of it, the 
 formalities of renewal being gone through, may be said to render 
 the right a dead letter. But to prove its existence I need only 
 mention, that so late as the reign of Rana Sangram/ the fiefs of 
 Mewar were actually movable ; and little more than a century 
 and a half has passed since this practice ceased. Thus a Rathor 
 would shift, with family, chattels, and retainers, from the north 
 into the wUds of Chappan ; ^ while the Saktawat relieved would 
 
 1 It might not be unworthy of research to trace many words common to 
 the Hindu and the Celt ; or to inquire whether the Kimbri, the Juts or 
 Getae, the Sakasena, the Chatti of the Elbe and Cimbric Chersonese, and 
 the ancient Britons, did not bring their terms with their bards and votes 
 (the Bhats and Bardais) from the highland of Scythia east of the Caspian, 
 which originated the nations common to both, improved beyond the Wolga 
 and the Indus [?]. 
 
 ^ HaUam, vol. i. 155. [Welsh, Cornish givas, ' a servant.'] 
 
 * Patta, a ' patent ' or ' grant ' ; Pattawat, ' holder of the fief or grant.' 
 
 * Montesquieu, chaps, xxv., liv., xxxi. 
 
 ^ Ten generations ago. [At present an estate is not liable to confiscation 
 save for some gross pohtical offence (Erskine ii. A. 71).] 
 
 * The mountainous and woody region to the south-west, dividing Mewar 
 from Gujarat.
 
 192 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 occupy the plains at the foot of the Aravalli ; ^ or a Chondawat 
 would exchange his [165] abode on the banks of the Chambal 
 with a Pramara or Chauhan from the table-mountain, the eastern 
 boundary of Mewar.^ 
 
 Since these exchanges were occurring, it is evident the fiefs 
 (pattas) were not grants in perpetuity. This is just the state of 
 the benefices in France at an early period, as described by Gibbon, 
 following Montesquieu : " Les benefices etoient amovibles : bien- 
 tot ils les rendirent perpetuels, et enfin hereditaires." ^ This is 
 the precise gradation of fiefs in Mewar ; movable, perpetual, and 
 then hereditary. The sons were occasionally permitted to suc- 
 ceed their fathers ; * an indulgence which easily grew into a right, 
 though the crown had the indubitable reversion. It is not, how- 
 ever, impossible that these changes ^ were not of ancient authority, 
 but arose from the policy of the times to prevent infidelity. 
 
 We ought to have a high opinion of princes who could produce 
 an effect so powerful on the minds of a proud and turbulent 
 nobility. The son was heir to the title and power over the 
 vassals' personals and movables, and to the allegiance of his 
 father, but to nothing which could endanger that allegiance. 
 
 A proper apportioning and mixture of the different clans was 
 another good result to prevent their combinations in powerful 
 families, which gave effect to rebellion, and has tended more than 
 external causes to the ruin which the State of Mewar exhibits. 
 
 ^ The grand chain dividing the western from the central States of 
 Rajasthan. 
 
 ^ Such changes were triennial ; and, as I have heard the prince himself 
 say, so interwoven with their customs was this rule tJiat it caused no dis- 
 satisfaction ; but of this we may be allowed at least to doubt. It was a 
 perfect check to the imbibing of local attachment ; and the prohibition 
 against erecting forts for refuge or defiance, prevented its growth if acquired. 
 It produced the object intended, obedience to the prince, and unity against 
 the restless Mogul. Perhaps to these institutions it is owing that Mewar 
 alone never was conquered by the kings during the protracted struggle of 
 seven centuries ; though at length worried and worn out, her power expired 
 with theirs, and predatory spohation completed her ruin. 
 
 ^ Gibbon, Misc. Works, vol. iii. p. 189 ; Sur le systeme feodal surtout en 
 France. 
 
 * Hallam, quoting Gregory of Tours ; the picture drawn in a.d. 595. 
 
 ' " Fiefs had partially become hereditary towards the end of the first 
 race : in these days they had not the idea of an ' unah enable fief.' " Montes- 
 quieu, vol. ii. p. 431. The historian of the Middle Ages doubts if ever they 
 were resumable at pleasure, unless from delinquency.
 
 KALA PATTAS 193 
 
 Nobility : Introduction o£ Foreign Stocks. — Throughout the 
 various gradations of its nobility, it was the original policy to 
 introduce some who were foreign in country and blood. Chiefs of 
 the Rathor, Chauhan, Pramara, Solanki, and Bhatti tribes were 
 intermingled. Of these several were lineal descendants of the 
 most ancient races of the kings of Delhi and Anhilwara Patan ; ^ 
 and from these, in order to preserve the purity of blood, the 
 princes of Mewar took their wives, when the other princes of 
 Hind assented to [166] the degradation of giving daughters in 
 marriage to the emperors of Delhi. The princes of Mewar never 
 yielded in this point, but preserved their ancient manners amidst 
 all vicissitudes. In like manner did the nobles of the Rana's 
 blood take daughters from the same tribes ; the interest of this 
 foreign race was therefore strongly identified with the general 
 welfare, and on all occasions of internal turmoil and rebellion 
 they invariably supported their prince. But when these wise 
 institutions were overlooked, when the great clans increased 
 and congregated together, and the crown demesne was impover- 
 ished by prodigality, rebellions were fostered by Mahratta 
 rapacity, which were little known during the lengthened para- 
 mount sway of the kings of Delhi. This foreign admixture 
 will lead us to the discussion of the different kinds of grants : 
 a difference, perhaps, more nominal than real, but exhibiting a 
 distinction so wide as to imply grants resumable and irresum- 
 able. 
 
 Kala Pattas. — It is elsewhere related that two great clans, 
 descendants of the Ranas Rae Mall and Udai Singh, and their 
 numerous scions, forming subdivisions with separate titles or 
 patronymics, compose the chief vassalage of this country. 
 
 Exogamy. — Chondawat and Saktawat are the stock ; the 
 former is subdivided into ten, the latter into about six clans. 
 Rajputs never intermarry with their own kin : the prohibition 
 has no limit ; it extends to the remotest degree. All these clans 
 are resolvable into the generic term of ' the race ' or Kula Sesodia. 
 A Sesodia man and woman cannot unite in wedlock — all these 
 are therefore of the blood royal ; and the essayists on population 
 would have had a fine field in these quarters a century ago, ere 
 constant misery had thinned the coimtry, to trace the numerous 
 
 ^ The Nahlwara of D'Anville and the Arabian travellers of the eighth 
 century, the capital of the Balhara kings. 
 
 VOL. I O
 
 194 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 progeny of Chonda and Sakta in the Genesis ^ of Mewar. The 
 Bhat's genealogies would still, to a certain extent, afford the same 
 means. 
 
 Descent gives a strength to the tenure of these tribes which 
 the foreign nobles do not possess ; for although, from all that 
 has been said, it will be evident that a right of reversion and 
 resumption existed (though seldom exercised, and never but in 
 cases of crime), yet the foreigner had not this strength in the soil, 
 even though of twenty generations' duration. The epithet of 
 kala patta, or ' black grant,' attaches to the foreign grant, and is 
 admitted by the holder, from which the kinsman thinks himself 
 exempt. It is virtually a grant resumable ; nor can the pos- 
 sessors feel that security which the other widely affiliated aristo- 
 cracies afford [167]. When, on a recent occasion, a revision of 
 all the grants took place, the old ones being called in to be renewed 
 under the sign-manual of the reigning prince, the minister himself 
 visited the chief of Salumbar, the head of the Chondawats, at his 
 residence at the capital, for this purpose. Having become 
 possessed of several villages in the confusion of the times, a 
 perusal of the grant would have been the means of detection ; 
 and on being urged to send to his estate for it, he replied, pointing 
 to the palace, " My grant is in the fovmdation of that edifice " : 
 an answer worthy of a descendant of Chonda, then only just of 
 age. The expression marks the spirit which animates this people, 
 and recalls to mind the well-known reply of our own Earl Warenne, 
 on the very same occasion, to the quo warranto of Edward : " By 
 their swords my ancestors obtained this land, and by mine will I 
 maintain it." 
 
 Hence it may be pronounced that a grant of an estate is for 
 the life of the holder, with inheritance for his offspring in lineal 
 descent or adoption, with the sanction of the prince, and resum- 
 able for crime or incapacity : ^ this reversion and power of 
 resumption being marked by the usual ceremonies on each lapse 
 
 ^ Janam, ' birth ' ; es, ' lord ' or ' man.' [See p. 24 above.] 
 ^ " La loi des Lombards oppose les benefices a la propriete. Les his- 
 toriens, les formules, les codes des differens peuples barbares, tons les monu- 
 mens qui nous restent, sont unanimes. Enfin, ceux qui ont ecrit le livre dea 
 fiefs, nous apprennent, que d'abord les Seigneurs purent les oter a leur 
 volonte, qu'ensuite ils les assurerent pour un an, et apres les donnerenfc pour 
 la vie " (L'Esprit des Loix, chap. xvi. livre 30).
 
 THE BHUMIAS 195 
 
 of the grantee, of sequestration (zabti), of relief (nazarano), of 
 homage and investiture of the heir. Those estates held by 
 foreign nobles differ not in tenure ; though, for the reasons 
 specified, they have not the same grounds of security as the 
 others, in whose welfare the whole body is mterested, feeling the 
 case to be their own : and their interests, certainly, have not 
 been so consulted since the rebellions of S. 1822,^ and subsequent 
 years. Witness the Chauhans of Bedla and Kotharia (in the 
 Udaipur valley), and the Pramar of the plateau of Mewar, all 
 chiefs of the first rank. 
 
 The difficulty and danger of resuming an old-established grant 
 'n these countries are too great to be lightly risked. Though in 
 all these estates there is a mixture of foreign Rajputs, yet the 
 blood of the chief predominates ; and these must have a leader 
 of their own, or be incorporated in the estates of the nearest of 
 kin. This increase might not be desirable for the crown, but the 
 sub-vassals cannot be turned [168] adrift ; a resumption therefore 
 in these countries is widely felt, as it involves many. If crime or 
 incapacity render it necessary, the prince inducts a new head of 
 that blood ; and it is their pride, as well as the prince's interest, 
 that a proper choice should be made. If, as has often occurred, 
 the title be abolished, the sub-vassals retain their sub-infeuda- 
 tions, and become attached to the crown. 
 
 Many estates were obtained, during periods of external com- 
 motion, by threats, combination, or the avarice of the prince — his 
 short-sighted policy, or that of his ministers — which have been 
 remedied in the late reorganization of Mewar ; where, by retro- 
 grading half a century, and bringing matters as near as po'ssible 
 to the period preceding civil dissension, they have advanced at 
 least a century towards order. 
 
 Bhumia, the Allodial Proprietor. — It is stated in the historical 
 annals of this country that the ancient clans, prior to Sanga 
 Rana,- had ceased, on the rising greatness of the subsequent new 
 division of clans, to hold the higher grades of rank ; and had, in 
 fact, merged into the general military landed proprietors of this 
 country under the term bhumia, a most expressive and compre- 
 hensive name, importing absolute identity with the soil : bhum 
 meaning ' land,' and being far more expressive than the new- 
 
 1 A.D. 1766. 
 2 Contemporary and opponent of Sultan Babur.
 
 196 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 fangled word, unknown to Hindu India, of zamindar, the ' land- 
 holder ' of Muhammadan growth. These Bhumias, the scions 
 of the earliest princes, are to be met with in various parts of 
 Mewar ; though only in those of high antiquity, where they were 
 defended from oppression by the rocks and wilds in which they 
 obtained a footing ; as in Kumbhalmer, the wilds of Chappan, 
 or plains of Mandalgarh, long under the kings, and where their 
 agricultural pursuits maintained them. 
 
 Their clannish appellations, Kumbhawat, Lunawat, and 
 Ranawat, distinctly show from what stem and when they branched 
 off ; and as they ceased to be of sufficient importance to visit the 
 court on the new and continually extending ramifications, they 
 took to the plough. But while they disdained not to derive a 
 subsistence from labouring as husbandmen, they never abandoned 
 their arms ; and the Bhumia, amid the crags of the alpine Aravalli 
 where he pastures his cattle or cultivates his fields, preserves the 
 erect mien and proud spirit of his ancestors, with more tractability, 
 and less arrogance and folly, than his more [169] courtly but now 
 widely separated brethren, who often make a jest of his in- 
 dustrious but less refined qualifications.^ Some of these yet 
 possess entire villages, which are subject to the payment of a 
 small quit-rent : they also constitute a local militia, to be called 
 in by the governor of the district, but for which service they are 
 entitled to rations or peti.^ These, the allodial ^ tenantry of our 
 
 ^ Many of them taking wives from the degraded but aboriginal races in 
 their neighbouring retreats, have begot a mixed progeny, who, in describing 
 themselves, unite the tribes of father and mother. 
 
 ^ Literally, ' a belly-full.' 
 
 3 Allodial property is defined (Hallam, vol. i. p. 144) as " land which had 
 descended by inheritance, subject to no burthen but pubUc defence. It 
 passed to all the children equally ; in failure of children, to the nearest 
 kindred." Thus it is strictly the Miras or Bhuni of the Rajputs : inheritance, 
 patrimony. In Mewar it is divisible to a certain extent ; but in Cutch, to 
 infinity : and is liable only to local defence. The holder of bhum calls it 
 his Adyapi, i.e. of old, by prescriptive right ; not by written deed. Montes- 
 quieu, describing the conversion of allodial estates into fiefs, says, "These 
 lands were held by Romans or Franks (i.e. freemen) not the king's vassals," 
 viz. lands exterior and anterior to the monarchy. We have Rathor, Solanki, 
 and other tribes, now holding bhum in various districts, whose ancestors 
 were conquered by the Sesodias, but left in possession of small portions 
 insufficient to cause jealousy. Some of these may be said to have converted 
 
 their lands into fiefs, as the Chauhan lord of , who served the Salumbar 
 
 chief.
 
 FEUDAL MILITIA 197 
 
 feudal system, form a considerable body in many districts, armed 
 with matchlock, sword, and shield. In Mandalgarh, when their 
 own interests and the prince's unite (though the rapacity of 
 governors, pupils of the Mahratta and other predatory schools, 
 have disgusted these independents), four thousand Bhumias 
 could be collected. They held and maintained without support 
 the important fortress of that district, during half a century of 
 turmoil, for their prince. Mandalgarh is the largest district of 
 Mewar, and in its three hundred and sixty towns and villages 
 many specimens of ancient usage may be found. The Solanki 
 held largely here in ancient days, and the descendant of the 
 princes of Patau still retains his Bhum and title of Rao.^ 
 
 Feudal Militia. — All this feudal militia pay a quit-rent to the 
 crown, and perform local but limited service on the frontier 
 garrison ; and upon invasion,^ when the Kher is called out, the 
 whole are at the disposal of the prince on furnishing rations 
 only. They assert that they ought not to pay this quit-rent and 
 perform service also ; but this may be doubted, since the sum 
 is so small. To elude it, they often performed service under 
 some powerful chief, where faction or court interest [170] caused 
 it to be winked at. To serve without a patta is the great object 
 of ambition. Ma ka bhum, ' my land,' in their Doric tongue, is a 
 favourite phrase.' 
 
 ^ Amidst ruins overgrown with forest, I discovered on two tables of stone 
 the genealogical history of this branch, which was of considerable use in 
 elucidating that of Anhilwara, and which corresponded so well with the 
 genealogies of a decayed bard of the family, who travelled the country for a 
 subsistence, that I feel assured they formerly made good use of these marble 
 records. " See Appendix, Nos. XVI. and XVJI. 
 
 * I was intimately acquainted with, and much esteemed, many of these 
 Bhumia chiefs — from my friend Paharji (the rock), Ranawat of Amargarh, 
 to the Kumbhawat of Sesoda on the highest point, lord of the jiass of the 
 Aravalli ; and even the mountain hon, Dungar Singh who bore amongst us, 
 from his old raids, the famiHar title of Roderic Dhu. In each situation I 
 have had my tents filled with them ; and it was one of the greatest pleasures 
 I ever experienced, after I had taken my leave of them, perhaps for ever, 
 crossed the frontiers of Mewar, and encamped in the dreary pass between it 
 and Marwar, to find that a body of them had been my guards during the 
 night. This is one of the many pleasing recollections of the past. Fortu- 
 nately for our happiness, the mind admits their preponderance over opposite 
 feeUngs. I had much to do in aiding the restoration of their past condition ; 
 leaving, I believe, as few traces of error in the mode as could be expected, 
 where so many conflicting interests were to be reconciled.
 
 198 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 Circumstances have concurred to produce a resemblance even 
 to the refined fiction of giving up their allodial property to have 
 it conferred as a fief. But in candour it should be stated, that 
 the only instances were caused by the desire of being revenged 
 on the immediate superiors of the vassals. The Rathor chief of 
 Dabla held of his superior, the Raja of Banera, three considerable 
 places included in the grant of Banera. He paid homage, an 
 annual quit-rent, was bound to attend him personally to court, 
 and to furnish thirty-five horse in case of an invasion. During 
 the troubles, though perfectly equal to their performance, he 
 was remiss in all these duties. His chief, with returning peace, 
 desired to enforce the return to ancient customs, and his rights 
 so long withheld ; but the Rathor had ielt the sweets of entire 
 independence, and refused to attend his smnmons. To the 
 warrant he replied, " his head and Dabla were together " ; and 
 he would neither pay the quit-rent nor attend his court. This 
 refractory spirit was reported to the Rana ; and it ended in Dabla 
 being added to the fisc, and the chief's holding the rest as a vassal 
 of the Rana, but only to perform local service. There are many 
 other petty free proprietors on the Banera estate, holding from 
 small portions of land to sinall villages ; but the service is limited 
 and local in order to swell the chief's miniature court. If they 
 accompany him, he must find rations for them and their steeds. 
 
 So cherished is this tenure of Bhum, that the greatest chiefs 
 are always solicitous to obtain it, even in the villages wholly 
 dependent on their authority : a decided proof of its durability 
 above common grants. The various modes in which it is ac- 
 quired, and the precise technicalities which distinguished its 
 tenure, as well as the privileges attached to it, are fully developed 
 in translations of different deeds on the subject [171].^ 
 
 Rajas of Banera and Shahpura.— We have also, amongst the 
 nobilitj'^ of Mewar, two who hold the independent title of prince 
 or raja, one of whom is by far too powerful for a subject. These 
 are the Rajas of Banera and Shahpura, both of the blood royal. 
 The ancestor of the first was the twin-brother of Rana Jai Singh ; 
 the other, a Ranawat, branched off from Rana Udai Singh. 
 
 They have their grants renewed, and receive the khilat of 
 investiture ; but they pay no relief, and are exempt from all 
 but persona] attendance at their prince's court, and the local 
 ^ See Appendix.
 
 SUB-INFEUDATION 199 
 
 service of the district in which their estates are situated. They 
 have hitherto paid but Httle attention to their duties, but this 
 defect arose out of the times. These lands lying most exposed 
 to the imperial headquarters at Ajmer, they were compelled to 
 bend to circumstances, and the kings were glad to confer rank 
 and honour on such near relations of the Rana's house. He 
 bestowed on them the titles of Raja, and added to the Shahpura 
 chief's patrimony a large estate in Ajmer, which he now holds 
 direct of the British Government, on payment of an annual tribute. 
 
 Form and Substance o£ Grant. — To give a proper idea of the 
 variety of items forming these chartularies, I append several * 
 which exhibit the rights, privileges, and honours, as well as the 
 sources of income, while they also record the terms on which they 
 are granted. Many royalties have been alienated in modern times 
 by the thoughtless prodigality of the princes ; even the grand 
 mark of vassalage, the fine of relief, has been forgiven to one or two 
 individuals ; portions of transit duties, tolls on ferries, and other 
 seignorial rights ; coining copper currency; exactions of every kind, 
 from the levy of toll for night protection of merchandise and for the 
 repairs of fortifications, to the share of the depredations of the com- 
 mon robber, will sufficiently show the demoralization of the country. 
 
 Division of Pattas, or Sub-infeudation. — Many years ago, when 
 the similarity of the systems first struck my attention, I took 
 one of the grants or pattas of a great vassal of Jaipur, and dis- 
 sected it in all its minutiae, with the aid of a very competent 
 authority who had resided as one of the managers of the chief. 
 This document, in which the subdivision of the whole clan is 
 detailed, materially aided me in developing the system [172]. 
 
 The court and the household economy of a great chieftain is 
 a miniature representation of the sovereign's : the same officers, 
 from the pardhan, or minister, to the cup-bearer (paniyari), as 
 well as the same domestic arrangements. He must have his 
 sliish-mahall,- his hari-mahaU,^ and his mandir,* like his prince. 
 
 1 See Appendix, Nos. IV., V., VI. 
 
 ^ Mirror apartments. [To meet the demand for the glass mosaics seen 
 in the palaces of Rajputana, the Panjab, and Burma, the industry of blowing 
 glass globes, silvered inside, came into existence. The globes are broken 
 into fragments, and set in cement (in Burma in laquer), and used to decorate 
 the walls (Watt, C'omm. Prod. 563, 717 f.). There is a Shish Mahall in the 
 Agra Fort.] ^ Gardens on the terrace within the palace. 
 
 * Private temple of worship.
 
 200 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 He enters the dari-sala, or carpet hall, the minstrel ^ preceding 
 him rehearsing the praises of his family ; and he takes his seat 
 on his throne, while the assembled retainers, marshalled in lines 
 on the right and left, simultaneously exclaim, " Health to our 
 chief ! " which salutation he returns by bowing to all as he passes 
 them. When he is seated, at a given signal they all follow the 
 example, and shield rattles against shield as they wedge into 
 their places. 
 
 We have neither the kiss nor individual oaths of fidelity 
 administered. It is sufficient, when a chief succeeds to his patri- 
 mony, that his ' aw ' ^ is proclaimed within his sim or boundary. 
 Allegiance is as hereditary as the land : "I am your child ; my 
 head and sword are yours, my service is at your command." 
 It is a rare thing for a Rajput to betray his Thakur, while the 
 instances of self-devotion for him are innumerable : many will 
 be seen interspersed in these papers. Base desertion, to their 
 honour be it said, is little known, and known only to be execrated. 
 Fidelity to the chief, Swamidharma, is the climax of all the virtues. 
 The Rajput is taught from his infancy, in the song of the bard, 
 to regard it as the source of honour here, and of happiness here- 
 after. The poet Chand abounds with episodes on the duty and 
 beauty of fidelity ; nor does it require a very fervid imagination 
 to picture the affections which such a life is calculated to promote, 
 when the chief is possessed of the qualities to call them forth. 
 At the chase his vassals attend him : in the covert of the forest, 
 the ground their social board, they eat their repast together, 
 from the venison or wild boar furnished by the sport of the day ; 
 nor is the cup neglected. They are familiarly admitted at all 
 times to his presence, and accompany him to the court of their 
 mutual sovereign. In short, they are inseparable.' 
 
 Their having retained so much of their ancient manners and 
 customs, during [173] centuries of misery and oppression, is the 
 best evidence that those customs were riveted to their very souls. 
 The Rajput of character is a being of the most acute sensibility ; 
 
 ^ DhoU. 
 
 ^ An is the oath of allegiance. Three things in Mewar are royalties a 
 subject cannot meddle with : 1, ^n, or oath of allegiance ; 2, Dan, or transit 
 dues on commerce ; 3, Khan, or mines of the precious metals. 
 
 ^ I rather describe what they were, than what they are. Contentions and 
 poverty have weakened their sympathies and affections ; but the mind of 
 philanthropy must hope that they will again become what they have been.
 
 CHARSA 201 
 
 where honour is concerned, the most trivial omission is often 
 ignorantly construed into an affront. 
 
 Provision for Chief's Relations. — In all the large estates the 
 chief must provide for his sons or brothers, according to his 
 means and the number of immediate descendants. In an estate 
 of sixty to eighty thousand rupees of annual rent, the second 
 brother might have a village of three to Ave thousand of rent. 
 This is his patrimony (bnpota) : he besides pushes his fortune 
 at the court of his sovereign or abroad. Juniors share in propor- 
 tion. These again subdivide, and have their little circle of 
 dependents. Each new family is known by the name of the 
 founder conjoined to that of his father and tribe : Man Megh- 
 singhgot Saktawat ; that is, ' Man, family of Megh, tribe Sak- 
 tawat.' The subdivisions descend to the lowest denomination. 
 
 Charsa. — Charsa, a ' hide of land,' or al)out sufficient to 
 furnish an equipped cavalier. It is a singular coincidence that 
 the term for the lowest subdivision of land for military service 
 should be the same amongst the Rajputs as in the English system. 
 Besides being similar in name, it nearly corresponds in actual 
 quantity. From the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon government 
 the land was divided into hides, each comprehending what could 
 be cultivated by a single plough.^ Four hides constituted one 
 knight's fee,^ which is stated to be about forty acres. The Charsa 
 may have from twenty-five to thirty bighas ; which are equal 
 to about ten acres — the Saxon hide. 
 
 For what these minor vassals held to be their rights on the 
 great pattawats, the reader is again referred to the letter of protest 
 of the inferior jjattawats of the Deogarh estate — it may aid 
 his judgement ; and it is curious to observe how nearly the 
 subject of their prayer to the sovereign corresponded with the 
 edict of Conrad of Italy,' in the year 1037, which originated in 
 
 ^ Millar's Historical View of the English Government, p. 85. [See p. 156 
 above.] 
 
 * Hume, History of England, Appendix II. vol. ii. p. 291. 
 
 ^ " 1. That no man should be deprived of his fief, whether held of the 
 emperor or mesne lord, but by the laws of the empire and judgement of his 
 peers. 2. That from such judgeinent the vassal might appeal to his sovereign. 
 3. That fiefs should be inherited by sons and their children, or in their 
 failure by brothers, provided they were feuda. paterna, such as had descended 
 fi-om the father. 4. That the lord should not alienate the fief of his vassal 
 without his consent.'
 
 202 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 disagreements between the great lords and their vassals on the 
 subject of sub-infeudations [174]. 
 
 The extent to which the subdivision before mentioned is carried 
 in some of the Rajput States, is ruinous to the protection and 
 general welfare of the country. It is pursued in some parts till 
 there is actually nothing left sufficiently large to share, or to 
 furnish subsistence for one individual : consequently a great 
 deprivation of services to the State ensues. But this does not 
 prevail so much in the larger principalities as in the isolated 
 tributary Thakurats or lordships scattered over the country ; as 
 amongst the Jarejas of Cutch, the tribes in Kathiawar, and 
 the small independencies of Gujarat bordering on the greater 
 western Rajput States. This error in policy requires to be 
 checked by supreme authority, as it was in England by Magna 
 Charta,^ when the barons of those days took such precautions 
 to secure their own seignorial rights. 
 
 Brotherhood. — -The system in these countries of minute sub- 
 division of fiefs is termed bhayyad,^ or brotherhood, synonymous 
 to the tenure by frerage of France, but styled only an approxi- 
 mation to sub-infeudation.^ " Give me my bat (share)," says 
 the Rajput, when he attains to man's estate, ' the bat of the 
 bhayyad,' the portion of the frerage ; and thus they go on clipping 
 and paring till all are impoverished. The ' customs ' of France * 
 preserved the dignities of families and the indivisibility of a feudal 
 homage, without exposing the younger sons of a gentleman to 
 beggary and dependence. It would be a great national benefit 
 if some means could be found to limit this subdivision, but it is 
 an evil difficult of remedy. The divisibility of the Cutch and 
 Kathiawar frerage, carried to the most destructive extent, is pro- 
 ductive of litigation, crime, and misery. Where it has proper 
 limits it is useful ; but though the idea of each rood supporting 
 its man is very poetical, it does not and cannot answer in practice. 
 Its limit in Mewar we would not undertake to assert, but the 
 vassals are careful not to let it become too small ; they send the 
 extra numbers to seek their fortunes abroad. In this custom* 
 and the difficulty of finding daejas, or dowers, for their daughters, 
 
 ^ By the revised statute. Quia emptores, of Edw. I., which forbids it in 
 excess, under penalty of forfeiture (Hallam, vo]. i. p. 184). 
 ^ Bhayyad, ' frerage.' 
 3 Hallam, vol. i. p. 186. * Ibid.
 
 RAKHWALI 203 
 
 we have the two chief causes of infanticide amongst the Rajputs, 
 which horrible practice was not always confined to the female. 
 
 The author of the Middle Ages exemplifies ingeniously the 
 advantages of sub-[175]infeudation, by the instance of two 
 persons holding one knight's fee ; and as the lord was entitled 
 to the service of one for forty days, he could commute it for the 
 joint service of the two for twenty days each. He even erects 
 as a maxim on it, that " whatever opposition was made to the 
 rights of sub-infeudation or frerage, would indicate decay in the 
 military character, the living principle of feudal tenure " ; ^ 
 which remark may be just where proper limitation exists, before 
 it reaches that extent when the impoverished vassal would descend 
 to mend his shoes instead of liis shield. Primogeniture is the 
 corner-stone of feudality, but this unrestricted sub-infeudation 
 would soon destroy it." It is strong in these States ; its rights 
 were first introduced by the Normans from Scandinavia. But 
 more will appear on this subject and its technicalities, in the 
 personal narrative of the author. 
 
 CHAPTER 4 
 
 Rakhwali. — I now proceed to another point of striking 
 resemblance between the systems of the east and west, arising from 
 the same causes — the unsettled state of society, and the deficiency 
 of paramount protection. It is here called rakhwali,^ or ' pre- 
 servation ' ; the salvamenta of Europe.* To a certain degree it 
 always existed in these States ; but the interminable predatory 
 
 ^ Hallara, vol. i. p. 186. 
 
 " ■' Le droit d'ainesse a cause, pendant I'existence du regime feodal, une 
 multitude de guerres et de proces. Notre histoire nous presente, a chaque 
 page, des cadets reduits a la mendicite, se Kvrant a toutes sortes de brigan- 
 dages pour reparer les torts de la fortune ; des aines, refusant la legitime a 
 leurs freres ; des cadets, assassinant leur aine pour lui succeder, etc." (see 
 article, ' Droit d'ainesse,' Diet, de VAncien Regime). 
 
 ^ See Appendix, Nos. VII., VIII., and IX. 
 
 * This is the ' sauvement ou vingtain ' of the French system : there it 
 ceased with the cause. " Les guerres (feudal) cesserent avec le regime 
 feodal, et les paysans n'eurent plus besoin de la protection du Seigneur ; on 
 ne les for9a pas moins de reparer son chateau, et de lui payer le droit qui 
 se nommait de sauvement ou vingtain " (Art. ' Chateau,' Diet, de VAncien 
 Regime).
 
 204 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 warfare of the last half century increased it to so frightful an 
 extent that superior authority was required to redeem the abuses 
 it had occasioned. It originated in the necessity of protection ; 
 and the modes of obtaining it, as well as the compensation [176] 
 when obtained, were various. It often consisted of money or 
 kind on the reaping of each harvest : sometimes in a multi- 
 plicity of petty privileges and advantages, but the chief object 
 was to obtain bhwn : and here we have one solution of the con- 
 stituted bhumia,^ assimilating, as observed, to the allodial pro- 
 prietor. Bhum thus obtained is irrevocable ; and in the eager 
 anxiety for its acquisition we have another decided proof of 
 every other kind of tenure being deemed resumable by the crown. 
 It was not unfrequent that application for protection was 
 made to the nearest chief by the tenants of the fisc ; a course 
 eventually sanctioned by the Government, which could not refuse 
 assent where it could not protect. Here, then, we revert to first 
 principles ; and ' seignorial rights ' may be forfeited, when they 
 cease to yield that which ought to have originated them, viz. 
 benefit to the community. Personal service at stated periods, 
 to aid in the agricultural ^ economy of the protector, was some- 
 times stipulated, when the husbandmen were to find implements 
 and cattle,* and to attend whenever ordered. The protected 
 calls the chief ' patron ' ; and the condition may not unaptly be 
 compared to that of personal commendation,* like salvamenta, 
 founded on the disturbed state of society. But what originated 
 thus was often continued and multiplied by avarice, and the 
 spirit of rapine, which disgraced the Rajput of the last half 
 century, though he had abundance of apologies for ' scouring 
 the country.' But all salvamenta and other marks of vassalage, 
 obtained during these times of desolation, were annulled in the 
 settlement which took place between the Rana and his chiefs, 
 in A.D. 1818^ [177]. 
 
 ^ The chief might lose his patta landsj^and he would then dwindle down 
 into the bhumia proprietor, which title only lawless force could take from 
 him. See Appendix, No. IX. 
 
 ^ See Appendix, No. X., Art. II. 
 
 ^ This species would come under the distinct term of Hydages due by 
 soccage vassals, who in return for protection supply carriages and work 
 (Hume, vol. ii. p. 308). 
 
 * Hallam, vol. i. p. 169. 
 
 ^ In indulging my curiosity on this subject, 1 collected some hundred
 
 RAKHWALI, BASAl 205 
 
 But the crown itself, by some singular proceeding, possesses, 
 or did possess, according to the Patta Bahi, or Book of Grants, 
 considerable salvnmenta right, especially in the districts between 
 the new and ancient capitals, in sums of from twenty to one 
 hundred rupees in separate villages. 
 
 To such an extent has this rakhwali ^ been carried when pro- 
 tection was desired, that whole communities have ventured their 
 liberty, and become, if not slaves, yet nearly approaching the 
 condition of slaves, to the protector. But no common visitation 
 ever leads to an evil of this magnitude. I mention the fact merely 
 to show that it does exist ; and we may infer that the chief, who 
 has become the arbiter of the lives and fortunes of his followers, 
 must have obtained this power by devoting all to their protection. 
 The term thus originated, and probably now (with many others) 
 written for the first time in English letters in this sense, is Basai. 
 
 engagements, and many of a most singular nature. We see the chieftain 
 stipulating for fees on marriages ; for a dish of the good fare at the wedding 
 feast, which he transfers to a relation of his district if unable to attend him- 
 self ; portions of fuel and provender ; and even wherewithal to fill the 
 wassail cup in his days of merriment. The Rajput's rehgious notions are 
 not of so strict a character as to prevent his even exacting his rakhwali dues 
 from the churcli lands, and the threat of slaughtering the sacred flock of our 
 Indian Apollo has been resorted to, to compel payment when withheld. 
 Nay, by the chiefs it was imposed on things locomotive : on caravans, or 
 Tandas of merchandise, wherever they halted for the day, rakhwali was 
 demanded. Each petty chief through whose district or patch of territory 
 they travelled, made a demand, till commerce was dreadfully shackled ; 
 but it was the only way in which it could be secured. It was astonishing 
 how commerce was carried on at all ; yet did the cloths of Dacca and the 
 shawls of Kashmir pass through all such restraints, and were never more in 
 request. Where there is demand no danger will deter enterprise ; and 
 commerce flourished more when these predatory armies were rolUng like 
 waves over the land, than during the succeeding halcyon days of pacification. 
 ^ The method by which the country is brought under this tax is as 
 follows : " When the people are almost ruined by continual robberies and 
 plunders, the leader of the band of thieves, or some friend of his, proposes 
 that, for a sum of money annually paid, he will keep a number of men in 
 arms to protect such a tract of ground, or as many parishes as submit to the 
 contribution. When the terms are agreed upon he ceases to steal, and 
 thereby the contributors are safe : if any one refuse to pay, he is immediately 
 plundered. To colour all this villainy, those concerned in the robberies pay 
 the tax with the rest ; and all the neighbourhood must comply or be undone. 
 This is the case (among others), with the whole low country of the shire of 
 Ross " (Extract from Lord Lovat's Memorial to George I. on the State of 
 the Highlands of Scotland, in a.d. 1724).
 
 206 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 Basai, Slavery. — Slavery is to be found in successive stages of 
 society of Europe, but we have no parallel in Rajwara (at least 
 in name) to the agricultural serfs and villains of Europe ; nor is 
 there any intermediate term denoting a species of slavery between 
 the Gola ^ of the Hindu chief's household and the free Rajput 
 but the singular one of basai, which must be explained, since it 
 cannot be translated. This class approximates closely to the 
 trihutarii and coloni, perhaps to the servi, of the Salic Franks, 
 " who were cultivators of the earth, and subject to residence 
 upon their master's estate, though not destitute of property or 
 civil rights." ^ Precisely the condition of the cultivator in Haraoti 
 who now tills for a taskmaster the fields he formerly owned, de- 
 graded to the name of hali,^ a ploughman. 
 
 " \Vlien small proprietors," saj^s Hallam, " lost their lands by 
 mere rapine, we may believe their liberty was hardly less en- 
 dangered." The hali of Haraoti knows the bitter truth of this 
 inference, which applies to the subject immediately before us, 
 [178] the basai. The portion of liberty the latter has parted 
 with, was not originally lost through compulsion on the part of 
 the protector, but from external violence, which made this 
 desperate remedy necessary. Very different from the hali of 
 Kotah, who is servile though without the title — a serf in con- 
 dition but without the patrimony ; compelled to labour for 
 subsistence on the land he once owned ; chained to it by the 
 double tie of debt and strict police ; and if flight were practicable, 
 the impossibility of bettering his condition from the anarchy 
 around would render it unavailing. This is not the practice 
 under the patriarchal native government, which, with all its 
 faults, retains the old links of society, with its redeeming sym- 
 pathies ; but springs from a maire du palais, who pursued an 
 unfeeling and mistaken policy towards this class of society till 
 of late years. Mistaken ambition was the origin of the evil ; he 
 saw his error, and remedied it in time to prevent further inischief 
 to the State. This octogenarian ruler, Zalim Singh of Kotah, 
 is too much of a philosopher and politician to let passion over- 
 
 ^ In Persian ghuldm, literally ' slave ' ; evidently a word of the same 
 origin with the Hindu gola. [The words have no connexion.] 
 
 2 HaUam, vol. i. p. 217. 
 
 ^ From hal, ' a plough.' Syl is ' a plough ' in Saxon (Turner's Anglo- 
 Saxons). The h and s are permutable throughout Rajwara. [The words 
 have no connexion.] In Marwar, Salim Singh is pronounced Halim Hingh.
 
 SLAVERY 207 
 
 come his interests and reputation ; and we owe to the greatest 
 despot a State ever had the only regular charter which at present 
 exists in Rajasthan, investing a corporate body with the election 
 of their own magistrates and the making of their own laws, sub- 
 ject only to confirmation ; with all the privileges which marked 
 in the outset the foundation of the free cities of Europe, and that 
 of boroughs in England. 
 
 It is true that, in detached documents, we see the spirit of 
 these institutions existing in Mewar, and it is as much a matter 
 of speculation, whether this wise ruler promulgated this novelty 
 as a trap for good opinions, or from policy and foresight alone : 
 aware, when all around him was improving, from the shackles 
 of restraint being cast aside, that his retention of them must be 
 hurtful to himself. Liberality in this exigence answered the 
 previous purpose of extortion. His system, even then, was good 
 by comparison ; all around was rapine, save in the little oasis 
 kept verdant by his skill, where he permitted no other oppression 
 than his own. 
 
 This charter is appended ^ as a curiosity in legislation, being 
 given thirty years ago. Another, for the agriculturists' protec- 
 tion, was set up in a.d. 1821. No human being prompted either ; 
 though the latter is modelled from the proceedings in Mewar, 
 and may have been intended, as before observed, to entrap 
 applause. 
 
 In every district of Haraoti the stone was raised to record this 
 ordinance [179]. 
 
 Gola — Das (Slaves). — Famine in these regions is the great cause 
 of loss of liberty : thousands were sold in the last great famine. 
 The predatory system of the Pindaris and mountain tribes aided 
 to keep it up. Here, as amongst the Franks, freedom is derived 
 through the mother. The offspring of a goli ^ or dasi must be a 
 slave. Hence the great number of golas in Rajput families, 
 whose illegitimate offspring are still adorned in Mewar, as our 
 Saxon slaves were of old, with a silver ring round the left ankle, 
 instead of the neck. They are well treated, and are often amongst 
 the best of the military retainers ; * but are generally esteemed in 
 proportion to the quality of the mother, whether Rajputni, 
 Muslim, or of the degraded tribes : they hold confidential places 
 
 ^ See Appendix, No. XI. * Female slave. 
 
 * See Appendix, No. XIX.
 
 208 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 about the chiefs of whose blood they are. The great -grand father 
 of the late chief of Deogarh used to appear at court with three 
 hundred galas ^ on horseback in his train, the sons of Rajputs, 
 each with a gold ring round his ankle : men whose lives were his 
 own. This chief could then head two thousand retainers, his own 
 vassals.^ 
 
 Slavery due to Gambling. — Tacitus ^ describes the baneful 
 effects of gambling amongst the German tribes, as involving 
 personal liberty ; their becoming slaves, and being subsequently 
 sold by the winner. The Rajput's passion for gaming, as re- 
 marked in the history of the tribes, is strong ; and we can revert 
 to periods long anterior to Tacitus, and perhaps before the woods 
 of Germany were peopled with the worshippers of Tuisto, for the 
 antiquity of this vice amongst the Rajput warriors, presenting a 
 highly interesting picture of its pernicious effects. Yudhishthira 
 having staked and lost the throne of India to Duryodhana, to 
 recover it hazarded the beautiful and virtuous Draupadi. By 
 the loaded dice of his foes she became the goli of the Kaurava, who, 
 triumphing in his pride, would have unveiled her in public ; but 
 the deity presiding over female modesty preserved her from the 
 rude gaze of the assembled host ; the miraculous scarf lengthened 
 as he withdrew it, till tired, he desisted at the instance of superior 
 interposition. Yudhishthira, not satisfied with this, staked 
 twelve years of his personal liberty, and became an exile from 
 the haunts of Kalindi, a wanderer in the wilds skirting the distant 
 ocean [180]. 
 
 The illegitimate sons of the Rana are called das, literally 
 ' slave ' : they have no rank, though they are liberally provided 
 
 ^ The reader of Dow's translation of Ferishta [i. 134] may recollect that 
 when Kutbu-d-din was left the viceroy of the conqueror he is made to say : 
 " He gave the country to Gola the son of Pittu Rai." [" He delivered over 
 the country to the Gola, or natural son, of Pithow Ray " (Briggs' trans, 
 i. 128).] Dow mistakes this appellation of the natural brother of the last 
 Hindu sovereign for a proper name. He is mentioned by the bard Ghand in 
 his exploits of Prithwiraja. 
 
 ^ I have often received the most confidential messages, from chiefs of the 
 highest rank, through these channels. [There are, at the present day, 
 several bastard castes originally composed of the illegitimate children of men 
 of rank, Rajputs, Brahmans, Mahajans, and others. These are now re- 
 cruited from the descendants of such persons, and from recently born illegiti- 
 mate children (Census Report, Rajputana, 1911, i. 2-i9f.).] 
 
 ^ Germania, xxiv.
 
 SLAVES 209 
 
 for. Basai signifies ' acquired slaveiy ' ; in contradistinction to 
 gola, ' an hereditary slave.' The gola can only marry a goli : the 
 lowest Rajput would refuse his daughter to a son of the Rana of 
 this kind. The basai can redeem ^ his liberty : the gola has no 
 wish to do so, because he could not improve his condition nor 
 overcome his natural defects. To the basai nothing dishonour- 
 able attaches : the class retain their employments and caste, and 
 are confined to no occupation, but it must be exercised with the 
 chief's sanction. Individuals reclaimed from captivity, in grati- 
 tude have given up their liberty : communities, when this or 
 greater evils threatened, have done the same for protection of 
 their lives, religion, and honour. Instances exist of the popula- 
 tion of towns being in this situation. The greater part of the 
 inhabitants of the estate of BijoUi are the basai of its chief, who 
 is of the Pramara tribe : they are his subjects ; the Rana, the 
 paramount lord, has no sort of authority over them. Twelve 
 generations have elapsed since his ancestor conducted this little 
 colony into Mewar, and received the highest honours and a large 
 estate on the plateau of its border, in a most interesting country.^ 
 The only badge denoting the basai is a small tuft of hair on the 
 crown of the head. The term interpreted has nothing harsh in 
 it, meaning ' occupant, dweller, or settler.' The numerous towns 
 in India called Basai have this origin : chiefs abandoning their 
 ancient haunts, and settling * with all their retainers and chattels 
 in new abodes. From this, the town of Basai near Tonk (Ram* 
 pura), derived its name, when the Solanki prince was compelled 
 to abandon his patrimonial lands in Gujarat ; his subjects of all 
 
 ^ The das or ' slave ' may hold a fief in Rajasthan, but he never can rise 
 above the condition in which this defect of birth has placed him. " L'affran- 
 chissement consistait a sortir de la classe des serfs, par Facquisition d'un 
 fief, ou seulement d'un fonds. La necessite oil s'etaient trouves les seigneurs 
 feodaux de vendre une partie do leurs terres, pour faire leurs equipages des 
 croisades, avait rendu ces acquisitions communes ; mais le fief n'anobhssait 
 qu'a la troisieme generation." Serfs who had twice or thrice been cham- 
 pions, or saved the hves of their masters, were also liberated. " Un eveque 
 d'Auxerre declara qu'il n'affranchirait gratuitement, qui que ce soit, s'il 
 n'avait re^u quinze blessurea a son service " (see Article ' Affranchisse- 
 ment,' Diet, de Vancien Regime). 
 
 ^ I could but indistinctly learn whether this migration, and the species 
 of paternity here existing, arose from rescuing them from Tatar invaders, 
 or from the calamity of famine. 
 
 ' Basna, ' to settle.' 
 VOL. I P
 
 210 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 classes accompanjdng him voluntarily, in preference to sub- 
 mitting to foreign rule. Probably the foundation of BijoUi was 
 similar ; though only the name of Basai now attaches to the 
 inhabitants. It is not uncommon [181], in the overflowing of 
 gratitude, to be told, " You may sell me, I am your basai." ^ 
 
 Private Feuds — Composition.— In a state of society such as 
 these sketches delineate, where all depends on the personal 
 character of the sovereign, , the field for the indulgence of the 
 passions, and especially of that most incident to the uncontrollable 
 habits of such races — revenge — must necessarily be great. Private 
 feuds have tended, with the general distraction of the times, to 
 desolate this country. Some account of their mode of prosecu- 
 tion, and the incidents thence arising, cannot fail to throw addi- 
 tional light on the manners of society, which during the last 
 half-century were fast receding to a worse than semi-barbarous 
 condition, and, aided by other powerful causes, might have 
 ended in entire annihilation. The period was rapidly advancing, 
 when this fair region of Mewar, the garden of Rajasthan, would 
 have reverted to its primitive sterility. The tiger and the wild 
 boar had already become inmates of the capital, and the bats 
 flitted undisturbed in the palaces of her princes. The ante- 
 courts, where the chieftains and their followers assembled to 
 grace their prince's cavalcade, were overgrown with dank shrubs 
 and grass, through which a mere footpath conducted the ' de- 
 scendant of a hundred kings ' to the ruins of his capital. 
 
 In these principalities the influence of revenge is universal. 
 Not to prosecute a feud is tantamount to an acknowledgement of 
 self-degradation ; and, as in all countries where the laws are 
 insufficient to control individual actions or redress injuries, they 
 have few scruples as to the mode of its gratification. Hence 
 
 ^ I had the happmess to be the means of releasing from captivity some 
 young chiefs, who had been languishing in Mahratta fetters as hostages for 
 the payment of a war contribution. One of them, a younger brother of the 
 Purawat division, had a mother dying to see him ; but tliough he might 
 have taken her house in the way, a strong feehng of honour and gratitude 
 made him forgo this anxious visit : "I am your Rajput, your gola, your 
 basai." He was soon sent off to his mother. Such little acts, minghng 
 with pubhc duty, are a compensation for the many drawbacks of sohtude, 
 gloom, and vexation, attending such situations. They are no sinecures or 
 beds of roses— ease, comfort, and health, being all subordinate considera- 
 tions.
 
 PRIVATE FEUDS 211 
 
 feuds are entailed with the estates from generation to generation. 
 To sheathe the sword till ' a feud is balanced ' (their own idio- 
 matic expression), would be a blot never to be effaced from the 
 escutcheon. 
 
 In the Hindu word which designates a feud we have another 
 of those striking coincidences in terms to which allusion has 
 already been made : vair is ' a feud,' vairi, ' a foe.' The Saxon 
 term for the composition of a feud, wergild, is familiar to every 
 man. In some of these States the initial vowel is hard, and [182] 
 pronounced bair. In Rajasthan, bair is more common than vair, 
 but throughout the south-west vair only is used. In these we 
 have the original Saxon word war,^ the French guer. The Rajput 
 wergild is land or a daughter to wife. In points of honour the 
 Rajput is centuries in advance of our Saxon forefathers, who had 
 a legislative remedy for every bodily injury, when each finger 
 and toe had its price.^ This might do very well when the injury 
 was committed on a hind, but the Rajput must have blood for 
 blood. The monarch must be powerful who can compel accept- 
 ance of the compensation, or mund-kaii? 
 
 The prosecution of a feud is only to be stopped by a process 
 which is next to impracticable ; namely, by the party injured 
 volunteering forgiveness, or the aggressor throwing himself as a 
 suppliant unawares on the clemency of his foe within his own 
 domains : a most trying situation for each to be placed in, yet 
 
 ^ Gilbert on Tenures, art. " Warranty," p. 169. [Wergild, wer, ' man,' 
 gield, gieldan ; vair is Skt. vtra, ' hero ' ; O.E. wer, O.H.G. werran, ' to 
 embroil,' Fr. guerre.] 
 
 ^ " The great toe took rank as it should be, and held to double the sum 
 of the others, for which ten scyllinga was the value without the nail, which 
 was thirty scealta to boot" (Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. p. 133). 
 
 ^ Appendix, No. XVIII. The laws of composition were carried to a 
 much greater extent amongst the Hindu nations than even amongst those 
 of the Anglo-Saxons, who might have found in Manu all that was ever 
 written on the subject, from the kiUing of a Brahman by design to the accid- 
 ental murder of a dog. The Brahman is four times the value of the soldier, 
 eight of the merchant, and sixteen times of the Sudra. " If a Brahman kill 
 one of the soldier caste (without mahce), a bull and one thousand cows is the 
 fine of expiation. If he slays a merchant, a bull and one hundred cows is the 
 fine. If a Sudra or lowest class, ten white cows and a bull to the priest is 
 the expiation " [Laivs, xi. 127 ff.]. Manu legislated also for the protection 
 of the brute creation, and if the priest by chance kills a cat, a frog, a dog, 
 a lizard, an owl, or a crow, he must drink nothing but milk for three days 
 and nights, or walk four miles in the night.
 
 212 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 not unexampled, and revenge in such a case would entail infamy. 
 It was reserved for these degenerate days to produce such an 
 instance. 
 
 Amargarh-Shahpura Feud. — The Raja of Shahpura, one of 
 the most powerful of the chiefs of Mewar, and of the Rasa's 
 blood, had a feud with the Ranawat chief, the Bhumia proprietor 
 of Amargarh. Ummeda,^ the chief of Shahpura, held two 
 estates : one was the grant of the kings of Delhi, the other of his 
 own sovereign, and each amounting to £10,000 ^ of annual rent, 
 besides the duties on commerce. His estate in Mewar was in 
 the district of Mandalgarh, where also lay his antagonist's ; their 
 bounds were in common and some of the lands were intermixed : 
 this led to disputes, threats, and blows, even in the towns of their 
 fathers, between their husbandmen. The Bhumia Dilel was 
 much less powerful ; he was lord of only ten villages, not yielding 
 above £1200 a year ; but they were compact and well managed, 
 and he was [183] popular amongst his brethren, whose swords 
 he could always command. His castle was perched on a rock, 
 and on the towers facing the west (the direction of Shahpura) 
 were mounted some swivels : moreover a belt of forest surrounded 
 it, through which only two or three roads were cut, so that surprise 
 was impossible. Dilel had therefore little, to fear, though his 
 antagonist could bring two thousand of his own followers against 
 him. The feud burned and cooled alternately ; but the Raja's 
 exposed villages enabled Dilel to revenge himself with much 
 inferior means. He carried off the cattle, and sometimes the 
 opulent subjects, of his foe, to his donjon-keep in Amargarh for 
 ransom. Meanwhile the husbandmen of both suffered, and 
 agriculture was neglected, till half the villages held by Ummeda 
 in Mandalgarh became deserted. The Raja had merited this by 
 his arrogance and attempts to humble Dilel, who had deserved 
 more of the sympathies of his neighbours than his rival, whose 
 tenants were tired of the payments of barchi-dohai.^ 
 
 ^ Ummeda, ' hope.' 
 
 2 Together £20,000, eqvial to £100,000 of England, if the respective value 
 of the necessaries of hfe be considered. 
 
 ^ Barchi is ' a lance.' In these marauding days, when there was a riever 
 in every village, they saUied out to ' run the country,' either to stop the 
 passenger on the highway or the inhabitant of the city. The lance at his 
 breast, he would call out dohai, an invocation of aid. During harvest time 
 barchi-dohai used to be exacted.
 
 AMARGARH SHAHPURA FEUD 213 
 
 Unmieda was eccentric, if the term be not too weak to char- 
 acterize acts which, in more civih'zed regions, would have sub- 
 jected him to coercion. He has taken his son and suspended him 
 by the cincture to the pinnacle of his little chapel at Shahpura, 
 and then called on the mother to come and witness the sight. 
 He would make excursions alone on horseback or on a swift 
 camel, and be missing for days. In one of these moods he and 
 his foe Dilel encountered face to face within the bounds of Amar- 
 garh. Dilel only saw a chief high in rank at his mercy. With 
 courtesy he saluted him, invited him to his castle, entertained 
 him, and pledged his health and forgiveness in the munawwar 
 piyala : ^ they made merry, and in the cup agreed to extinguish 
 the remembrance of the feud. 
 
 Both had been summoned to the court of the sovereign. The 
 Raja proposed that they should go together, and invited him to 
 go by Shahpura. Dilel accordingly saddled his twenty steeds, 
 moved out his equipage, and providing himself with fitting 
 raiment, and funds to maintain him at the capital, accompanied 
 the Raja to receive the return of his hospitality. They ate from 
 the same platter,^ drank of the same cup and enjoyed the song 
 and dance. They even went together to [184] their devotions, 
 to swear before their deity what they had pledged in the cup — 
 oblivion of the past. But scarcely had they crossed the threshold 
 of the chapel, when the head of the chief of Amargarh was rolling 
 on the pavement, and the deity and the altar were sprinkled with 
 his blood ! To this atrocious and unheard-of breach of the laws 
 of hospitality, the Raja added the baseness of the pilferer, seizing 
 on the effects of his now lifeless foe. He is said, also, with all the 
 barbarity and malignity of long-treasured revenge, to have 
 kicked the head with his foot, apostrophising it in the pitiful 
 language of resentment. The son of Dilel, armed for revenge, 
 collected all his adherents, and confusion was again commencing 
 its reign. To prevent this, the Rana compelled restitution of 
 the horses and effects ; and five villages from the estate of the 
 Raja were the mund-kati (wergild) or compensation to the son of 
 Dilel. The rest of the estate of the murderer was eventually 
 sequestrated by the crown. 
 
 ^ ' Cup of invitation.' {^Munawivar, Pers. ' bright, splendid.'] 
 ^ This is a favourite expression, and a mode of indicating great friend- 
 ship : ' to eat of the same platter (thali), and drink of the same cup (piyala).'
 
 214 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 The feuds of Arja and Sheogarh are elsewhere detailed, and 
 such statements could be multiplied. Avowal of error and 
 demand of forgiveness, with the offer of a daughter in marriage, 
 often stop the progress of a feud, and might answer better than 
 appearing as a suppliant, which requires great delicacy of con- 
 trivance.^ Border disputes ^ are most prolific in the production 
 of feuds, and the Rajput lord-marchers have them entailed on 
 them as regularly as their estates. The border chiefs of Jaisalmer 
 and Bikaner carry this to such extent that it often involved both 
 states in hostilities. The vair and its composition in Mandalgarh 
 will, however, suffice for the present to exemplify these things. 
 
 Rajput Pardhans or Premiers. — It would not be difficult, 
 amongst the Majores Dornus Regiae of these principalities, to 
 find parallels to the M aires du Palais of France. Imbecilitj^ in 
 the chief, whether in the east or west, must have the same conse- 
 quences ; and more than one State in India will present us with 
 the joint appearance of the phantom and the substance of royalty. 
 The details of [185] personal attendance at court will be found 
 elsewhere. When not absent on frontier duties, or by permission 
 at their estates, the chiefs resided with their families at the 
 capital ; but a succession of attendants was always secured, to 
 keep up its splendour and perform personal service at the palace. 
 In Mewar, the privileges and exemptions of the higher class are 
 such as to exhibit few of the marks of vassalage observable at 
 other courts. Here it is only on occasion of particular festivals 
 and solemnities that they ever join the prince's cavalcade, or 
 attend at court. If full attendance is required, on the reception 
 of ambassadors, or in discussing matters of general policy, when 
 
 ^ The Bundi feud with the Rana is still unappeased, since the predecessor 
 of the former slew the Rana's father. It was an indefensible act, and the 
 Bundi prince was most desirous to terminate it. He had no daughter to 
 offer, and hinted a desire to accompany me incog, and thus gain admission 
 to the presence of the Rana. The benevolence and generosity of this prince 
 would have insured him success ; but it was a dehcate matter, and I feared 
 some exposure from any arrogant hot-headed Rajput ere the scene could 
 have been got up. The Raja Bishan Singh of Bundi is since dead [in 1828] ; 
 a brave and frank Rajput ; he has left few worthier beliind. His son [Ram 
 Siiigli, 1821-89], yet a minor, promises well. The protective alliance, which 
 is to turn their swords into ploughshares, will prevent their becoming foes ; 
 but they will remain sulky border-neighbours, to the fostering of disputes 
 and the disquiet of the merchant and cultivator. 
 
 ^ Sim — Kankar.
 
 PREMIERS 215 
 
 they have a right to hear and advise as the hereditary council 
 (panchayai) of the State, they are summoned by an officer, with 
 the prince'' s juhar,^ and his request. On grand festivals the great 
 nakkaras, or kettle-drums, beat at three stated times ; the third 
 is the signal for the chief to quit his abode and mount his steed. 
 Amidst all these privileges, when it were almost difficult to 
 distinguish between the prince and his great chiefs, there are 
 occasions well understood by both, which render the superiority 
 of the former apparent : one occurs in the formalities observed 
 on a lapse ; another, when at court in personal service, the chief 
 once a week mounts guard at the palace with his clan. On these 
 occasions the vast distance between them is seen. When the 
 chief arrives in the grand court of the palace with his retainers, he 
 halts under the balcony till intimation is given to the prince, who 
 from thence receives his obeisance and duty. This over, _he 
 retires to the great darikhana, or hall of audience, appropriated 
 for these ceremonies, where carpets are spread for him and his 
 retainers. At meals the prince sends his compliments, requesting 
 the chief's attendance at the rasora ^ or ' feasting hall,' where with 
 other favoured chiefs he partakes of dinner with the prince. He 
 sleeps in the hall of audience, and next morning with the same 
 formalities takes his leave. Again, in the summons to the 
 presence from their estates, instant obedience is requisite. But 
 in this, attention to their rank is studiously shown by ruqa, 
 written by the private secretary, with the sign-manual of the 
 prince attached, and sealed with the private finger-ring. For 
 the inferior grades, the usual seal of state entrusted to the minister 
 is used. 
 
 But these are general duties. In all these States some great 
 court favourite [186], from his talents, character, or intrigue, 
 holds the office of premier. His duties are proportioned to his 
 wishes, or the extent of his talents and aml)ition ; but he does not 
 interfere with the civil administration, which has its proper 
 minister. They, however, act together. The Rajput premier 
 is the military minister, with the political government of the 
 
 ' A salutation, only sent by a superior to an inferior. 
 
 - The Idtchen is large enough for a fortress, and contains large eating 
 halls. Food for seven hundred of the prince's court is daily dressed. This 
 is not for any of the personal servants of the prince, or female establish- 
 ments ; all these are separate.
 
 216 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 fiefs ; the civil minister is never of this caste. Local customs 
 have given various appellations to this officer. At Udaipur he is 
 called hhanjgarh ; at Jodhpur, pardhan ; at Jaipur (where they 
 have engrafted the term used at the court of Delhi) miisahib ; at 
 Kotah, kiladar, and diwan or regent. He becomes a most im- 
 portant personage, as dispenser of the favours of the sovereign. 
 Through him chiefly all requests are preferred, this being the 
 surest channel to success. His influence, necessarily, gives him 
 unbounded authority over the military classes, with unlimited 
 power over the inferior officers of the State. With a powerful 
 body of retainers always at his command, it is surprising we have 
 not more frequently our ' mayors of Burgundy and Dagoberts,' ^ 
 our ' Martels and Pei^ins,' in Rajasthan. 
 
 We have our hereditary Rajput premiers in several of these 
 States : but in all the laws of succession are so regulated that 
 they could not usurp the throne of their prince, though they 
 might his functions. 
 — " When the treaty was formed between Mewar and the British 
 Government, the ambassadors wished to introduce an article of 
 guarantee of the office of pardhan to the family of the chief noble 
 of the country, the Rawat of Salumbar. The fact was, as stated, 
 that the dignity was hereditary in this family ; but though the 
 acquisition was the result of an act of virtue, it had tended much 
 towards the ruin of the country, and to the same cause are to be 
 traced all its rebellions. 
 
 The ambassador was one of the elders of the same clan, being 
 the grand uncle of the hereditary pardhan. He had taken a most 
 active share in the political events of the last thirty years, and had 
 often controlled the councils of his prince during this period, 
 
 ^ Dagobert commended his wife and son Clovis to the trust of Ega, 
 with whom she jointly held the care of the palace. On his death, with the 
 aid of more powerful lords, she chose another mayor. He confirmed their 
 grants for hfe. They made his situation hereditary ; but which could only 
 have held good from the cfowd of imbeciles who succeeded Clovis, until 
 the descendant of this mayor thrust out his children and seized the crown. 
 This change is a natural consequence of unfitness ; and if we go back to the 
 genealogies (called sacred) of the Hindus, we see there a succession of 
 dynasties forced from their thrones by their ministers. Seven examples 
 are given in the various dynasties of the race of Chandra. (See Genealogical 
 Tables, No. II.) [The above is in some ways inaccurate, but it is unneces- 
 sary to correct it, as it is not connected with the question of premiers in 
 Rajputana : see EB, xvii. 938.]
 
 PREMIERS 217 
 
 and actualij'^ held the post of premier himself when stipulating [187] 
 for his minor relative. With the ascendancy he exercised over the 
 prince, it may be inferred that he had no intention of renouncing 
 it during his lifetime ; and as he was educating his adopted heir 
 to all his notions of authority, and initiating him in the intrigues of 
 office, the guaranteed dignity in the head of his family would have 
 become a nonentity,^ and the Ranas would have been governed 
 by the deputies of their mayors. From both those evils the times 
 have relieved the prince. The crimes of Ajit had made his dis- 
 missal from office a point of justice, but imbecility and folly will 
 never be without ' mayors.' 
 
 When a Rana of Udaijiur leaves the capital, the Salumbar 
 chief is invested with the government of the city and charge of 
 the palace during his absence. By his hands the sovereign is 
 girt with the sword, and from him he receives the mark of inaugu- 
 ration on his accession to the throne. He leads, by right, the 
 van in battle ; and in case of the siege of the capital, his post is 
 the surajpol," and the fortress which crowns it, in which this 
 family had a handsome palace, which is now going fast to decay. 
 
 It was the predecessor of the present chief of Salumbar who 
 set up a pretender and the standard of rebellion ; but when 
 foreign aid was brought in, he returned to his allegiance and the 
 defence of the capital. Similar sentiments have often been 
 awakened in patriotic breasts, when roused by the interference 
 of foreigners in their internal disputes. The evil entailed on the 
 State by these hereditary offices will appear in its annals. 
 
 1 So many sudden deaths had occurred in this family, that the branch in 
 question (Ajit Singh's) were strongly suspected of ' heaping these mortal 
 murders on their crown,' to push their elders from their seats. The father 
 of Padma, the present chief, is said to have been taken off by poison ; and 
 Pahar Singh, one generation anterior, returning grievously wounded from 
 the battle of Ujjain, in which the southrons first swept Mewar, was not per- 
 mitted to recover. The mother of the present young chief of the Jhala 
 tribe of the house of Gogunda, in the west, was afraid to trust him from her 
 sight. She is a woman of great strength of mind and excellent character, 
 but too indulgent to an only son. He is a fine bold youth, and, though 
 impatient of control, may be managed. On horseback with his lance, in 
 chase of the wild boar, a more resolute cavaher could not be seen. His 
 mother, when he left the estate alone for court, which he seldom did without 
 her accompanying him, never failed to send me a long letter, beseeching me 
 to guard the welfare of her son. My house was lu's great resort : he delighted 
 to pull over my books, or go fishing or riding with me. 
 
 ^ Surya, ' sun ' ; and pol, ' gate.' Poliya, ' a porter.'
 
 218 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 In Marwar the dignity is hereditary in the house of Awa ; but 
 the last brave chief who held it became the victim of a revenge- 
 ful and capricious sovereign/ [188] who was jealous of his ex- 
 ploits ; and dying, he bequeathed a curse to his posterity who 
 should again accept the office. It was accordingly transferred 
 to the next in dignity, the house of Asop. The present chief, 
 wisely distrusting the prince whose reign has been a series of 
 turmoils, has kept aloof from court. When the office was jointly 
 held by the chiefs of Nimaj and Pokaran, the tragic end of the 
 former afforded a fine specimen of the prowess and heroism of 
 the Rathor Rajput. In truth, these pardhans of Marwar have 
 always been mill-stones round the necks of their princes ; an evil 
 interwoven in their system when the partition of estates took 
 place amidst the sons of Jodha in the infancy of this State. It 
 was, no doubt, then deemed politic to unite to the interests of the 
 crown so powerful a branch, which when combined could always 
 control the rest ; but this gave too much equality. 
 
 The Chief of Pokaran. — Deo Singh, the great-grandfather of the 
 Pokaran chief alluded to, used to sleep in the great hall of the 
 palace with five hundred of his clan around him. " The throne 
 of Marwar is in the sheath of my dagger," was the repeated boast 
 of this arrogant chieftain. It may be anticipated that either he 
 or his sovereign would die a violent death. The lord of Pokaran 
 was entrapped, and instant death commanded ; yet with the 
 sword suspended over his head, his undaunted spirit was the 
 same as when seated in the hall, and surrounded by his vassals. 
 " Where, traitor, is now the sheath that holds the fortiuies of 
 Marwar ? " said the prince. The taunt recoiled with bitterness 
 when he loftily replied, " With my son at Pokaran I have left it." 
 No tinae was given for further insult ; his head rolled at the steps 
 of the palace ; but the dagger of Pokaran still haunts the imagina- 
 tions of these princes, and many attempts have been made to get 
 possessed of their stronghold on the edge of the desert.^ The 
 narrow escape of the present chief will be related hereafter, with 
 the sacrifice of his friend and coadjutor, the chief of Nimaj. 
 
 ^ " The cur can bite," the reply of this chief, either personally, or to the 
 jjerson who reported that his sovereign so designated him, was never 
 forgiven. 
 
 ^ His son, Sabal Singh, followed in his footsteps, till an accidental cannon- 
 shot reheved the terrors of the prince.
 
 PREMIERS 219 
 
 Premiers in Kotah and Jaisalmer. — In Kotah and Jaisalmer 
 the power of the ministers is supreme. We might describe their 
 situation in the words of Montesquieu. " The Pepins kept their 
 princes in a state of imprisonment in the palace, showing them 
 once a year to the people. On this occasion they made such 
 ordinances as were directed [189] by the mayor ; they also 
 answered ambassadors, but the mayor framed the answer." ^ 
 
 Like those of the Merovingian race, these puppets of royalty 
 in the east are brought forth to the Champ de Mars once a year, 
 at the grand military festival, the Dasahra. On this day, presents 
 provided by the minister are distributed by the prince. Allow- 
 ances for every branch of expenditure ? re fixed, nor has the prince 
 the power to exceed them. But at Kotah there is nothing parsi- 
 monious, though nothing superfluous. On the festival of the birtn 
 of Krishna, and other similar feasts, the prince likewise appears 
 abroad, attended by all the insignia of royalty. Elephants with 
 standards precede ; lines of infantry and guns are drawn up ; 
 while a numerous cavalcade surrounds his person. The son of the 
 minister sometimes condescends to accompany his prince on 
 horseback ; nor is there anything wanting to magnificence, but 
 the power to control or alter any part of it. This failing, how 
 humiliating to a proud mind, acquainted with the history of his 
 ancestors and unbued with a portion of their spirit, to be thus 
 muzzled, enchained, and rendered a mere pageant of state ! This 
 chain would have been snapped, but that each link has become 
 adamantine from the ties this ruler has formed with the British 
 Government. He has well merited our protection ; though we 
 never contemplated to what extent the maintenance of these ties 
 would involve our own character. But this subject is connected 
 with the history of an individual who yields to none of the many 
 extraordinary men whom India has produced, and who required 
 but a larger theatre to have drawn the attention of the world. 
 His character will be further elucidated in the Annals of 
 Haravati [190]. 
 
 ^ U Esprit des Loix, chap. vi. livre 31.
 
 220 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 CHAPTER 5 
 
 Adoption. — The hereditary principle, which perpetuates in these 
 States their virtues and their vices, is also the grand preservative 
 of their political existence and national manners : it is an imperish- 
 able principle, which resists time and innovation : it is this which 
 made the laws of the Medes and Persians, as well as those of the 
 Rajputs, unalterable. A chief of Mewar, like his sovereign, 
 never dies : he disappears to be regenerated. ' Le roi est mart, 
 mve le roi .' ' is a phrase, the precise virtue of which is there well 
 understood. Neither the crown nor the greater fiefs are ever 
 without heirs. Adoption is the preservative of honours and titles ; 
 the great fiefs of Rajasthan can never become extinct.^ But, 
 however valuable this privilege, which the law of custom has made 
 a right, it is often carried to the most hurtful and foolish extent. 
 They have allowed the limit which defined it to be effaced, and 
 each family, of course, maintains a custom, so soothing to vanity, 
 as the prospect of having their names revived in their descendants. 
 This has resulted from the weakness of the prince and the misery 
 of the times. Lands were bestowed liberally which yielded 
 nothing to their master, who, in securing a nominal obedience 
 and servitude, had as much as the times made them worth when 
 given ; but with returning prosperity and old customs, these 
 great errors have become too visible. Adoptions are often made 
 during the life of the incumbent when without prospect of issue. 
 The chief and his wife first agitate the subject in private ; it is 
 then confided to the little council of the fief, and when propin- 
 quity and merit unite, they at once petition the prince to confirm 
 their wishes, which are generally acceded to. So many interests 
 are to be consulted on this occasion, that the blind partiality of 
 the chief to any particular object is always counterpoised by the 
 elders of the clan, who jnust have a pride in seeing a proper Tha- 
 kur ^ at their head, and who prefer the nearest of kin, to prevent 
 the disputes which would be attendant on neglect in this 
 point [191]. 
 
 ^ [The abandonment of the policy of escheat or lapse, and the recogni- 
 tion of the right of adoption were announced by Lord Canning in 1869.] 
 ^ As in Deogarh.
 
 THE CASE OF DEOGARH 221 
 
 On sudden lapses, the wife is allowed the privilege, in eon- 
 junction with those interested in the fief, of nomination, though 
 the case is seldom left unprovided for : there is always a pre- 
 sumptive heir to the smallest sub-infeudation of these estates. 
 The wife of the deceased is the guardian of the minority of the 
 adopted. 
 
 The Case of Deogarh. — The chief of Deogarh, one of the sixteen 
 Omras ^ of Mewar, died without issue. On his death-bed he 
 recommended to his wife and chiefs Nahar Singh for their adop- 
 tion. This was the son of the independent chieftain of Sangram- 
 garh, already mentioned. There were nearer kin, some of the 
 seventh and eighth degrees, and young Nahar was the eleventh. 
 It was never contemplated that the three last gigantic ^ chieftains 
 of Deogarh would die without issue, or the branches, now claim- 
 ants from propinquity, would have been educated to suit the 
 dignity ; but being brought up remote from court, they had been 
 compelled to seek employment where obtainable, or to live on 
 the few acres to which their distant claim of birth restricted 
 them. Two of these, who had but the latter resource to fly to, 
 had become mere boors ; and of two who had sought service 
 abroad by arms, one was a cavalier in the retinue of the prince, 
 and the other a hanger-on about court : both dissipated and 
 unfitted, as the frerage asserted, ' to be the chieftains of two 
 thousand Rajputs, the sons of one father.' ^ Much interest and 
 intrigue were carried on for one of these, and he was supported 
 by the young prince and a faction. Some of the senior Pattawats 
 of Deogarh are men of the highest character, and often lamented 
 the sombre qualities of their chief, which prevented the clan 
 having that interest in the State to which its extent and rank 
 entitled it. While these intrigues were in their infancy, they 
 adopted a decided measure ; they brought home young Nahar 
 from his father's residence, and ' bound round his head the 
 turban of the deceased.' In his name the death of the late chief 
 was announced. It was added, that he hoped to see his friends 
 
 ^ [Umara, plural of Anilr, ' a chief.'] 
 
 ^ Gokuldas, the last chief, was one of the finest men I ever beheld in 
 feature and person. He was about six feet six, perfectly erect, and a 
 Hercules in bulk. His father at twenty was much larger, and must have 
 been nearly seven feet high. It is surprising how few of the chiefs of this 
 family died a natural death. It has produced some noble Rajputs. 
 
 ' Ek bap ka beta.
 
 222 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 after the stated days of maiam or mourning ; and he performed 
 all the duties of the son of Deogarh, and lighted the funeral pyre. 
 
 When these proceedings were reported, the Rana was highly 
 and justly incensed. The late chief had been one of the rebels 
 of S. 1848 ; ^ and though pardon had been [192] granted, yet this 
 revived all the recollection of the past, and he felt inclined to 
 extinguish the name of Sangawat.^ 
 
 In addition to the common sequestration, he sent an especial 
 one with commands to collect the produce of the harvest then 
 reaping, charging the sub-vassals with the design of overturning 
 his lawful authority. They replied very submissively, and art- 
 fully asserted that they had only given a son to Gokuldas, not an 
 heir to Deogarh ; that the sovereign alone could do this, and that 
 they trusted to his nominating one who would be an efificient 
 leader of so many Rajputs in the service of the Rana. They 
 urged the pretensions of young Nahar, at the same time leaving 
 the decision to the sovereign. Their judicious reply was well 
 supported by their ambassador at court, who was the bard of 
 Deogarh, and had recently become, though ex officio, physician 
 to the prince.^ The point was finallj' adjusted, and Nahar was 
 brought to court, and invested with the sword by the hand of 
 the sovereign, and he is now lord of Deogarh Madri, one of the 
 richest and most powerful fiefs * of Mewar Madri was the 
 ancient name of the estate ; and Sangramgarh, of which Nahar 
 was the heir, was severed from it, but by some means had reverted 
 to the crown, of which it now holds. The adoption of Nahar by 
 Gokuldas leaves the paternal estate without an immediate heir ; 
 and his actual father being mad, if more distant claims are not 
 admitted, it is probable that Sangramgarh v*^ill eventually revert 
 to the fisc. 
 
 1 A.D. 1792. 2 That of the clan of Deogarh. 
 
 ' ApoUo [Krishna] is the patron both of physicians and poets ; and 
 though my friend Amra does not disgrace him in either calling, it was his 
 wit, rather than his medical degree, that maintained him at court. He said 
 it was not fitting that the sovereign of the world should be served by clowns 
 or opium-eaters ; and that young Nahar, when educated at court under the 
 Rana's example, would do credit to the country : and what had full as 
 much weight as any of the bard's arguments was, that the fine of relief on 
 the Talwar bandhai (or girding on of the sword) of a lac of rupees, should 
 be immediately forthcoming. 
 
 * Patta. [About 30 miles south of Udaipur city.]
 
 REFLECTIONS ON FUTURE POLICY 223 
 
 Reflections.-^The sj^stem of feuds must have attained con- 
 siderable maturity amongst the Rajputs, to have left such traces, 
 notwithstanding the desolatioJi that has swe})t the land : but 
 without circumspection these few remaining customs will become 
 a dead letter. Unless we abstain from all internal interference, 
 we must destroy the links which connect the prince and his 
 vassals ; and, in lieu of a system decidedly imperfect, we should 
 leave them none at all, or at least not a system of feuds, the only 
 one they can comprehend. Our friendship has rescued them 
 from exterior foes, and time will restore the rest. With the 
 dignity and [193] establishments of their chiefs, ancient usages 
 will revive ; and nazarana (relief), kharg bandhai (investiture), 
 dasaundh (aids or benevolence, literally ' the tenth '), and other 
 incidents, will cease to be mere ceremonies. The desire of every 
 liberal mind, as well as the professed wish of the British Govern- 
 ment, is to aid in their renovation, and this will be best effected 
 by not meddling with what we but imperfectly understand.^ 
 
 We have nothing to apprehend from the Rajput States if raised 
 to their ancient prosperity. The closest attention to their history 
 proves beyond contradiction that they were never capable of 
 imiting, even for their own preservation : a breath, a scurrilous 
 stanza of a bard, has severed their closest confederacies. No 
 national head exists amongst them as amongst the Mahrattas ; 
 and each chief being master of his own house and followers, they 
 are individually too weak to cause us any alarm. 
 
 No feudal government can be dangerous as a neighbour ; for 
 defence it has in all countries been found defective ; and for 
 aggression, totally inefficient. Let there exist between us the 
 most perfect understanding and identity of mterests ; the foun- 
 dation-step to which is to lessen or remit the galling, and to us 
 
 ^ Such interference, when inconsistent with past usage and the genius of 
 the people, will defeat the very best intentions. On the grounds of poHcy 
 and justice, it is ahke incumbent on the British Government to secure the 
 maintenance of their present form of government, and not to repair, but to 
 advise the repairs of the fabric, and to let their own artists alone be con- 
 sulted. To employ ours would be like adding a Corinthian capital to a 
 column of EUora, or replacing the mutilated statue of Baldeva with a limb 
 from the Hercules Farnese. To have a chain of prosperous independent 
 States on our ozaly exposed frontier, the north-west, attached to us from 
 benefits, and the moral conviction that we do not seek their overthrow, 
 must be a desirable pohcy.
 
 224 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 contemptible tribute, now exacted, enfranchise "^them from our 
 espionage and agency, and either unlock them altogether from 
 our dangerous embrace, or let the ties between us be such only 
 as would ensure grand results : such as general commercial 
 freedom and protection, with treaties of friendly alliance. Then, 
 if a Tatar or a Russian invasion threatened our eastern empire, 
 fifty thousand Rajputs would be no despicable allies.^ 
 
 Rajput Loyalty and Patriotism. — Let us call to mind what they 
 did when they fought for Aurangzeb : they are still unchanged, 
 if we give them the proper stimulus. Gratitude, honour, and 
 fidelity, are terms which at one time were the foundation of all 
 the virtues of a Rajput. Of the theory of these sentiments he 
 is still enamoured ; but, unfortunately, for his happiness, the 
 times have left him but little scope for the practice [194] of them. 
 Ask a Rajput which is the greatest of crimes ? he will reply, 
 ' gunchhor,^ ' forgetfulness of favours.'. This is his most powerful 
 term for ingratitude. Gratitude with him embraces every 
 obligation of life, and is inseparable from swamidharma, ' fidelity 
 to his lord.' He who is wanting in these is not deemed fit to live, 
 and is doomed to eternal pains in Pluto's ^ realm hereafter.^ 
 
 "It was a powerful feeling," says an historian* who always 
 identifies his own emotions with his subject, " which could make 
 the bravest of men put up with slights and ill-treatment at the 
 hand of their sovereign, or call forth all the energies of discon- 
 tented exertion for one whom they never saw, and in whose char- 
 acter there was nothing to esteem. Loyalty has scarcely less 
 tendency to refine and elevate the heart than patriotism itself." 
 That these sentiments were combined, the past history of the 
 Rajputs will show ; ^ and to the strength of these ties do they 
 
 ^ [The author's prediction has been realized by recent events.] 
 ^ Yamaloka. 
 
 * The gunchhor (ungrateful) and satchhor (violator of his faith) are con- 
 signed, by the authority of the bard, to sixty-thousand years' residence in 
 hell. Europeans, in all the pride of mastery, accuse the natives of want of 
 gratitude, and say their language has no word for it. They can only know 
 the namak-haram [' he that is false to his salt '] of the Ganges. Gunchhor 
 is a compound of powerful import, as ingratitude and infidehty are the 
 highest crimes. It means, literally, " abandoner (from chhorna, ' to quit ') 
 of virtue (gun)." 
 
 * Hallam, vol. i. p. 323. 
 
 * Of the effects of loyalty and patriotism combined, we have splendid 
 examples in Hindu history and tradition. A more striking instance could
 
 RAJPUT LOYALTY AND PATRIOTISM 225 
 
 owe their political existence, which has outlived ages of strife. 
 But for these, they would have been converts and vassals to the 
 Tatars, who would still have been enthroned in Delhi. Neglect, 
 oppression, and religious interference, sunk one of the greatest 
 monarchies of the world ; ^ made Sivaji a hero, and converted the 
 peaceful husbandmen of the Kistna and Godavari into a brave 
 but rapacious soldier. 
 
 We have abundant examples, and I trust need not exclaim with 
 the wise minister of Akbar, " who so happj^ as to profit by them ? "- 
 
 The Rajput, with all his turbulence, possesses in an eminent 
 degTee both loyalty and patriotism ; and though he occasionally 
 exhibits his refractory spirit to his [195] father and sovereign,^ 
 we shall see of what he is capable when his country is threatened 
 with dismemberment, from the history of Mewar, and the reign 
 of Ajit Singh of Marwar. In this last we have one of the noblest 
 examples history can afford of unbounded devotion. A prince, 
 whom not a dozen of his subjects had ever seen, who had been 
 concealed from the period of his birth throughout a tedious 
 minority to avoid the snares of a tyrant,* by the mere magic of 
 a name kept the discordant materials of a great feudal association 
 
 scarcely be given than in the recent civil distractions at Kotab, where a 
 mercenary army raised and maintained by the Regent, either openly or 
 covertly declared against him, as did the whole feudal body to a man, the 
 moment their yomig prince asserted his subverted claims, and in the cause 
 of their rightful lord abandoned all consideration of self, their families and 
 lands, and with their followers offered their lives to redeem his rights or 
 perish in the attempt. No empty boast, as the conclusion testified. God 
 forbid that we should have more such examples of Rajput devotion to their 
 sense of fidehty to their lords ! 
 
 ^ See statement of its revenues during the last emperor, who had pre- 
 served the empire of Delhi united. 
 
 ^ Abu-1 Fazl uses this expression when moralizing on the fall of Shihabu-d- 
 din, king of Ghazni and first estabhshed monarch of India, slain by Prith- 
 wiraja, the Hindu sovereign of Delhi [Ain, ii. 302]. [Muhammad Ghori, 
 Shihabu-d-din, was murdered on the road to Ghazni by a fanatic of the 
 Mulahidah sect, in March, a.d. 1206 (Tabakat-t-Ndsiri, in EUiot-Dowson 
 ii. 297, 235). According to the less probable account of Ferishta (Briggs, 
 i. 185), he was murdered at Rohtak by a gang of Gakkhars or rather Khok- 
 hars (Rose, Glossary, ii. 275).] 
 
 ' The Rajput, who possesses but an acre of land, has the proud feeling 
 of common origin with his sovereign, and in styling him bapji (sire), he 
 thinks of liim as the common father or representative of the race. What 
 a powerful incentive to action ! ■* Aurangzeb. 
 
 VOL. I Q
 
 226 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 in subjection, till, able to bear arms, he issued from his conceal- 
 ment to head these devoted adherents, and reconquer what they 
 had so long struggled to maintain. So glorious a contest, of 
 twenty years' duration, requires but an historian to immortalize 
 it. Unfortunately we have only the relation of isolated en- 
 counters, which, though exhibiting a prodigality of blood and 
 acts of high devotion, are deficient in those minor details which 
 give unity and interest to the whole. 
 
 Gallant Services to the Empire. — Let us take the Rajput char- 
 acter from the royal historians themselves, from Akbar, Jahangir, 
 Aurangzeb. The most brilliant conquests of these monarchs 
 were by their Rajput allies ; though the little regard the latter 
 had for opinion alienated the sympathies of a race, who when 
 rightly managed, encountered at command the Afghan amidst 
 the snows of Caucasus, or made the furthest Cheronese tributary 
 to the empire. Assam, where the British arms were recently 
 engaged, and for the issue of which such anxiety was manifested 
 in the metropolis of Britain, was conquered by a Rajput prince,! 
 whose descendant is now an ally of the British Government. 
 
 But Englishmen in the east, as elsewhere, imdervalue every- 
 thing not national. They have been accustomed to conquest, 
 not reverses : though it is only by studying the character of those 
 around them that the latter can be avoided and this superiority 
 maintained. Superficial observers imagine that from lengthened 
 predatory spoliation the energy of the Rajput has fled : an idea 
 which is at once erroneous and dangerous. The vices now mani- 
 fest from oppression will disappear [196] with the cause, and with 
 reviving prosperity new feelings will be generated, and each 
 national tie and custom be strengthened. The Rajput would 
 glory in putting on his saffron robes ^ to fight for such a land, and 
 for those who disinterestedly laboured to benefit it. 
 
 ' Raja Man of Jaipur, who took Arakan, Orissa, and Assam. Raja 
 Jaswant Singh of Marwar retook Kabul for Aurangzeb, and was rewarded 
 by poison. Raja Ram Singh Hara, of Kotah, made several important 
 conquests ; and liis grandson, Raja Isari Singh, and his five brothers, were 
 left on one field of battle. 
 
 ^ When a Rajput is determined to hold out to the last in fighting, he 
 always puts on a robe dyed in saffron. [This was the common practice, 
 saffron being the colour of the bridal robe (Malcolm, Memoir of Central 
 India, 2nd ed. i. 358 ; Grant Duff, Hist, of the Mahrattas, 317 ; Forbes, 
 Easmula, 408).]
 
 RAJPUT LOYALTY AND PATRIOTISM 227 
 
 Let us, then, apply history to its proper use. We need not 
 turn to ancient Rome for illustration of the dangers inseparable 
 from wide dominion and extensive alhances. The twenty-two 
 Satrapies of India, the greater part of which are now the appanage 
 of Britain, exhibited, even a century ago, one of the most splendid 
 monarchies history has made known, too extensive for the genius 
 of any single individual effectually to control. Yet was it held 
 together, till encroachment on their rights, and disregard to their 
 habits and religious opinions, alienated the Rajputs, and excited 
 the inhabitants of the south to rise against their Mogul oppressors. 
 ' Then was the throne of Aurangzeb at the mercy of a Brahman, 
 and the grandson ^ of a cultivator in the province of Khandesh 
 held the descendants of Timur pensioners on his bounty ' [197]. 
 
 ' Sindhia
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 PAPERS REFERRED TO IN THE SKETCH OF A 
 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 BEING 
 
 Literal Translations from Inscriptions and Original 
 Documents, most of zvhich are in the Author's Possession 
 
 No. I 
 
 Translation of a Letter from the expatriated Chiefs ^ of Marwar to 
 the Political Agent of the British Government, Western Rajput 
 States. 
 
 After compliments. 
 
 We have sent to you a confidential person, who will relate what 
 regards us. The Sarkar Company are sovereigns of Hindustan, 
 and you know well all that regards our condition. Although 
 there is nothing which respects either ourselves or our country 
 hid from you, yet is there matter immediately concerning us 
 which it is necessary to make known. 
 
 Sri Maharaja and ourselves are of one stock, all Rathors. He 
 is our head, we his servants : but now anger has seized him, and 
 we are dispossessed of our country. Of the estates, our patri- 
 mony and our dwelling, some have been made khalisa,^ and those 
 who endeavour to keep aloof expect the same fate. Some under 
 the most solemn pledge of security have been inveigled and 
 suffered death, and others imprisoned. Mutasadis,^ officers of 
 
 1 The names omitted to prevent any of them faUing a sacrifice to the 
 blind fury of their prince. The brave chief of Nimaj has sold his life, but 
 dearly. In vain do we look in the annals of Europe for such devotion and 
 generous despair as marked his end, and that of his brave clan. He was a 
 perfect gentleman in deportment, modest and mild, and head of a powerful 
 clan. * Fiscal, that is, sequestrated 
 
 ^ Clerks, and inferior officers of government. 
 
 228
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER 229 
 
 state, men of the soil and those foreign to it, have been seized, 
 and the most unheard-of deeds and cruelties inflicted, which we 
 cannot even write. Such a spirit has possessed his mind as never 
 was known to any former prince of Jodhpur. His forefathers 
 have reigned for generations ; our forefathers were their ministers 
 and advisers, and whatever was performed was by the collective 
 wisdom of the coimcil of our chiefs. Before the face of his an- 
 cestors, our own ancestors have slain and been slain ; and in per- 
 forming services to the kings, ^ they made the State of Jodhpur 
 what it is. Wherever Marwar was concerned, there our fathers 
 were to be found, and v/ith their lives preserved the land. Some- 
 times our head was a minor ; even then by the wisdom of our 
 fathers and their services, the land was kept firm under our feet, 
 and thus has it descended from generation to generation. Before 
 his eyes (Raja Man's) we have performed good service : when 
 at that perilous time the host of Jaipur ^ surrounded [198] Jodhpur 
 on the field we attacked it ; our lives and fortimes were at stake, 
 and God granted us success ; the witness is God Almighty. 
 Now, men of no consideration are in our prince's presence ; hence 
 this reverse. When our services are acceptable, then is he our lord ; 
 when not, we are again his brothers and kindred, claimants and 
 laying claim to the land. 
 
 He desires to dispossess us ; but can we let ourselves be dispos- 
 sessed ? The English are masters of all India. The chief of • 
 
 sent his agent to Ajmer ; he was told to go to Delhi. Accord- 
 ingly Thakur went there, but no path was pointed out. If 
 
 the English chiefs will not hear us, who will ? Th# English allow 
 no one's lands to be usurped, and our birthplace is Marwar — from 
 Marwar we must have bread. A hundred thousand Rathors — 
 where are they to go to ? From respect to the English alone 
 have we been so long patient, and without acquainting your 
 government of our intentions, you might afterwards find fault ; 
 therefore wx make it known, and we thereby acquit ourselves to 
 you. What we brought with us from Marwar we have consumed; 
 and even what we could get on credit ; and now, when want 
 must make us perish, we are ready and can do anything.^ 
 
 The English are our rulers, our masters. Sri Man Singh has 
 seized our lands ; by your government interposing these troubles 
 may be settled, but without its guarantee and intervention we can 
 have no confidence whatever. Let us have a reply to our petition. 
 
 ^ Alluding to the sovereigns of Delhi. In the magnificent feudal assem- 
 blage at this gorgeous court, where seventy-six princes stood in the Divan 
 (Diwan-i-Khass) each by a pillar covered with plates of silver, the Marwar 
 prince had the right hand of all. I have an original letter from the great- 
 grandfather of Raja Man to the Rana. elate with this honour. 
 
 2 In 180G. 
 
 ^ The historian of the Middle Ages justly remarks, that " the most 
 deadly hatred is that which men, exasperated by proscription and forfeitures, 
 bear their country."
 
 230 FEUDAL SYSTEINI IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 We will wait it in patience ; but if we get none, the fault will not 
 be ours, having given everywhere notice. Hunger will compel 
 man to find a remedy. For such a length of time we have been 
 silent from respect to your govermiient alone : our own Sarkar 
 is deaf to complaint. But to what extreme shall we wait ? Let 
 our hopes be attended to. Sambat 1878, Sawan sudi duj. 
 (August 1821.) 
 
 True Translation : 
 
 (Signed) James Tod. 
 
 No. II 
 
 Remonstrance of the Sub-Vassals of Deogarh against their chief, 
 Rawat Gokul Das. 
 
 1. He respects not the privileges or customs established of old. 
 
 2. To each Rajput's house a charas ^ or hide of land was 
 attached : this he has resumed. 
 
 3. Whoever bribes him is a true man : who does not, is a 
 thief. 
 
 4. Ten or twelve villages established by his pattayats ^ he has 
 resumed, and left their families to starve. 
 
 5. From time immemorial sanctuary [saran) has been esteemed 
 sacred : this he has abolished. 
 
 6. On emergencies he would pledge his oath to his subjects 
 (ryots), and afterwards plunder them. 
 
 7. In old times, it was customary when the presence of his 
 chiefs and kindred was required, to invite them by letter : a fine 
 is now the warrant of summons : thus lessening their dignity. 
 
 8. Such messengers, in former times, had a taka ^ for their 
 ration (bhatta) ; now he imposes two rupees [199]. 
 
 9. Formerly, when robberies occurred in the mountains within 
 the limits of Deogarh, the loss was made good : now all complaint 
 is useless, for his faujdar * receives a fourth of all such plunder. 
 The Mers ^ range at liberty ; but before they never committed 
 murder : now they slay as well as rob our kin ; nor is there any 
 redress, and such plunder is even sold within the town of Deogarh. 
 
 10. Without crime, he resumes the lands of his vassals for the 
 
 ' Hide or skin, from the vessel used in irrigation being made of leather. 
 
 ^ The vassals, or those holding fiefs (patta) of Deogarh. 
 
 ' A copper coin, equal to twopence. 
 
 * Mihtary commander ; a kind of inferior maire du ]mlais, on every 
 Rajput chieftain's estate, and who has the miUtary command of the vassals. 
 Ele is seldom of the same family, but generally of another tribe. 
 
 ^ Mountaineers.
 
 THE DEOGARH PETITION 231 
 
 sake of imposition of fines ; and after such are paid, he cuts down 
 the green crops, with which he feeds his horses. 
 
 11. The cultivators^ on the lands of tlie vassals he seizes by 
 force, extorts fines, or sells their cattle to pay them. Thus cul- 
 tivation is ruined and the inhabitants leave the country. 
 
 12. From oppression the town magistrates - of Deogarh have 
 fled to Raepur. He lays in watch to seize and extort money from 
 them. 
 
 13. When he summons his vassals for purposes of extortion 
 and they escape his clutches, he seizes on their wives and families. 
 Females, from a sense of honour, have on such occasions thrown 
 themselves into wells. 
 
 14. He interferes to I'ecover old debts, distraining the debtor 
 of all he has in the world : half he receives. 
 
 15. If any one have a good horse, by fair means or foul he 
 contrives to get it. 
 
 16. When Deogarh ivas established, at the same time zvere our 
 allotments : as is his 2)atrimony, so is our patrimony.^ Thousands 
 have been expended in establishing and improving them, yet our 
 rank, privileges, and rights he equally disregards. 
 
 17. From these villages, founded by our forefathers, he, at 
 will, takes four or five skins of land and bestows them on 
 foreigners ; and thus the ancient proprietors are reduced to 
 poverty and ruin. 
 
 18. From of old, all his Rajput kin had daily rations, or portions 
 of grain : for four years these rights have been abolished. 
 
 19. From ancient times the pattayats formed his council ; 
 now he consults only foreigners. What has been the conse- 
 quence ? the whole annual revenue derived from the mountains 
 is lost. 
 
 20. From the ancient Bhum ' of the Frerage ^ the mountaineers 
 carry off the cattle, and instead of redeeming them, this faujdar 
 sets the plunderers up to the trick of demanding rakhwali.* 
 
 21. Money is justice, and there is none other : whoever has 
 money may be heard. The bankers and merchants have gone 
 abroad for protection, but he asks not where they are. 
 
 22. When cattle are driven off to the hills, and we do ourselves 
 justice and recover them, we are fined, and told that the moun- 
 taineers have his pledge. Thus our dignity is lessened. Or if 
 
 ^ Of the Jat and other labouring tribes. ' 
 
 * Chauthias. In everj'^ town there is an unpaid magistracy, of which 
 the head is the Nagar Seth, or chief citizen, and the four Chauthias, tanta- 
 mount to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, who hold their courts and decide 
 in all ci\nl cases. 
 
 ^ Here are the precise sentiments embodied in the remonstrances of the 
 great feudal chiefs of Marwar to their prince ; see Appendix, No. I. 
 
 * The old allodial allotments. 
 
 * Bhayyad. 
 
 * The salvainenta of our feudal writers ; the blackmail of the north.
 
 232 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 we seize one of these marauders, a party is sent to liberate him, 
 for which the faujdar [200] receives a bribe. Then a feud ensues 
 at the instigation of the Hberated Mer, and the unsupported 
 Rajput is obhged to abandon his patrimony.^ There is neither 
 protection nor support. The chief is supine, and so regardless 
 of honour, that he tells us to take money to the hills and redeem 
 our property. Since this faujdar had power, ' poison has been 
 our fate.' Foreigners are all in all, and the home-bred are set 
 aside. Deccanis and plunderers enjoy the lands of his brethren. 
 Without fault, the chiefs are deprived of their lands, to bring 
 which into order time and money have been lavished. Justice 
 there is none. 
 
 Our rights and privileges in his famUy are the same as his in 
 the family of the Presence.^ Since you ' entered Mewar, lands 
 long lost have been recovered. What crimes have we committed 
 that at this day we should lose ours ? 
 
 We are in great trouble.* 
 
 No. Ill 
 
 Maharaja Sri Gokuldas to the four ranks (char misl) of Pattayats 
 of Deogarh, commanding. Peruse. 
 
 Without crime no vassal shall have his estate or charsas dis- 
 seized. Should any individual commit an offence, it shall be 
 judged by the four ranks (char misl), my brethren, and then 
 pxmished. Without consulting them on all occasions I shall 
 never inflict punishment.^ To this I swear by Sri Nathji. No 
 departure from this agreement shall ever occur. S. 1874 ; the 
 6th Pus. 
 
 1 ' Watan.' 2 tj^^ ^g^y^g,, 3 The Author. 
 
 * With the articles of complaint of the vassals of Deogarh and the short 
 extorted charter, to avoid future cause for such, we may contrast the 
 following : " Pour avoir une idee du brigandage que les nobles exer^aient 
 a I'epoque oil les premieres chartes f ureut accordees, il sufiit d'en lire quelques- 
 unes, et Ton verra que le seigneur y disait : — ' Je promets de ne point 
 voler, extorquer les biens et les meubles des habitans, de les dehvrer des 
 totes ou rapines, et autres mauvaises coutumes, et de ne plus commettre 
 envers eux d'exactions.' — En effet, dans ces terns malheureux, vivres, 
 meubles, chevaux, voitures, dit le savant Abbe de Mably, tout etait enleve 
 par I'insatiable et aveugle avidite des seigneurs " (Art. ' Chartres,' Diet, 
 de VAncien Regime). 
 
 ^ This reply to the remonstrance of his vassals is perfectly similar in 
 point to the 43rd article of Magna Charta.
 
 
 
 I ^'^<^'■x^^^^^f^it^'.:(^.K^rH w?!*^ 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■^^mm&it. 
 
 
 >3>; 
 
 
 REPKODUCTION OF SANSKRIT GRANT. 
 
 To face page 232.
 
 GRANTS 233 
 
 No. IV 
 
 Grant from Maharana Ari Singh, Prince of Mewar, to the Sindi 
 Chief, Abdu-l Rahim Beg. 
 
 Ramji ! ^ 
 Ganeshji ! ^ Ekiingji ! ^ 
 
 Sri Maharaja Dhiraj Maharana Ari Singh to Mirza Abdu-l 
 Rahim Beg Adilbegot, commanding. 
 
 Now some of our chiefs having rebelled and set up the impostor 
 Ratna Singh, brought the [201] Deccani army and erected 
 batteries against Udaipur, in which circumstances your services 
 have been great and tended to the preservation of our sovereignty : 
 therefore, in favour towards you, I have made this grant, which 
 your children and children's children shall continue to enjoy. 
 You will continue to serve faithfully ; and whoever of my race 
 shall dispossess you or yours, on liim be Ekiingji and the sin of the 
 slaughter of Chitor. 
 
 Particulars. 
 
 1st. In estates, 200,000 rupees. 
 
 2nd. In cash annually, 25,000. 
 
 3rd. Lands outside the Debari gate, 10,000. 
 
 4th. As a residence, the dwelling-house called Bharat Singh's. 
 
 5th. A hundred bighas of land outside the city for a garden. 
 
 6th. The town of Mithim in the valley, to supply wood and 
 forage. 
 
 7th. To keep up the tomb of Ajmeri Beg, who fell in action, 
 one hundred bighas of land. 
 
 Privileges and Honours. 
 
 8th. A seat in Darbar and rank in all respects equal to the 
 chieftain of Sadri.^ 
 
 9th. Your kettle-drums (Nakkara) to beat to the exterior gate, 
 but with one stick only. 
 
 10th. Amar Balaona,^ and a dress of honour on the Dasahra * 
 festival. 
 
 1 Invocations to Ram, Ganesh (god of wisdom), and Eklinga, tlie patron- 
 divinity of the Sesodia Guhilots. 
 
 2 The first of the foreign vassals of the Rana's house. [Bari Sadri, about 
 50 miles E.S.E. of Udaipur city, held by the senior noble of Mewar, a Rajput 
 of the Jhala sub-sept, styled Raja of Sadri (Erskine ii. A. 93).] 
 
 ^ A horse furnished by the prince, always replaced when he dies, there- 
 fore called Amar, or immortal. 
 
 * The grand miUtary festival, when a muster is made of all the Rajput 
 quotas.
 
 234 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 11th. Drums to beat to Aliar. All other privileges and rank 
 like the house of Salumbar.^ Like that house, yours shall be 
 from generation to generation ; therefore according to the valua- 
 tion of your grant you will serve. 
 
 12th. Your brothers or servants, whom you may dismiss, I 
 shall not entertain or suffer my chief to entertain. 
 
 13th. The Chamars ^ and Kirania * you may use at all times 
 when alone, but never in the Presence. 
 
 14th. Munawwar Beg, Anwar Beg, Chaman Beg, are permitted 
 seats in front of the throne ; Amar Balaona, and honorary dresses 
 on Dasahra, and seats for two or three other relatives who may 
 be found worthy the honour. 
 
 15th. Your agent (Vakil) shall remain at court with the privi- 
 leges due to his rank. 
 
 By command : 
 
 Sah Moti Ram Bolia, 
 S. 1826 (a.d. 1770) Bhadon (August) sudi 11 Somwar (Monday). 
 
 No. V 
 
 Grant of Vie Patta of Bhainsror to Rawai Lai Singh, one of the 
 sixteen great vassals of Mewar. 
 
 Maharaja Jagat Singh to Rawat Lai Singh Kesarisinghgot,* 
 commanding. 
 
 Now to you the whole Pargana of Bhainsror ^ is granted as 
 Giras, viz. [202] : 
 
 Town of Bhainsror . . . 3000 1500 
 
 Fifty-two others (names uninterest- 
 ing), besides one in the valley of 
 
 the capital. Total value . . 62,000 31,000 « 
 
 With two hundred and forty-eight horse and two hundred 
 and forty-eight foot, good horse and good Rajputs, you will 
 perform service. Of this, forty-eight horse and forty-eight foot 
 are excused for the protection of your fort ; therefore with two 
 hundred foot and two hundred horse you will serve when and 
 wherever ordered. The first grant was given in Pus, S. 1798, 
 when the income inserted was over-rated. Understanding this, the 
 Presence (huzur) ordered sixty thousand of annual value to be 
 attached to Bhainsror. 
 
 ^ The first of the home-chieftains. 
 ^ The tail of the wild ox, worn across the saddle-bow. 
 ^ An umbrella or shade against the sun ; from kiran, ' a ray.' 
 * Clan (got) of Kesari Singh, one of the great branches of the Chondawats. 
 ^ On the left bank of the Chambal. 
 
 ' To explain these double rekhs, or estimates, one is the full value^ the 
 other the deteriorated rate.
 
 GRANTS 235 
 
 No. VI 
 
 Grant from Maharana Sangram Singh of Meivar to his Nephew, 
 the Prince Madho Singh, heir-apparent to the principality of 
 Jaipur. 
 
 Sri Ramjayati 
 {Victory to Rama). 
 Sri Ganesh Prasad Sri Ekling Prasad 
 
 (By favour of Ganesh). {By favour of Eklinga). 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 (See notes 1 and 2 below.) 
 
 Maharaja Dhiraj Maharana Sri Sangram Singh, Adisatu, com- 
 manding. To my nephew, Kunwar Madho Singhji, giras (a fief) 
 has been granted, viz. : 
 
 The fief {patta) of Rampura ; therefore, with one thousand 
 horse and two thousand foot, you will perform service during six 
 months annually ; and when foreign service is required, three 
 thousand foot and three thousand horse. 
 
 While the power of the Presence is maintained in these districts 
 you will not be dispossessed. 
 
 By command : 
 
 Pancholi Raechand amd Mehta Mul Das. 
 
 S, 1785 (a.d. 1729) ; Chait sudi 7th ; Mangalwar (Tuesday). 
 
 Addressed in the Rana's own hand. 
 
 To my nephew Madho Singh ^ [203]. My child, I have given 
 you Rampura : while mine, you shall not be deprived of it. 
 Done. 
 
 ^ The bhala, or lance, is the sign-manual of the Salumbar chieftain, as 
 hereditary premier of the state. 
 
 ^ Is a monogram forming the word Sahai, being the sign-manual of the 
 prince. 
 
 ' BJianaij is sister's son ; as Bhatija is brother's son. It will be seen in 
 the Annals, that to support this prince to the succession of the Jaipur Gaddi, 
 both Mewar and Jaipur were ruined, and the power of the Deccanis estab- 
 hshed in both countries.
 
 236 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 No. VII 
 
 Grant of Bhum Rakhwali (Salvamenta) from the village of Dongla 
 to Maharaja Khushhal Singh. 
 
 S. 1806 (a.d. 1750), the first of Saxvan {July). 
 1st. A field of one hundred and fifty-one bighas, of which 
 thirty-six are irrigated. 
 
 2nd. One hundred and two bighas of waste and unirrigated, 
 viz. : 
 
 Six bighas cultivated by Govinda the oilman. 
 
 Three, under Hira and Tara the oilmen. 
 
 Seventeen cultivated by the mason Hansa, and I-al 
 
 the oilman. 
 Four bighas of waste and forest land {parti, aryana) 
 which belonged to Govinda and 'Hira, etc., etc. ; 
 and so on enumerating all the fields composing the 
 above aggregate. 
 
 Dues and Privileges 
 
 Pieces of money . .12. 
 
 Grain . . . .24 maunds. 
 
 On the festivals of Rakhi, Diwali, and Holi, one 
 
 copper coin from each house. 
 Serana . . .at harvest. 
 
 Shukri from the Brahmans. 
 Transit duties for protection of merchandise, viz., a 
 
 pice on every cart-load, and half a pice for each 
 
 bullock. 
 Two platters on every marriage feast. 
 
 No. VIII 
 
 Grant of Bhum by the Inhabitants of Amli to Rawat Fateh 
 Singh of Amet. S. 1814 (a.d. 17.58) 
 
 The Ranawats Sawant Singh and Subhag Singh had Amli in 
 grant ; but they were oppressive to the inhabitants, slew the 
 Patels .lodha and Bhagi, and so ill-treated the Brahmans, that 
 Kusal and Nathu sacrificed themselves on the pyre. The in- 
 habitants demanded the protection of the Rana, and the pattayats 
 were changed ; and now the inhabitants grant in rakhwali one 
 hundred and twenty-five bighas as bhum to Fateh Singh ^ [204]. 
 
 ^ This is a proof of the value attached to bhum, when granted by the 
 inhabitants, as the first act of the new proprietor though holding the whole 
 town from the crown, was to obtain these few bighas as bhum. After 
 having been sixty years in that family, Audi has been resumed by the 
 crown : the bhum has remained with the chief.
 
 GRANTS 237 
 
 No. IX 
 
 Grant of Bhum by the Inhabitants of the Town of Dongla to 
 Maharaja Zoraivar Singh, of Bhindar. 
 
 To Sri Maharaja Zorawar Singh, the Patels, traders, merchants, 
 Brahmans, and united inhabitants of Dongla, make agreement. 
 
 Formerly the ' runners ' in Dongla were numerous : to pre- 
 serve us from whom we granted bhum to the IMaharaja. To wit : 
 
 One well, that of Hira the oilman. 
 
 One well, that of Dipa the oilman. 
 
 One well, that of Dewa the oilman. 
 
 In all, three wells, being forty-four bighas of irrigated (pixval), 
 and one hundred and ninety-one bighas of unirrigated (mat) land. 
 Also a field for juar. 
 
 Customs or Dignities (Maryad) attached to the Bhum. 
 
 1st. A dish (kansa) on every marriage. 
 
 2nd. Six hundred rupees ready cash annually. 
 
 3rd. All Bhumias, Girasias, the high roads, passes from raids 
 and ' runners,' and all distiu-bances whatsoever, the Maharaja 
 must settle. 
 
 When the Maharaja is pleased to let the inhabitants of Dongla 
 reinhabit their dwellings, then only can they return to them.^ 
 
 Written by the accountant Kacchia, on the full moon of Jeth, 
 S. 1858, and signed by all the traders, Brahmans, and towns- 
 people. 
 
 No. X 
 
 Grant of Bhum by the Prince of Mewar to an inferior Vassal. 
 
 Maharana Bhini Singh to Baba Ram Singh, commanding. 
 
 Now a field of two htindred and twenty-five bighas in the city 
 of Jahazpur, with the black orchard (sham bagh) and a farm-house 
 (nohara) for cattle, has been granted you in bhum. 
 
 Your forefathers recovered for me Jahazpur and served with 
 fidelity ; on which account this bhum is renewed. Rest assured 
 no molestation shall be offered, nor shall any pattayat interfere 
 with you. 
 
 Primleges. 
 
 One serana.^ 
 
 Two halmas [205].' 
 
 ^ This shows how bhum was extorted in these periods of turbulence, and 
 that this individual gift was as much to save them from the effects of the 
 Maharaja's violence- as to gain protection from that of others. 
 
 ^ A seer on each inaund of produce. 
 
 ' The labour of two ploughs {hal). Halma is the personal service of the
 
 238 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 Offerings of coco-nuts on the Holi and Dasahra festivals. 
 
 From every hundred bullock-loads ^ of merchandise, twelve 
 annas. 
 
 From every hundred and twenty -five ass-loads, six annas. 
 
 From each horse sold within Jahazpur, two annas. 
 
 From each camel sold, one anna. 
 
 From each oil-mill, one pula. 
 
 From each ix'on mine (madri), a quarter rupee. 
 
 From each distillation of spirits, a quarter rupee. 
 
 From each goat slain, one pice. 
 
 On births and marriages,^ five platters {kansa). 
 
 The handful (inch) from every basket of greens. 
 
 With every other privilege attached to blium. 
 
 Irrigated land (piwal) . . .51 bighas. 
 
 Unirrigated land [mal) . . .110 „ 
 
 Mountain land (magra) . , . 40 ,, 
 
 Meadow land {bira) . . . . 25 „ 
 
 226 bighas. 
 Asarh (June) S. 1853 (a.d. 1797). 
 
 husbandman with his plough for such time as is specified. Halma is pre- 
 cisely the detested corvee of the French regime. " Les corvees sont tout 
 ouvrage ou service, soit de corps ou de charrois et betes, pendant le jour, 
 qui est du a un seigneur. II y avait deux sortes de corvees : les reelles et 
 /es personnelles, etc. Quelquefois le nombre des corvees etait fixe : mais, le 
 plus souvent, elles etaient a volonte du seigneur, et c'est ce qu'on appelait 
 corvees a ■merci" (Art. 'Corv6e,' Diet, de Vane. Regime). Almost all the 
 exactions for the last century in Mewar may come under this latter denomina- 
 tion. 
 
 ^ A great variety of oppressive imposts were levied by the chiefs during 
 these times of trouble, to the destruction of commerce and all facility of 
 travelling. Everything was subject to tax, and a long train of vexatious 
 dues exacted for " repairs of forts, boats at ferries, night-guards, guards of 
 passes," and other appellations, all having much in common with the 
 ' Droit de Peage ' in France. " II n'y avait pas de ponts, de gues, de 
 chaussees, d'ecluses, de defiles, de portes, etc., oil les feodaux ne fissent 
 payer un droit a ceux que leurs atlaires ou leur commerce for9aient de 
 voyager" {Diet, de Vane. Regime). 
 
 ^ The privileges of our Rajput chieftains on the marriages of their 
 vassals and cultivating subjects are confined to the best dishes of the marriage 
 feast or a pecuniary commutation. This is, however, though in a minor 
 degree, one of the vexatious claims of feudality of the French system, known 
 under the term norages, where the seigneur or his deputy presided, and 
 had the right to be placed in front of the bride, " et de chanter a la fin du 
 rejaas, une chanson guillerette." But they even carried their insolence 
 further, and " pousserent leur mepris pour les villains (the agricultural 
 classes of the Rajput system) jusqu'a exiger que leurs chiens eussent leur 
 convert aupres de la mariee, et qu'on les laissat manger sur la table " (Art. 
 ' Nonages,' Diet, de Vane. Regime).
 
 GRANTS, CHARTERS 239 
 
 No. XI 
 
 Charter of Privileges and Immunities granted to the town of 
 Jhalrapatan, engraved on a Pillar in that City. 
 
 S. 1853 (a.d. 1797), corresponding with the Saka 1718, the sun 
 being in the south, the season of cold, and the happy month of 
 Kartika,"^ the enhghtened half of the month, being Monday the 
 full moon. 
 
 Maharaja Dhiraj Sri Ummed Singh Deo,^ the Faujdar ^ Raj 
 Zalim Singh [206] and Kunwar Madho Singh, commanding. To 
 all the inhabitants of Jhalrapatan, Patels,* Patwaris,^ Mahajans,* 
 and to all the thirty-six castes, it is written. 
 
 At this period entertain entire confidence, build and dwell. 
 
 Within this abode all forced contributions and confiscations 
 are for ever abolished. The taxes called Bhalamanusi,' Anni,* 
 and Rekha Barar,* and likewise all Bhetbegar," shall cease. 
 
 To this intent is this stone erected, to hold good from year to 
 year, now and evermore. There shall be no violence in this 
 territory. This is sworn by the cow to the Hindu and the hog to 
 the Musalman : in the presence of Captain Dilel Khan, Chaudhari 
 Sarup Chand, Patel Lalo, the Mahesri Patwari Balkishan, the 
 architect Kalu Ram, and the stone-mason Balkishan. 
 
 Parmo ^^ is for ever abolished. Whoever dwells and traffics 
 within the town of Patau, one half of the transit duties usually 
 levied in Haravati are remitted ; and all mapa (meter's) duties 
 are for ever abolished. 
 
 No. XII 
 
 Abolitions, Immunities, Prohibitions, etc. etc. Inscription 
 in the Temple of Lachhmi Narayan at Akola. 
 
 In former times tobacco was sold in one market only. Rana 
 Raj Singh commanded the monopoly to be abolished. S. 1645. 
 
 Rana Jagat Singh prohibited the seizure of the cots and quilts 
 by the officers of his government from the printers of Akola. 
 
 ^ December. ^ The Eaja of Kotah. 
 
 ' Commander of the forces and regent of Kotah. 
 
 * Officers of the land revenue. ^ Land accountants. 
 
 * The mercantile class. ' Literally ' good behaviour.' 
 ^ An agricultural tax. * Tax for registering. 
 
 ^^ This includes in one word the forced labour exacted from the working 
 classes : the corvee, of the French system. 
 
 ^^ Grain thrown on the inlia,bitants at an arbitrary rate ; often resorted 
 to at Kotah, where the regent is farmer general.
 
 240 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 No. XIII 
 
 Privileges and Immunities granted to the Printers of Calico 
 and Inhabitants of the Town of Great Akola in Mewar. 
 
 Maharana Bhiin Singh, commanding, to the inhabitants of 
 Great Akola. 
 
 Whereas the village has been abandoned from the assignments 
 levied by the garrison of Mandalgarh, and it being demanded of 
 its population how it could again be rendered prosperous, they 
 unanimously replied : " Not to exact beyond the dues and 
 contributions (dand dor) established of yore ; to erect the piUar 
 promising never to exact above half the produce of the crops, or 
 to molest the persons of those who thus paid their dues." 
 
 The Presence agreed, and this pillar has been erected. May 
 Eklinga look to him who breaks this command. The hog to the 
 Musalman and the cow to the Hindu. 
 
 Whatever contributions (dand) parmo,^ puli,^ heretofore levied 
 shall be paid [207]. 
 
 All crimes committed within the jurisdiction of Akola to be 
 tried by its inhabitants, who will sit in justice on the offender 
 and fine him according to his faults. 
 
 On Amavas * no work shall be done at the well * or at the oil- 
 mill, nor printer put his dye-pot on the fire.* 
 
 Whoever breaks the foregoing, may the sin of the slaughter of 
 Chi tor be upon him. 
 
 This pillar was erected in the presence of Mehta Sardar Singh, 
 Sanwal Das, the Chaudharis Bhopat Ram and Daulat Ram, and 
 the assembled Panch of Akola. 
 
 Written by the Chaudhari Bhopji, and engraved by the stone- 
 cutter Rhima. 
 
 S. 1856 (a.d. 1800) 
 
 No. XIV 
 
 Prohibition against Guests carrying away Provisions from the 
 Public Feasts 
 
 Sri Maharana Sangram Singh to the inhabitants of Marmi. 
 On all feasts of rejoicing, as well as those on the ceremonies 
 
 ^ Grain, the property of the government, thrown on the inhabitants 
 for purchase at an arbitrary valuation. 
 
 2 The handful from each sheaf at harvest. 
 
 ^ A day sacred to the Hindu, being that which divides the month. 
 
 * Meaning, they shall not irrigate the fields. 
 
 * This part of the edict is evidently the instigation of the Jains, to 
 prevent the destruction of life, though only that of insects. 
 
 ^ The cause of this sumptuary edict was a benevolent motive, and to
 
 CHARTERS 241 
 
 for the dead, none shall carry away with them the remains of 
 the feast. Whoever thus transgresses shall pay a fine to the 
 crown of one hundred and one rupees. S. 1769 (a.d. 1713), Chait 
 Sudi 7th. 
 
 No. XV 
 
 Maharana Sangram Singh to the merchants and bankers of 
 Bakrol. 
 
 The custom of furnishing quilts (sirak) ^ of which you complain 
 is of ancient date. Now when the collectors of duties, their 
 officers, or those of the land revenue stop at Bakrol, the merchants 
 will furnish them with beds and quilts. All other servants will 
 be supplied by the other inhabitants. 
 
 Should the dam of the lake be in any way injured, whoever 
 does not aid in its repair shall, as a punishment, feed one hundred 
 and one Brahmans. Asarh 1715, or June a.d. 1659 [208]. 
 
 No. XVI 
 
 Warrant of the Chief of Bijolli to his Vassal, Gopaldas 
 Saktawat. 
 
 Maharaja Mandhata to Saktawat Gopaldas, be it known. 
 
 At this time a daily fine of four rupees is in force against you. 
 
 prevent the expenses on these occasions falUng too heavily on the poorer 
 classes. It was customary for the women to carry away under their petti- 
 coats (ghaghra) sufficient sweetmeats for several days' consumption. The 
 great Jai Singh of Amber had an ordinance restricting the number of guests 
 to fifty-one on these occasions, and prohibited to all but the four wealthy 
 classes the use of sugar-candy : the others were confined to the use of 
 molasses and brown sugar. To the lower vassals and the cultivators these 
 feasts were limited to the coarser fare ; to juar flour, greens and oil. A 
 dyer who on the Holi feasted his friends with sweetmeats of fine sugar and 
 scattered about balls made of brown sugar, was fined five thousand rupees 
 for setting so pernicious an example. The sadh, or marriage present, from 
 the bridegroom to the bride's father, was limited to fifty-one rupees. The 
 great sums previously paid on this score were preventives of matrimony. 
 Many other wholesome regulations of a much more important kind, especially 
 those for the suppression of infanticide, were instituted by this prince. 
 
 ^ ' Defence against the cold weather ' (si). This in the ancient French 
 regime came under the denomination of " Albergie ou Hebergement, un 
 droit royal. Par exemple, ce ne fut qu'apres le regne de Saint Louis, et 
 moyennant finances, que les habitans de Paris et de Corbeil s'affranchirent, 
 les premiers de fournir au roi et k sa suite de bons oreillers et d'excellens 
 hts de plumes, tant qu'il sejournait dans leur ville, et les seconds de le 
 regaler quand it passait par leur bourg." 
 
 VOL. I R
 
 242 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 Eighty are now due ; Ganga Ram having petitioned in your 
 favour, forty of this will be remitted. Give a written declaration 
 to this effect — that with a specified quota you will take the field ; 
 if not, you will stand the consequences. 
 
 Viz. : One good horse and one matchlock, with appurtenances 
 complete, to serve at home and abroad (des pardes), and to run 
 the country ^ with the Kher. 
 
 When the levy (kher) takes the field, Gopaldas must attend 
 in person. Should he be from home, his retainers must attend, 
 and they shall receive rations from the presence. Sawan sudi 
 das (August 10) S. 1782. 
 
 No. XVII 
 
 Maharaja Udaikaran to the Saktawat Shambhu Singh. Be 
 it known. 
 
 I had annexed Gura to the fisc, but now, from favour, restore 
 it to you. Make it flourish, and serve me at home and abroad, 
 with one horse, and one foot soldier. 
 
 When abroad you shall receive rations (bhatta) as follows : 
 Flour . . 3 lb. 
 
 Pulse . . 4 ounces. 
 
 Butter ighi) . 2 pice weight. 
 
 Horses' feed . 4 seers at 22 takas each seer, of daily allow- 
 ance. 
 
 ^ The ' Daurayat ' or runners, the term applied to the bands who swept 
 the country with their forays in those periods of general confusion, are 
 analogous to the armed bands of the Middle Ages, who in a similar manner 
 desolated Europe under the term routiers, tantamount to our rabars (on 
 the road), the labars of the Pindaris in India. The Rajput Daurayat has 
 as many epithets as the French routier, who were called escorcheurs, tard 
 veneurs (of which class Gopaldas appears to have been), mille-diables, 
 Ouilleries, eto. From the Crusades to the sixteenth century, the nobles 
 of Europe, of whom these bands were composed (like our Rajputs), abandoned 
 themselves to this sort of life ; who, to use the words of the historian, 
 " prefererent la vie vagabonde a laquelle ils s'etoient accoutumes dans le 
 camp, a retourner cultiver leurs champs. C'est alors que se formerent ces 
 bandes qu'on vit parcourir le royaume et etendre sur toutes les provinces 
 le fl^au de leurs incUnations destructives, repandre partout I'effroi, la misere, 
 le deuil et le desespoir ; mettre les villes a contribution, piller et incendier 
 les villages, egorger les laboureurs, et se livrer a des acces de cruaute qui 
 font fremir " {Diet, de Vancien regime et des abus feodaux, art. ' Routier,' 
 p. 422). 
 
 We have this apology for the Rajput routiers, that the nobles of Europe 
 had not ; they were driven to it by perpetual aggressions of invaders. I 
 invariably found that the reformed routier was one of the best subjects : 
 it secured him from indolence, the parent of all Rajput vices.
 
 CHARTERS 243 
 
 If for defence of the fort you are required, you will attend with 
 all your dependents, and bring your wife, family, and chattels ; 
 for which, you will be exempted from two years of subsequent 
 sei-vice. Asarh 14, S. 1834 [209]. 
 
 No. XVIII 
 
 Bhiim in Mundkati, or Compensation for Blood, to Jeth 
 Singh Chondawat. 
 
 The Patel's son went to bring home his wife with Jeth's Rajputs 
 as a guard. The party was attacked, the guard killed, and there 
 having been no redress for the murder, twenty-six bighas have 
 been granted in mimdkati ^ (compensation). 
 
 No. XIX 
 
 Rawat Megh Singh to his natural brother, Jamna Das, a patta 
 (fief) has been granted, viz. : 
 
 The village of Rajpura, value . . . Rupees 401 
 
 A garden of mogra flowers^ ... 11 
 
 Rupees . . 412 
 
 Serve at home and abroad with fidelity : contributions and 
 aids pav according to custom, and as do the rest of the vassals. 
 Jeth 14th, S. 1874 
 
 No. XX 
 
 Charter given by the Ttana of Mezvar. accepted and signed by all his 
 
 Chiefs ; defining the duties of the contracting Parties. 
 
 A.D. 1818. 
 
 Siddh Sri Maharana Dhiraj, Maharana Bhim Singh, to all the 
 nobles my brothers and kin. Rajas, Patels, Jhalas, Chauhans, 
 Chondawats, Panwars, Sarangdeots, Saktawats, Rathors, Rana- 
 wats, etc., etc. 
 
 Now, since S. 1822 (a.d. 1776), during the reign of Sri Ari 
 Singh ji,' when the troubles commenced, laying ancient usages 
 aside, undue usurpations of the land have been made : therefore 
 
 ^ Mund, ' the head ' ; kati, ' cut.' 
 
 ^ [The double jasmine, Jasminum sambac.'] 
 
 ^ The rebelhon broke out during the reign of this prince.
 
 244 FEUDAL SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN 
 
 on this day, Baisakh badi 14th, S. 1874 (a.d. 1818), the Maharana 
 assembling all his chiefs, lays down the path of duty in new 
 ordinances. 
 
 1st. All lands belonging to the crown obtained since the 
 troubles, and all lands seized by one chief from another, shall be 
 restored. 
 
 2nd. All Rakhwali,^ Bhum, Lagat,^ established since the 
 troubles, shall be renounced. 
 
 3rd. Dhan,' Biswa,* the right of the crown alone, shall be 
 renounced. 
 
 4th. No chiefs shall commit thefts or violence within the 
 boundaries of their estates. They shall entertain no Thugs,^ 
 foreign thieves or thieves of the country, as Moghias,* Baoris,^ 
 Thoris : ^ but those who shall adopt peaceful habits may remain ; 
 but should any return to their old pursuits, their heads shall 
 instantly be taken off. All property stolen shall be made good 
 by the proprietor of the estate within the limits of which it is 
 plundered [210]. 
 
 5th. Home or foreign merchants, traders, Kafilas,^ Banjaras,' 
 who enter the country, shall be protected. In no wise shall they 
 be inolested or injured, and whoever breaks this ordinance, his 
 estate shall be confiscated. 
 
 6th. According to command, at home or abroad service must 
 be performed. Four divisions (chaukis) shall be formed of the 
 chiefs, and each division shall remain three months in attendance 
 at court, when they shall be dismissed to their estates. Once a 
 year, on the festival of the Dasahra,* all the chiefs shall assemble 
 with their quotas ten days previous thereto, and twenty days 
 subsequent they shall be dismissed to their estates. On urgent 
 occasions, and whenever their services are required, they shall 
 repair to the Presence. 
 
 ^ Salvamenta. ^ Dues. 
 
 3 Transit dtity. * Ditto. 
 
 ^ Different descriptions of tliieves. [The Mogliias are settled principally 
 in E. Mewar • if not identical with, they are closely allied to, the Baori 
 (Luard, Ethnographic Survey, Central India, App. V. 17 ff.). Gen. C. 
 Hervey {Some Records of Crime, i. 386 ff.) makes frequent references to 
 dacoities committed by them from their headquarters, NImach. The Baori 
 or Bawariya are a notorious criminal tribe (Rose, Glossary, ii. 70 ff. ; M. 
 Kennedy, Notes on Criminal Classes in Bombay Presidency, 173 ff., 198 ft'.). 
 The Thori in Marwar claim Rajput origin, and are connected with the Aheri, 
 or nomad hunters {Census Report, Mdnvdr, 1891, ii. 194). According to 
 Rose {op. cit. iii. 466) those in the Panjab are rather vagrants than actual 
 criminals.] 
 
 ^ Caravans of merchandise, whether on camels, bullocks, or in carts. 
 
 ' Caravans of bullocks, chiefly for the transport of grain and salt. 
 
 " On this festival the muster of all the feudal retainers is taken by the 
 Rana in person, and honorary dresses and dignities are bestowed.
 
 CHARTERS 245 
 
 7th. Every Pattawat holding a separate patta from the 
 Presence shall perform separate service. They shall not unite 
 or serve under the greater Pattawats : and the sub-vassals of all 
 such chiefs shall remain with and serve their immediate Pattawat.^ 
 
 8th, The Maharana shall maintain the dignities due to each 
 chief according to his degree. 
 
 9th. The Ryots shall not be oppressed : thei'e shall be no new 
 exactions or arbitrary fines. This is ordained. 
 
 10th. What has been executed by Thakur Ajit Singh and 
 sanctioned by the Rana, to this all shall agree.'^ 
 
 11th. Whosoever shall depart from the foregoing, the Maharana 
 shall punish. In doing so the fault will not be the Rana's. Wiio- 
 ever fails, on him be the oath (an) of Eklinga and the Maharana. 
 
 [Here follow the signatures of all the chieftains of rank in 
 Mewar, which it is needless to insert] [211]. 
 
 ^ This article had become especially necessary, as the inferior cliiefs, 
 particularly those of the third class, had amalgamated themselves with 
 the head of their clans, to whom they had become more accountable than 
 to their prince. 
 
 - Thisalludestothetreaty which this chief had formed, as the ambassador 
 of the Rana, with the British Government.
 
 BOOK IV 
 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 We now proceed to the history of the States of Rajputana, 
 and shall commence with the Annals of Mewar, and its princes. 
 
 Titles of Mewar Chiefs : descent from the Sun. — These are 
 styled Ranas, and are the elder branch of the Suryavansi, or 
 ' children of the sun.' Another patronymic is Raghuvansi, 
 derived from a predecessor of Rama, the focal point of each scion 
 of the solar race. To him, the conqueror of Lanka,^ the genea- 
 logists endeavour to trace the solar lines. The titles of many of 
 these claimants are disputed ; but the Hindu tribes yield unani- 
 mous suffrage to the prince of Mewar as the legitimate heir to 
 the throne of Rama, and style him Hindua Suraj, or ' Sun of the 
 Hindus.' ^ He is universally allowed to be the first of the ' thirty- 
 six royal tribes ' ; nor has a doubt ever been raised respecting 
 his purity of descent. Many of these tribes ' have been swept 
 away by time ; and the genealogist, who abhors a vacuum in his 
 mystic page, fills up their place with others, mere scions of some 
 ancient but forgotten stem. 
 
 Stability of Mewar State. — With the exception of Jaisalmer, 
 Mewar is the only dynasty of these races ' which has outlived 
 eight centuries of foreign domination, in the same lands where 
 
 ^ Said to be Cfeylon ; an idea scouted by the Hindus, who transfer Lanka 
 to a very distant regfon. [The latter is certainly not the common belief.] 
 
 2 This descendant of one hundred kings shows himself in cloudy weather 
 from the surya-gaukhra, or ' balcony of the sun.' 
 
 3 See History of the Tribes. 
 
 247
 
 248 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 [212] conquest placed them. The Rana still possesses nearly the 
 same extent of territory which his ancestors held when the con- 
 queror from Ghazni first crossed the ' blue waters ' ^ of the Indus 
 to invade India ; while the other families now ruling in the north- 
 west of Rajasthan are the relics of ancient dynasties driven from 
 their pristine seats of power, or their junior branches, who have 
 erected their own fortunes. This circumstance adds to the 
 dignity of the Ranas, and is the cause of the general homage 
 which they receive, notwithstanding the diminution of their 
 power. Though we cannot give the princes of Mewar an ancestor 
 in the Persian Nushirwan, nor assert so confidently as Sir Thomas 
 Roe his claims to descent from the celebrated Porus,^ the opponent 
 of Alexander, we can carry him into the regions of antiquity 
 more remote than the Persian, and which would satisfy the most 
 fastidious in respect to ancestry. 
 
 Origin of the Rajputs. — In every age and clime we observe the 
 same eager desire after distinguished pedigree, proceeding from 
 a feeling which, though often derided, is extremely natural. The 
 Rajaputras are, however, scarcely satisfied with discriminating 
 their ancestors from the herd of mankind. Some plume them- 
 selves on a celestial origin, whilst others are content to be demi- 
 celestial ; and those who cannot advance such lofty claims, 
 rather than acknowledge the race to have originated in the 
 ordinary course of nature, make their primeval parent of demoniac 
 extraction ; accordingly, several of the dynasties who cannot 
 obtain a niche amongst the children of the sim or moon, or trace 
 their descent from some royal saint, are satisfied to be considered 
 the offspring of some Titan {Daily a). These puerilities are of 
 modern fabrication, in cases where family documents have been 
 lost, or emigration has severed branches from the parent stock ;' 
 who, increasing in power, but ignorant of their birth, have had 
 recourse to fable to supply the void. Various authors, borrowing 
 from the same source, have assigned the seat of Porus to the Rana's 
 
 ^ Nilab from nil, ' blue,' and ah, ' water ' ; hence the name of the Nile in 
 Egypt and in India [?]. Sind, or Sindhu, appears to be a Scythian word : 
 8in in the Tatar, t sin in Chinese, ' river.' [It is Sanskrit, meaning ' divider.'] 
 Hence the inhabitants of its higher course termed it aba sin, ' parent stream ' ; 
 and thus, very probably, Abyssinia was formed by"" the Arabians ; ' the 
 country on the Nile,' or aba sin. [Abyssinia is ' land of the Habashi, or 
 negroes.'] 
 
 " See p. 47 above.
 
 ORIGIN OF THE RAJPUTS 249 
 
 family ; and coincidence of name has been the cause of the 
 family being alternately elevated and depressed. Thus the 
 incidental circumstance of the word Rhamnae being found in 
 Ptolemy's geography, in countries bordering on Mewar, furnishes 
 our ablest geographers ^ with a reason [213] for planting the 
 family there in the second century ; while the commentators ^ 
 on the geography of the Arabian travellers of the ninth and tenth 
 centuries ' discover sufficient evidence in " the kingdom of Rahmi, 
 always at war with the Balhara sovereign," to consider him (not- 
 withstanding Rahmi is expressly stated " not to be much con- 
 sidered for his birth or the antiquity of his kingdom ") as the 
 prince of Chitor, celebrated in both these points. 
 
 The translator of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, following 
 D'Anville,* makes Ozene (Ujjain) the capital of a Porus,^ who sent 
 an embassy to Augustus to regulate their commercial intercourse, 
 and whom he asserts to be the ancestor of the Rana. But to 
 show how guarded we should be in admitting verbal resemblance 
 to decide such points, the title of Rana is of modern adoption, 
 even so late as the twelfth century ; and was assumed in conse- 
 quence of the victorious issue of a contest with the Parihara 
 prince of Mandor, who bore the title of Rana, and who surrendered 
 it with his life and capital to the prince of Mewar. The latter 
 substituted it for the more ancient appellation of Rawal ; ^ but 
 it was not till the thirteenth century that the novel distinction 
 was generally recognized by neighbouring powers. Although we 
 
 ^ D'Anville and Rennell. [The Rhamnae have been identified with the 
 Brahui of Baluchistan (McCrindle, Ptolemy, 159). Lassen places them on 
 the Nerbudda.] 
 
 2 Maurice and others. 
 
 * Relations anciennes des voyageurs, par Renaudot. 
 
 * D'Anville {Antiquites de I'Inde) quotes Nicolas of Damascus as his 
 authority, who says the letter written by Porus, prince of Ozene, was in the 
 Greek character. 
 
 ^ This Porus is a corruption of Puar, once the most powerful and con- 
 spicuous tribe in India ; classically written Pramara, the dynasty which 
 ruled at Ujjain for ages. [This is not certain (Smith, EHI, 60, note).] 
 
 * Rawed, or Raul, is yet borne as a princely title by the Aharya prince of 
 Dungarpur, and the Yadu prince of Jaisalmer, whose ancestors long ruled 
 in the heart of Scjrthia. Raoul seems to have been titular to the Scandi- 
 navian chiefs of Scythic" origin. The invader of Normandy was Raoul, 
 corrupted to Rollon or Rollo. [The words, of course, have no connexion : 
 Rawal, Skt. rajakula, ' royal family.']
 
 250 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 cannot for a moment admit the Rahmi, or even the Rhamnae of 
 Ozene, to be connected with this family, yet Ptolemy appears 
 to have given the real ancestor in his Baleokouroi, the Balhara 
 monarchs of the Arabian travellers, the Valabhiraes of Saurashtra, 
 who were the ancestors of the princes of Mewar.^ 
 
 Before we proceed, it is necessary to specify the sources whence 
 materials were obtained for the Annals of Mewar, and to give some 
 idea of the character they merit as historical data [214]. 
 
 Sources of the History. — For many years previous to sojourn- 
 ing at the court of Udaipur, sketches were obtained of the genea- 
 logy of the family from the rolls of the bards. To these was added 
 a chronological sketch, drawn up under the eye of Raja Jai Singh 
 of Amber, with comments of some value by him, and which served 
 as a ground-work. Free access was also granted to the Rana's 
 library, and permission obtained to make copies of such MSS. as 
 related to his history. The most important of these was the 
 Khuman Raesa,^ which is evidently a modern work founded upon 
 ancient materials, tracing the genealogy to Rama, and halting at 
 conspicuous beacons in this long line of crowned heads, particu- 
 larly about the period of the Muhammadan irruption in the tenth 
 century, the sack of Chitor by Alau-d-din in the thirteenth 
 century, and the wars of Rana Partap with Akbar, during whose 
 reign the work appears to have been recast. 
 
 The next in importance were the Rajvilas, in the Vraj Bhakha, 
 by Man Kabeswara ; * and the Rajratnakar,* by Sudasheo Bhat : 
 both written in the reign of Rana Raj Singh, the oj^ponent of 
 Aurangzeb : also the Jaivilas, written in the reign of Jai Singh, 
 son of Raj Singh. They all commence with the genealogies of the 
 
 ^ The Balhara kings, and their capital Nahrwala, or Anhilwara Patan, 
 have given rise to much conjecture amongst the learned. We shall, before 
 this work is closed, endeavour to condense what has been said by ancient 
 and modern authorities on the subject ; and from manuscripts, ancient 
 inscriptions, and the result of a personal visit to this ancient domain, to set 
 the matter completely at rest. [See p. 122 above.] [" Hippokoura, the royal 
 seat of Baleo Kouros " {Periplus, vlii. 83). Baleo Kouros has been identified 
 with Vilivayakura, a name found on coins of the Andhra dynasty (BO, i. 
 Part ii. 158 ; McCrindle, Ptolemy, 179).] 
 
 ^ Khuman is an ancient title of the earlier princes, and still used. It was 
 borne by the son of Bappa, the founder, who retired to Transoxiana, and 
 there ruled and died : the very country of the ancient Scythic Khomani. 
 
 '^ Lord of rhyme. * Sea of gems.
 
 SOURCES OF THE HISTORY: KANAKSEN 251 
 
 family, introductory to the military exploits of the princes whose 
 names they bear. 
 
 The Mamadevi Prasistha is a copy of the inscriptions ^ in the 
 temple of ' the Mother of the Gods ' at Kumbhalmer. Genea- 
 logical rolls of some antiquity were obtained from the widow of an 
 ancient family bard, who had left neither children nor kindred to 
 follow his profession. Another roll was procured from a priest 
 of the Jains residing in Sandrai, in Marwar, whose ancestry had 
 enjoyed from time immemorial the title of Guru, which they held 
 at the period of the sack of Valabhipura in the fifth century, 
 whence they emigrated simultaneously with the Rana's ancestors. 
 Others were obtained from Jain priests at Jawad in Malwa. 
 Historical documents possessed by several chiefs were readily 
 furnished, and extracts were made from works, both Sanskrit 
 and Persian, which incidentally mention the family. To these 
 were added traditions or biographical anecdotes furnished in con- 
 versation by the Rana, or men of intellect amongst his chiefs [215], 
 ministers, or bards, and inscriptions calculated to reconcile dates ; 
 in short, every corroborating circumstance was treasured up 
 which could be obtained by incessant research during sixteen 
 years. The Commentaries of Babur and Jahangir, the Institutes 
 of Akbar, original grants, public and autograph letters of the 
 emperors of Delhi and their ministers, were made to contribute 
 more or less ; yet, numerous as are the authorities cited, the 
 result may afford but little gratification to the general reader, 
 partly owing to the unpopularity of the subject, partly to the 
 inartificial mode of treating it. 
 
 Kanaksen. — At least ten genealogical hsts, derived from the 
 most opposite sources, agree in making Kanaksen the founder of 
 this dynasty ; and assign his emigxation from the most northern 
 of the provinces of India to the peninsula of Saurashtra in S. 201, 
 or A.D. 145. We shall, therefore, make this the point of outset ; 
 though it may be premised that Jai Singh, the royal historian 
 and astronomer of Amber, connects the line with Sumitra (the 
 fifty-sixth descendant from the deified Rama), who appears to 
 have been the contemporary of Vikramaditya, a.c. 56. 
 
 The country of which Ayodhya (now Oudh) was the capital, 
 and Rama monarch, is termed, in the geographical writings of the 
 Hindus, Kosala ; doubtless from the mother of Rama, whose 
 ^ Tiiese inscriptions will be described in the Personal Narrative.
 
 252 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 name was Kausalya.^ The first royal emigrant from tlie north 
 is styled, in the Rana's archives, Kosala-putra, ' son of Kosala.' 
 
 Titles of the Chiefs. — Rama had two sons, Lava and Kusa : 
 from the former the Rana's family claim descent. He is stated 
 to have built Lahore, the ancient Lohkot ; ^ and the branch from 
 which the princes of Mewar are descended resided there until 
 Kanaksen emigrated to Dwarka. The difficulty of tracing these 
 races through a long period of years is greatly increased by the 
 custom of changing the appellation of the tribe, from conquest, 
 locality, or personal celebrity. Sen * seems to have been the 
 martial termination for many generations : this was followed by 
 Dit, or Aditya, a term for the ' sun.' The first change in the 
 name of the tribe was on their expulsion from Saurashtra, when 
 for the generic term of Suryavansi was substituted the particular 
 appellation of Guhilot. This name was maintained till another 
 event dispersed the family, and when they settled in [216] Ahar,* 
 Aharya became the appellative of the branch. This continued 
 till loss of territory and new acquisitions once more transferred 
 the dynasty to Sesoda,* a temporary capital in the western moun- 
 tains. The title of Ranawat, borne by all descendants of the 
 blood royal since the eventful change which removed the seat of 
 government from Chitor to Udaipur, might in time have super- 
 seded that of Sesodia, if continued warfare had not checked the 
 increase of population ; but the Guhilot branch of the Suryavansi 
 still retain the name of Sesodia. 
 
 Having premised thus much, we must retrograde to the darker 
 ages, through which we shall endeavour to conduct this celebrated 
 dynasty, though the clue sometimes nearly escapes from our 
 hands in these labyrinths of antiquity.® When it is recollected 
 
 ^ [It is the other way : Kausalya took her name from Kosala.] 
 
 ^ [See p. 116 above.] 
 
 ' Sen, 'army'; kanak, 'gold.' [Kanaksen is entirely mythical. It 
 has been suggested that the name is a reminiscence of the connexion of 
 the great Kushan Emperor, Kanishka, with Gujarat and Kathiawar {BG, i. 
 Part i. 101).] 
 
 * Ahar, or Ar, is in the valley of the present capital, Udaipur. 
 
 * The origin of this name is from the trivial occurrence of the expelled 
 prince of Chitor having erected a town to commemorate the spot, where 
 after an extraordinarily hard chase he killed a hare {sasu). 
 
 * The wila fable which envelops or adorns the cradle of every illustrious 
 family is not easily disentangled. The bards weave the web with skiU, and 
 it cUngs like ivy round each modern branch, obscuring the aged stem, in
 
 LEGEND OF KANAKSEN 253 
 
 to what violence this family has been subjected during the last 
 eight centuries, often dispossessed of all but their native hills and 
 compelled to live on their spontaneous produce, we could scarcely 
 expect that historical records should be preserved. Chitor was 
 thrice sacked and destroyed, and the existing records are formed 
 from fragments, registers of births and marriages, or from the 
 oral relations of the bards. 
 
 Legend of Kanaksen. — By what route Kanaksen, the first 
 emigrant of the solar race, found his way into Saurashtra from 
 Lohkot, is uncertam : he, however, wrested dominion from a 
 prince of the Pramara race, and founded Birnagara in the second 
 century (a.d. 144). Four generations afterwards, Vijayasen. 
 whom the prince of Amber calls Nushirwan, founded Vijayapur, 
 supposed to be where Dholka now stands, at the head of the 
 Saurashtra peninsula.^ Vidarba was also founded by him, the 
 name of which was afterwards changed to Sihor. But the most 
 celebrated was the capital, Valabhipura, which for years baffled 
 all search, till it was revealed in its now humbled condition as 
 Walai, ten miles west [217] of Bhaunagar. The existence of this 
 city was confirmed by a celebrated Jain work, the Satrunjaya 
 Mahatma.^ The want of satisfactory proof of the Rana's emigra- 
 tion from thence was obviated by the most unexpected discovery 
 of an inscription of the twelfth century, in a ruined temple on the 
 tableland forming the eastern boundary of the Rana'? present 
 territory, which appeals to the ' walls of Valabhi ' for the truth 
 of the action it records. And a work written to commemorate 
 the reign of Rana Raj Singh opens with these words : "In the 
 west is Sorathdes,^ a country well known : the barbarians invaded 
 it, and conquered Bal-ka-nath ; * all fell in the sack of Valab- 
 hipura, except the daughter of the Pramara." And the Sandrai 
 
 the time-worn branches of which monsters and demi-gods are perched, 
 whose claims of affinity are held in high estimation by thesfe ' children of 
 the sun,' who would deem it criminal to doubt that the loin-robe (dhoti) of 
 their great founder, Bapa Rawal, was less than five hundred cubits in circum- 
 ference, that his two-edged sword (khanda), the gift of the Hindu Proserpine, 
 weighed an ounce less than sixty-four pounds, or that he was an inch under 
 twenty feet in height. 
 
 ^ [Vijayapur has been doubtfully identified with Bijapur in the Alima- 
 dabad district (BG, i. Part i. 110).] 
 
 ^ Presented to the Royal Asiatic Society of London. 
 
 * Sorath or Saurashtra. * The ' lord of Bal.'
 
 254 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 roll thus commences : " When the city of Valabhi was sacked, 
 the inhabitants fled and founded Bali, Sandrai, and Nadol in 
 Mordar des." ^ These are towns yet of consequence, and in all 
 the Jain religion is still naaintained, which was the chief worship 
 of Valabhipura when sacked by the ' barbarian.' The records 
 preserved by the Jains give s.b. 205 (a.d. 524) as the date of this 
 event.^ 
 
 The tract about Valabhipura and northward is termed Bal, 
 probably from the tribe of Bala, which might have been the 
 designation of the Rana's tribe prior to that of Grahilot ; and 
 most probably Multan, and all these regions of the Kathi, Bala, 
 etc., were dependent on Lohkot, whence emigrated Kanaksen ; 
 thus strengthening the surmise of the Scythic descent of the 
 Ranas, though now installed in the seat of Rama. The sun was 
 the deity of this northern tribe, as of the Rana's ancestry, and 
 the remains of numerous temples to this grand object of Scj'thic 
 homage are still to be found scattered over the peninsula ; whence 
 its name, Saurashtra, the coimtry of the Sauras, or Sun-worship- 
 pers ; the Surastrene or Syrastrene of ancient geographers ; its 
 inhabitants, the Suros (2t'/pwv) of Strabo.' 
 
 Besides these cities, the MSS. give Gayni * as the last refuge 
 
 ^ Marwar. 
 
 ^ [The date of the fall of Valabhi is very uncertain (Smith, EH I, 315, 
 note). It is said to* have been destroyed in the reign of Siladitya VI., 
 the last of the dynasty, about a.d. 776 (Duff, Chronology of India, 31, 
 G7, 308).] 
 
 * [There is possibly a confusion with the Soras of Aehan (xv. 8) which 
 has been identified by Caldwell {Dravidian Grammar, 17) with the ^Qpat 
 of Ptolemy, and with the Chola kingdom of Southern India. Surashtra or 
 Saurashtra, ' land of the Sus,' was afterwards Sanskritized into ' goodly 
 country ' (Monier Williams, Skt. Diet. s.v. ; BG, i. Part i. 6).] 
 
 * Gaini, or Gajni, is one of the ancient names of Cambay (the port of 
 Valabhipura), the ruins of which are about three miles from the modern 
 city. Other sources indicate that these princes held possessions in the 
 southern continent of India, as well as in the Saurashtra peninsula. Tala- 
 talpur Patau, on the Godavari, is mentioned, which tradition asserts to be 
 the city of Deogir ; but which, after many years' research, I discovered in 
 Saurashtra, it being one of the ancient names of Kandala. In after times, 
 when succeeding dynasties held the title of Balakarae, though the capital 
 was removed inland to Anhilwara Patau, they still held possession of the 
 western shore, and Cambay continued the chief port. [For the identifica- 
 tion of Gajni with Cambay see I A, iv. 147 ; BG, vi. 213 note. The site of 
 Devagiri has been identified with Daulatabad (BG, i. Part ii. 136 ; Beal, 
 Buddhist Records of the Western World, ii. 255, note).]
 
 INVADERS OF SAURASHTRA 255 
 
 of the famUy [218] when expelled Saurashtra. One of the poetic 
 chronicles thus commences : " The barbarians had captured 
 Gajni. The house of Siladitya was left desolate. In its defence 
 his heroes fell ; of his seed but the name remained." 
 
 Invaders of Saurashtra. — These invaders were Scythic, and 
 in all probability a colony from the Parthian kingdom, which 
 was established in sovereignty on the Indus in the second century, 
 having their capital at Saminagara, where the ancient Yadu ruled 
 for ages : the Minnagara ^ of Arrian, and the Mankir of the 
 Arabian geographers. It was by this route, through the eastern 
 portion of the valley of the Indus, that the various hordes of Getae 
 or Jats, Huns, Kamari, Kathi, Makwahana, Bala and Aswaria, 
 had peopled this peninsula, leaving traces still visible. The 
 period is also remarkable when these and other Scythic hordes 
 were simultaneously abandoning higher Asia for the cold regions 
 
 ^ The position of Minnagara has occupied the attention of geographers 
 from D'Anville to Pottinger. Sind being conquered by Omar, general of 
 the caUph Al-Mansur (Abbasi), the name of Minagara was changed to 
 Mansura, " une ville celcbre sur le rivage droit du Sind ou Mehran." " Ptole- 
 mee fait aussi mention de cette ville ; mais en la depla9ant," etc. D'Anville 
 places it about 26°, but not so high as Ulug Beg, whose tables make it 26° 
 40'. I have said elsewhere that I had little doubt that Minnagara, handed 
 down to us by the author of the Periplus as the ^uerpoTroXis t^s ^Kvdias, was 
 the Saminagara of the Yadu Jarejas, whose chronicles claim Seistan as their 
 ancient possession, and in all probability was the stronghold {nagara) of 
 Sambos, the opponent of Alexander. On every consideration, I am inchned 
 to place it on the site of Sehwan. The learned Vincent, in his translation 
 of the Peripbis, enters fully and with great judgment upon this point, citing 
 every authority, Arrian, Ptolemy, Al-Biruni, Edrisi, D'Anville, and De la 
 Rochette. He has a note (26, p. 386, vol. i.) which is conclusive, could he 
 have applied it : " Al-Birun [equi-distant] between Debeil and Mansura." 
 D'Anville also says : " de Mansora a la ville nommee Birun, la distance est 
 indiquee de quinze parasanges dans Abulfeda," who fixes it, on the authority 
 of Abu-Rehan (.surnamed Al-Biruni from his birthplace), at 26° 40'. The 
 ancient name of Haidarabad, the present capital of Sind, was Nerun (^ j »*i ; ) 
 or Nirun, and is almost equi-distant, as Abulfeda says, between Debal (Dewal 
 or Tatta) and Mansura, Sehwan, or Minnagara, the latitude of which, accord- 
 ing to my construction, is 26° 11'. Those who wish to pursue this may 
 examine the Eclaircisfiemens sur la Carle de Vlnde, p. 37 et seq., and Dr. 
 Vincent's estimable translation, p. 386. [The site of Minnagara, like those 
 of all the cities in the delta of the Indus, owing to changes in the course of 
 the river, is very uncertain. Jhajhpur or Mungrapur has been suggested 
 (McCrindle, Ptolemy, 72, Periplus, 1086 f.). Nirun has been identified with 
 Helai, a little below Jarak, on the high road from Tatta to Haidarabad 
 (EHiot-Dowson i. 400).]
 
 256 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of Europe and the warm plains of Hindustan. From the first to 
 the sixth century of the Christian era, various records exist of 
 tliese irruptions from the north. Gibbon, quoting De Guignes, 
 mentions one in the second century, which fixed permanently in 
 the Saurashtra peninsula ; and the latter, from original authorities, 
 describes another of the Getae or Jats, styled by the Chinese 
 Yueh-chi, in the north of India.^ But the authority directly in 
 point is that of Cosmas, surnamed Indikopleustes, who was in 
 India during the reign of Justinian, and that of the first monarch 
 of the Chinese dynasty of Leam.^ Cosmas [219] had visited 
 Kalyan, included in the Balhara kingdom ; and he mentions the 
 Ephthalites, or White Huns, under their king Golas, as being 
 established on the Indus at the very period of the invasion of 
 Valabhipura.' 
 
 Arrian, who resided in the second century at Barugaza 
 (Broach), describes a Parthian sovereignty as extending from 
 the Indus to the Nerbudda.* Their capital has already been 
 mentioned, Minnagara. Whether these, the Abtelites * of Cosmas, 
 were the Parthian dynasty of Arrian, or whether the Parthians 
 were supplanted by the Huns, we must remain in ignorance, but 
 to one or the other we must attribute the sack of Valabhipura. 
 
 ^ See History of the Tribes, p. 107, and translation of Inscription No. I. 
 Vide Appendix. 
 
 ^ Considerable intercourse was carried on between the princes of India 
 and China from the earliest periods ; but particularly during the dynasties 
 of Sum, Leam and Tarn, from the fourth to the^eventh centuries, when the 
 princes from Bengal and Malabar to the Panjab sent embassies to the Chinese 
 monarchs. The dominions of these Hindu princes may yet be identified. 
 [Cosmas flourished in the sixth century a.d., and never reached India proper 
 {EB, vii. 214).] 
 
 3 [GoUas was Mihiragula (Smith, EHI, 317).] 
 
 * [Ibid. 230 f.] 
 
 ^ D'Herbelot (vol. i. p. 179) calls them the Haiathelah or Indoscythae, and 
 says that they were apparently from Thibet, between India and China. 
 De Guignes (tome i. p. 325) is offended with this explanation, and says : 
 " Cette conjecture ne pent avoir lieu, les Euthehtes n'ayant jamais demeure 
 dans le Thibet." A branch of the Huns, however, did most assuredly dwell 
 in that quarter, though we wiU not positively assert that they were the 
 AbteUtes. The Haihaya was a great branch of the Lunar race of Yayati, 
 and appears early to have left India for the northern regions, and would 
 afford a more plausible etymology for the Haiathelah than the Te-le, who 
 dwelt on the waters {ab) of the Oxiis. This branch of the Hunnish race has 
 also been termed Nephthalite, and fancied one of the lost tribes of Israel [?].
 
 THE FOUNTAIN OF THE SUN 257 
 
 The legend of this event affords scope for speculation, both as 
 regards the conquerors and the conquered, and gives at least a 
 colour of truth to the reputed Persian ancestry of the Rana : a 
 subject which will be distinctly considered. The solar orb, and 
 its type, fire, were the chief objects of adoration of Siladitya of 
 Valabhipura. Whether to these was added that of the lingam, 
 the symbol of Balnath (the sun), the primary object of worship 
 with his descendants, may be doubted. It was certainly con- 
 lined to these, and the adoption of ' strange gods ' by the Sur- 
 yavansi Guhilot is comparatively of modern invention.^ 
 
 The Fountain oJ the Sun. — There was a fountain [Surya- 
 kunda) ' sacred to the sun ' at Valabhipura, from which arose? 
 at the summons of Siladitya (according to the legend) the seven- 
 headed horse Saptasva, which draws the car of Surya, to bear 
 him to battle. With such an auxiliary no foe could prevail ; 
 but a wicked minister revealed to the enemy the secret of annulling 
 this aid, by polluting the sacred foimtain with blood. This 
 accomplished, in vain did the prince call on Saptasva to save 
 him from the strange and barbarous foe : the charm was broken, 
 and with it sunk the dynasty of Valabhi. Who the ' barbarian ' 
 was that defiled with blood of kine [220] the fountain of the sun,^ 
 whether Getae, Parthian, or Hun, we are left to conjecture. The 
 Persian, though he venerated the bull, yet sacrificed him on the 
 
 ^ Ferishta, in the early part of his history [i. Introd. Ixviii f.], observes 
 that, some centuries prior to Vikramaditya, the Hindus abandoned the 
 simple religion of their ancestors, made idols, and worshipped the host of 
 heaven, which faith they had from Kashmir, the foundry of magic super- 
 stition. 
 
 * Divested of allegory, it means simply that the supply of water was 
 rendered impure, and consequently useless to the Hindus, which compelled 
 them to abandon their defences and meet death in the open field. Alau-d- 
 din practised the same ruse against the celebrated Achal, the Khichi prince 
 of Gagraun, which caused the surrender of this impregnable fortress. " It 
 matters not," observes an historian whose name I do not recollect, " whether 
 such things are true, it is sufficient that they were behoved. We may smile 
 at the mention of the ghost, tlie evil genius of Brutus, appearing to him 
 before the battle of PharsaUa ; yet it never would have been stated, had it 
 not assimilated with the opinions and prejudices of the age." And we may 
 deduce a simple moral from " the parent orb refusing the aid of his steed to 
 his terrestrial offspring," viz. that he was deserted by the deity. Fountains 
 sacred to the sun and other deities were common to the Persians, Scythians, 
 and Hindus, and both the last offered steeds to him in sacrifice. Vide 
 History of the Tribes, article ' Aswamedha,' p. 91. 
 
 VOL. I S
 
 258 ANNATES OF MEWAR 
 
 altar of Mithras ; ^ and though the ancient Guebre purifies with 
 the urine ^ of the cow, he will not refuse to eat beef ; and the 
 iniquity of Cambyses, who thrust his lance into the flank of the 
 Egyptian Apis, is a proof that the bull was abstractedly no object 
 of worship. It would be indulging a legitimate curiosity, could 
 we bj^ any means discover how these ' strange ' tribes obtained 
 a footing amongst the Hindu races ; for so late as seven centuries 
 ago we find Getae, Huns, Kathi, Ariaspas, Dahae, definitively 
 settled, and enumerated amongst the Chhattis rajkula. How 
 much earlier the admission, no authority states ; but mention 
 is made of several of them aiding in the defence of Chitor, on the 
 first appearance of the faith of Islam upwards of eleven hundred 
 years ago. 
 
 CHAPTER 2 
 
 The Refugee Queen. — Of the prince's family, the queen Push- 
 pavati alone escaped the sack of Valabhi, as well as the funeral 
 pyre, upon which, on the death of Siladitya, his other wives were 
 sacrificed. She was a daughter of the Pramara prince of Chan- 
 dravati [221], and had visited the shrine of the universal mother, 
 Amba-Bhavani, in her native land, to deposit upon the altar of 
 the goddess a votive offering consequent to her expectation of 
 offspring. She was on her return, when the intelligence arrived 
 which blasted all her future hopes, by depriving her of her lord, 
 and robbing him, whom the goddess had just granted to her 
 prayers, of a crown. Excessive grief closed her pilgrimage. 
 Taking refuge in a cave in the mountains of Malia, she was de- 
 livered of a son. Having confided the infant to a Brahmani of 
 Birnagar named Kamlavati, enjoining her to educate the young 
 prince as a Brahman, but to marry him to a Rajputni,^ she 
 
 ^ The Baldan, or sacrifice of the bull to Balnath, is on record, though now 
 discontinued amongst the Hindus. [Baldan = balidana, ' a general offering 
 to the gods.'] 
 
 * Pinkerton, who is most happy to strengthen his aversion for the Celt, 
 seizes on a passage in Strabo, who describes him as having recourse to the 
 same mode of purification as the Guebre. Unconscious that it may have 
 had a religious origin, he adduces it as a strong proof of the uncleanliness of 
 their habits. 
 
 ^ [This corroborates Bhandarkar's theory that the Guhilots sprang from 
 Nagar Brahmans.]
 
 GOHA AND THE BHiLS 259 
 
 mounted the funeral pile to join her lord. Kamlavati, the 
 daughter of the priest of the temple, was herself a mother, and 
 she performed the tender offices of one to the orphan prince, whom 
 she designated Goha, or ' cave-born.' ^ The child was a source 
 of perpetual uneasiness to its protectors : he associated with 
 Rajput children, killing birds, hunting wild animals, and at the 
 age of eleven was totally unmanageable : to use the words of the 
 legend, " How should they hide the ray of the sun ? " 
 
 The Legend O? Goha.— At this period Idar was governed by a 
 chief of the savage race of Bhil ; his name, Mandalika.^ The 
 young Goha frequented the forests in company with the Bhils, 
 whose habits better assimilated with his daring nature than those 
 of the Brahmans. He became a favourite with the Vanaputras, 
 or ' children of the forest,' who resigned to him Idar with its 
 woods and mountains. The fact is mentioned by Abu-1 Fazl,' 
 and is still repeated by the bards, with a characteristic version of 
 the incident, of which doubtless there were many. The Bhils 
 having determined in sport to elect a king, the choice fell on 
 Goha ; and one of the young savages, cutting his finger, applied 
 the blood as the tika of sovereignty to his forehead. What was 
 done in sport was confirmed by the old forest chief. The sequel 
 fixes on Goha the stain of ingratitude, for he slew his benefactor, 
 and no motive is assigned in the legend for the deed. Goha's 
 name became the patronymic of his descendants, who were 
 styled Guhilot, classically Grahilot, in time softened to Gehlot. 
 
 We know very little concerning these early princes but that 
 they dwelt in this mountainous region for eight generations ; 
 when the Bhils, tired of a foreign rule, assailed Nagaditya, the 
 eighth prince, while hunting, and deprived him of life and Idar. 
 The descendants of Kamlavati (the Birnagar Brahmani), who 
 retained the office of priest in the family, Avere again the pre- 
 servers of the line of Valabhi. The infant Bappa, son of Naga- 
 ditya [222], then only three years old, was conveyed to the fortress 
 of Bhander,* where he was protected by a Bhil of Yadu descent. 
 
 ^ [This is a folk-etymology to explain the name Guhilot, probably derived 
 from Guha or Guhasena (a.d. 559-67), the fourth and apparently the first 
 great Valabhi monarch {BG. i. Part i. 85).] 
 
 2 [Mandalika seems to mean ' ruler of a district ' (mandal), (Bayley, 
 Dynasties of Gujarat, 183).] ^ [Ain, ii. 268.] 
 
 * Fifteen miles south-west of Jharol, in the wildest region in India. [In 
 Gwahor State, IQI, viii. 72.]
 
 260 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Thence he was removed for greater security to the wilds of Parasar. 
 Within its impervious recesses rose the three-peaked (trikuta) 
 mountain, at whose base was the town of Nagindra,^ the abode 
 of Brahmans, who performed the rites of the ' great god.' In this 
 retreat passed the early years of Bappa, wandering through these 
 Alpine valleys, amidst the groves of Bal and the shrines of the 
 brazen calf. 
 
 The most antique temples are to be seen in these spots — ^within 
 the dark gorge of the mountain, or on its rugged summit — in the 
 depths of the forest, and at the sources of streams, where sites of 
 seclusion, beauty, and sublimity alternately exalt the mind's 
 devotion. In these regions the creative power appears to have 
 been the earliest, and at one time the sole, object of adoration, 
 whose symbols, the serpent-wreathed phallus (lingam), and its 
 companion, the bull, were held sacred even by the ' children of 
 the forest.' In these silent retreats Mahadeva continued to rule 
 triumphant, and the most brilliant festivities of Udaipur were 
 those where his rites are celebrated in the nine days sacred to 
 him, when the Jains and Vaishnavas mix with the most zealous 
 of his votaries ; but the strange gods from the plains of the 
 Yamvma and Ganges have withdrawn a portion of the zeal of the 
 Guhilots from their patron divinity Eklinga, whose diwan," or 
 viceregent, is the Rana. The temple of Eklinga, situated in one 
 of the narrow defiles leading to the capital, is an immense struc- 
 ture, though more sumptuous than elegant. It is built entirely 
 of white marble, most elaborately carved and embellished ; but 
 lying in the route of a bigoted foe, it has undergone many dilapi- 
 dations. The brazen bull, placed under his own dome, facing the 
 sanctuary of the phallus, is nearly of the natural size, in a recum- 
 bent posture. It is cast (hollow)^of good shape, highly polished 
 and without flaw, except where the hammer of the Tatar had 
 opened a passage in the hollow flank in search of treasure^ [223]. 
 
 The Marriage of Eappa. — Tradition has preserved numerous 
 
 ^ Or Nagda, still a place of religious r.esort, about ten miles north of 
 Udaipur. Here I found several very old inscriptions relative to the family, 
 which preserve the ancient denomination Gohil instead of Gehlot. One of 
 these is about nine centuries old. [The ancient name was Nagahrida (Erskine 
 ii. A. 106).] ^ Ekling-ka-Diwan is the common title of the Rana. 
 
 * Amongst the many temples where the brazen calf forms part of the 
 establishment of BaUcesar, there is one sacred to Nandi alone, at Nain in 
 the valley. This lordly bull has his shrine attended as devoutly as was that
 
 THE MARRIAGE OF BAPPA 261 
 
 details of Bappa's ^ infancy, which resembles the adventures of 
 everj' hero or founder of a race. The young prince attended the 
 sacred kine, an occupation which was honourable even to the 
 ' children of the sun,' and which they still pursue : possibly a 
 remnant of their primitive Scythic habits. The pranks of the 
 royal shepherd are the theme of many a tale. On the Jhal 
 Jhulni, when swinging is the amusement of the youth of both 
 sexes, the daughter of the Solanki chief of Nagda and the village 
 maidens had gone to the groves to enjoy this festivity, but they 
 were unprovided with ropes. Bappa happened to be at hand, 
 and was called by the Rajput damsels to forward their sport. 
 He promised to procure a rope if they would first have a game at 
 marriage. One frolic was as good as another, and the scarf of 
 the Solankini was miited to the garment of Bappa, the whole of 
 the village lasses joining hands with his as the connecting link ; 
 and thus they performed the mystical number of revolutions 
 round an aged tree. This frolic caused his flight from Nagda, 
 and originated his greatness, but at the same time burthened him 
 with all these damsels ; and hence a heterogeneous issue, whose 
 descendants still ascribe their origin to the prank of Bappa round 
 the old mango-tree of Nagda. A suitable offer being shortly 
 after made for the young Solankini's hand, the family priests of 
 the bridegroom, whose duty it was, by his knowledge of palmistry, 
 to investigate the fortunes of the bride, discovered that she was 
 already married : intelligence which threw the family into the 
 greatest consternation.^ Though Bappa's power over his brother 
 shepherds was too strong to create any dread of disclosure as to 
 his being the principal in this affair, yet was it too much to expect 
 that a secret, in which no less than six hundred of the daughters 
 of Eve were concerned, could long remain such ? Bappa's mode 
 of swearing his companions to secrecy is preserved. Digging a 
 small pit, and taking a pebble in his hand, " Swear," cried he, 
 
 of Apis at Memphis ; nor will Eklinga yield to his brother Serapis. The 
 changes of position of the Apis at Nain are received as indications of the 
 fruitfuhiess of the seasons, though it is not apparent how such are contrived. 
 
 ^ Bappa is not a proper name, it signifies merely a ' child.' [This is wrong : 
 it is the old Prakrit form of bap, ' father ' {I A, xv. 275 f. ; BQ, i. Part i. 
 84).] He is frequently styled Saila, and in inscriptions Sailadlsa, ' the 
 mountain lord.' 
 
 2 [The legend imphes that Bapa, from association with Bhils, was regarded 
 to be of doubtful origin.]
 
 262 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 " secrecy and obedience to me in good and in evil ; that you will 
 reveal to me all that you hear, and failing, desire that the good 
 deeds of your forefathers may, like this pebble (dropping it into 
 the pit) fall mto the Washerman's well." ^ They took the oath. 
 The Solanki chief, however, heard that [224] Bappa was the 
 offender, who, receiving from his faithful scouts intimation of his 
 danger, sought refuge in one of the retreats which abound in these 
 mountains, and which in after-times proved the preservation of 
 his race. The companions of Iiis flight were tv/o Bhils : one of 
 Undri, in the valley of the present capital ; the other of Solanki 
 descent, from Oghna Panarwa, in the western wilds. Their 
 names, Baleo and Dewa, have been handed down with Bappa's ; 
 and the former had the honour of drawing the tika of sovereignty 
 with his own blood on the forehead of the prince, on the occasion 
 of his taking the crown from the Mori.^ It is pleasing to trace, 
 through a series of ages, the knowledge of a custom still ' honoured 
 in the observance.' The descendants of Baleo of Oghna and the 
 Undri Bhil still claim the privilege of performing the tika on the 
 inauguration of the descendants of Bappa. 
 
 Oghna Panarwa. — Oghna Panarwa is the sole spot in India which 
 enjoys a state of natural freedom. Attached to no State, having 
 no foreign communications, living under its own patriarchal head, 
 its chief, with the title of Rana, whom one thousand hamlets 
 scattered over the forest-crowned valleys obey, can, if requisite, 
 appear at ' the head of five thousand bows.' He is a Bhumia Bhil 
 of mixed blood, from the Solanki Rajput, on the old stock of pure 
 {ujla) Bhils, the autochthones (if such there be of any country) 
 of Mewar. Besides making the tika of blood from an incision 
 in the thmnb, the Oglma chief takes the prince by the arm and 
 seats hun on the throne, while the Undri Bhil holds the salver 
 of spices and sacred grains of rice ^ used in making the tika. 
 
 ^ Deemed in the East the most impure of all receptacles. These wells 
 are dug at the sides of streams, and give a supply of pure water filtering 
 through the sand. 
 
 ^ [The right is said to have been enjoyed by the Bhils tiU the time of 
 Rana Hamir Singh, who died a.d. 1364, and it was recognised in Dungarpur 
 till fairly recent times (Erskine ii. A. 228). The Jats have the same right 
 in Biltaner (Kose, Glossary, ii. 301) : Mers in Porbandar (Wilberforce-Bell, 
 Hist, of Kathiawad, 53 : Kandhs in Kalahandi (Russell, Tribes and Castes 
 Central Provinces, iii. 405, and c/. ii. 280).] 
 
 * ilencc, perhaps, the name khushka for tika. [Khuskka, khushk, ' dry,'
 
 THE FLIGHT OF BAPPA 263 
 
 But the solemnity of being seated on the throne of Mewar is 
 so expensive, that many of these rites have fallen into disuse. 
 Jagat Singh was tlie last prince whose coronation was conducted 
 with tlie ancient magnificence of this princely house. It cost 
 the sum of ninety lakhs of rupees (£1,125,000), nearly one entire 
 year's revenue of the State in the days of its prosperity, and which, 
 taking into consideration the comparative value of money, would 
 amount to upwards of four millions sterling ^ [225]. 
 
 To resume the narrative : though the flight of Bappa and its 
 cause are perfectly natural, we have another episode ; when the 
 bard assuming a higher strain has recourse to celestial machinery 
 for the denouement of this simple incident : but " an illustrious 
 race must always be crowned with its projDer mythology." Bappa 
 who was the founder of a line of a ' hundred kings,' feared as a 
 monarch, adored as more than mortal, and, according to the 
 legend, ' still living ' (charanjiva), deserves to have the source of 
 his pre-eminent fortune disclosed, which, in Mewar, it were sacri- 
 lege to doubt. Wliile he pastured the sacred kine in the valleys 
 of Nagindra, the princely shepherd was suspected of appropriat- 
 ing the milk of a favourite cow to his own use. He was distrusted 
 and watched, and although indignant, the youth admitted that 
 they had reason to suspect him, from the habitual dryness of the 
 brown cow when she entered the pens at even.^ He watched, 
 and traced her to a narrow dell, when he beheld the udder spon- 
 taneously pouring its stores amidst the shrubs. Under a thicket 
 
 is plain boiled rice without seasoning.] Grains of ground rice in curds is 
 the material of the primitive tika, which the author has had applied to him 
 by a lady in Gujargarh, one of the most savage spots in India, amidst the 
 levee en masne, assembled hostilely against him, but separated amicably. 
 
 ^ Such the pride of these small kingdoms in days of yore, and such their 
 resources, till reduced by constant oppression ! But their public works 
 sjieak what they could do, and have done ; witness the stupendous work of 
 marble, and its adjacent causeway, which dams the lake of Rajsamand at 
 Kankrauli, and which cost upwards of a juillion. When the spectator 
 views this expanse of water, this ' royal sea ' {rajsamand) on the borders 
 of the plain ; the pillar of victory towering over the plains of Malwa, erected 
 on the summit of Chitor by Rana Mokal ; their palaces and temples in this 
 ancient abode ; the regal residence erected by the princes when ejected, 
 must fill the observer with astonishment at the resources of tlie State. They 
 are such as to explain the metaphor of my ancient friend Zahm Singh, who 
 knew better than we the value of this country : " Every pinch of the soil 
 of Mewar contains gold." 
 
 ^ Godhuli, the dust raised at the time when the cows come home.
 
 264 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of cane a hermit was reposing in a state of abstraction, from which 
 the impetuosity of the shepherd soon roused him. The mystery 
 was revealed in the phalUc symbol of the ' great God,' which daily 
 received the lacteal shower, and raised such doubts of the veracity 
 of Bappa. 
 
 No eye had hitherto penetrated into this natural sanctuary of 
 the rites of the Hindu Creator, except the sages and hermits of 
 ancient days (of whom this was the celebrated Harita),'^ whom 
 this bounteous cow also fed. 
 
 Bappa related to the sage all he knew of himself, received his 
 blessing, and retired ; but he went daily to visit him, to wash his 
 feet, carry milk to him, and gather such wild flowers as were 
 acceptable offerings to the deity. In return he received lessons 
 of morality, and was initiated into the mysterious rites of Siva : 
 and at length he was invested with the triple cordon of faith 
 {tin parwa zunnar) ^ by the hands of the sage, who became his 
 spiritual guide, and bestowed on his pupil the title of [226] 
 ' Regent (Diwan) of Eklinga.' Bappa had proofs that his atten- 
 tions to the saint and his devotions to Eklinga were acceptable, 
 by a visit from his consort, ' the lion-born goddess.' From her 
 hand he received the panoply of celestial fabrication, the work of 
 Viswakarma (the Vulcan of Eastern mythology), which outvies 
 all the arms ever forged for Greek or Trojan. The lance, bow, 
 quiver, and arrows ; a shield and sword (more famed than 
 Balisarda) * which the goddess girded on him with her own hand : 
 the oath of fidelity and devotion was the ' relief ' of this celestial 
 investiture. Thus initiated into the mysteries of ' the first ' 
 {adi), admitted under the banners of Bhavani, Harita resolved 
 to leave his pupil to his fortunes, and to quit the worship of the 
 symbol for the presence of the deity in the mansions above. He 
 informed Bappa of his design, and commanded him to be at the 
 sacred spot early on the following morn ; but Bappa showed his 
 materiality by oversleeping himself, and on reaching the spot the 
 sage had already made some progress in his car, borne by the 
 
 ^ On this spot the celebrated temple of Eklinga was erected, and the 
 present high priest traces sixty-six descents from Harita to himself. To 
 him (through the Rana) I was indebted for the copy of the Sheo (Siva) 
 Purana presented to the Royal Asiatic Society. 
 
 * [Zunnar is an Arabic word, the Hindi janeo.] 
 
 ' [The sword stolen from Orlando by Brunello, given to Rogero (Ariosto, 
 Orlando Fvrioso).]
 
 THE WARS OF BAPPA 265 
 
 Apsaras, or celestial messengers. He cheeked his aerial ascent 
 to give a last token of affection to his pupil ; and desiring him to 
 reach up to receive his blessing, Bappa's stature was extended to 
 twenty cubits ; but as he did not reach the car, he was com- 
 manded to open his mouth, when the sage did what was recorded 
 as performed, about the same period, by Muhammad, who spat 
 into the mouth of his favourite nephew, Husain, the son of Ali. 
 Bappa showed his disgust and aversion by blinking, and the pro- 
 jected blessing fell on his foot, by which squeamishness he ob- 
 tained only invulnerability by weapons instead of immortality. 
 The saint was soon lost in the cerulean space. Thus marked as 
 the favourite of heaven, and having learned from his mother that 
 he was nephew to the Mori prince of Chitor, he ' disdained a 
 shepherd's slothful life,' and with some companions from these 
 wilds quitted his retreat, and for the first time emerged into the 
 plains. But, as if the brand of Bhavani was insufficient, he met 
 with another hermit in the forest of the Tiger Mount,"^ the famed 
 Gorakiinath, who presented to him the double-edged sword, ^ 
 which, with the proper incantation, could ' sever rocks.' With 
 this he opened the road to fortune leading to the throne of 
 Chitor [227]. 
 
 Chitor was at this period held by the Mori prince of the Pramar 
 race, the ancient lords of IMalwa, then paramount sovereigns of 
 Hindustan : but whether this city was then the chief seat of 
 power is not known. Various public works, reservoirs, and 
 bastions, yet retain the name of this race. 
 
 Bappa's connexion with the Mori ^ obtained hiin a good recep- 
 
 ^ The Nahra Magra, seven miles from the eastern pass leading to the 
 capital, where the prince has a hunting seat surrounded bj' several others 
 belonging to the nobles, but all going to decay. The tiger and wild boar 
 now prowl unmolested, as none of the ' uuMcensed ' dare shoot in these royal 
 preserves. 
 
 ^ They surmise that this is the individual blade which is yet annually 
 worshipped by the sovereign and chiefs on its appropriate day, one of the 
 nine sacred to the god of war ; a rite completely Scythic. I had this relation 
 from the chief genealogists of the family, who gravely rejDeated the incanta- 
 tion : " By the preceptor, Gorakhnath and the great god, EkUnga ; by 
 Takshka the serpent, and the sage Harita ; by Bhavani (Pallas) etrike ! " 
 
 * Bappa's mother v/as a Pramar, probably from Abu or Chandra vati, near 
 to Idar J and consequently Bappa was nephew to every Pramar in existence. 
 [The Morya or Maurya sub-clan of the Pramars still exists (Ce7isus Beport, 
 Rajputana, 1911, i. 255. For traces of the Mauryas in W. India see BG, i. 
 Part ii. 284, note.]
 
 266 ANNALS OF MEWAR " 
 
 tion ; he was enrolled amongst the sawants or leaders, and a 
 suitable estate conferred upon him. The inscription of the Mori 
 prince's reign, so often alluded to, affords a good idea of his power, 
 and of the feudal manners of his court. He was surrounded by a 
 numerous nobility, holding estates on the tenure of military 
 service, but whom he had disgusted by his neglect, and whose 
 jealousy he had provoked by the superior regard shown to Bappa. 
 A foreign foe appearing at this time, instead of obeying the 
 summons to attend, they threw up their grants, and tauntingly 
 desired him to call on his favourite.^ 
 
 Bappa undertook the conduct of the war, and the chiefs, though 
 dispossessed of their estates, accompanied him from a feeling of 
 shame. The foe was defeated and driven out of the coimtry ; but 
 instead of returning to Chitor, Bappa continued his course to the 
 ancient seat of his family, Gajni, expelled the ' barbarian ' called 
 Salim, placed on the throne a chief of the Chaura tribe,^ and 
 returned with the discontented nobles. Bappa, on this occasion, 
 is said to have married the daughter of his enemy. The nobles 
 quitted Chitor, leaving their defiance with their prince. In vain 
 were the spiritual preceptor (Guru) and foster-brother (Dhabhai) 
 sent as ambassadors : their only reply v^^as, that as they had 
 ' eaten his salt,' they would forbear their vengeance for twelve 
 months. The noble deportment of Bappa won their esteem, and 
 they transferred to him their service and homage. With the 
 temptation of a crown, the gratitude of the Grahilot was given 
 to the winds. On return they assaulted and carried Chitor, and, 
 in the words of J-he chronicle, " Bappa took Chitor from the Mori 
 and became himself tJie mor (crown) of the land " : he obtained 
 by vmiversal consent the title of ' sun of the Hindus {Hindiia 
 suraj), preceptor of princes (Raj Guru), and universal lord 
 {Chakravartin) ' [228]. 
 
 He had a numerous progeny, some of whom returned to their 
 ancient seats in Saurashtra, whose descendants were powerful 
 chieftains in that tract so late as Akbar's reign.* Five sons went 
 to Marwar, and the ancient Gohils ' of the land of Kher,' expelled 
 
 ^ Wo are furnished with a catalogue of the tribes which served the Mori 
 prince, which is extremely valuable, froni its acquainting us with the names 
 of tribes no longer existing. 
 
 ' [iSee p. 121, above.] 
 
 * See Aln, ii. 247, which speaks of fifty thousand [8000] Guhilots in Sorath.
 
 THE DEATH OF BAPPA 267 
 
 and driven to Gohilwal/ have lost sight of their ancestry, and 
 by a singular fatality are in possession of the wreck of Valabhi- 
 pura, ignorant of its history and their connexion with it, mixing 
 with Arabs and following maruie and mercantile pursuits ; and 
 the office of the bard having fallen into disrepute, they cannot 
 trace their forefathers beyond Kherdhar.- 
 
 The close of Bappa's career is the strangest part of the legend, 
 and which it might be expected they would be solicitous to sup- 
 press. Advanced in years, he abandoned his children and his 
 comitry, carried his arms west to Khorasan, and there established 
 himself, and married new wives from among the ' barbarians,' by 
 whom he had a numerous offspring.' 
 
 Bappa had reached the patriarchal age of one hundred when 
 he died. An old volume of historical anecdotes, belonging to the 
 chief of Delwara, states that he became an ascetic at the foot of 
 Meru, where he was buried alive after having overcome all the 
 kings of the west, as in Ispahan, Kandahar, Kashmir, Irak, Iran, 
 Turan, and Kafiristan ; all of whose daughters he married, and 
 by whom he had one hundred and thirty sons, called the Naus- 
 shahra Pathans. Each of these founded a tribe, bearing the 
 name of the mother. His Hindu children were ninety-eight in 
 number, and were called Agni-upasi Surj'avansi, or ' simborn 
 fire-worsiiippers.' The chronicles also record that (in like manner 
 as did the subjects of the Bactrian king Menander, though from 
 a different motive) the subjects of Bajipa quarrelled for the dis- 
 posal of his remains. The Hindu wished the fire to consume 
 them ; the ' barbarian ' to commit them to eartl; ; but on raising 
 the pall while the dispute was raging, uinumerable flowers of 
 the lotus were found in the place of the remains of mortality : 
 these were conveyed and planted in the lake. This is precisely 
 what is related of the end of the Persian Nushirwan * [229]. 
 
 ^ Pepara Guhilots. 
 
 ■■^ The ' land of Kher,' on the south-west frontier of Marw ar, near the 
 Luni river. 
 
 * The. reigning prince told the author that there was no doubt of Bappa 
 having ended his days among ' the Turks ' : a term now apjjlied to all 
 Muhammadans by the Hmdu, but at that time confined to the inhabitants 
 of Turkistan, the Turushka of the Puranas, and the Takshak of early in- 
 scriptions. 
 
 ^ [Recent inquiries identify Bappa, whose name is merely a title, with 
 either Mahendraji ii. or Kalbhoja, early chiefs of Mewar (Erskine ii. B. 8). It
 
 268 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 The Question of Dates. — Having thus briefly sketched the 
 history of the founder of the Guhilot dynasty in Mewar, we must 
 now endeavour to estabUsh the epoch of this important event in 
 its annals. Although Bappa Rawal was nine generations after 
 the sack of Valabhipura, the domestic annals give S. 191 (a.d. 
 135) for his birth ; which the bards implicitly following, have 
 vitiated the whole chronology. An important inscription ^ in a 
 character little known, establishes the fact of the Mori dynasty 
 being in possession of Chitor in S. 770 (a.d. 714). Now the annals 
 of the Rana's house expressly state Bappa Rawal to be the nejDhew 
 of the Mori prince of Chitor ; that at the age of fifteen he was 
 enrolled amongst the chieftains of his uncle, and that the vassals 
 (before alluded to), in revenge for the resumption of their grants 
 by the Mori, dethroned him and elevated as their sovereign the 
 youthful Bappa. Notwithstanding this apparently irreconcilable 
 anachronism, the family traditions accord with the inscription, 
 except in date. Amidst such contradictions the development of 
 the truth seemed impossible. Another valuable inscription of 
 S. 1024 (a.d. 968), though giving the genealogy from Bappa to 
 Sakti Kumar and corroborating that, from Chitor, and which 
 furnished convincing evidence, was not sanctioned by the prince 
 or his chroniclers, who would admit nothing as valid that militated 
 against their established era 191 for the birth of their founder. 
 After six years' residence and unremitting search amid ruins, 
 archives, inscriptions, traditions, and whatever could throw 
 light upon this point, the author quitted Udaipur with all these 
 doubts in his mind, for Saurashtra, to prosecute his inquiries in 
 the pristine abodes of the race. Then it was that he was rewarded, 
 beyond his most sanguine expectations, by the discovery of an 
 inscription which reconciled these conflicting authorities and 
 removed every difficulty. This marble, found in the celebrated 
 temple of Somnath,^ made mention of a distinct era, viz. the 
 
 has been suggested that his legend is mixed up with that of Bappa or Saila 
 of Valabhi, the story of his retreat to Iran representing the latter being 
 carried as a captive to Mansura on the fall of Valabhi or Gandhar {BG, i. 
 Part i. 94, note 2). In any case, the Avhole story is mere legend, a tale like 
 that of the mysterious disappearance of Romulus and other kings (Sir J. 
 Frazcr, Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship, 269 ff.)- A similar tale 
 is told of Rana Uda in later Mewar history.] 
 
 ^ Vide Appendix, Translation, No. II. ^ See Translation, No. III.
 
 EARLY CHRONOLOGY OF MEWAR 269 
 
 Valabhi Samvat, as being used in Saurashtra ; which era was three 
 hundred and seventy-five years subsequent to Vikramaditya.^ 
 
 On the sack of Valabhi thirty thousand famihes abandoned 
 this ' city of a hundred temples,' and led by their priests found a 
 retreat for themselves and their faith [230] in Mordardes (Marwar), 
 where they erected the towns of Sandrai and Bali, in which latter 
 we recognise the name of the city whence they were expelled. The 
 religion of Valabhi, and consequently of the colonists, was the 
 Jain ; and it was by a priest descended from the survivors of 
 this catastrophe, and still with their descendants inhabiting 
 those towns, that these most important documents were fur- 
 nished to the author. The Sandrai roll assigns the year 305 
 (Valabhi era) for the destruction of Valabhi : another, also from 
 Jain authority, gives 205 ; and as there were but nine princes 
 from Vijayasen, the founder, to its fall, we can readily believe 
 the first a numerical error. Therefore 205 + 375 = 580 S. Vikrama 
 (a.d. 524), for the invasion of Saurashtra by ' the barbarians from 
 the north,' and sack of Valabhipura. 
 
 Now if from 770, the date of the Mori tablet, we deduct 580, 
 there remains 190 ; justifying the pertinacity with which the 
 chroniclers of Mewar adhered to the date given in their annals 
 for the birth of Bappa, viz. 191 : though they were ignorant that 
 this period was dated from the fiight from Valabhipura. 
 
 Bappa, when he succeeded to the Mori prince, is said to have 
 been fifteen years old ; and his birth being one year anterior to 
 the Mori inscription of 770-{-14 = S.V. 784 (a.d. 728),^ is the period 
 for the foundation of the Guhilot dynasty in Mewar : since which, 
 during a space of eleven hundred years, fifty-nine princes lineally 
 descended from Bappa have sat on the throne of Chitor. 
 
 Though the bards and chroniclers will never forgive the temer- 
 ity which thus curtails the antiquity of their founder, he is yet 
 placed in the dawn of chivalry, when the Carlovingian dynasty 
 
 1 [The Valabhi era begins in a.d. 318-19.] 
 
 ^ This will make Bappa's attainment of Chitor fifteen years posterior to 
 Muhammad bin Kasim's invasion. I have observed generally a discrepancy 
 of ten years between the Samvat and Hegira ; the Hegira reckoned from the 
 sixteenth year of Muhammad's mission, and would if employed reconcile 
 this difficulty. [The traditional dates are untrustworthy, being based on a 
 confused reminiscence of Valabhi history (lA, xv. 275). A hst of the chiefs 
 of Mewar, with the dates as far as can be ascertained, is given by Erskine 
 (ii. B. 8 ff.).]
 
 270 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 was established in the west, and when Walid, whose bands 
 planted ' the green standard ' on the Ebro, was ' commander of 
 the" faithful.' 
 
 From the deserted and now forgotten ' city of the sun,' Aitpur, 
 the abode of wild beasts and savage Bhils. another memorial ^ of 
 the princes of Me war was obtained. It relates to the prince 
 Sakti Kumar. Its date is S. 1024 (a.d. 968), and it contains the 
 names of fourteen of his ancestors in regular succession. Amongst 
 these is Bappa, or Saila. When compared with the chronicles 
 and [231] family archives, it was highly gratifying to find that, 
 with the exception of one superfluous name and the transposition 
 of others, they v/ere in perfect accordance. 
 
 Hume says, " Poets, though they disfigure the most certain 
 history by their fictions, and use strange liberties \dth truth, 
 when they are the sole historians, as among the Britons, have 
 commonly some foundation for their wildest exaggerations." 
 The remark is applicable here ; for the names which had been 
 mouldering for nine centuries, far from the abode of man, are the 
 same they had worked into their poetical legends. It was at this 
 exact epoch that the arms of Islam, for the first time, crossed 
 the Indus. In the ninety-fifth year of the Hegira,^ Muhammad 
 bin Kasim, the general of the Caliph Walid, conquered Sind, and 
 penetrated (according to early Arabian authors) to the Ganges ; 
 and although Elmacin mentions only Sind, yet other Hindu 
 States were at this period convulsed from the same cause : witness 
 the overthrow of Manikrae of Ajmer, in the middle of the eighth 
 century, by a foe ' coming in ships,' Anjar specified as the point 
 where they landed. If any doubt existed that it was Kasim who 
 advanced to Chitor * and was defeated by Bappa, it was set at rest 
 by finding at this time in Chitor ' Dahir,* the prince of Debil.' 
 
 ^ See Translation of Inscription, No. IV. 
 
 2 A.D. 713, or S. 769 : the Inscription 770 of Man Mori, against whom 
 came the ' barbarian.' 
 
 ^ I was informed by a friend, who had seen the papers of Captain Mac- 
 murdo, that he had a notice of Kasim's having penetrated to Dungarpur. 
 Had this gentleman Uved, he would have thrown much light on these 
 Western antiquities. [Muhammad bin Kasim does not seem to have 
 attacked Ajmer : the place was not founded till a.d. 1000 (Watson, Gazetteer, 
 i. A. 9).] 
 
 * By an orthographical error, the modern Hindu, ignorant of Debal, has 
 written Delhi. But there was no lord of Delhi at this time : he is styled 
 Dahir, Despat (lord) of Debal, from dea, ' a country,' and pat, ' the head.'
 
 PERSIAN DESCENT OF THE RANAS OF MEWAR 271 
 
 Abii-1 Fazl ^ records, from Arabian authorities, that Dahir was lord 
 of Sind, and resided at his capital, Debal, the first place captured 
 by Kasim in 95. His miserable end, and the destruction of his 
 house, are mentioned by the historian, and account for the son 
 being found with the Mori prince of Chitor. 
 
 Nine princes intervened between Bappa and Sakti Kumar, in 
 two centuries (twenty-two years to each reign) : just the time 
 which should elapse from the founder, who ' abandoned his 
 country for Iran,' in S. 820, or a.d. 764. Having thus established 
 four epochs in the earlier history of the family, viz. — 1 Kanaksen, 
 A.D. 144 ; 2, Siladitya, and sack of Valabhi, a.d. 52 4 ; 3, Estab- 
 lishment in Chitor and Mewar, a.d. 720 ; 4, Sakti Kumar, a.d. 
 1068 ; ^ we may endeavour to relieve this narrative by the notices 
 which regard their Persian descent [232]. 
 
 CHAPTER 3 
 
 Connexion of the Ranas with Persia. — Historic truth has, in all 
 countries, been sacrificed to national vanity : to its gratification 
 every obstacle is made to give way ; fictions become facts, and 
 even rehgious prejudices vanish in this mirage of the imagination. 
 \Vliat but this spurious zeal could for a moment induce any 
 genuine Hindu to believe that, only twelve centuries ago, ' an 
 eater of beef ' occupied the chair of Rama, and enjoyed by univer- 
 sal acclaim the title of ' Sun of the Hindus ' ; or that the most 
 ancient dynasty in the world could owe its existence to the last 
 of the Sassanian kings : * that a slip from such a tree could be sur- 
 reptitiously grafted on that majestic stem, which has flourished 
 from the golden to the iron age, covering the land with its 
 branches ? That there existed a marked affinity in religious 
 rites between the Rana's family and the Guebres, or ancient 
 Persians, is evident. With both, the chief object of adoration 
 was the sun ; each bore the image of the orb on their banners. 
 The chief day in the seven * was dedicated to the sun ; to it is 
 
 1 Ain, ii. 344 f. 
 
 ^ [The dates are open to much question. It is known fro:n inscriptions 
 that Sakti Kumar was alive in a.d. 977.] 
 
 * Yezdegird died a.d. 651. 
 
 * Surajwar, or Aditi/aivar, Sun-day ; and the other days of the week, 
 from the other planets, which Western nations have taken froiH the East.
 
 272 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 sacred the chief gate of the city, the principal bastion of every 
 fortress. But though the faith of Islam has driven away the fairy 
 inhabitants from the fountains of Mithras, that of Surya has still 
 its devotees on the summit of Chitor, as at Valabhi : and could 
 we trace with accuracy their creeds to a distant age, we might 
 discover them to be of one family, worshipping the sun at the 
 fountains of the Oxus and Jaxartes. 
 
 The darkest period of Indian history is during the six centuries 
 following Vikramaditya, which are scarcely enlightened by a ray 
 of knowledge : but India v/as imdergoing great changes, and 
 foreign tribes were pouring in from the north. To this period, 
 the sixth century, the genealogies of the Puranas are brought 
 down, which expressly declare (adopting the prophetic spirit to 
 conceal [233] the alterations and additions they then underwent) 
 that at this time the genuine line of princes would be extinct, and 
 that a mixed race would rule conjointly with foreign barbarians ; 
 as the Turushka, the Mauna,^ the Yavan,^ the Gorind, and 
 
 ^ See History of the Tribes, pp. 123, 135, articles ' Takshak,' and ' Jhala,' 
 or Makwahana, in all probability the Mauna of the Puranas [?]. 
 
 ^ The Yavan, or Greek princes, who apparently continued to rule within 
 the Indus after the Christian era, were either the remains of the Bactrian 
 dynasty or the independent kingdom of Demetrius or Apollodotus, who 
 ruled in the Panjab, having as their capital Sagala, changed by Demetrius 
 to Euthymedia. Bayer says, in his Hist. Reg. Bad., p. 84 : "I find from 
 Claudius Ptolemy, that there was a city within the Hydaspes yet nearer the 
 Indus, called Sagala, also Euthymedia ; but I scarcely doubt that Demetrius 
 called it Euthydemia, from his father, after his death and that of Menander. 
 Demetrius was deprived of his patrimony A.U.C. 562." [The site of Sagala 
 is uncertain — Chiniot, Shahkot, Sialkot {IGI, ii. 80 f. ; McCrindle, Ptolemy, 
 122 ff.).] 
 
 On this ancient city, Sagala, I have already said much ; conjecturing 
 it to be the Salbhanpura of the Yadus when driven from Zabulistan, and 
 that of the Yuoh-chi or Yuti, who were fixed there from Central Asia in the 
 fifth century, and if so early as the second century, when Ptolemy wrote, 
 may have originated the change of Yuti-media, the ' Central Yuti.' The 
 numerous medals which I possess, chiefly found within the probable hmits of 
 the Greek kingdom of Sagala, either belong to these princes or the Parthian 
 kings of Minnagara on the Indus. The legends are in Greek on one side, 
 and in the Sassanian character on the reverse. Hitherto I have not de- 
 ciphered the names of any but those of Apollodotus and Menander ; but 
 the titles of ' Great King,' ' Saviour,' and other epithets adopted by the 
 Arsacidae, are perfectly legible. The devices, however, all incline me to 
 pronounce them Parthian. It would be curious to ascertain how these 
 Greeks and Parthians gradually merged into the Hindu population [see 
 IQI, ii. 1.37].
 
 PERSIAN DESCENT OF THE RANAS OF MEWAR 273 
 
 Garddhabin.^ Tliere is much of truth in this ; nor is it to be 
 doubted that many of the Rajput tribes entered India from the 
 north-west regions about this period. Gor and Gardhaba have 
 the same signification ; the first is Persian ; the second its version 
 in Hindi, meaning the ' wild ass,' an appellation of the Persian 
 monarch Bahram, surnamed Gor from his partiality to hunting 
 that animal. Various authorities state Bahramgor being in India 
 in the fifth century, and his having there left progeny by a princess 
 of Kanauj. A passage extracted by the author from an ancient 
 Jain MS. indicates that " in S. 523 Raja Gardhabela, of Kakustha, 
 or vSuryavansa, ruled in Valabhipura." It has been surmised 
 that Gardhabela was the son of Bahramgor, a son of whom is 
 stated to have obtained dominion at Patau ; which may be borne 
 in mind when the authorities for the Persian extraction of the 
 Rana's family are given.^ 
 
 The Hindus, when conquered by the Muhammadans, naturally 
 wished to gild the chains they could not break. To trace a 
 common, though distant, origin with the conquerors was to 
 remove some portion of the taint of dishonour which arose from 
 giving their daughters in marriage to the Tatar emperors of Delhi ; 
 and a degree of satisfaction was derived from assuming that the 
 blood thus corrupted once flowed from a common fountain * [234]. 
 
 ^ [The list in the Vishnu Purana (474 f.) gives 7 Abhiras, 10 Garddhabas, 
 16 Sakas, 14 Tusharas, 13 Mundas, 11 Maunas. On the impossibihty of 
 reducing the Puranic accounts to order see Smith, EHI, 274.] 
 
 2 [RawUnson [Seventh Oriental Monarchy, 298) regards the eastern 
 adventure of Bahramgor, Varahran V., as mytliical. Sykes [Hist, of Persia, 
 i. 470) thinks they can hardly be authentic, " but I do not reject it as entirely 
 devoid of historical basis."] 
 
 ' The Hindu genealogist, in ignorance of the existence of Aghuz Khan, 
 the Tatar patriarch, could not connect the chain of Chagatai with Chandra. 
 The Brahman, better read, sixpplied the defect, and with his doctrine of the 
 metempsychosis animated the material frame of the beneficent Akbar with 
 the ' good genius ' of a Hindu ; and that of their mortal foe, Aurangzeb, 
 with one of evil destiny, being that of Kalayavana, the foe of Krishna. 
 They gravely assert that Akbar visited his ancient hermitage at the conflu- 
 ence of the Ganges and Jumna, and excavated the implements of penance 
 used by him in hds former shape, as one of the sages of ancient times ; while 
 such is their aversion to Aurangzeb, that they declare the final avatar, Time 
 (Kal), on his white steed, will appear in his person. The Jaisalmer annals 
 affirm that the whole Turkish (Turushha) race of Chagatai are of Yadu stock ; 
 while the Jam Jareja of Cutch traces his descent from the Persian Jamshid, 
 contemporary with Solomon. These are curious claims, but the Rana's 
 family v/ould consider such vanity criminal. 
 
 VOT,. I T
 
 274 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Further to develop these claims of Persian descent, we shall 
 commence with an extract from the Upadesa Prasad, a collection 
 of historic fragments in the Magadhi dialect. " In Gujardes 
 (Gujarat) there are eighty-foiir cities. In one of these, Kaira, 
 resided the Brahman Devaditya, the expounder of the Vedas. 
 He had an only child, Subhaga (of good fortune) by name, at 
 once a maiden and a widow. Having learned from her preceptor 
 the solar incantation, incautiously repeating it, the sun appeared 
 and embraced her, and she thence became pregnant.^ The 
 affliction of her father was diminished when he discovered the 
 parent ; nevertheless [as others might be less charitable] he sent 
 her with a female attendant to Valabhipura, where she was de- 
 livered of twins, male and female. When grown up the boy was 
 sent to school ; but being eternally plagued about his mysterious 
 birth, whence he received the nickname of Ghaibi (' concealed '), 
 in a fit of irritation he one day threatened to kill his mother if she 
 refused to disclose the author of his existence. At this moment 
 the sun revealed himself : he gave the youth a pebble, with which 
 it was sufficient to touch his companions in order to overcome 
 them. Being carried before the Balhara prince, who menaced 
 Ghaibi, the latter slew him with the pebble, and became himself 
 sovereign of Saurashtra, taking the name of Siladitya ^ (from 
 sila, ' a stone or pebble,' and adiiya, ' the sun ') : his sister was 
 married to the Raja of Broach." Such is the literal translation 
 of a fragment totally unconnected with the history of the Rana's 
 family, though evidently bearing upon it. The father of Siladitya, 
 according to the Sandrai roll and other authorities of that period, 
 is Suraj (the sun) Rao, though two others make a Somaditya 
 intervene^ [235]. 
 
 ^ [For legends of woinen impregnated by the sun see Frazer, Golden 
 Bough, Part vii. vol. i. 74 ff.] 
 
 ^ This is probably the Siladitya of the Satrunjaya Mahatma, who re- 
 paired the temple on Satrunjaya in S. 477 (a.d. 421). [A mere folk etymo- 
 logy — Siladitya, from sil, ' to worship,' aditya, ' the sun.'] 
 
 * In perusing this fragment we are struck by the similarity of production 
 of these Hindu Hehadae and that of the celebrated Tatar dynasty from which 
 Jenghiz Khan was descended. The Niruns, or ' children of light,' were from 
 an amour of the sun with Alung Goa, from which Jenghiz was the ninth in 
 descent. Authorities quoted by Petis do la Croix, in his Ufe of this con- 
 queror, and Hkewise by Marjgny, in his History of the Saracens, afBrm 
 Jenghiz Khan to be a descendant of Yazdegird, the last Sassanian prince. 
 Jenghiz was an idolater, and hated the very name of Muhammadan [see
 
 PERSIAN DESCENT OF THE RANAS OF IVIEWAR 275 
 
 Let us see what Abu-1 Fazl says of the descent of the Ranas 
 from Niishirwan : " The chief of the State was formerly called 
 Rawal, but for a long time past has been known as Rana. He is 
 of the Ghelot clan, and pretends to descent from Noshirwan the 
 Just. An ancestor of this family through the vicissitudes of 
 fortune came to Berar and was distinguished as the chief of Narna- 
 lah. About eight himdred years previous to the present time ^ 
 Narnalah was taken by the enemy and many were slain. One 
 Bapa, a child, was carried by his mother from this scene of desola- 
 tion to Mewar, and found refuge with Rajah Mandalikh, a Bhil." - 
 
 The work which has furnished all the knowledge which exists 
 on the Persian ancestry of the Mewar princes is the Maasiru-l- 
 Umara, or that (in the author's possession) founded on it, entitled 
 Bisaiu-l-Ghanim, or 'Display of the Foe,' written in a.h. 1204^ 
 [a.d. 1789]. The writer of this work styles himself Lachhmi 
 Narayan Shafik Aurangabadi, or ' the rhymer of Aurangabad. 
 He professes to give an accomit of Sivaji, the founder of the 
 INIahratta empire ; for which purpose he goes deep into the lineage 
 of the Ranas of Mewar, from whom Sivaji was descended,* quoting 
 
 Howorth, Hist, of the Mongols, i. 37 ff.]. A courtier telling Aurangzeb of his 
 celestial ancestry, gravely quoting the affair of the mother of the race of 
 Timur with the sun, the bigoted monarch coarsely replied, " Mama qahba 
 bud," which we will not translate. 
 
 ^ Akbar commenced his reign a.d. 1556, and had been forty years on the 
 throne when the ' Institutes ' were composed by the x4bu-l Fazl. [The 
 translation of Gladwin in the original text has been replaced by that of 
 Jarrett, Ain, ii. 268.] 
 
 2 Orme [Historical Fragments, Notes, p. xxii] was acquainted with this 
 passage, and shows his knowledge of the Hindu character by observing 
 that it was a strange pedigree to assign a Hindu prince, for Khusru, of the 
 religion of Zoroaster, though compelled to many abstinences, was not re- 
 strained from eating beef : and Anquetil du Perron says of the Parsis, their 
 descendants, that they have refrained since their emigration from slaying 
 the cow merely to please the Hindu. 
 
 ^ The cryptographic da,te is contained in the numerical value of the letters 
 which compose the title : 
 B. S. A. T. a. 1. G. N. A. E. M. ^ ^\^^^ *°*'^^ ^^ ""^^ ^l^J, either the 
 2. 60. 1. 9. 1. 9. 1000. 50. 1. 10. 40. 1 "^^^^ '' ^^T^' "'^ ^ Efficient value 
 
 I given to the numerals. 
 
 * WiLford, who by his indefatigable research and knowledge of Sanskrit 
 had accumulated extensive materials, unhappily deteriorated by a too 
 credulous imagination, yet containing much valuable matter available to 
 those sufficiently familiar with the subject to select with safety, has touched 
 on this, and almost on every other point in the circle of Hindu antiquities.
 
 276 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 at length the Maasiru-l-Umara, from which the following is a 
 literal translation : " It is well known that the Rajas of Udaipur 
 are exalted over all the princes of Hind. Other Hindu princes, 
 before they can succeed to the throne of their fathers, must 
 receive the khushka, or tilak of regality and investiture, from 
 them. This type of sovereignty is received with humility and 
 veneration. The khushka of these princes is made with human 
 blood : their title is Rana, and they deduce [236] their origin 
 from Noshirwan-i-Adil (i.e. the Just), who conquered the countries 
 
 of -,^ and many parts of Hindustan. During his lifetime his 
 
 son Noshizad, whose mother was the daughter of Kaiser of Rum,^ 
 quitted the ancient worship and embraced the ' faith ^ of the 
 Christians,' and with numerous followers entered Hindustan. 
 Thence he marched a great army towards Iran, against his father 
 Noshirwan ; who despatched his general, Rambarzin,* with 
 
 Ali Ibrahim, a learned native of Benares, was Wilford's authority for assert- 
 ing the Rana's Persian descent, who stated to him that he had seen the 
 original history, which was entitled, Origin of the Peishwas from the Ranas 
 of Mewar. (Ibrahim must have meant the Satara princes, whose ministers 
 were the Peshwas.) From this authority three distinct emigrations of the 
 Guebres, or ancient Persians, are recorded, from Persia into Gujarat. The 
 first in the time of Abu Bakr, a.d. 631 ; the second on the defeat of Yazde- 
 gird, A.D. 651 ; and the tliird when the descendants of Abbas began to prevail, 
 A.D. 749. Also that a son of Noshirwan landed near Surat with eighteen 
 thousand of his subjects, from Laristan, and were well received by the prince 
 of the country. Abu-1 Fazl confirms this account by saying, " the followers 
 of Zoroaster, when they fled from Persia, settled in Surat," the contracted 
 term for the peninsular of Saurashtra, as well as the city of this name 
 [Ai7i, ii. 243]. 
 
 ^ The names are obhterated in the original. Ferishta [i. Introd. Ixxix] 
 informs us that Ramdeo Rathor, sovereign of Kananj, was made tributary 
 by Firoz ' Sassan ' ; and that Partap Chand, who usurped the tlvrone of 
 Ramdeo, neglecting to pay this tribute, Noshirwan marched into India to 
 recover it, and in his progress siibdued Kabul and the Panjab. From the 
 striking coincidence of these original and decisive authorities, we may rest 
 assured that they had recourse to ancient records, both of the Guebres and 
 the Hindus, for the basis of their histories, which research may yet discover. 
 
 2 Maurice, emperor of Byzantium. [Sykes {Hist, of Persia, ii. 495) calls 
 the son of Nushirwan Nushishad, and mentions his rebellion against his 
 father. There seems to be no evidence that Nushishad reached India : he 
 was slain after he revolted (Malcolm, Hist. Persia, 2nd ed. i. 112 ff.).] 
 
 ^ Din-i-Tarsar. See Ebn Haukal, art. ' Serir,' or Russia ; whose king, 
 a son of Bahram Chassin, whom he styles a Tersar or Christian, first possessed 
 it about the end of the sixth century. 
 
 * The Ve.rames of Western historians [Malcolm, op. cit. i. 113].
 
 PERSIAN DESCENT OF THE RANAS OF MEWAR 277 
 
 numerous forces to oppose him. An action ensued, in which 
 Noshizad was slain ; but his issue remained in Hindustan, from 
 zvhom are descended the Ranas of Udaipur. Nushirwan had a 
 wife from the Khakhan ^ of China, by whom he had a son called 
 Hormuz, declared heir to the throne shortly before his death. 
 As according to the faith of the fire-worshippers - it is not custom- 
 ary either to bury or to burn the dead, but to leave the corpse 
 exposed to the rays of the sun, so it is said the body of Nushirwan 
 has to this day suffered no decay, but is still fresh." 
 
 I now come to the account of Yazd, " the son of Shahriyar, 
 the son of Ivhusru Parves, the son of Hormuz, the son of Nush- 
 irwan. 
 
 " Yazd was the last king of Ajam. It is well known he fought 
 many battles with the IMuhammadans. In the fifteenth year of 
 the caliphat, Rustam, son of P^'erokh, a great chief, was slain in 
 battle by Saad-bin-wakas, who commanded for Omar, which 
 was the death-blow to the fortunes of the house of Sassan : so 
 that a remnant of it did not remain in a.h. 31, when Iran was 
 seized by the Muhammadans. This battle had lasted four days 
 when Rustam Ferokzad was slain by the hand of Hilkal, the son 
 of Al Kumna, at Saad's command [237] ; though Firdausi asserts 
 by Saad himself. Thirty thousand Muslims were slain, and the 
 same number of the men of Ajam. To count the spoils was a 
 torment. During this year (the thirty-first), the sixteenth of the 
 prophet,* the era of the Hegira was introduced. In a.h. 17 Abu 
 Musa of Ashur seized Hormuz, the son of the uncle of Yazdegird, 
 whom he sent with Yazdegird's daughter to Imam Husain, and 
 another daughter to Abubakr. 
 
 " Thus far have I * extracted from the history of the fire- 
 worshippers. He who has a mind to examine these, let him do 
 so. The people of the religion of Zardusht have a full knowledge 
 
 ^ Khakhan was the title of the kings of Chinese Tartary. It was held 
 by the leader of the Huns, who at tliis period held power on the Caspian : 
 it was also held by the Urus, Khuzr, Bulgar, Serir, all terms for Russia, 
 before its Kaisar was cut down into Tzar, for the original of which, the kings 
 of Rome, as of Russia, were indebted to the Sanskrit Kesar, a" lion ' [Lat. 
 Caesar] {vide Ibn Haukal, art. ' Khozr '). 
 
 ^ Din-i-Majusi ; literally, ' faith of the Magi.' 
 
 * Muhammad, born a.d. 578 ; the Hegira, or flight, a.d. 622. 
 
 * It must be borne in mind that it is the author of tlie Maasiru-l-Umara, 
 not the rhymer of Aurungabad, who is speaking.
 
 278 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of all these events, with their dates ; for the pleasure of their 
 lives is the obtaining accounts of antiquity and astronomical 
 knowledge, and their books contain information of two and three 
 thousand years. It is also told, that when the fortunes of Yazde- 
 gird were on the wane, his family dispersed to different regions. 
 The second daughter, Shahr Banu, was married to Imam IIusaLn,^ 
 who, when he fell a martyr (shahid), an angel carried her to 
 heaven. The third daughter, Banu, was seized by a plundering 
 Arab and carried into the wilds of Chichik, thirty coss from 
 Yazd. Praying to God for deliverance, she instantly disap- 
 peared ; and the spot is still held sacred by the Parsis, and named 
 ' the secret abode of perfect purity.' Hither, on the twenty- 
 sixth of the month Bahman, the Parsis yet repair to pass a month 
 in pilgrimage, living in huts under indigenous vines skirting the 
 rock, out of whose fissures water falls into a fountain below : but 
 if the unclean approach the spring, it ceases to flow. 
 
 " Of the eldest daughter of Yazdegird, Maha Banu, the Parsis 
 have no accounts ; but the books of Hind give evidence to her 
 arrival in that country, and that from her issue is the tribe Sesodia. 
 But, at all events, this race is either of the seed of Nushishad, 
 the son of Nushirwan, or of that of the daughter of Yazdegird." ^ 
 
 Thus have we adduced, perhaps, all the points of evidence for 
 the supposed Persian origin of the Rana's family. The period 
 of the invasion of Saurashtra by Nushishad, who mounted the 
 throne a.d. 531, corresponds well with the sack of Valabhi, a.d. 
 521 [238]. The army he collected in Laristan to depose his father 
 might have been from the Parthians, Getae, Huns, and other 
 Scythic races then on the Indus, though it is unlikely, with such 
 an object in view as the throne of Persia, that he would waste his 
 strength in Saurashtra. Khusru Parvez, grandson of Nushirwan 
 
 ^ [This is the Persian tradition (Sykes, op. cit. ii. 44).] 
 2 For the extract from " The Annals of Princes (Maasiru-l-Umara) " let 
 us laud the memory of the rhymer of Aurungabad. An original copy, which 
 1 in vain attempted to procure in India, is stated by Sir Wilham Ouseley 
 to be in the British Museum. We owe that country a large debt, for we have 
 robbed her of all her literary treasures, leaving them to sleep on the shelves 
 of our pubhc institutions. [There is no real evidence of the Persian descent 
 of the Ranas, and it has/been suggested that the story is based on the fire 
 symbols on the coinage found in Kathiawar and Mewar, these, though in the 
 main Indo-Scythic, betraying from about sixth century a more direct 
 iSassanian influence (BG, i. Part i. 102). At the same time recent discoveries 
 indicate Persian influence in N. India.]
 
 PERSIAN DESCENT OF THE RANAS OF IVIEWAR 279 
 
 the great, and who assumed this title according to Firdausi, 
 married Marian, the daughter of Maurice, the Greek emperor of 
 Byzantium. She bore him Shirauah (tlie Siroes of the early 
 Christian writers), who slew his father. It is dillicult to separate 
 the actions of the two Nushirwans, and still more to say which 
 of them merited the epithet of adil, or ' just.' 
 
 According to the ' Tables ' in Moreri,^ Nusliishad, son of Khusru 
 the Great, reigned from a.d. 531 to 591. This is opposed to the 
 Maasiru-l-Umara, which asserts that he was slain during his 
 rebellion. Siroes, son of lOiusru (the second Nushirwan) by liis 
 wife Marian, alternately called the friend and foe of the Christians, 
 did raise the standard of revolt, and met the fate attributed to 
 Nushishad ; on which Yazdegird, his nephew, was proclaimed. 
 The crown was intended for Shirauah's yoimger brother, which 
 caused the revolt, during which the elder sought refuge in India. 
 These revolutions in the Sassanian house were certainly simul- 
 taneous with those which occurred in the Rana's, and no barrier 
 existed to the political mtercourse at least between the princely 
 worshippers of Surya and Mithras. It is, therefore, curious to 
 speculate even on the possibility of such a pedigree to a family 
 whose ancestry is lost in the mists of time ; and it becomes 
 interesting when, from so many authentic sources, we can raise 
 testimonies which would furnish, to one even untinctured with 
 the love of hypothesis, grounds for giving ancestors to the Ranas 
 in Maurice of Byzantium and Cyrus (Khusru) of Persia [239]. We 
 have a singular support to these historic relics in a geographical 
 fact, that places on the site of the ancient Valabhi a city called 
 Byzantium, which almost affords conclusive proof that it must 
 have been the son of Nushirwan who captured Valabhi and Gajni, 
 and destroyed the family of Siladitya ; for it would be a legitimate 
 occasion to name such conquest after the city where his Christian 
 mother had had birth.- Whichever of the propositions we adopt 
 at the command of the author of The Annals of Princes, namely, 
 " that the Sesodia race is of the seed of Nushishad, son of Nushir- 
 wan, or of that of Mahabanu, daughter of Yazdegird," we arrive 
 at a singular and startling conclusion, viz. that the ' Hindua 
 
 ^ Vide Grand Dictionnaire Historique. 
 
 '^ [Byzantium cannot have been a Greek colony, the name apparently 
 representing Vijayanta, now Vijayadurga, the southern entrance of the 
 Vaghotan River in Katnagiri (McCrindle, I'lolcmy, 47 ; BG, i. Part ii. 174 f.).]
 
 280 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Suraj, descendant of a hundred kings,' the luidisputed possessor 
 of the honours of Rama, the patriarch of the Solar race, is the 
 issue of a Christian princess : that the chief prince amongst the 
 nations of Hind can claim affinity with the emperors of ' the 
 mistress of the world,' though at a tunc when her. glory had 
 waned, and her crown had been transferred from the Tiber to the 
 Bosphorus. 
 
 But though I deem it morally impossible that the Ranas should 
 have their lineage from any male branch of the Persian house, I 
 would not equally assert that Mahabanu, the fugitive daughter 
 of Yazdegird, may not have foimd a husband, as well as sanctuary, 
 with the prince of Saurashtra ; and she may be the Subhagna 
 (mother of Siladitya), whose mysterious amour with the ' sun ' ^ 
 compelled her to abandon her native city of Kaira. The son of 
 Marian had been in Saurashtra, and it is therefore not unlikely 
 that her grandchild should there seek protection in the reverses 
 of her family. 
 
 The Salic law is here in full force, and honours, though never 
 acquired by the female, may be stained by her ; yet a daughter 
 of the noble house of Sassan might be permitted to perpetuate 
 the line of Rama without the reproach of taint.^ 
 
 We shall now^ abandon this point to the reader, and take leave 
 
 ^ It will be recollected that the various authorities given state Raja 
 Suraj (su7i), of Kakustha race, to be the father of Siladitya. Kakustha is a 
 term used synonymously with Suryavansa, according to the Solar genea- 
 logists. Those who may be inchned to the Persian descent may trace it from 
 Kaikaus, a well-known epithet in the Persian dynasties. I am unacquainted 
 with the etymology of Kakustha ; but it may possibly be from ka, ' of or 
 belonging to,' Kusa (Cush), the second son of Rama [?]. I have already 
 hinted that the Assyrian Medes might be descendants of Hyaspa, a branch 
 of the Indu-Mede of the family of Yayati which bore the name of Kausika. 
 [The reference in the text may be to Kakutstha, grandson of Ikshwaku, 
 who is said to have taken his name because he stood on the hump (Kukuda) 
 of Indra when he was turned into a bull (Wilson, Vishna Purana, 361).] 
 
 ^ " The moral consequence of a pedigree," says Hume, " is differently 
 marked by the influence of law and custom. The male sex is deemed more 
 noble than the female. The association of our ideas pursues the regular 
 descent of honour and estates from father to son, and their wives, however 
 essential, are considered only in the light of foreign auxiharies " {Essays, 
 vol. ii. p. 192). Not unlike the Rajput axiom, though more coarsely ex- 
 pressed ; " It is, who planted the tree, not where did it grow," that marks 
 his idea of the comparative value of the side whence honours originate ; 
 though purity of blood in both hnes is essential.
 
 SAMARSI, SAMAR SINGH 281 
 
 of Yazdegird/ the last of the house of Sassan, in the words of the 
 historian of Rome : " Avec lui, on voit perir pour jamais la gloire 
 et I'empire des Perses. Les rochers du Mazendaran et les sables 
 du Kerman, furent les seuls - asiles que les vainqueurs laisserent 
 aux sectateurs de Zoroastre "' ' [240]. 
 
 CHAPTER 4 
 
 Samarsi, Samar Singh.— Having established Bappa on the throne 
 of Chitor S. 784 (a.d. 728), we will proceed to glean from the annals, 
 from the period of his departure for Iran, S. 820 (a.d. 764) to 
 another halting point— the reign of Samarsi, S. 1249 (a.d. 1193) ; * 
 an important epoch, not only in the history of Mewar, but to the 
 whole Hindu race ; when the diadem of sovereignty was torn 
 from the brow of the Hindu to adorn that of the Tatar. We 
 shall not, however, overleap the four intervening centuries, though 
 we may not be able to fill up the reigns of the eighteen princes * 
 whose " banner at this time was a golden sun on a crimson field," * 
 and several of whose names yet live recorded " with an iron pen 
 on the rock " of their native abodes. 
 
 An intermediate period, from Bappa to Samarsi, that of Sakti 
 Kumar, is fixed by the Aitpur inscription in S. 1024 (a.d. 968) ; 
 
 ^ A new era had commenced, not of Yazdegird's accession, as is sup- 
 posed, wliich would have been vain indeed, when the throne was tottering 
 under him, but consequent to the completion of the grand cycle of 1440 
 years. He was slain at Merv in a.d. 651, the 31st of the Hegira; on the 
 eleventh year of which, or a.d. 632 (according to Moreri), he commenced his 
 reign. 
 
 ^ Gibbon was wrong. India afforded them an asylum, and their issue 
 constitutes the most wealthy, the most respected, and the most enhghtened 
 part of the native community of Bombay and the chief towns of that presid- 
 ency. 
 
 ^ Gibbon, Miscellaneous Works, ' Sur la Monarchic des Medes,' vol. iii. 
 
 * [" We now know that Samar Singh was alive up to 1299, only four 
 years before Alau-d-dln's siege of Chitor, and that in several inscriptions 
 his dates are given as 1273, 1274, 1285, etc. . . . Instead of being the father 
 of Karan Singh I., as stated by Tod, Samar Singh came eight genei-ations 
 after him, and was the father of Ratan Singh I., who, according to Muham- 
 madan historians, was the ruler of Chitor during the reign of Alau-d-dln, 
 and the husband of Padmini " (Erskine ii. A. 14 f.)] 
 
 ^ See Genealogical Table. 
 
 ^ This, according to the roll, was the standard of Bappa.
 
 282 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 and from the more perishable yet excellent authority of an ancient 
 Jain MS. the era of Allat, the ancestor of Sakti Kumar, was S. 922 
 (a.d. 866), four generations anterior. From Bappa's departure 
 for Iran, in a.d. 764, to the subversion of Hindu dominion in the 
 reign of Samarsi, in a.d. 1193, we find recorded an intermediate 
 Islamite invasion. This was during the reign of Khuman, 
 between a.d. 812 and 836, which event forms the chief subject 
 of the Khuman-Raesa, the most ancient of the poetic chronicles 
 of Mewar [241]. 
 
 As the history of India at this period is totally dark, we gladly 
 take advantage of the lights thus afforded. By combining these 
 facts with what is received as authentic, though scarcely less 
 obscure or more exact than these native legends, we may furnish 
 materials for the future historian. With this view, let us take 
 a rapid sketch of the irruptions of the Arabians into India, from 
 the rise of Islamism to the foundation of the Ghaznivid empire, 
 which sealed the fate of the Hindus. The materials are but 
 scanty. El-Makin, in his history of the Cahphs, passes over 
 such intercourse almost without notice. Abu-1-Fazl, though not 
 diffuse, is minute in what he does say, and we can confide in his 
 veracity. Ferishta has a chapter devoted to this subject, which 
 merits a better translation than yet exists.^ We shall, however, 
 in the first place, touch on Bappa's descendants, till we arrive at 
 the point proper for the introduction of the intended sketch. 
 
 Of the twenty-four tribes of Guhilot, several issued from the 
 founder, Bappa. Shortly after the conquest of Chitor, Bappa pro- 
 ceeded to Saurashtra and married the daughter of Yusufgol, 
 prince of the island of Bandardiva.^ With his bride he conveyed 
 
 ^ Amongst the passages which Dow [i. 37] has slurred over in his trans- 
 lation is the interesting account of the origin of the Afghans ; who, when 
 they first came in contact with those of the new faith, in a.h. 62, dwelt 
 around the Koh-i-Sulaiman. Ferishta, quoting authority, says : " The 
 Afghans were Copts, ruled by Pharaun, many of whom were converted to 
 the laws and rehgion of Moses ; but others, who were stubborn in their 
 worship to their gods, fled towards Hindustan, and took possession of the 
 country adjoining the Koh-i-Sulaiman. They were visited by Kasim from 
 Sind, and in the 143rd year of the Hegira had possessed themselves of the 
 provinces of Kirman, Peshawar, and all within their bounds {si?ioran)," 
 which Dow has converted into a province. The whole geographical descrip- 
 tion of the Kohistan, the etymology of the term Rohilla, and other important 
 matter, is omitted by him [see Briggs, trans, i. 6 f.]. 
 
 * [The island Diu.] Yusufgol is stated to have held Chaul on the main-
 
 KHUMAN I. 283 
 
 to Chitor the statue of Vyanmata, the tutelary goddess of her 
 race, who still divides with Eklinga the devotion of the Guhilot 
 princes. The temple in which he enshrined this islandic goddess 
 yet stands on the summit of Chitor, with many other monuments 
 assigned by tradition to Bappa. This princess bore him Aparajit, 
 who from bemg born in Chitor was nominated successor to the 
 throne, to the exclusion of his less fortunate elder brother, Asil 
 (born of the daughter of the Kaba (Pramara) prince of Kalibao near 
 Dwaraka), who, however, obtained possessions in Saurashtra, and 
 founded a race called the Asila Guhilots,^ whose descendants were 
 so numerous, even in Akbar's reign, as to [242] be supposed able to 
 bring into the field fifty thousand men at arms. We have nothing 
 important to record of the actions of Aparajit, who had two sons 
 Kalbhoj - and Nandkumar. Kalbhoj succeeded Aparajit, and 
 his warlike qualities are extolled in an inscription discovered 
 by the author in the valley of Nagda. Nandkumar slew Bhimsen 
 Dor (Doda), and possessed himself of Deogarh in the Deccan. 
 
 Khuman I. — Ivhuman succeeded Kalbhoj . His name is remark- 
 able in the history of Mewar. He came to the throne at the 
 
 land. He was most probably the father of Vanaraja Chawara, the founder 
 of Patan Anhilwara, whose ancestors, on the authority of the Kumarpal 
 Charitra, were princes of Bandardiva, held by the Portuguese since the 
 time of Albuquerque, who changed its name to Deo. [But Yusufgol, if he 
 existed, must have been a Musahnan. Vanaraja Chawara was son of 
 Jayasekhara, said to have been slain in battle, a.d. 696, leaving his wife 
 pregnant (BG, i. Part i. 150 f.). Yusufgol does not appear in the local 
 history.] 
 
 ^ The ancient roll from which this is taken mentions Asil giving his name 
 to a fortress, called Asilgarh. His son, Bijai Pal, was slain in attempting to 
 wrest Khambayat (Cambay) from Sangram Dabhi. One of his wives, from 
 a violent death, was prematurely deUvered of a boy, called Setu ; and as, 
 in such cases, the Hindu supposes the deceased to become a discontented 
 spirit {churail), Churaila became the name of the tribe. Bija, the twelfth 
 from Asil, obtained Sonal from liis maternal uncle, Khengar Dabhi, prince 
 of Girnar, but was slain by Jai Singh Deo, prince of Surat. From these 
 names compounded, Dabi and Churaila, we may have the Dabisalima of 
 Mahmud. [The Asil Guhilots are now included in the Mers of the Kathiawar 
 coast ; their numbers are exaggerated in the text (Ain, ii. 247 ; BG, ix. 
 Parti. 126).] [See p. 266 above.] 
 
 ^ Also called Kama. He it was who excavated the Boraila lake, and 
 erected the grand temple of EkUnga on the site of the hermitage of 
 Harita, v/hose descendant, the present officiating priest, reckons sixty- 
 six descents, while the princes of Mewar amount to seventy-two in the same 
 period.
 
 284 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 beginning of the ninth century, when Chitor was assailed by 
 another formidable invasion of Muhammadans. The chief object 
 of the Khuman Raesa is to celebrate the defence made on this 
 occasion, and the value of this Raesa consists in the catalogue of 
 the princes who aided in defending this bulwark of the Hindu 
 faith. The bard, in an animated strain, makes his sovereign on 
 this occasion successfully defend the ' crimson standard ' of 
 Mewar, treat with contempt the demand for tribute, and after 
 a violent assault, in which the ' barbarian ' is driven back, follow 
 and discomfit him in the plan, carrying back the hostile leader, 
 Mahmud, captive. With this event, which introduces the name 
 of Mahmud two centuries before the conqueror of Ghazni, we will 
 pause, and resume the promised sketch of the intercourse of Arabia 
 and Hindustan at this period. 
 
 The MuhammadaA Invasion, a.d. 644-55. — The first intimation 
 of the Moslems attempting the invasion of India is during the 
 caliphat of Omar, who built the port of Bassorah at the mouth of 
 the Tigris, chiefly to secure the trade of Gujarat and Sind ; into 
 which latter coimtry a powerful army penetrated under Abul 
 Aas,^ who was killed in battle at Aror. The Caliph Osman, 
 who succeeded Omar, sent to explore the state of India, while 
 he prepared an army to invade it in person : a design which he 
 never fulfilled. The generals of the Caliph Ali made conquests 
 in Sind, which they abandoned at All's death. While Yazid was 
 governor of Khorasan several attempts were made on India, as 
 also during the caliphat of Abdu-1 Malik, but without any last- 
 ing [243] results. It was not till the reign of Walid '^ that any 
 successful invasion took place. He not only finally conquered 
 Sind and the adjoining continent of India, but rendered tributary 
 all that part of India on this side the Ganges.^ What an exalted 
 idea must we not form of the energy and rapidity of such con- 
 quests, when we find the arms of Islam at once on the Ganges 
 and the Ebro, and two regal dynasties simultaneously cut off, 
 that of Roderic, the last of the Goths of Andaloos, and Dahir 
 Despati in the valley of the Indus. It was in a.h. 99 (a.d. 712, 
 S. 774) that Muhammad bin Kasim vanquished and slew Dahir, 
 
 ^ [Ferishta (i. 2) calls him Sayyid bin Abiu-1-Aas.] 
 " See Table next page. 
 
 ' Marigny (quoting EI-Makin), Hist, of the Arabians, vol. ii. p. 283 ; 
 Mod. Univ. Hint. vol. ii. p. 47.
 
 
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 286 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 prince of Sind, after numerous conflicts. Amongst the spoils 
 of victory sent to the c^|j^h on this occasion were the daughters 
 of the subjugated monarch, who were the cause of Kasim's de- 
 struction,^ when he was on the eve of earrjdng the war against 
 Raja [244] Harchand of Kanauj. Some authorities state that 
 he actually prosecuted it ; and as Sind remained a dependency 
 of the caliphat during several successive reigns, the successor of 
 Kasim may have executed his plans. Little is said of India from 
 this period to the reign of Al-Mansur, except in regard to the 
 rebellion of Yazid in Khorasan, and the flight of his son to Sind. 
 The eight sovereigns, who rapidly followed, were too much engaged 
 with the Christians of the west and the Huns on the Caspian to 
 think of India. Their armies were then in the heart of France, 
 which was only saved from the Koran by their overthrow at 
 Tours by Charles Martel. 
 
 Al-Mansur, when only the lieutenant of the Caliph Abbas, held 
 the government of Sind and of India, and made the island of 
 Bakhar on the Indus, and the adjacent Aror,^ the ancient capital, 
 his residence, naming it Mansura ; and it was during his govern- 
 ment that Bappa Rawal abandoned Chitor for Iran. 
 
 The celebrated Harunu-r-rashid, contemporary of Charle- 
 magne, in apportioning his immense empire amongst his sons, 
 gave to the second, Al-Mamun, Khorasan, Zabulistan, Kabulistan, 
 Sind, and Hindustan.^ Al-Mamun, on the death of Ilarun, de- 
 posed his brother, and became caliph in A.ii. 198 or a.d. 813, and 
 ruled to 833, the exact period of the reign of Khuman, prince of 
 Chitor. The domestic history brings the enemy assailant of 
 Chitor from Zabulistan ; and as the leader's name is given 
 Mahmud Khorasan Pat, there can be little doubt that it is an 
 error arising from ignorance of the copyist, and should be 
 Mamun. 
 
 ^ " The two young princesses, in order to revenge the death of their 
 father, represented falsely to the Khahf that Muhammad bin Kasim had 
 been connected with them. The Khalif , in a rage, gave order for Muhammad 
 bin Kasim to be sewed up in a raw hide, and sent in that condition to court. 
 When the mandate arrived at Tatta, Kasim was prepared to carry an ex- 
 pedition against Harchand, monarch of Kanauj. When he arrived at court, 
 the Khalif showed him to the daughters of Dahir, who expressed their joy 
 upon beholding their father's murderer in'such a condition " [Ain/ii. 345 ; 
 Elliot-Dowson i. 209 f.]. 
 
 ^ Aror is seven miles east of Bakhar. 
 
 ^ Marigny, vol. iii. p. 83 ; Univ. Hist. vol. ii. p. 162.
 
 MATIMCD'S invasion, attack on CIIITOR 287 
 
 Mahmud's Invasion. — Witliin twenty years after this event, 
 the sword of conquest and conversion was withdrawn from India, 
 and Sind was the only province left to Mutawakkil (a.d. 850 [847- 
 861]), the grandson of Harun, for a century after whom the throne 
 of Baghdad, like that of ancient Rome, was sold by her jiraetorians 
 to the highest bidder. From this time we find no mention what- 
 ever of Hindustan, or even of Sind, imtil Sabuktigin,^ governor 
 of Khorasan, hoisted the standard of independent sovereignty 
 at Ghazni. In A.n. 365 (a.d. 974) he carried his arms [245] across 
 the Indus, forcing the inhabitants to abandon the religion of their 
 ancestors, and to read the Koran from the altars of Bal and 
 Krishna. Towards the close of this century he made his last 
 invasion, accompanied by his son, the celebrated Mahmud, 
 destined to be the scourge of the Hindu race, who early imbibed 
 the paternal lesson inculcating the extirpation of infidels. Twelve 
 several visitations did Mahmud make with his Tatar hordes, 
 sweeping India of her riches, destroying her temples and archi- 
 tectural remains, and leaving the coimtrj^ phmged in poverty 
 and ignorance. From the effect of these incursions she never 
 recovered ; for though she had a respite of a century between 
 Mahmud and the final conquest, it was too short to repair what 
 it had cost ages to rear : the temples of Somnath, of Chitor, and 
 Girnar are but types of the magnificence of past times. The 
 memorial of Sakti Kumar proves him to have been the contem- 
 porary of Sabuktigin, and to one of his son's visitations is attri- 
 buted the destruction of the ' city of the sun ' (Aitpur),^ his 
 capital. 
 
 Attack on Chitor. — Having thus condensed the little informa- 
 tion afforded by Muhammadan historians of the connexion 
 between the caliphs of Baghdad and princes of Hind, from the 
 first to the end of the fourth century of the Hegira, we shall revert 
 to the first recorded attack on the Mori prince of Chitor, which 
 brought Bappa into notice. This was either by Yazid or Muham- 
 mad bin Kasim from Sind.' Though in the histories of the 
 caliphs we can only expect to find recorded those expeditions 
 
 ^ His father's name was Aliptigin, termed a slave by Ferishta and his 
 authorities ; though EI-Makin gives him an ancestor in Yazdegird. [He 
 was a slave (Elliot-Dowson iv. 159).] 
 
 * Ait, contracted from Aditya : hence Itwar, ' Sunday.' 
 
 ' [This is not corroborated by Musulraan authorities.]
 
 288 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 which were successful, or had some lasting results, there are 
 inroads of their revolted lieutenants or their frontier deputies, 
 which frequently, though indistinctly, alluded to in Hindu annals, 
 have no place in Muhammadan records. Throughout the period 
 mentioned there was a stir amongst the Hindu nations, in which 
 we find confusion and dethronement from an unknown invader, 
 who is described as coming sometimes by Sind, sometimes by sea, 
 and not unfrequently as a demon and magician ; but invariably 
 as mlechchha, or ' barbarian.' ^ From S. 750 to S. 780 (a.d. 694 
 to [246] 724), the annals of the Yadus, the Chauhans, the Chawaras , 
 and the Guhilots, bear evidence to simultaneous convulsions in 
 their respective houses at this period. In S. 750 (a.h. 75) the 
 Yadu Bhatti was driven from his capital Salpura in the Panjab, 
 across the Sutlej into the Indian desert ; the invader named 
 Farid. At the same period Manika Rae, the Chauhan prince of 
 Ajmer, was assailed and slain.^ 
 
 ^ Even from the puerilities of Hindu legends something may be extracted. 
 A mendicant dervesh, called Roshan All {i.e. the ' light of All '), had found 
 his way to Garh Bitli (the ancient name of the Ajmer fortress), and having 
 thrust his hand into a vessel of curds destined for the Raja, had his finger 
 cut off. The disjointed member flew to Mecca, and was recognized as 
 belonging to the saint. An army was equipped in the disguise of horse- 
 merchants, which invaded Ajmer, whose prince was slain. May we not 
 gather from this incident that an insult to the first Islamite missionary, 
 in the person of Roshan Ah, brought upon the prince the arms of the Cahph ? 
 The same Chauhan legends state that Ajaipal was prince of Ajmer at this 
 time ; that in this invasion by sea he hastened to Anjar (on the coast of 
 Cutch), where he held the ' guard of the ocean ' {Samudra lei Chaulci), where 
 he fell in opposing the landing. An altar was erected on the spot, on 
 wliich was sculptured the figure of the prince on horseback, with his lance 
 at rest, and which still annually attracts multitudes at the ' fair (Mela) of 
 Ajaipal.' The subsequent invasion alluded to in the text, of S. 750 (a.d. 
 694), is marked by a curious anecdote. When the ' Asurs ' had blockaded 
 Ajmer, Lot, the infant son of Manika Rae, was playing on the battlements, 
 when an arrow from the foe killed the heir of Ajmer, who has ever since 
 been worshipped amongst the lares and penates of the Chauhans ; and as 
 he had on a silver chain anklet at the time, this ornament is forbid to the 
 children of the race. In all these Rajput families there is a putra {adolesceyis) 
 amongst the penates, always one who has come to an untimely end, and 
 chiefly worshipped by females ; having a strong resemblance to the rites 
 in honour of Adonis. We have traced several Roman and Grecian terms 
 to Sanskrit origin ; may we add that of lares, from larla, ' dear ' or 
 ' beloved '?[?]. 
 
 - [The story is " puerile and fictitious : independent of which the Arabs 
 liad quite enough to do nearer home " (Elliot-Dowson i. 426).]
 
 GATHERING OF THE CLANS TO DEFEND CHITOR 289 
 
 The Muster of the Clans. — ^The first of the Khichi princes who 
 occupied the Duab of Sindsagar in the Panjab, as well as the 
 ancestor of the Haras estabhshed in Golkonda, was expelled at the 
 same time. The invader is treated in the genuine Hindu style as a 
 Danava, or demon, and is named Ghairaram ^ (i.e. restless), from 
 Kujliban,^ a term geographically given to a portion of the 
 Himalaya mountains about the glaciers of the Ganges. The 
 ancestor of the founder of Patan was expelled from his petty 
 islandic dominion on the coast of Saurashtra at the same time. 
 This is the period when Yazid was the caliph's lieutenant in 
 Khorasan, and when the arms of Walid conquered to the Ganges ; 
 nor is there a doubt that Yazid or Kasim was the author of all 
 these revolutions in the Hindu dynasties. We are supported in 
 this by the names of the princes contained in the catalogue who 
 aided to defend Chitor and the Mori prince on this occasion. It 
 is evident that Chitor was, alternately with Ujjain, the seat of 
 sovereignty of the Pramara at this period, and, as it became the 
 rallying point of the Hindus, that this race was the first in con- 
 sequence.^ We find the prince of Ajmer, and the quotas of 
 
 ^ [Persian : not a likely name.] 
 
 ^ Signifying ' Elephant forests,' and described in a Hindu map (stamped 
 on cloth and painted) of India from Kujiiban to Lanka, and the provinces 
 west of the Indus to Calcutta ; presented by me to the Royal Asiatic Society. 
 
 * The list of the vassal princes at the court of the Mori confirms the 
 statement of the bard Ohand, of the supremacy of Ram Pramara, and the 
 partition of his dominion, as described (see p. 63, note) amongst the princes 
 who founded separate dynasties at this period ; hitherto in vassalage or 
 subordinate to the Pramara. We can scarcely suppose the fauiily to have 
 suffered any decay since their ancestor, Chandragupta, connected by 
 marriage with as well as the ally of the Grecian Seleucus, and who held 
 Greeks in his pay. From such connexion, the arts of sculpture and archi- 
 tecture may have derived a character hitherto unnoticed. Amidst the ruins 
 of Barolli are seen sculptured the Grecian helmet ; and the elegant ornament, 
 the Kumbha, or ' vessel of desire,' on the temple of Annapurna (i.e. ' giver 
 of food '), the Hindu Ceres, has much affinity to the Grecian device. From 
 the inscription (see No. 2) it is evident that Chitor was an appanage of Ujjain, 
 the seat of Pramar empire. Its monarch, Chandragupta (Mori [Maurya]), 
 degraded into the barber (Maurya) tribe, was the descendant of Srenika, 
 prince of Rajagriha, v/ho, according to the Jain work, Kalpadruma Kalka, 
 flourished in the year 477 before Vikramaditya, and from whom Chandra- 
 gupta was the thirteenth in descent. The names as follows : Kanika, 
 Udsen, and nine in succession of the name of Nanda, thence called the 
 Nau-nanda. These, at twenty-two years to a reign (see p. 64), would give 
 286 years, which— 477 = 191 s.v. + 56 = 247 a.c. Now it was in a.c. 260, 
 VOL. I U
 
 290 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Saurashtra and Gujarat [247] ; Angatsi, lord of the Huns ; Busa, 
 the lord of the North ; Sheo, the prince of the Jarejas ; the Johya, 
 lord of Jangaldes ; the Aswaria, the Sepat, the Kulhar, the Malan, 
 the Ohir, the Hul, and many others, having nothing of the Hindu 
 in name, now extinct. But the most conspicuous is ' Dahir 
 Despati from Debal.' This is erroneously written Delhi, the seat 
 of the Tuars ; whereas we recognize the name of the prince of 
 Sind, slain by Kasim, whose expatriated son doubtless found 
 refuge in Chit or. ^ 
 
 The Defeat of the Enemy, — This attack on the Mori prince was 
 defeated chiefly through the bravery of the youthful Guhilot. 
 The foe from Kujliban, though stated to have advanced by 
 Mathura, retreated by Saurashtra and Sind, pursued by Bappa. 
 He found the ancient seat of his ancestors, Gajni,^ still in the 
 possession of the ' Asur ' : a term as well as mlechchha, or ' bar- 
 barian,' always given to the Islamite at this period. Salim, who 
 held Gajni, was attacked and forced to surrender, and Bappa in- 
 according to Bayer, that the treaty was formed between Seleucus and 
 Chandragupta ; so that this scrap of Jain history may be regarded as 
 authentic and valuable. Asoka (a name of weight in Jain annals) succeeded 
 Chandragupta. He by Kunala, whose son was Samprati, with whose 
 name ends the hne of Srenika, according to the authority from which I 
 made the extract. The name of Samprati is well known from Ajnier to 
 Saurashtra, and his era is given in a valuable chronogrammatic catalogue 
 in an ancient Jain manuscript from the temple of Nadol, at 202 of the Virat 
 Samvat. He is mentioned both traditionally and by books as the great 
 supporter of the Jain faith, and the remains of temples dedicated to Mahavira, 
 erected by this prince, yet exist at Ajrr.er, on Abu, Kumbhalmer, and Girnar. 
 [Much of this needs correction, which cannot be done in the hmits of a note. 
 For the Nanda dynasty see Smith, EHI, 40, and for Chandragupta Maurya 
 and Asoka, 115 ff.] 
 
 ^ [This and the second catalogue are fictions. They conflict with the 
 conditions then existing in Gujarat, and such motley arrays are a favourite 
 bardic theme (Forbes, Easmala, 31, note ; A8R, ii. 379).] 
 
 ^ It has already been stated that the ancient name of Cambay was Gaini 
 or Gajni, whose ruins are three miles from the present city [see p. 254 
 above]. There is also a Gajni on the estuary of the Mahi, and Abu-1 Fazl 
 incidentally mentions a Gajnagar as one of the most important fortresses 
 of Gujarat, belonging to Ahmad Shah; in attempting to obtain which by 
 stratagem, his antagonist, Hoshang, king of Malwa, was made prisoner. 
 I am unaware of the site of tliis place, though there are remains of an exten- 
 sive fortress near the capital, founded by Ahmad, and which preserves no 
 name. It may be the ancient Gajnagar. [The Author confuses the place 
 in Gujarat with Jajnagar or Jajpur in Orissa, captured through a stratagem 
 by Hoshang {Ain, ii. 219 ; Ferishta iv. 178 ; BG, i. Part i. 359).]
 
 GATHERING OF THE CLANS TO DEFEND CHITOR 291 
 
 ducted into this stronghold of his ancestors a nephew of his own. 
 It is no less singular than honourable to their veracity that the 
 annals should record the fact, so contrary to their religion, of 
 Bappa having married the daughter of the conquered Salim ; and 
 we have a right to infer that it was from the influence acquired 
 by this union tliat he ultimately abandoned the sovereignty of 
 Mewar and the title of ' Hindua Suraj ' to become the founder of 
 the ' one hundred and thirty tribes of Naushahra [248] Pathans ' 
 of the west. It is fair to conclude from all these notices regarding 
 the founder of the Guhilot race in Chitor that he must have 
 abjured his faith for that of Islam ; and it is probable (though 
 the surmise must ever remain unproved) that, under some new 
 title applicable to such change, we may have, in one of the early 
 distinguished leaders of ' the Faith,' the ancestor of the Guhilots. 
 
 Khuman II. — Let us now proceed to the next irruption of the 
 Islamite invaders in the reign of Khuman, from a.d. 812 to 836. 
 Though the leader of this attack is styled ' Mahmud Khorasan 
 Pat,' it is evident from the catalogue of Hindu princes who came 
 to defend Chitor that this ' lord of Khorasan ' was at least two 
 centuries before the son of Sabuktigin ; and as the period is in 
 perfect accordance with the partition of the caliphat by Harun 
 amongst his sons, we can have no hesitation in assigning such 
 invasion to Mamun, to whose share was allotted Khorasan, 
 Sind, and the Indian dependencies. The records of this period 
 are too scanty to admit of our passing over in silence even a 
 barren catalogue of names, which, as texts, with the aid of col- 
 lateral information, may prove of some benefit to the future 
 antiquarian and historian. 
 
 " From Gajni came the Guhilot ; the Tak from Asir ; from 
 Narlai the Chauhan ; the Chalukj- a from Rahargarh ; from Setu- 
 bandlia the Jarkhera ; from ftlandor the Khairavi ; from Mangrol 
 the Makwahana ; from Jethgarh the Joria ; from Taragarh the 
 Rewar ; the Kachhwaha from Narwar ; from Sanchor the 
 Kalam ; from Junagarh the Dasanoh ; from Ajmer the Gaur ; 
 from Lohadargarh the Chandano ; from Dasaundi the Dor ; from 
 Delhi the Tuar ; from Patau the Chawara, preserver of royalty 
 (Rajdhar) ; from Jalor the Sonigira ; from Sirohi the Deora ; 
 from Gagraun the Khichi ; the Jadon from Junagarh ; the Jhala 
 from Patri ; from Kanauj the Rathor ; from Chotiala the Bala ; 
 from Piramgarh the Gohil ; from Jaisalgarh the Bhatti ; the
 
 292 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Busa from Lahore ; the Sankhla from Roneja ; the Sehat from 
 Kherligarh ; from Mandalgarh the Nikumbha ; the BargUjar 
 from Raj or ; from Karangarh the Chandel ; from Sikar the 
 Sikarwal ; from Umargarh the Jethwa ; from Pali the Bargota ; 
 from Khantargarh the Jareja ; from Jirga the Kherwar ; from 
 Kashmir the Parihara." 
 
 Of the Guhilot from Gajni we have said enough ; nor shall we 
 comment on the Tak, or his capital, Asir, which now belongs to 
 the British Government. The Chauhan, who came from Narlai, 
 was a celebrated branch of the Ajmer [249] house, and claims the 
 honour of being the parent of the Sonigiras of Jalor and the 
 Deoras of Sirohi. Nadol is mentioned by Ferishta as falling a 
 prey to one of Mahmud's invasions, who destroyed its ancient 
 temples ; but from erroneous punctuation it is lost in the trans- 
 lation as Bazule.^ Of Rahargarh and the Jarkhera from Setu- 
 bandha (on the Malabar coast) nothing is known." Of the Khairavi 
 from Mandor we can only say that it appears to be a branch of the 
 Pramaras (who reckoned Mandor one of the nine strongholds, 
 ' Nau-kot,^ under its dominion), established anterior to the Pari- 
 haras, who at this period had sovereignty in Kashmir. Both the 
 Dor and his capital, Dasaundi, are described in ancient books as 
 situated on the Ganges below Kanauj. 
 
 It is a subject of regret that the annals do not mention the 
 name of the Tuar prince of Delhi, which city could not have been 
 refounded above a century when this call was made upon its aid . 
 Abu-1 Fazl, Ferishta, their translators, and those who have fol- 
 lowed them have been corrected by the Edinburgh Review, whose 
 critical judgment on this portion of ancient history is eminently 
 good. I possess the original Hindu record used by Abu-1 Fazl, 
 which gives S. 829 for the first Anangpal instead of S. 429 ; and 
 
 ^ I presented to the Royal Asiatic Society two inscriptions from Nadol, 
 one dated S. 1024, the other 1039. They are of Prince Lakha, and state 
 as instances of his power that he collected the transit duties at the further 
 barrier of Patau, and levied tribute from the prince of Chitor. He was 
 the contemporary of Mahmud, who devastated Nadol. I also discovered 
 inscriptions of the tweKth century relative to this celebrated Chauhan family, 
 in passing from Udaipur to Jodhpur. [Dow (i. 170) writes " Tilli and 
 Buzule " ; Briggs (i. 196) has " Baly and Nadole " ; Elliot-Dowson (ii. 229) 
 writes " Pali and Nandul," the differences being due to misreading of the 
 Arabic script.] 
 
 ^ [Setubandha is the causeway made by Rama to Lanka or Ceylon 
 {10 1, V. 81).]
 
 GATHERING OF THE CLANS TO DEFEND CHITOR 293 
 
 as there were but nineteen princes who intervened untU his dynasty 
 was set aside by the Chauhan, it requires no argument to support 
 the foiir instead of eight centuries. The former will give the just 
 average of twenty-one years to a reign. The name of Anangpal 
 was titular in the family, and the epithet was applied to the last 
 as to the first of the race. 
 
 The name of the Chawara prince of Patan (Anhilwara) being 
 recorded amongst the auxiliaries of Khuman, is another satis- 
 factory proof of the antiquity of this invasion ; for this dynasty 
 was extinct, and succeeded by the Solankis, in S. 998 (a.d. 942), 
 fifty years prior to Mahmud of Ghazni, who captured Patan 
 during the reign of Chawand, the second Solanki prince.^ 
 
 The Sonigira, who came from Jalor, is a celebrated branch of 
 the Chauhan race, but we are ignorant of the extent of tune that 
 it held this fortress : and as nothing can invalidate the testimonies 
 afforded by the names. of the Chawara of [250] Patan, the Kaclih- 
 waha of Narwar, the Tuar of Delhi, and the Rathor from Kanauj, 
 there can be no hesitation at pointing out the anachronisms of 
 the chronicle, which states the Deora from Sirohi, the Khichi 
 from Gagraun, or the Bhatti from Jaisalgarh, amongst the levies 
 on this occasion ; and which we must affirm to be decided inter- 
 polations, the two first being at that period in possession of the 
 Pramara, and the latter not erected for three centuries later. 
 That the Deoras, the Khichis, and the Bhattis came to the aid 
 of KJiuman, we cannot doubt ; but the copyist, ignorant even of 
 the nanaes of the ancient capitals of these tribes, Chhotan, Sind- 
 sagar, and Tanot, substituted those which they subsequently 
 founded. 
 
 The Jadon (Yadu) from Junagarh (Girnar) was of the race of 
 Krishna, and appeared long to have held possession of this terri- 
 tory ; and the names of the Khcngars, of this tribe, will remain 
 as long as the stupendous monuments they reared on this sacred 
 hill. Besides the Jadon, we find Saurashtra sending forth the 
 Jhalas, the Balas, and the Gohils to the aid of the descendant of 
 the lord of Valabhipura, whose paramount authority they once 
 all acknowledged, and who appeared to have long maintained 
 influence in that distant region. 
 
 Of the tribe of Busa, who left their capital, Lahore, to succour 
 
 ^ [Chamunda reigned a.d. 997-1010 ; Anhilwara was captured under 
 Bhima I. (1022-64).]
 
 294 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Chitor, we have no mention, further than the name being enumer- 
 ated amongst the unassigned tribes of Rajputs.^ Ferishta fre- 
 quently notices the princes of Lahore in the early progress of 
 Islamism, though he does not tell us the name of the tribe. In the 
 reign of the caliph Al-Mansur, a.h. 143 (a.d. 761), the Afghans of 
 Kirman and Peshawar, who, according to this authority, were a 
 Coptic colony expelled from Egypt, ^ had increased in such numbers 
 as to abandon their residence about the ' hill of Sulaiman,' and 
 crossing the Indus, wrested possessions from the Hindu princes 
 of Lahore. This frontier warfare with a tribe which, though it 
 had certainly not then embraced the faith of Islam, brought to 
 their succour the forces of the caliph in Zabulistan, so that in five 
 months seventy battles were fought with varied success ; but 
 the last, in which the Lahore prince carried his arms to Peshawar,^ 
 produced a peace. Hence arose a union of interests between 
 them and the hill tribe of Gakkhar, and all the Kohistan west of 
 the Indus was ceded to them [251] on the condition of guarding 
 this barrier into Hindustan against invasion. For this purpose 
 the fortress of Khaibar was erected in the chief pass of the Koh-i- 
 Daman. For two centuries after this event Ferishta is silent 
 on this frontier warfare, stating that henceforth Hindustan was 
 only accessible through Sind. When Aliptigin first crossed the 
 Indus, the prince of Lahore and the Afghans still maintained this 
 alliance and united to oppose him. Jaipal was then prince of 
 Lahore ; and it is on this event that Ferishta, for the first time, 
 mentions the tribe of Bhatti,* " at the advice of whose prince 
 he conferred the command of the united forces on an Afghan 
 chief," to whom he assigned the provinces of Multan and Lam- 
 ghan. From this junction of interests the princes of Lahore 
 enjoyed comparative security, until Sabuktigin and Mahmud 
 compelled the Afghans to serve them : then Lahore was captured. 
 The territory dependent upon Lahore, at this period, extended 
 from Sirhind to Lamghan, and from Kashmir to Multan. 
 Bhatinda divided with Lahore the residence of its princes. Their 
 first encounter was at Lingham, on which occasion young Mahmud 
 first distinguished himself, and as the historian says, " the eyes 
 
 1 See p. 144. ^ [Ferishta i. 6.] 
 
 * The scene of action was between Peshawar and Kirman, the latter 
 lying ninety miles south-west of tlie former. 
 
 * Dow omits this in his translation [see Briggs i. Introd. 9, i. 16].
 
 GATHERING OF THE CLANS TO DEFEND CHITOR 295 
 
 of the heavens were obscured at seeing his deeds." ^ A tributary- 
 engagement was the result, which Jaipal soon broke ; and being 
 aided by levies from all the princes of Hindustan, marched an 
 army of one hundred thousand men against Sabuktigin, and 
 was again defeated on the banks of the Indus. He was at length 
 invested and taken in Bhatinda by Mahmud, when he put him- 
 self to dcath.^ The successors of Jaipal are mentioned merely 
 as fugitives, and always distinct from the princes of Delhi. It is 
 most probable that they were of the tribe termed Busa in the 
 annals of Mewar, i)ossibly a subdivision of another ; though 
 Ferishta calls the j^rince of Lahore a Brahman. 
 
 The Sankhla from Roneja. Both tribe and abode are well 
 known: it is a subdivision of the Pramara. Harbuji Sankhla 
 was the Paladin pf Marwar, in which Roneja was situated. 
 
 The Sehat from Kherligarh was a northern tribe, dwelling 
 about the Indus, and though entirely unknown to the modern 
 genealogists of India, is frequently mentioned in the early history 
 of the Bhattis, when their possessions extended on both sides of 
 the Hyphasis. As intermarriages between the Bhattis and Sehats 
 are [252] often spoken of, it must have been Rajput. It most 
 probably occupied the province of Swat, the Suvat of D'Anville, 
 a division of the province of Ashthanagar, where dwelt the Assa- 
 kenoi of Alexander ; concerning which this celebrated geographer 
 says, " II est mention de Suvat comme d'un canton du pays 
 d'Ash-nagar dans la meme geographic turque " {Eel. p. 25). 
 The whole of this ground was sacred to the Jadon tribe from the 
 most remote antiquity, from Multan, the hills of Jud, to Aswinikot 
 (the Tshehin-kote of D'Anville), which, built on the point of con- 
 fluence of the Choaspes of the Greeks with the Indus, marks the 
 spot where dwelt the Assakenoi, corroborated by the Puranas, 
 which mention the partition of all these territories amongst the 
 sons of Bajaswa, the lord of Kampilnagara, the grand sub- 
 division of the Yadu race. In all likelihood the Sehat, who came 
 to the aid of Khuman of Chitor, was a branch of these Assakenoi, 
 the opponents of Alexander.^ The modern town of Dinkot 
 
 ^ The sense of this passage has been quite perverted by Dow [see 
 Briggs i. 16]. 
 
 2 [See Smith, EHI, .382.] 
 
 ^ [The capital of the Assakenoi was Massaga, near the Malakand Pass 
 (Smith, EHI, 54 ; McCrindle. Alexander, .334 £.).]
 
 296 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 appears to occupy the site of Aswinikot, though D'Anville feels 
 inchned to carry it into the heart of Bajaur and place it on the 
 rock (silla) Aornos.^ Such the Sehat ; not improbably the Soha, 
 one of the eight subdivisions of the Yadu.^ When, in S. 785, 
 the Bhatti chief Rao Tanu was driven across the Sutlej, the 
 Sehats are mentioned with other tribes as forming the army of 
 Husain Shah, with the Barahas, the Judis, and Johyas (the 
 Juds and Jinjohyas of Babur), the Butas, and the ' men of 
 Dud.' 
 
 The Chandel, from Karangarh, occupied the tracts now termed 
 Bundelkhand. 
 
 We shall pass over the other auxiliary tribes and conclude with 
 the Parihar, who -came from Kashmir on this occasion ; a cir- 
 cxmistance entirely overlooked in the dissertation on this tribe ; ^ 
 nor does this isolated fact afford room for further discussion on a 
 race which expelled the Pramaras from Mandor. 
 
 Such aids, who preserved Khuman when assailed by the 
 ' Khorasan Pat,' fully demonstrate the antiquity of the annals, 
 which is further attested by inscriptions. Khuman fought twenty- 
 four great battles, and his name, like that of Caesar, became a 
 family distinction. At Udaipur, if you make a false step, or 
 even sneeze, you hear the ejaculation of ' Khuman aid you ! ' 
 Khuman, by the advice of the Brahmans, resigned the gaddi to 
 his younger son, Jograj ; but again resumed [253] it, slaying his 
 advisers and execrating the name of Brahman, which he almost 
 exterminated in his own dominions. Khuman was at length 
 slain by his own son, Mangal ; but the chiefs expelled the parri- 
 cide, who seized upon Lodorwa in the northern desert, and there 
 established the Mangalia Guhilots. 
 
 Bhartribhat III. — Bhartribhat (familiarly Bhato) succeeded. 
 In his reign, and in that of his successor, the territory dependent 
 on Chitor was greatly increased. All the forest tribes, from the 
 banks of the Mahi to Abu, were subjugated, and strongholds 
 erected, of which Dharangarh and Ujargarh still remain to main- 
 tain them. He established no less than thirteen * of his sons in 
 
 1 [For the site see Smith, EHI, 56, note 2.] 
 
 2 See p. 104. 3 See p. 119 f. 
 
 * By name, Kulanagar, Champaner, Choreta, Bhojpur, Lunara, Nimthor, 
 Sodara, Jodhgarh, Sandpur, Aitpur, and Gangabheva. The remaining 
 two are not mentioned.
 
 THE TUARS OF DELHI 297 
 
 independent possessions in Malwa and Gujarat, and these were 
 distinguished as the Bhatera Guhilots. 
 
 We shall now leap over fifteen generations ; which, though 
 affording a few interesting facts to the antiquary, would not 
 amuse the general reader. We will rest satisfied with stating 
 that the Chauhans of Ajiner and the Guhilots of Chitor were 
 alternately friends and foes ; that Durlabh Chauhan was slain by 
 Bersi Rawal in a grand battle fought at Kawaria, of which the 
 Chauhan annals state ' that their princes were now so powerful 
 as to oppose the chief of Chitor.' Again, in the next reign, we 
 find the renowned Bisaldeo, son of Durlabh, combining with 
 Rawal Tejsi of Chitor to oppose the progress of Islamite invasion : 
 facts recorded by inscriptions as well as by the annals. We may 
 close these remarks on the fifteen princes, from Khuman to 
 Samarsi, with the words of Gibbon on the dark period of Guelphic 
 annals : " It may be presumed that they were illiterate and 
 valiant ; that they plundered in their youth, and reared churches 
 in their old age ; that they were fond of arms, horses, and hunt- 
 ing " ; and, we may add, continued bickering with their vassals 
 within when left unemployed by the enemy from without [254], 
 
 CHAPTER 5 
 
 Although the whole of this chain of ancestry, from Kanaksen 
 in the second, Vijaya the founder of Valabhi in the fourth, to 
 Samarsi in the thirteenth century, cannot be discriminated with 
 perfect accuracy, we may affirm, to borrow a metaphor, that " the 
 two extremities of it are riveted in truth " : and some links have 
 at intervals been recognized as equally valid. We will now 
 extend the chain to the nineteenth century. 
 
 Samar Singh, Samarsi : The Tuars of Delhi. — Samarsi was 
 born in S. 1206.^ Though the domestic annals are not silent on 
 his acts, we shall recur chiefly to the bard of Delhi - for his char- 
 
 ^ [For the error in his date see p. 281 above.] 
 
 " The work of Chand is a universal history of the period in which he 
 wrote. In the sixty-nine books, comprising one hundred thousand stanzas, 
 relating to the exploits of Prithiraj, every noble family of Rajasthan will 
 find some record of their ancestors. It is accordingly treasured amongst 
 the archives of each race having any pretensions to the name of Rajput.
 
 298 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 acter and actions, and the history of the period. Before we pro- 
 ceed, however, a sketch of the pohtical condition of Hindustan 
 during the last of the Tuar sovereigns of Delhi, derived from this 
 authority and in the bard's own words, may not be unacceptable. 
 " In Patan is Bhola Bhim the Chalukya, of iron frame.^ On the 
 mountain Abu, Jeth Pramara, in battle immovable as the star 
 of the north. In Mewar is Samar Singh, who takes tribute from 
 the mighty, a wave of iron in the path of Delhi's foe. In the 
 midst of all, strong in his own strength, Mandor's prince, the 
 arrogant Nahar Rao, the might of Maru, fearing none. In Delhi 
 the chief of all [255] Ananga, at whose summons attended the 
 princes of Mandor, Nagor, Sind, Jalwat,^ and others on its confines, 
 Peshawar, Lahore, Kangra, and its mountain chiefs, with Kasi,* 
 Prayag,* and Garh Deogir. The lords of Simar * were in constant 
 danger of his power." The Bhatti, since their expulsion from 
 Zabulistan, had successively occupied as capitals, Salivahanapur 
 in the Panjab, Tanot, Derawar, which last they founded, and the 
 ancient Lodorwa, which they conquered in the desert ; and at the 
 period in question were constructing their present residence, 
 Jaisalmer. In this nook they had been fighting for centuries 
 
 From this he can trace his martial forefathers who ' drank of the wave of 
 battle ' in the passes of Kirman when the ' cloud of war rolled from Himachal 
 to the plains of Hindustan. The wars of Prithiraj, his alliances, his 
 numerous and powerful tributaries, their abodes and pedigrees, make the 
 works of Chand invaluable as historic and geographical memoranda, besides 
 being treasures in mythology, manners, and the annals of the mind. To 
 read this poet well is a sure road to honour, and my own Guru was allowed, 
 even by the professional bards, to excel therein. As he read I rapidly 
 translated about thirty thousand 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 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 whoso 
 deeds he rehearses. I was enabled thus to seize his meaning, where one 
 more skilled in poetic lore might have failed, and to make my prosaic version 
 of some value. [For Chand Bardai see Grierson, Modern Literary History 
 of Hiildustan, 3 f.] 
 
 ^ [Bhima II., Chaulukya, known as Bhola, 'the simpleton,' a.d. 1179- 
 1242.] 
 
 ^ Unknown, unless the country on the ' waters ' {jal) of Sind. 
 
 ' Benares. * Allahabad. 
 
 * The cold regions {ai, ' cold ').
 
 THE TUARS OF DELHI 299 
 
 with the heutenants of the Cahph at Aror, occasionally redeeming 
 their ancient possessions as far as the city of the Tak on the Indus. 
 Their situation gave them little political interest in the affairs of 
 Hindustan until the period of Prithiraj, one of whose principal 
 leaders, Achales, was the brother of the Bhatti prince. Anangpal, 
 from this description, was justly entitled to be termed the para- 
 mount sovereign of Hindustan ; but he was the last of a dynasty 
 of nineteen princes, who had occupied Delhi nearly four hvmdred 
 years, from the time of the founder Bilan Deo, who, according to 
 a manuscript in th.e author's possession, was only an opulent 
 Thakur when he assumed the ensigns of royalty in the then 
 deserted Indraprastha, taking the name of Anangpal,^ ever after 
 titular in the family. The Cliaulians of Ajmer owed at least 
 homage to Delhi at this time, although Bisaldeo had rendered it 
 almost nominal ; and to Someswar, the fourth in descent, Anang- 
 pal was indebted for the preservation of this supremacy against 
 the attempts of Kanauj, for which service he obtained the Tuar's 
 daughter in marriage, the issue of which was Prithiraj, who when 
 only eight yeai's of age was proclaimed successor to the Delhi 
 throne. 
 
 Prithiraj. — Jaichand of Kanauj and Prithiraj bore the same 
 relative situation to Anangpal ; Bijaipal, the father of the former, 
 as well as Someswar, having had a daughter of the Tuar to wife. 
 This originated the rivalry between the Chauhans and Rathors 
 which ended in the destruction of both. When Prithiraj mounted 
 the throne of Delhi, Jaichand not only refused to acknowledge 
 his supremacy, but set forth his own claims to this distinction. 
 In these he was supported by the prince of Patau [256] Aiihil- 
 wara (the eternal foe of the Chauhans), and likewise by the Pari- 
 hars of ISIandor. But the affront given by the latter, in refusing 
 to fulfil the contract of bestowing his daughter on the young 
 Chauhan, brought on a warfare, in which this first essay was but 
 the presage of his future fame. Kanauj and Patan had recourse 
 to the dangerous expedient of entertaining bands of Tatars, 
 through whom the sovereign of Ghazni was enabled to take 
 advantage of their internal broils. 
 
 ^ Ananga is a poetical epithet of the Hindu Cupid, literally ' incorporeal ' ; 
 but, according to good authority, apphcable to the founder of the desolate 
 abode, palna being ' to support,' and anga, with the primitive an, ' without 
 body.'
 
 300 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Samarsi, prince of Chitor, had married the sister of Prithiraj, 
 and their personal characters, as well as this tie, bound them to 
 each other throughout all these commotions, until the last fatal 
 battle on the Ghaggar. From these feuds Hindustan never was 
 free. But unrelenting enmity was not a part of their character : 
 having displayed the valour of the tribe, the bard or Nestor of 
 the day Vv'ould step in, and a marriage would conciliate and main- 
 tain in friendship such foes for two generations. From time 
 immemorial such has been the political state of India, as repre- 
 sented by their own epics, or in Arabian or Persian histories : 
 thus always the prey of foreigners, and destined to remain so. 
 Samarsi had to contend both with the princes of Patau and 
 Kanauj ; and although the bard says " he washed his blade in 
 the Jumna," the domestic annals slur over the circumstance of 
 Siddharaja-Jayasingha having actually made a conquest of 
 Chitor ; for it is not only included in the eighteen capitals enumer- 
 ated as appertaining to this prince, but the author discovered a 
 tablet ^ in Chitor, placed there by his successor, Kumarpal, bear- 
 ing the date S. 1206, the period of Samarsi's birth. The first 
 occasion of Samarsi's aid being called in by the Chauhan emperor 
 was on the discovery of treasure at Nagor, amounting to seven 
 millions of gold, the deposit of ancient days. The princes of 
 Kanauj and Patan, dreading the influence which such sinews of 
 war would afford their antagonist, invited Shihabu-d-din to aid 
 their designs of humiliating the Chauhan, who in this emergency 
 sent an embassy to Samarsi. The envoy was Chand Pundir, the 
 vassal chief of Lahore, and guardian of that frontier. He is con- 
 spicuous from this time to the hour " when he planted his lance at 
 the ford of the Ravi," and fell in opposing the passage of Shihabu- 
 d-din. The presents he carries, the speech with which he greets 
 the Chitor prince, his reception, reply, and dismissal are all pre- 
 served by [257] Chand. The style of address and the apparel 
 of Samarsi betoken that he had not laid aside the office and 
 ensigns of a ' Regent of Mahadeva.' A simple necklace of the 
 seeds of the lotus adorned his neck ; his hair was braided, and he 
 is addressed as Jogindra, or chief of ascetics. Samarsi proceeded 
 to Delhi ; and it was arranged, as he was connected by marriage 
 with the prince of Patan, that Prithiraj should march against 
 this prince, while he should oppose the army from Ghazni. He 
 ^ See luscriptiou No. 5.
 
 DEATH OF SAMAR SINGH 301 
 
 (Samarsi) accordingly fought several indecisive battles, which gave 
 time to the Chauhan to terminate the war in Gujarat and rejoin 
 him. United, they completely discomfited the invaders, making 
 their leader prisoner. Samarsi declined any share of the dis- 
 covered treasure, but permitted his chiefs to accept the gifts 
 offered by Chauhan. Many years elapsed in such subordinate 
 warfare, when the prince of Chitor was again constrained to use 
 his buckler in defence of Delhi and its prince, whose arrogance 
 and successful ambition, followed by disgraceful inactivity, in- 
 vited invasion with every presage of success. Jealousy and 
 revenge rendered the princes of Patan, Kanauj, Dhar, and the 
 minor courts indifferent spectators of a contest destined to over- 
 throw them all. 
 
 The Death of Samar Singh. — The bard gives a good description 
 of the preparations for his departure from Chitor, which he was 
 destined never to see again. The charge of the city was entrusted 
 to a favourite and younger son, Kama : which disgusted the 
 elder brother, who went to the Deccan to Bidar, where he was 
 well received by an Abyssinian chief,^ who had there established 
 himself in sovereignty. Another son, either on this occasion or 
 on the subsequent fall of Chitor, fled to the mountains of Nepal, 
 and there spread the Guhilot line.^ It is in this, the last of the 
 books of Chand, termed The Great Fight, that we have the char- 
 acter of Samarsi fully delineated. His arrival at Delhi is hailed 
 with songs of joy as a day of deliverance. Prithiraj and his court 
 advance seven miles to meet him, and the description of the 
 greeting of the king of Delhi and his sister, and the chiefs on either 
 side who recognize ancient friendships, is most animated. Sam- 
 arsi reads his brother-in-law an indignant lecture on his unprincely 
 inactivity, and throughout the book divides attention with him. 
 
 In the planning of the campaign, and march towards the 
 Ghaggar to meet the foe [258], Samarsi is consulted, and his 
 opinions are recorded. The bard represents him as the Ulysses 
 of the host : brave, cool, and skilful in the fight ; prudent, wise, 
 and eloquent in council ; pious and decorous on all occasions ; 
 beloved by his own chiefs, and reverenced by the vassals of the 
 Chauhan. In the line of march no augur or bard could better 
 
 1 Styled Habshi Padshah. 
 
 * [The Gorkhas or Gurkhas are said to have reached Nepal through 
 Kumaun after the fall of Chitor {IGI, xix. 32).]
 
 302 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 explain the omens, none in the field better dress the squadrons 
 for battle, none guide his steed or use his lance with more address. 
 His tent is the principal resort of the leaders after the march 
 or in the intervals of battle, who were delighted by his eloquence 
 or instructed by his knowledge. The bard confesses that his 
 precepts of government are chiefly from the lips of Khuman ; ^ 
 and of his best episodes and allegories, whether on morals, rules 
 for the guidance of ambassadors, choice of ministers, religious or 
 social duties (but especially those of the Rajput to the sovereign), 
 the wise prince of Chitor is the general organ. 
 
 On the last of three days' desperate fighting Samarsi was slain, 
 together with his son Kalyan, and thirteen thousand of his house- 
 hold troops and most renowned chieftains.^ His beloved Pirtha, 
 on hearing the fatal issue, her husband slain, her brother captive, 
 the heroes of Delhi and Chitor " asleep on the banks of the Ghaggar, 
 in the wave of the steel," joined her lord through the flame, nor 
 waited the advance of the Tatar king, when Delhi was carried 
 by storm, and the last stay of the Chauhans, Prince Rainsi, met 
 death in the assault. The capture of Delhi and its monarch, the 
 death of his ally of Chitor, with the bravest and best of their 
 troops, speedily ensured the further and final success of the Tatar 
 arms ; and when Kanauj fell, and the traitor to his nation met 
 his fate in the waves of the Ganges, none were left to contend with 
 Shihabu-d-din the possession of the regal seat of the Chauhan. 
 Scenes of devastation, plunder, and massacre commenced, which 
 lasted through ages ; during which nearly all that was sacred in 
 religion or celebrated in art was destroyed by these ruthless and 
 barbarous invaders. The noble Rajput, with a spirit of constancy 
 and enduring courage, seized every opportunity to turn upon his 
 oppressor. By his perseverance and valour he wore out entire 
 dynasties of foes, alternately yielding ' to his fate,' or restricting 
 the circle of conquest. Every road in Rajasthan was moistened 
 with torrents of blood of the [259] spoiled and the spoiler. But 
 all was of no avail ; fresh supplies were ever pouring in, and 
 dynasty succeeded dynasty, heir to the same remorseless feeling 
 which sanctified murder, legalized spoliation, and deified destruc- 
 
 ^ I have already mentioned that Khuman became a patronymic and 
 title amongst the princes of Chitor. 
 
 ^ [The battle was fought at Tarain or Talawari in the Ambala District, 
 Panjab, in 1192.]
 
 GALLANT RESISTANCE OF THE RAJPUTS 303 
 
 tion. In these desperate conflicts entire tribes were swept away 
 whose names are the only memento of their former existence and 
 celebrity. 
 
 Gallant Resistance of the Rajputs. — What nation on earth 
 would have maintained the semblance of civilization, the spirit 
 or the customs of their forefathers, during so many centuries 
 of overwhelming depression but one of such singular character 
 as the Rajput ? Though ardent and reckless, he can, when 
 required, subside into forbearance and apparent apathy, and 
 reserve himself for the opportunity of revenge. Rajasthan 
 exliibits the sole example in the history of mankind of a people 
 withstanding every outrage barbarity can inflict, or human 
 nature sustain, from a foe whose religion commands annihilation, 
 and bent to the earth, yet rising buoyant from the pressure, and 
 making calamity a whetstone to courage. How did the Britons 
 at once sink under the Romans, and in vain strive to save their 
 groves, their druids, or the altars of Bal from destruction ! To 
 the Saxons they alike succumbed ; they, again, to the Danes ; 
 and this heterogeneous breed to the Normans. Empire was lost 
 and gained by a single battle^ and the laws and religion of the 
 conquered merged in those of the conquerors. Contrast with 
 these the Rajputs ; not an iota of their religion or customs have 
 they lost, though many a foot of land. Some of their States have 
 been expunged from the map of dominion ; and, as a punishment 
 of national infidelity, the pride of the Rathor, and the glory of 
 the Chalukya, the overgrown Kanauj and gorgeous Anhilwara, 
 are forgotten names ! Mewar alone, the sacred bulwark of 
 religion, never compromised her honour for her safety, and still 
 survives her ancient limits ; and since the brave Samarsi gave 
 up his life, the blood of her princes has flowed in copious streams 
 for the maintenance of this honour, religion, and independence. 
 
 Karan Singh I. : Ratan Singh. — Samarsi had several sons ; ^ 
 but Kama was his heir, and during his minority his mother, Kuram- 
 devi, a princess of Patau, nobly maintained what his father left. 
 She headed her Rajputs and gave battle ^ in person to Kutbu-d-din, 
 
 ^ Kalyanrae, slain with his father; Kumbhkaran, who went to Bidar; 
 a third, the founder of the Gorkhas. [This assertion, based on the authority 
 of Chand, is incorrect, Samar Singh being misplaced, and succeeded by 
 Ratan Singh (Erskine ii. A. 146).] 
 
 " Tliis must be the battle mentioned by Ferishta (see Dow, p. 169, vol. ii.).
 
 304 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 near [260] Amber, when the viceroy was defeated and wounded . 
 Nine Rajas, and eleven chiefs of inferior dignity with the title of 
 Rawat, followed the mother of their prince. 
 
 Kama (the radiant) succeeded in S. 1249 (a.d. 1193) ; but he 
 was not destined to be the founder of a line in Mewar.^ The 
 annals are at variance with each other on an event which gave the 
 sovereignty of Chitor to a younger branch, and sent the elder into 
 the inhospitable wilds of the west, to found a city - and per- 
 petuate a line.* It is stated generally that Kama had two sons, 
 Mahup and Rahup ; but this is an error : Samarsi and Surajmall 
 were brothers : Kama was the son of the former and Mahup was 
 his son, whose mother was a Chauhan of Bagar. Surajmall had a 
 son named Bharat, who was driven from Chitor by a conspiracy. 
 He proceeded to Sind, obtained Aror from its prince, a Musalman, 
 and married the daughter of the Bhatti chief of Pugal, by whom 
 he had a son named Rahup. Kama died of grief for the loss of 
 Bharat and the unworthiness of Mahup, who abandoned him to 
 live entirely with his maternal relations, the Chauhans. 
 
 The Sonigira chief of Jalor had married the daughter of Kama, 
 
 ^ He had a son, Sarwan, who took to commerce. Hence the mercantile 
 Sesodia caste, Sarwania. 
 
 * Dungarpur, so named from dungar, ' a mountain.' 
 
 * [The facts are tliat after " Karan Singh the Mewar family divided into 
 two branches — one with the title of Rawal, the other Rana. In the first, 
 or Rawal, branch were Khem or Kshem Singh, the eldest son of Karan Singh, 
 Samant Singh, Kumar Singh, Mathan Singh, Padam Singh, Jeth Singh, Tej 
 Singh, Samar Singh, and Ratan Singh, all of whom reigned at Chitor ; while 
 in the Rana branch were Rahup, a younger son of Karan Singh, Narpat, 
 Dinkaran, Jaskaran,Nagpal, Puranpal, PrithiPal, Bhuvan Singh, Bhim Singh, 
 Jai Singh, and Lakshman Singh, who ruled at Sesoda, and called themselves 
 Sesodias. Thus, instead of having to fit in something like ten generations 
 between Samar Singh, who, as we know, was ahve in 1299, and the siege of 
 Chitor, which certainly took place in 1303, we fijid that those ten princes 
 were not descendants of Samar Singh at all, but the contemporaries of his 
 seven immediate predecessors on the gaddi of Chitor and of himself, and 
 that both Ratan Singh, the son of Samar Singh, and Lakshman Singh, the 
 contemporary of Ratan Singh, were descended from a common ancestor, 
 Karan Singh I., nine and eleven generations back respectively. It is also 
 possible to reconcile the statement of the Musalman historians that Ratan 
 Singh (called Rai Ratan) was ruler of Chitor during the siege — a statement 
 corroborated by an inscription at Rajnagar — ^with the generally accepted 
 story that it was Rana Lakshman Singh who fell in defence of the fort " 
 (Erskine ii. A. 15).]
 
 RAHUP assumes title RANA 805 
 
 by whom he had a child named Randhol,^ whom by treachery he 
 placed on the throne of Chitor, slaying the chief Guhilots. Mahup 
 being unable to recover his rights, and unwilling to make any 
 exertion, the chair of Bappa Rawal would have passed to the 
 Chauhans but for an ancient bard of the house. He pursued his 
 way to Aror, held by old Bharat as a fief of Kabul. With the 
 levies of Sind he marched to claim the right abandoned by Mahup 
 and at Pali encountered and defeated the Sonigiras. The re- 
 tainers of Mewar flocked to his standard, and by their aid he 
 enthroned himself in Chitor. He sent for his father and mother, 
 Ranangdevi, whose dwelling on the Indus was made over to a 
 younger brother, who bartered his faith for Aror, and held it as 
 a vassal of Kabul. 
 
 Rahup. — Rahup obtained Chitor in S. 1257 (a.d. 1201), and 
 shortly after sustained the attack of Shamsu-d-din, whom he met 
 and overcame in a battle at Nagor. Two [261] great changes 
 were introduced by this prince ; the first in the title of the tribe, 
 to Sesodia ; the other in that of its prince, from Rawal to Rana. 
 The puerile reason for the former has already been noticed ; ^ the 
 cause of the latter is deserving of more attention. Amongst the 
 foes of Rahup was the Parihar prince of Mandor : his name Mokal, 
 with the title of Rana. Rahup seized him in his capital and 
 brought him to Sesoda, making him renounce the rich district 
 of Godwar and his title of Rana, which he assumed himself, to 
 denote the completion of his feud. He ruled thirty-eight years 
 in a period of great distraction, and appears to have been well 
 calculated, not only to uphold the fallen fortunes of the State, 
 but to rescue them from utter ruin. His reign is the more re- 
 markable by contrast with his successors, nine of whom are 
 ' pushed from their stools ' in the same or even a shorter period 
 than that during which he upheld the dignity. 
 
 From Rahup to Lakhamsi [Lakshman Singh], in the short 
 space of half a century, nine princes of Chitor were crowned, and 
 at nearly equal intervals of time followed each other to ' the 
 mansions of the sun.' Of these nine, six fell in battle. Nor did 
 they meet their fate at home, but in a chivalrous enterprise to 
 redeem the sacred Gaya from the pollution of the barbarian. 
 
 ^ So pronounced, but properly written Randhaval, ' the standard of the 
 field.' 
 
 ^ See note, p. 252. 
 VOL. I X
 
 306 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 For this object these princes successively fell, but such devotion 
 inspired fear, if not pity or conviction, and the bigot renounced 
 the impiety which Prithunall purchased with his blood, and until 
 Alau-d-din's reign, this outrage to their prejudices was renounced. 
 But in this interval they had lost their capital, for it is stated as 
 the only occurrence in Bhonsi's ^ reign that he [262] " recovered 
 Chitor " and made the name of Rana be acknowledged by all. 
 Two memorials are preserved of the nine princes from Rahup to 
 Lakhamsi, and of the same character : confusion and strife 
 within and without. We will, therefore, pass over these to 
 another grand event in the vicissitudes of this house, which 
 possesses more of romance than of history, though the facts are 
 undoubted. 
 
 ^ His second son, Chandra, obtained an appanage on the Charabal, and 
 his issue, well known as Chandarawats, constituted one of the most powerful 
 vassal clans of Mewar. Rampura (Bhanpura) was their residence, yielding a 
 revenue of nine lakhs (£110,000), held on the tenure of service which, from 
 an original grant in my possession from Rana Jagat Singh to his nephew 
 Madho Singh, afterwards prince of Amber, was three thousand horse and foot 
 (see p. 235), and the fine of investiture was seventy-five thousand rui^ees. 
 Madho Singh, when prince of Amber, did what was invahd as well as un- 
 grateful ; he made over this domain, granted during his misfortunes, to 
 Holkar, the first limb lopped off Mewar. The Chandarawat proprietor con- 
 tinued, however, to possess a portion of the original estate with the fortress 
 of Amad, which it maintained throughout all the troubles of Rajwara till 
 A.D. 1821. It shows the attachment to custom that the young Rao apphed 
 and received ' the sword ' of investiture from his old lord paramount, the 
 Rana, though dependent on Holkar's forbearance. But a minority is pro- 
 verbially dangerous in India. Disorder from party plots made Amad 
 troublesome to Holkar's government, which as his ally and preserver of 
 tranquillity we suppressed by blowing up the walls of the fortress. This is 
 one of many instances of the harsh, uncompromising nature of our power, 
 and the anomalous description of our alhances with the Rajputs. However 
 necessary to repress the disorder arising from the claims of ancient pro- 
 prietors and the recent rights of Holkar, or the new proprietor, Ghafur 
 Khan, yet surrounding princes, and the general population, Mdio know the 
 history of past times, lament to see a name of five hundred years' duration 
 thus summarily extinguished, which chiefly benefits an upstart Pathan. 
 Such the vortex of the ambiguous, irregular, and unsystematic policy, which 
 marks many of our alhances, wliich protect too often but to injure, and gives 
 to our office of general arbitrator and high constable of Rajasthan a harsh 
 and unfeeHng character. Much of this arises from ignorance of the past 
 history ; much from disregard of the peculiar usages of the people ; or from 
 that expediency which too often comes in contact with moral fitness, which 
 will go on until tlic day predicted by the Nestor of India, when " one sikha 
 (seal) alone will be used in Hindustan."
 
 RANA LACHHM an SINGH : PADMINI 307 
 
 CHAPTER 6 
 
 Lakhamsi : Lachhman Singh. — Lakhamsi ^ succeeded his father 
 in S. 1331 (a.d. 1275), a memorable era in the annals, when Chitor, 
 the repository of all that was precious yet untouched of the arts 
 of India, was stormed, sacked, and treated with remorseless 
 barbarity by the Pathan [Khilji] emperor, Alau-d-din. Twice 
 it was attacked by this subjugator of India. In the first siege 
 it escaped spoliation, though at the price of its best defenders : 
 that which followed is the first successful assault and capture of 
 which we have any detailed account. 
 
 Bhim Singh : Padmini. — Bhimsi was the uncle of the young 
 prince, and protector during his minority. He had espoused the 
 daughter of Hamir Sank (Chauhan) of Ceylon, the cause of woes 
 unnumbered to the Sesodias. Her name was Padmini,^ a title 
 bestowed only on the superlatively fair, and transmitted with 
 renown to posterity by tradition and the song of the bard. Her 
 beauty, accomplishments, exaltation, and destruction, with other 
 incidental circumstances, constitute the subject of one of the most 
 popular traditions of Rajwara. The Hindu bard recognizes the 
 fair, in preference to fame and love of conquest, as the motive for 
 the attack of Alau-d-din, who [263] limited his demand to the 
 possession of Padmini ; though this was after a long and fruitless 
 siege. At length he restricted his desire to a mere sight of this 
 extraordinary beauty, and acceded to the proposal of beholding 
 her through the medium of mirrors. Relying on the faith of the 
 Rajput, he 'entered Chitor slightly guarded, and having gratified 
 his wish, returned. The Rajput, unwilling to be outdone in con- 
 fidence, accompanied the king to the foot of the fortress, amidst 
 many complimentary excuses from his guest at the trouble he 
 thus occasioned. It was for this that Ala risked his own safety, 
 relying on the superior faith of the Hindu. Here he had an 
 
 ^ [Rana Lachhman Singh was not, strictly speaking, ruler of Chitor. He 
 belonged to the Rana branch, and succeeded Jai Singh. When Chitor was 
 invested he came to lielp his relation, Rawal Ratan Singh, husband of 
 Padmini, and ruler of Chitor, and was killed, with seven of his sons (Erskine 
 ii. B. 10).] 
 
 2 [' The Lotus.' Ferishta in his account of the siege aaya nothing of 
 Padmini (i. 353 f.). Her story is told in Ain, ii. 269 f.]{j
 
 308 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 ambush ; Bhimsi was made prisoner, hurried away to the Tatar 
 camp, and his hberty made dependent on the surrender of 
 Padmini. 
 
 The Siege of Chitor. — Despair reigned in Chitor when this fatal 
 event was known, and it was debated whether Padmini should be 
 resigned as a ransom for their defender. Of tliis she was informed, 
 and expressed her acquiescence. Having provided wherewithal 
 to secure her from dishonour, she communed with two chiefs of 
 her own kin and clan of Ceylon, her uncle Gora, and his nephew 
 Badal, who devised a scheme for the liberation of their prince 
 without hazarding her life or fame. Intimation was dispatched 
 to Ala that on the day he withdrew from his trenches the fair 
 Padmini would be sent, but in a manner befitting her own and 
 his high station, surrounded by her females and handmaids ; not 
 only those who would accompany her to DeUii, but many others 
 who desired to pay her this last mark of reverence. Strict com- 
 mands were to be issued to prevent curiosity from violating the 
 sanctity of female decorum and privacy. No less than seven 
 hundred covered litters proceeded to the royal camp. In each 
 was placed one of the bravest of the defenders of Chitor, borne by 
 six armed soldiers disguised as litter-porters. They reached the 
 camp. The royal tents were enclosed with kanats (walls of cloth) ; 
 the litters were deposited, and half an hour was granted for ji 
 parting interview between the Hindu prince and his bride. They 
 then placed their prince in a litter and returned with him, while 
 the greater number (the supposed damsels) remained to accom- 
 pany the fair to Delhi. ^ But Ala had no intention to permit 
 Bhimsi's return, and was becoming jealous of the long interview 
 he enjoyed, when, instead of the prince and Padmini, the devoted 
 band issued from their litters : but Ala was too well guarded. 
 Pursuit was ordered, while these covered the retreat till they 
 perished to a man. A fleet horse was in reserve for [264] Bhimsi, 
 on which he was placed, and in safety ascended the fort, at whose 
 outer gate the host of Ala was encountered. The choicest of the 
 heroes of Chitor met the assault. With Gora and Badal at their 
 head, animated by the noblest sentiments, the deliverance of 
 their chief and the honour of their queen, they devoted them- 
 
 ^ [A folk-tale of the ' Horse of Troy ' type, common in India ; see 
 Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, 4 f. ; Ferishta ii. 115; Grant Duff, Hist. 
 Mahrattas, 64, note ; cf . Herodotus v. 20.]
 
 RAJPUT GALLANTRY AT CHITOR 309 
 
 selves to destruction, and few were the survivors of this slaughter 
 of the flower of Mewar. For a tinie Ala was defeated in his object, 
 and the havoc they had made in his ranks, joined to the dread 
 of their determined resistance, obUged him to desist from the 
 enterprise. 
 
 Mention has already been made of the adjuration, " by the 
 sin of the sack of Chitor." Of these sacks they enumerate three 
 and a half. This is the ' half ' ; for though the city was not 
 stormed, the best and bravest were cut off (sakha). It is described 
 with great animation in the Khuman Raesa. Badal was but a 
 stripling of twelve, but the Rajput expects wonders from this 
 early age. He escaped, though wounded, and a dialogue ensues 
 between him and his uncle's wife, who desires him to relate 
 how her lord conducted himself ere she joins liim. The stripling 
 replies : " He was the reaper of the harvest of battle ; I followed 
 his steps as the humble gleaner of his sword. On the gory 
 bed of honour he spread a carpet of the slain ; a barbarian 
 prince his pillow, he laid him down, and sleeps surrounded by 
 the foe." Again she said : " Tell me, Badal, how did my love 
 (piyar) behave ? " " Oh ! mother, how further describe his 
 deeds when he left no foe to dread or admire him ? " She smiled 
 farewell to the boy, and adding, " My lord will cliide my delay," 
 sprung into the flame. 
 
 Alau-d-din, ha\Tiig recruited his strength, returned to his 
 object, Chitor. The annals state this to have been in S. 1346 
 (a.d. 1290), but Ferishta gives a date thirteen years later.^ They 
 had not yet recovered the loss of so many valiant men who had 
 sacrificed themselves for their prince's safety, and Ala carried on 
 his attacks more closely, and at length obtained the hill at the 
 southern point, where he entrenched himself. They still pretend 
 to point out his trenches ; but so many have been formed by 
 subsequent attacks that we cannot credit the assertion. The 
 poet has found in the disastrous issue of this siege admirable 
 materials for his song. He represents the Rana, after an arduous 
 day, stretched on his paUet, and during a night of watchful 
 anxiety, pondering on the means by which he might preserve from 
 the general destruction one at least of his twelve sons ; when a 
 voice [265] broke on his solitude, exclaiming, " Main bhukhi 
 
 ^ [Chitor was captured in August 1303 (Ferishta i. 353 ; EUiot-Dowson 
 iii. 77).]
 
 310 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 ho'" ; ^ and raising his eyes, he saw, by the dim glare of the 
 chiragh,^ advancing between the granite columns, the majestic 
 form of the guardian goddess of Chitor. " Not satiated," ex- 
 claimed the Rana, " though eight thousand of my kin were late 
 an offering to thee ? " "I must have regal victims ; and if 
 twelve who wear the diadem bleed not for Chitor, the land will 
 pass from the line." This said, she vanished. 
 
 On the morn he convened a council of his chiefs, to whom he 
 revealed the vision of the night, which they treated as the dream 
 of a disordered fancy. He commanded their attendance at mid- 
 night ; when again the form appeared, and repeated the terms 
 on which alone she would remain amongst them. " Though 
 thousands of barbarians strew the earth, what are they to me ? 
 On each day enthrone a prince. Let the kirania,^ the chhatra 
 and the chamara,^ proclaim his sovereignty, and for three days 
 let his decrees be supreme : on the fourth let him meet the foe 
 and his fate. Then only may I remain." 
 
 Whether we have merely the fiction of the poet, or whether 
 the scene was got up to animate the spirit of resistance, matters 
 but little, it is consistent with the belief of the tribe ; and that 
 the goddess should openly manifest her wish to retain as her tiara 
 the battlements of Chitor on conditions so congenial to the war- 
 like and superstitious Rajput was a gage readily taken up and 
 fully answering the end. A generous contention arose amongst 
 the brave brothers who should be the first victim to avert the 
 denunciation. Arsi urged his priority of birth : he was pro- 
 claimed, the umbrella waved over his head, and on the fourth 
 day he surrendered his short-lived honours and his life. Ajaisi, 
 the next in birth, demanded to follow ; but he was the favourite 
 son of his father, and at his request he consented to let his brothers 
 precede him. Eleven had fallen in turn, and but one victim 
 remained to the salvation of the city, when the Rana, calling 
 his chiefs around him, said, " Now I devote myself for Chitor." 
 
 The Johar. — But another awful sacrifice was to precede this 
 act of self-devotion in that horrible rite, the Johar,^ where the 
 
 ^ ' I am hungry.' ^ Lamp. 
 
 ^ These are the insignia of royalty. The kirania is a parasol, from 
 kiran, ' a ray ' : the chhatra is the umbrella, always red ; the chamara, the 
 flowing tail of the wild ox, set in a gold handle, and used to drive away the flies. 
 
 * [Sir G. Grierson informs me that Johar or Jauhar is derived from Jatu-
 
 THE CONQUESTS OF ALAU-D-DIN 311 
 
 females are immolated to preserve theni from pollution or cap- 
 tivity. The funeral pyre was lighted within the ' great sub- 
 terranean retreat,' in chambers impervious to the light [266] of 
 day, and the defenders of Chitor beheld in procession the queens, 
 their own wives and daughters, to the number of several thou- 
 sands. The fair Padmini closed the throng, which was augmented 
 by whatever of female beauty or youth could be tainted by Tatar 
 lust. They were conveyed to the cavern, and the opening closed 
 upon them, leaving them to find security from dishonour in the 
 devouring element. 
 
 A contest now arose between the Rana and his surviving son ; 
 but the father prevailed, and Ajaisi, in obedience to his commands, 
 with a small band passed through the enemy's lines, and reached 
 Kelwara in safety. The Rana, satisfied that his line was not 
 extinct, now prepared to follow his brave sons ; and calling 
 around him his devoted clans, for whom life had no longer any 
 charms, they threw open the portals and descended to the plains, 
 and with a reckless despair carried death, or met it, in the crowded 
 ranks of Ala. The Tatar conqueror took possession of an inani- 
 mate capital, strewed with brave defenders, the smoke yet issuing 
 from the recesses where lay consumed the once fair object of his 
 desire ; and since this devoted day the cavern has been sacred : 
 no eye has penetrated its gloom, and superstition has placed as 
 its guardian a huge serpent, whose ' venomous breath ' extin- 
 guishes the fight which might guide intruders to ' the place of 
 sacrifice.' 
 
 The Conquests of Alau-d-dln.— Thus fell, in a.d. 1303, this 
 celebrated capital, in the round of conquest of Alau-d-din, one 
 of the most vigorous and warlike sovereigns who have occupied 
 
 griha, ' a house built of lac or other combustibles,' in allusion to the story 
 in the Mahabliarata (i. chap. 141-151) of the attempted destruction of the 
 Pandavas by setting such a building on fire. For other examples of the rite 
 see Ferishta i. 59 f. ; EUiot-Dowson i. 313, 536 f., iii. 426, 433, iv. 277, 402, 
 V. 101 ; Forbes, Ras Mala, 286 ; Malcolm, Memoir Central India, 2nd ed. 
 1. 483. For recent cases Irvine, Army of the Indian Moghuls, 242 ; Punjab 
 Notes and Queries, iv. 102 ff.] 
 
 ^ The Author has been at the entrance of this retreat, which, according 
 to the Khuman Raesa, conducts to a subterranean palace, but the m.ephitic 
 vapours and venomous reptiles did not invite to adventure, even had official 
 situation permitted such shght to these prejudices. The Author is the only 
 EngUshman admitted to Chitor since the days of Herbert., who appears to 
 have described what he sav.'.
 
 312 ANNALS OF MEWAK 
 
 the throne of India. In success, and in one of the means of 
 attainment, a bigoted hypocrisy, he bore a striking resemblance 
 to Aurangzeb ; and the title of ' Sikandaru-s-Sani,' or the second 
 Alexander, which he assumed and impressed on his coins, was no 
 idle vaunt. The proud Anhilwara, the ancient Dhar and Avanti, 
 Mandor and Deogir, the seats of the Solankis, the Pramaras, the 
 Pariharas and Taks, the entire Agnikula race, were overturned 
 for ever by Ala. Jaisalmer, Gagraun, Bundi, the abodes of the 
 Bhatti, the Kliichi, and the Hara, with many of minor importance, 
 suffered all the horrors of assault from this foe of the race, though 
 destined again to raise their heads. The Rathors of Marwar and 
 the [267] Kachhwahas of Amber were yet in a state of insigni- 
 ficance : the former were slowly creeping into notice as the 
 vassals of the Pariharas, while the latter could scarcely withstand 
 the attacks of the original Mina population. Ala remained in 
 Chitor some days, admiring the grandeur of his conquest ; and 
 having committed every act of barbarity and wanton dilapida- 
 tion which a bigoted zeal could suggest, overthrowing the temples 
 and other monuments of art, he delivered the city in charge to 
 Maldeo, the chief of Jalor, whom he had conquered and enrolled 
 amongst his vassals. The palace of Bhim and the fair Padmini 
 alone appears to have escaped the wrath of Ala ; it would be 
 pleasing could we suppose any kinder sentiment suggested the 
 exception, which enables the author of these annals to exhibit 
 the abode of the fair of Ceylon. 
 
 The Flight of Rana Ajai Singh. — The survivor of Chitor, Rana 
 Ajaisi, was now in security at Kelwara, a town situated in the 
 heart of the Aravalli mountains, the western boundary of Mewar, 
 to which its princes had been indebted for twelve centuries of 
 dominion. Kelwara is at the highest part of one of its most ex- 
 tensive valleys, termed the Shero Nala, the richest district of this 
 Alpine region. Guarded by faithful adherents, Ajaisi cherished 
 for future occasion the wrecks of Mewar. It was the last behest 
 of his father that when he attained ' one hundred years ' (a 
 figurative expression for dying) the son of Arsi, the elder brother, 
 should succeed him. This injunction, from the deficiency of the 
 qualities requisite at such a juncture in his own sons, met a ready 
 compliance. Hamir was this son, destined to redeem the promise 
 of the genius of Chitor and the lost honours of his race, and whose 
 birth and early history fill many a page of their annals. His
 
 RANA AJAI SINGH IN EXILE 313 
 
 father, Arsi, being out on a hunting excursion in the forest of 
 Ondua, with some young chiefs of the court, in pursuit of the 
 boar entered a field of maize, when a female offered to drive out 
 the game. Pulling one of the stalks of maize, which grows to the 
 height of ten or twelve feet, she pointed it, and mounting the 
 platform made to watch the corn, impaled the hog, dragged him 
 before the hunters, and departed. Though accustomed to feats of 
 strength and heroism from the nervous arms of their country- 
 women, the act surprised them. They descended to the stream 
 at hand, and prepared the repast, as is usual, on the spot. The 
 feast was held, and comments were passing on the fair arm which 
 had transfixed the boar, when a baU of clay from a sling fractured 
 a limb of the prince's steed. Looking in the direction whence 
 it [268] came, they observed the same damsel, from her elevated 
 stand,^ preserving her fields from aerial depredators ; but seeing 
 the mischief she had occasioned she descended to express her 
 regret and then returned to her pursuit. As they were pro- 
 ceeding homewards after the sports of the day, they again encoun- 
 tered the damsel, with a vessel of milk on her head, and leading 
 in either hand a young buffalo. It was proposed, in frolic, to 
 overturn her milk, and one of the companions of the prince 
 dashed rudely by her ; but without being disconcerted, she 
 entangled one of her charges with the horse's limbs and brought 
 the rider to the ground. On inquiry the prince discovered that 
 she was the daughter of a poor Rajput of the Chandano tribe.^ 
 He returned the next day to the same quarter and sent for her 
 father, v»^ho came and took his seat with perfect independence 
 close to the prince, to the merriment of his companions, which 
 was checked by Arsi asking his daughter to wife. They were yet 
 more surprised by the demand being refused. The Rajput, on 
 going home, told the more prudent mother, who scolded him 
 heartily, made him recall the refusal, and seek the prince. They 
 were married, and Hamir was the son of the Chandano Rajputni.^ 
 
 ^ A stand is fixed upon four poles in the middle of a field, on which a 
 guard is placed armed with a shng and clay balls, to drive away the ravens, 
 peacocks, and other birds that destroy the corn. 
 
 ^ One of the branches of the Ghauhan. 
 
 ' [The same tale is told of Dhadij, grandson of Prithiraj. the ancestor of 
 the Dahiya Jats (Rose, Glossary, ii. 220 ; Risley, People of India, 2nd ed., 
 179 f.).]
 
 314 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 He remained little noticed at the maternal abode till the cata- 
 strophe of Chitor. At this period lie was twelve years of age, and had 
 led a rustic Ufe, from which the necessity of the times recalled him. 
 Mewar occupied by the Musalmans : The Exploit of Hamir. — 
 Mewar was now occupied by the garrisons of Delhi, and Ajaisi 
 had besides to contend with the mountain chiefs, amongst whom 
 Munja Balaicha was the most formidable, who had, on a recent 
 occasion, invaded the Shero Nala, and personally encountered 
 the Rana, whom he wounded on the head with a lance. The 
 Rana's sons, Sajansi and Ajamsi, though fourteen and fifteen, an 
 age at which a Rajput ought to indicate his future character, 
 proved of little aid in the emergency. Hamir was summoned, 
 and accepted the feud against Munja, promising to return success- 
 ful or not at all. In a few days he was seen entering the pass of 
 Kelwara with Munja's head at his saddle-bow. Modestly placing 
 the trophy at his uncle's feet, he exclaimed : " Recognize the 
 head of your foe ! " Ajaisi ' kissed his beard,' ^ and observing 
 that fate had stamped empire on his forehead, impressed [269] it 
 with a tika of blood from the head of the Balaicha. This decided 
 the fate of the sons of Ajaisi ; one of whom died at Kelwara, and 
 the other, Sajansi, who might have excited a civil war, was sent 
 from the country.'- He departed for the Deccan, where his issue 
 was destined to avenge some of the wrongs the parent country 
 had sustained, and eventually to overturn the monarchy of 
 Hindustan ; for Sajansi was the ancestor of Sivaji, the founder of 
 the Satara throne, whose lineage ' is given in the chronicles of 
 Mewar. 
 
 1 This is an idiomatic phrase ; Hamir could have had no beard. 
 
 2 Des desa. 
 
 * Ajaisi, Sajansi, DaHpji, Sheoji, Bhoraji, Deoraj, Ugarsen, Mahulji, 
 Kheluji, Jankoji, Satuji, Sambhaji, Sivaji (the founder of the Mahratta 
 nation), Sambhaji, Ramraja, usurpation of the Peshwas. The Satara 
 throne, but for the jealousies of Udaipur, might on the imbecility of Ramraja 
 have been replenished from Mewar. It was offered to Nathji, the grand- 
 father of the present chief Sheodan Singh, presumptive heir to Chitor. Two 
 noble hues were reared from princes of Chitor expelled on similar occasions ; 
 those of Sivaji and tlie Gorkhas of Nepal. [This pedigree is largely the work 
 of the bards. But the Mahrattas, who seem to be chiefly sprung from the 
 Kunbi peasantry, claim Rajput origin, and several of their clans bear 
 Rajput names. It is said that in 1836 the Rana of Mewar was satisfied 
 that the Bhonslas and certain other families had the right to be regarded 
 as Rajputs {Census Report, Bombay, 1901, i. 184 f. ; Russell, Tribes and Castes 
 Central Provinces, iv. 199 fif.).]
 
 RANA HAAIlR SINGH 315 
 
 Rana Hamir Singh, a.d. 1301-64. — Hamir succeeded in S. 1357 
 (a.d. 1301), and had sixty-four years granted to him to redeem 
 his country from tlie ruins of the past century, which period had 
 elapsed since India ceased to own tlie paramount sway of her 
 native princes. The day on which he assumed the ensigns of rule 
 he gave, in the tika daur, an earnest of his future energy, which 
 he signalized by a rapid inroad into the heart of the country of 
 the predatory Balaicha, and captured their stronghold Pusalia. 
 We may here explain the nature of this custom of a barbaric 
 chivalry. 
 
 The Inaugural Foray. — The tika daur signifies the foray of 
 inauguration, which obtained from time immemorial on such 
 events, and is yet maintained where any semblance of hostility 
 will allow its execution. On the morning of installation, having 
 previously received the tika of sovereignty, the prince at the head 
 of his retainers makes a foray into the territory of any one with 
 whom he may have a feud, or with whom he may be indifferent 
 as to exciting one ; he captures a stronghold or plunders a town, 
 and returns with the trophies. If amity should prevail with all 
 around, which the prince cares not to disturb, they have still a 
 mock representation of the custom. For many reigns after the 
 Jaipur princes united their fortunes to the throne of Delhi their 
 frontier town, Malpura, was the object of the tika daur of the 
 princes of Mewar. 
 
 Chitor under a Musahnan Garrison. — " \^^len Ajmall ^ went 
 another road," as the bard figuratively describes the demise of 
 Rana Ajaisi, " the son of Arsi unsheathed the sword, thence never 
 stranger to his hand." Maldeo remained with the royal garrison 
 at Chitor," but Hamir [270] desolated their plains, and left to his 
 eneinies only the fortified towns which could safely be inhabited. 
 He commanded all who owned his sovereignty either to quit 
 their abodes, and retire with their families to the shelter of the 
 hills on the eastern and western frontiers, or share the fate of the 
 pubhc enemy. The roads were rendered impassable fi'om his 
 parties, who issued from their retreats in the Aravalli, the security 
 
 ^ This is a poetical version of the name of Ajaisi ; a Uberty frequently 
 taken by the bards for the sake of rhyme. 
 
 " [From an inscription at Chitor it appears that the fort remained in the 
 charge of Muhammadans up to the time of Muhammad Tughlak (1324-51), 
 who appointed Maldeo of Jalor governor (Erskine ii. A. 16). J
 
 316 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of which baffled pursuit. This destructive pohcy of laying waste 
 the resources of their own country, and from this asylum attack- 
 ing their foes as opportimity offered, has obtained from the time 
 of Mahmud of Ghazni in the tenth, to Muhammad, the last 
 who merited the name of Emperor of Delhi, in the eighteenth 
 century. 
 
 Resistance of Hamir Singh. — Hamir made Kelwara ^ his resi- 
 dence, which soon became the chief retreat of the emigrants from 
 the plams. The situation was admirably chosen, being covered 
 by several ranges, guarded by intricate defiles, and situated at the 
 foot of a pass leading over the mountain into a still more inaccess- 
 ible retreat (where Kumbhalmer now stands)," well watered and 
 wooded, with abundance of pastures and excellent indigenous 
 fruits and roots. This tract, above fifty miles in breadth, is 
 twelve hundred feet above the level of the plains and three thou- 
 sand above the sea, with a considerable quantity of arable land, 
 and free communication to obtain supplies by the passes of the 
 western decUvity from Marwar, Gujarat, or the friendly Bhils, 
 of the west, to whom this house owes a large debt of gratitude. 
 On various occasions the communities of Oghna and Panarwa 
 furnished the princes of Mewar with five thousand bowmen, 
 supplied them with provisions, or guarded the safety of their 
 families when they had to oppose the foe in the field. The ele- 
 vated plateau of the eastern frontier presented in its forests and 
 deUs many places of security ; but Ala ^ traversed these in person, 
 destroying as he went : neither did they possess the advantages 
 of climate and natural productions arising from the elevation of 
 the other. Such was the state of Mewar : its places of strength 
 occupied by the foe, cultivation and peacefid objects neglected 
 from the persevering hostility of Hamir, when a proposal of 
 marriage came from the Hindu governor of Chitor, wiiich was 
 immediately accepted, contrary to the [271] wishes of the prince's 
 advisers. 
 
 The Recovery of Chitor. — Whether this was intended as a snare 
 
 ^ The lake he excavated here, the Hamir-talao, and the temple of the pro- 
 tecthig goddess on its bank, still bear witness of liis acts while confined to 
 this retreat. 
 
 ^ See Plate, view of Kumbhalmer. 
 
 ^ I have an inscription, and in Sanskrit, set up by an apostate chief or 
 bard in his train, which I found in this tract.
 
 THE RESISTANCE OF RANA TIAMIR SINGH 317 
 
 to entrap him, or merely as an insult, every danger was scouted 
 by Hamir which gave a chance to the recovery of Chitor. He 
 desired that ' Vie coco-md ^ might he retained,'' coolly remarking 
 on the dangers pointed out, " My feet shall at least tread in the 
 rocky steps in which my ancestors have moved. A Rajput should 
 always be prepared for reverses ; one day to abandon his abode 
 covered with wounds, and the next to reascend with the maur 
 (crown) on his head." It was stipulated that only five hundred 
 horse should form his suite. As he approached Chitor, the five 
 sons of the Chauhan advanced to meet him, but on the portal of 
 the city no toran,^ or nuptial emblem, was suspended. He, how- 
 ever, accepted the unsatisfactory reply to his remark on this 
 indication of treachery, and ascended for the first time the ramp 
 of Chitor. He was received in the ancient halls of his ancestors 
 by Rao Maldeo, his son Banbir, and other chiefs, xvith folded 
 hands. The bride was brought forth, and presented by her father 
 without any of the solemnities practised on such occasions ; ' the 
 knot of their gannents tied and their hands united,' and thus they 
 were left. The family priest recommended jjatience, and Hamir 
 
 ^ This is the symbol of an offer of marriage. 
 
 ^ The toran is the symbol of marriage. It consists of three wooden bars, 
 forming an equilateral triangle ; mystic in shape and number, and having 
 the apex crowned with the effigies of a peacock, it is placed over the portal 
 of the bride's abode. At Udaipur, when the princes of Jaisalmer, Bikaner, 
 and Kishangarh sinmltarieously jnarried the two daughters and grand- 
 daughter of i,he Raiia, the torans were suspended from the battlements of 
 the tripolia, or three-arched portal, leading to the palace. The bridegrooni. 
 on horseback, lance in hand, proceeds to break the toran (toran torna), which 
 is defended by the damsels of the bride, who from the parapet assail him 
 with missiles of various kinds, especially with a crimson powder made from 
 the flowers of the palasa, at the same time singing songs fitted to the occa- 
 sion, replete with doubie-entendres. At length the toran is broken amidst 
 the shouts of the retainers ; when the fair defenders retire. The simihtude 
 of these ceremonies in the north of Europe and in Asia increases the list of 
 common affinities, and indicates the violence of rude times to obtain the 
 object of affection ; and the lance, with which the Rajput chieftain breaks 
 the toran, has the same emblematic import as the spear, which, at the marri- 
 age of the nobles in Sweden, was a necessary implement in the furniture of 
 the marriage chamber (vide Mallett, Northern Antiquities). [The custom 
 perhaps represents a symbol of marriage by capture, but it has also been 
 suggested that it symbolizes the luck of the bride's fam.ily which the bride- 
 groom acquires by touching the arch with his sword (see Luard, Ethnographic 
 Survey Central India, 22 ; Enthoven, Folk-lore Notes Gujarat, 69 ; Russell, 
 Tribes and Castes Central Provinces, ii. 410).]
 
 318 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 retired with his bride to the apartments allotted for them. Her 
 kindness and vows of fidelity overcame his sadness upon learning 
 that he had married a widow. She had been wedded to a chief 
 of the Bhatti tribe, shortly afterwards slain, and when she was 
 so young as not to recollect even his appearance. He ceased to 
 lament the insult when she herself taught him how it might be 
 avenged, and that it might even lead to the recovery of Chitor. 
 It is a privilege possessed by the bridegroom to have one specific 
 favour complied with as a part of the dower (daeja), and Hamir 
 was instructed by his bride to ask for Jal, one of the civil [272] 
 officers of Chitor, and of the Mehta tribe. With his wife so ob- 
 tained, and the scribe whose talents remained for trial, he returned 
 in a fortnight to Kelwara. Khetsi was the fruit of this marriage, 
 on which occasion Maldeo made over all the hill tracts to Hamir. 
 Khetsi was a year old when one of the penates (Khetrpal) ^ was 
 foimd at fault, on which she wrote to her parents to invite her to 
 Chitor, that the infant might be placed before the shrine of the 
 deity. Escorted by a party from Chitor, with her child she 
 entered its walls ; and instructed by the Mehta, she gained over 
 the troops who were left, for the Rao had gone with his chief 
 adherents against the Mers of Madri. Hamir was at hand. 
 Notice that all was ready reached him at Bagor. StiU he met 
 opposition that had nearly, defeated the scheme ; but having 
 forced admission, his sword overcame every obstacle, and the 
 oath of allegiance (an) was proclaimed from the palace of his 
 fathers. 
 
 The Sonigira on his return was met with ' a salute of arabas,' ^ 
 and Maldeo himself carried the account of his loss to the Khilji 
 king Mahmud, who had succeeded Ala. The ' standard of the 
 sun ' once more shone refulgent from the walls of Chitor, and was 
 the signal for return to their ancient abodes from their hills and 
 *hiding-places to the adherents of Hamir. The valleys of Kum- 
 bhalmer and the western highlands poured forth their ' streams of 
 men,' while every chief of true Hindu blood rejoiced at the pros- 
 pect of once more throwing off the barbarian yoke. So powerful 
 was this feeling, and with such activity and skill did Hamir follow 
 up this favour of fortune, that he marched to meet Mahmud, 
 
 1 [Khetrpal, Kshetrapala, is guardian of the field (Kshetra).] 
 " A kind of arquebuss [properly the gun-carriage. Irvine, Army of the 
 Indian Moghuls, 140 ff.]
 
 THE POWER OF RANA HAMIR SINGH 319 
 
 who was advancing to recover his lost possessions. The king 
 unwisely directed his march by the eastern plateau, where numbers 
 were rendered useless by the intricacies of the country. Of the 
 three steppes which mark the physiognomy of this tract, from the 
 first ascent from the plain of Mewar to the descent at Chambal, 
 the king had encamped on the central, at Singoli, where he was 
 attacked, defeated, and made prisoner by Hamir, who slew Hari 
 Singli, brother of Banbir, in single combat. The king suffered a 
 confinement of three months in Chitor, nor was liberated till he 
 had surrendered Ajmer, Ranthambor, Nagor, and Sui Sopur, 
 besides paying fifty lakhs of rupees and one hundred elephants. 
 Hamir would exact no promise of cessation from further in- 
 roads, but contented himself with assuring him that from such he 
 sliould be prepared to defend Chitor, not witliin, but without the 
 walls [273]. 1 
 
 Banbir, the son of Maldeo, offered to serve Hamir, who assigned 
 the districts of Nimach, Jiran, Ratanpur, and the Kerar to main- 
 tain the family of his wife in becoming dignity ; and as he gave 
 the grant he remarked : " Eat, serve, and be faithful. You were 
 once the servant of a Turk, but now of a Hindu of your own faith ; 
 for I have but taken back my own, the rock moistened by the 
 blood of my ancestors, the gift of the deity I adore, and who will 
 maintain me in it ; nor shall I endanger it by the worship of a 
 fair face, as ditl my predecessor." Banbir shortly after carried 
 Bhainsror by assault, and this ancient possession guarding the 
 Chambal was again added to Mewar.. The chieftains of Rajasthan 
 rejoiced once more to see a Hindu take the lead, paid willing 
 homage, and aided him with service when required. 
 
 The Power of Rana Hamir Singh. — Hamir was the sole Hindu 
 prince of power now left in India : all the ancient dynasties were 
 
 ^ Ferishta does not mention this conquest over the Khilji emperor ; but 
 as Mewar recovered her wonted splendour in this reign, we cannot doubt the 
 truth of the native annals. [There is a mistake here. The successor of 
 Alau-d-dln was Kutbu-d-din Mubarak, who came to the throne in 1316. 
 Ferishta says that Rai Ratan Singh of Cliitor, who had been taken prisoner 
 in the siege, was released by the cleverness of his daughter, and that Alau- 
 d-din ordered liis son, Khizr Khan, tO evacuate the place, on which the Rai 
 became tributary to Alau-d-dln. Also in 1312 the Rajputs threw the 
 Muhammadan officers over the ramparts and asserted their independence 
 (Ferishta, trans. Briggs, i. 363, 381). Erskine says that the attack was 
 made by Muhammad Tughlak (1324-51).]
 
 320 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 crushed, and the ancestors of the present princes of Marwar and 
 Jaipur brought their levies, paid homage, and obeyed the summons 
 of the prince of Chitor, as did the chiefs of Bundi, Gwahor, Chan- 
 deri, Raesin, Sikri, Kalpi, Abu, etc. 
 
 Extensive as was the power of Mewar before the Tatar occu- 
 pation of India, it could scarcely have surpassed the solidity 
 of sway which she enjoyed during the two centuries following 
 Hamir's recovery of the capital. From this event to the next 
 invasion from the same Cimmerian abode, led by Babur, we have 
 a succession of splendid names recorded in her annals, and though 
 destined soon to be surrounded by new Muhammadan dynasties, 
 in Malwa and Gujarat as well as Delhi, yet successfully opposing 
 them all. The distracted state of affairs when the races of Khilji, 
 Lodi, and Sur alternately struggled for and obtained the seat of 
 dominion, Delhi, was favourable to Mewar, whose power was 
 now so consolidated that she not only repelled armies from her 
 territory, but carried war abroad, leaving tokens of victory at 
 Nagor, in Saurashtra, and to the walls of Delhi. 
 
 Public Works. — The subjects of Mewar must have enjoyed not 
 only a long repose, but high prosperity during this period, judging 
 from their magnificent public works, when a triumphal [274] column 
 must have cost the income of a kingdom to erect, and which ten 
 years' produce of the crown-lands of Mewar could not at this 
 time defray. Only one of the structures prior to the sack of 
 Chitor was left entire by Ala, and is yet existing, and tliis was 
 raised by private and sectarian hands. It would be curious if the 
 unitarian profession of the Jain creed was the means of preserving 
 this ancient relic from Ala's wrath.^ The princes of this house 
 were great patrons of the arts, and especially of architecture ; 
 and it is a matter of surprise how their revenues, derived chiefly 
 from the soil, could have enabled them to expend so much on 
 these objects and at the same time maintain such armies as are 
 enumerated. Such could be effected only by long prosperity 
 and a mild, paternal system of government ; for the subject had 
 his monuments as well as the prince, the ruins of which may yet 
 be discovered in the more inaccessible or deserted portions of 
 Rajasthan. Hamir died fuU of years, leaving a name still 
 
 ^ [The Jain tower, kaowu as Kirtti Stamb, ' pillar of fame,' erected in the 
 twelfth or thirteenth century by Jija, a Bagherwal Mahajan, and dedicated 
 to Adinath, the first Jain TIrthankara or saint.]
 
 KSHETRA OR KHET SINGH: LAKSH SINGH 321 
 
 honoured in Mewar, as one of the wisest and most gallant of her 
 princes, and bequeathing a well-established and extensive power 
 to his son. 
 
 Kshetra or Khet Singh, a.d. 1364-82. — Khetsi succeeded in 
 S. 1421 (a.d. 1365) to the power and to the character of his father. 
 He captured Ajnier and Jahazpur from Lila Pathan, and rean- 
 nexed Mandalgarh, Dasor, and the whole of Chappan (for the first 
 time) to Mewar. He obtained a victory over the Delhi monarch 
 Humayun ^ at Bakrol ; but unhappily his life terminated in a. 
 family broil with his vassal, the Hara chief of Bumbaoda, whose 
 daughter he was about to espouse. 
 
 Laksh Singh, a.d. 1382-97. — LakhaRana, by this assassination, 
 mounted the throne in Chitor in S. 1439 (a.d. 1373). His first act 
 was the entire subjugation of the mountainous region of Merwara, 
 and the destruction of its chief stronghold, Bairatgarh, where he 
 erected Badnor. But an event of much greater importance than 
 settling his frontier, and which most powerfully tended to the 
 prosperity of the country, was the discovery of the tin and silver 
 mines of Jawara, in the tract wrested by Khetsi from the Bhils 
 of Chappan. 2 Lakha Rana has the merit of having first worked 
 them, though their existence is superstitiously alluded to so early 
 as the period of the founder. It is said the ' seven metals ' {haft- 
 dhat) ' were formerly [275] abundant ; but this appears figura- 
 tive. We have no evidence for the gold, though silver, tin, 
 copper, lead, and antimony were yielded in abundance (the first 
 two from the same matrix), but the tin that has been extracted 
 for many years past yields but a small portion of silver.* Lakha 
 Rana defeated the Sankhla Rajputs of Nagarchal,^ at Amber. 
 He encountered the emperor Muhammad Shah Lodi, and on one 
 
 ^ [The contemporary of Khet Singh at Delhi was Firoz Shah Tughlak.] 
 
 * [The mines at Jawar, sixteen miles south of Udaipur city, produce 
 lead, zinc, and some silver. The mention of tin in the text seems wrong 
 (Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. vi. Part iv. 356 ; Gomm. Prod. 1077).] 
 
 * Haft-dhat, corresponding to the planets, each of which ruled a metal : 
 hence Mihr, ' the sun,' for gold ; Chandra, ' the moon,' for silver. 
 
 * They have long been abandoned, the miners are extinct, and the pro- 
 tecting deities of mines are unable to get even a flower placed on their 
 shrines, though some have been reconsecrated by the Bhils, who have con- 
 verted Lakshmi into Sitalamata (Juno Lucina), whom the Bhil females 
 invoke to pass them through danger. 
 
 ® Jhunjhunu, Singhana, and Narbana formed the ancient Nagarchal 
 territory. . 
 
 VOL. I • Y
 
 322 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 occasion defeated a royal army at Badnor ; but he carried the 
 war to Gaya, and in driving the barbarian from this sacred place 
 was slain.^ Lakha is a name of celebrity, as a patron of the arts 
 and benefactor of his country. He excavated many reservoirs 
 and lakes, raised immense ramparts to dam their waters, besides 
 erecting strongholds. The riches of the mines of Jawara were 
 expended to rebuild the temples and palaces levelled by Ala. A 
 portion of his own palace yet exists, in the same style of archi- 
 tecture as that, more ancient, of Ratna and the fair Padmini ; 
 and a minster (mandir) dedicated to the creator (Brahma), an 
 enormous and costly fabric, is yet entire. Being to ' the One,' 
 and consequently containing no idol, it may thus have escaped the 
 ruthless fury of the invaders. 
 
 Lakha had a numerous progeny, who have left their clans 
 called after them, as the Lunawats and Dulawats, now the sturdy 
 allodial proprietors of the Alpine regions bordering on Oghna, 
 Panarwa, and other tracts in the Aravalli.^ But a circumstance 
 which set aside the rights of primogeniture, and transferred the 
 crown of Chitor from his eldest son, Chonda, to the younger, 
 Mokal, had nearly carried it to another line. The consequences 
 of making the elder branch a powerful vassal clan with claims to 
 the throne, and which have been the chief cause of its subsequent 
 prostration, we will reserve for another chapter [276]. 
 
 CHAPTER 7 
 
 If devotion to the fair sex be admitted as a criterion of civiliza- 
 tion, the Rajput must rank high. His susceptibility is extreme, 
 and fires at the slightest offence to female delicacy, which he 
 never forgives. A satirical impromptu, involving the sacrifice 
 
 ^ [There was no Sultan Muhammad Shah Lodi, and that dynasty did 
 not begin till 1451. Firoz Shah (1351-88) was contemporary of Laksh 
 Singh at Delhi. It is not hkely that a Rajput in the fourteenth century 
 conducted a campaign at Gaya in Bengal ; but, according to Har Bilas 
 Sarda, author of a recent monograph on Rana Kiimbha, the fact is corro- 
 borated by inscriptions, Peterson, Bhaunagar Inscrijiiions, 90, 117, 119.] 
 
 ^ The Sarangdeot chief of Kanor (on the borders of Chappan), one of 
 the sixteen lords of Mewar, is also a descendant of Lakha, as are some of 
 the tribes of Sondwara, about Pharphara and the ravines of the Kali 
 Sind.
 
 CHONDA RENOUNCES HIS BIRTHRIGHT 323 
 
 of Rajpxit prejudices, dissolved the coalition of the Rathors and 
 Kachhwahas, and laid each prostrate before the Mahrattas, whom 
 when united they had crushed : and a jest, apparently trivial, 
 compromised the right of primogeniture to the throne of Chitor, 
 and proved more disastrous in its consequences than the arms 
 either of Moguls or Mahrattas. 
 
 Chonda renounces his Birthright. — ^Lakha Rana was advanced 
 in years, his sons and grandsons established in suitable domains, 
 when ' the coco-nut came ' from Ranmall, prince of Marwar, to 
 affiance his daughter with Chonda, the heir of ^lewar. Wlien 
 the embassy was announced, Chonda was absent, and the old 
 chief was seated in his chair of state surrounded by his court. 
 The messenger of Hymen was courteously received by Lakha, 
 who observed that Chonda would soon return and take the gage ; 
 " for," added he, drawing his fingers over his moustaches, " I 
 don't suppose you send such playthings to an old greybeard like 
 me." This little sally was of course applauded and repeated ; 
 but Chonda, offended at delicacy being sacrificed to wit, declined 
 accepting the symbol which his father had even in jest supposed 
 might be intended for him : and as it could not be returned 
 without gross insult to Ranmall, the old Rana, incensed at his 
 son's obstinacy, agreed to accept it himself, pro\nded Chonda 
 would swear to renounce his birthright in the event of his ha\nng 
 a son, and be to the child but the ' first of his Rajputs.' He 
 swore by Eklinga to fulfil his father's wishes. 
 
 Rana Mokal, a.d. 1397-1433. — ^Mokalji was the issue of this 
 union, and had attained the age of five when the Rana resolved 
 to signalize his finale by a raid against the enemies of their faith 
 [277], and to expel the ' barbarian ' from the holy land of Gaya. 
 In ancient times this was by no means uncommon, and we have 
 several instances in the annals of these States of princes resigning 
 ' the purple ' on the approach of old age, and by a life of austerity 
 and devotion, pilgrimage and charity, seeking to make their 
 peace with heaven 'for the sins inevitably committed by all who 
 wield a sceptre." But when war was made against their religion 
 by the Tatar proselytes to Islam, the Sutlej and the Ghaggar 
 were as the banks of the Jordan — Gaya, their Jerusalem, their 
 holy land ; and if there destiny filled his cup, the Hindu chieftain 
 was secure of beatitude,^ exempted from the troubles of ' second 
 
 1 MuMi.
 
 324 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 birth ' ; ^ and borne from the scene of probation in celestial cars 
 by the Apsaras,^ was introduced at once into the ' realm of the 
 sun.' ^ Ere, however, the Rana of Chitor journeyed to this 
 bourne, he was desirous to leave his throne unexposed to civil 
 strife. The subject of succession had never been renewed ; but 
 discussing with Chonda his warlike pilgrimage to Gaya, from 
 which he might not return, he sounded him by asking what estates 
 should be settled on Mokal. " The throne of Chitor," was the 
 honest reply ; and to set suspicion at rest, he desired that the cere- 
 mony of installation should be performed previous to Lakha's 
 departure. Chonda was the first to pay homage and swear obedi- 
 ence and fidelity to his future sovereign : reserving, as the recoin- 
 pense of his renunciation, the first place in the councils, and 
 stipulating that in all grants to the vassals of the crown, his 
 symbol (the lance) should be superadded to the autograph of the 
 prince. In all grants the lance of Salumbar * still precedes the 
 monogram of the Rana.^ 
 
 The sacrifice of Chonda to offended delicacy and filial respect 
 was great, for he had all the qualities requisite for command. 
 Brave, frank, and skilful, he conducted all public affairs after his 
 father's departure and death, to the benefit of the minor and the 
 State. The queen-mother, however, who is admitted as the 
 natural guardian of her infant's rights on all such occasions, felt 
 umbrage and discontent at her loss of povv^er ; forgetting that, 
 but for Chonda, she would never [278] have been mother to the 
 Rana of Mewar. She watched with a jealous eye all his proceed- 
 ings ; but it was only through the medium of suspicion she could 
 accuse the integrity of Chonda, and she artfully asserted that, 
 under colour of directing state affairs, he was exercising absolute 
 sovereignty, and that if he did not assume the title of Rana, he 
 would reduce it to an empty name. Chonda, knowing the purity 
 of his own motives, made liberal allowance for maternal solicitude ; 
 but upbraiding the queen with the injustice of her suspicions, 
 
 ^ This is a literal phrase, denoting further transmigration of the soul, 
 which is always deemed a punishment. The soldier who falls in battle 
 in the faithful performance of his duty is alone exempted, according to 
 their martial mythology, from the pains of ' second birth.' 
 
 ^ The fair messengers of heaven. 
 
 * Sitraj 3Ianda]. 
 
 * The abode of the chief of the various clans of Chondawat. 
 6 Vide p. 235.
 
 RATHOR influence in MEWAR : RAGHUDEVA 325 
 
 and advising a vigilant care to the rights of Sesodias, he retired 
 to the court of Mandu, tlien rising into notice, where he was 
 received with the highest distinctions, and the district of Halar ^ 
 was assigned to him by the king. 
 
 Rathor Influence in Mewar.^ — His departure was the signal for 
 an influx of the kindred of the queen from INIandor. Her brother 
 Jodha (who afterwards gave his name to Jodhpur) was the first, 
 and was soon followed by his father, Rao Ranmall, and numerous 
 adherents, who deemed the arid region of Maru-des, and its rabri, 
 or maize porridge, well exchanged for the fertile plains and 
 wheaten bread of Mewar. 
 
 Raghudeva, the Mewar Hero. — With his grandson on his knee, 
 the old Rao " would sit on the throne of Bappa Rawal, on whose 
 quitting him for play, the regal ensigns of Mewar waved over the 
 head of Mandor." This was more than the Sesodia nurse ^ (an 
 important personage in all Hindu governments) could bear, and 
 bursting with indignation, she demanded of the queen if her kin 
 was to defraud her own child of his inheritance. The honesty of 
 the nurse was greater than her prudence. The creed of the Rajput 
 is to ' obtain sovereignty,' regarding the means as secondary 
 and this avowal of her suspicions only hastened their designs. 
 The queen soon found herself without remedy, and a remonstrance 
 to her father produced a hint which threatened the existence of her 
 offspring. Her fears were soon after augmented by the assassina- 
 tion of Raghudeva, the second brother of Chonda, whose estates 
 were Kelwara and Kawaria. To the former place, where he 
 resided aloof from the court, Rao Ranmall sent a dress of honour, 
 which etiquette requiring him to put on when presented, the 
 prince was assassinated in the act. Raghudeva was so much 
 beloved for his virtues, courage, and manly beauty, that his [279] 
 murder became martyrdom, and obtained for him divine honoijrs, 
 and a place amongst the Di Patres {Pitrideva) of Mewar. His 
 image is on every hearth, and is daily worshipped with the 
 Penates. Twice in the year his altars receive public homage 
 from every Sesodia, from the Rana to the serf.* 
 
 1 [Halar in W. Kathiawar (BG, viii. 4).] 
 
 ^ The Dhdi. The Dhdbhdis, or ' foster-brothers,' often hold lands in 
 perpetuity, and are employed in the most confidential places ; on embassies, 
 marriages, etc. 
 
 * On the 8th day of the Dasahra, or ' military festival,' when the levies
 
 326 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 The Expulsion o£ the Rathor Party. — In this extremity the 
 queen-mother turned lier thoughts to Chonda, and it was not 
 difficult to apprise him of the danger which menaced the race, 
 every place of trust being held by her kinsmen, and the principal 
 post of Chitor by a Bhatti Rajput of Jaisalmer Chonda, though 
 at a distance, was not inattentive to the proverbially dangerous 
 situation of a minor amongst the Rajputs. At his departure he 
 was accompanied by two hundred Aherias or huntsmen, whose 
 ancestors had served the princes of Chitor from ancient times. 
 These had left their families behind, a visit to whom was the 
 pretext for their introduction to the fort. They were instructed 
 to get into the service of the keepers of the gates, and, being 
 considered more attached to the place than to the family, their 
 object was effected. The queen-mother was counselled to cause 
 the young prince to descend daily with a numerous retinue to give 
 feasts to the surrounding villages, and gradually to increase the 
 distance, but not to fail on the ' festival of lan^js ' ^ to hold the 
 feast (got) at Gosunda.- 
 
 These injmictions were carefully attended to. The day 
 arrived, the feast was held at Gosunda ; but the night was 
 closing in, and no Chonda appeared. With heavy hearts the 
 nurse, the PuroMt,^ and those in the secret moved homeward, 
 and had reached the emuience called Chitori, when forty horsemen 
 passed them at the gallop, and at their head Chonda in disguise, 
 who by a secret sign paid homage as he passed to his younger 
 
 are mustered at the Chaugan, or ' Champ de Mars,' and on the 10th of Chait 
 his altars are purified, and his image is washed and placed thereon. Women 
 pray for the safety of their children ; husbands, that their wives may be 
 fruitful. Previously to this, a son of Bappa Rawal was worshipped ; but 
 after the enshrinement of Raghudeva, the adoration of Kuhsputra was 
 gradually abohshed. Nor is this custom confined to Mewar : there is a 
 deified Fuira in every Rajput family — one who has met a violent death. 
 Besides Ekhnga, the descendants of Bappa have adopted numerous household 
 divinities : ttie destinies of life and death, Baenmata the goddess of the 
 Chawaras, Nagnachian the serpent divinity of the Rathors, and Khetrapal, 
 or ' fosterer of the field,' have with many others obtained a place on the 
 Sesodia altars. This festival may not unaptly be compared to that of 
 Adonis amongst the Greeks, for the Putra is worshipped chiefly by women. 
 
 ^ The Diwali, from diwa, ' a lamp.' This festival is in honour of Lakshmi, 
 goddess of wealth. 
 
 - iSeven miles south of Chitor, on the road to Malwa. 
 
 ^ The family priest and instructor of youth.
 
 DEATH OF RAO RANMALL 327 
 
 brother and sovereign. Chonda and [280] his]^band had reached 
 the Rampol,^ or upper gate, unchecked. Here, when challenged, 
 they said they were neighbourmg chieftains, who, hearing of the 
 feast at Gosunda, had the honour to escort the prince home. 
 The story obtained credit ; but the main body, of which this was 
 but the advance, presently coming up, the treachery was apparent. 
 Chonda unsheathed his sword, and at his well-known shout the 
 hunters were speedily in action. The Bhatti chief, taken by 
 surprise, and imable to reach Chonda, launched his dagger at and 
 wounded him, but was himself slain ; the guards at the gates 
 were cut to pieces, and the Rathors hunted out and killed without 
 mercy. 
 
 Death of Rao Ranmall. — The end of Rao Ranmall was more 
 ludicrous than tragical. Smitten with the charms of a Sesodia 
 handmaid of the queen, who was compeUed to his embrace, the 
 old chief was in her arms, intoxicated with love, wine, and opium, 
 and heard no tiling of the tumult without. A woman's wit and 
 revenge combined to make his end afford some compensation for 
 her loss of honour. Gently rising, she bound him to his bed with 
 his own Marwari turban : - nor did this disturb him, and the 
 messengers of fate had entered ere the opiate allowed his eyes to 
 open to a sense of his danger. Enraged, he in vain endeavoured 
 to extricate himself ; and by some tortuosity of movement he 
 got upon his legs, his jiallet at his back like a shell or shield of 
 defence. With no arms but a brass vessel of ablution, he levelled 
 to the earth several of his assailants, when a ball from a matchlock 
 extended him on the floor of the palace. His son Jodha was in 
 the lower town, and was indebted to the fleetness of his steed for 
 escaping the fate of his father and kindred, whose bodies strewed 
 the terre-pleine of Chitor, the merited reward of their usurpation 
 and treachery. 
 
 The Revenge o£ Chonda. — But Chonda's revenge was not yet 
 satisfied. He pursued Rao Jodha, who, unable to oppose him, 
 took refuge with Harbuji Sankhla, leaving Mandor to its fate. 
 Tins city Chonda entered by surprise, and holding it till his sons 
 Kantatji and Manjaji arrived with reinforcements, the Rathor 
 treachery was repaid by their keeping possession of the« capital 
 during twelve years. We might here leave the future founder 
 
 ^ Rampol, ' the gate of Ram.' 
 * Often sixty cubits in length.
 
 328 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of Jodhpur, had not this feud led to the junction of the rich [281] 
 province of Godwar to Mewar, held for three centuries and again 
 lost by treachery. It may yet involve a struggle between the 
 Sesodias and Rathors.^ 
 
 " Sweet are the uses of adversity." To Jodha it was the first 
 step in the ladder of his eventual elevation. A century and a 
 half had scarcely elapsed since a colony, the wreck of Kanauj, 
 found an asylum, and at length a kingdom, taking possession of 
 one capital and founding another, abandoning Mandor and 
 erecting Jodhpur. But even Jodha could never have hoped that 
 his issue would have extended their sway from the valley of the 
 Indus to within one hundred miles of the Jumna, and from the 
 desert bordering on the Sutlej to the Aravalli mountains : that 
 one hundred thousand swords should at once be in the hands of 
 Rathors, ' the sons of one father' {ek Bap ke Betan). 
 
 If we slightly encroach upon the annals of Marwar, it is owing 
 to its history and that of Mewar being here so interwoven, and 
 the incidents these events gave birth so illustrative of the national 
 character of each, that it is, perhaps, more expedient to advert 
 to the period when Jodha was shut out from Mandor, and the 
 means by which he regained that city, previous to relating the 
 events of the reign of Mokal. 
 
 Harbuji Sankhla. — Harbuji Sankhla, at once a soldier and a 
 devotee, was one of those Rajput cavaliers ' sans peur et sans 
 reproche,'' wjiose life of celibacy and perilous adventure was 
 mingled with the austere devotion of an ascetic ; by turns aiding 
 with his lance the cause which he deemed worthy, or exercising 
 an unbounded hospitality towards the stranger. This generosity 
 had much reduced his resources when Jodha sought his protection. 
 It was the eve of the Sada-bart, one of those hospitable rites which, 
 in former times, characterized Rajwara. This ' perpetual charity ' 
 supplies food to the stranger and traveller, and is distributed not 
 only by individual chiefs and by the government, but by sub- 
 scriptions of communities. Even in Mewar, in her present 
 impoverished condition, the offerings to the gods in support of 
 their shrines and the establishment of the Sada-bart were simul- 
 taneous. Hospitality is a virtue pronounced to belong more 
 peculiarly to a semi-barbarous condition. Alas ! for refinement 
 
 ^ [Godwar, including the Bali and Desuri districts in S.E. Marwar, is 
 now known as the Desuri Hukumat : see Erskine iii. A. 180 f.]
 
 HARBUJI SANKHLA 329 
 
 and ultra-civilization, strangers to the happiness enjoyed by 
 Harbuji Sankhla. Jodha, with one hundred and twenty followers, 
 came to solicit the ' stranger's fare ' : but unfortunately it was 
 too late, the Sada-bart had been distributed. In this exigence, 
 Harbuji recollected that there was a wood [282] called nrnjd,^ 
 used in dyeing, which among other things in the desert regions 
 is resorted to in scarcity. A portion of this was bruised, and 
 boiled with some flour, sugar, and spices, making altogether a 
 palatable pottage ; and with a promise of better fare on the 
 morrow, it was set before the young Rao and liis followers, who, 
 after making a good repast, soon forgot Chitor in sleep. On 
 waking, each stared at his fellow, for their mustachios were dyed 
 with their evening's meal ; but the old chief, who was not disposed 
 to reveal his expedient, made it minister to their hopes by giving 
 it a miraculous character, and saying " that as the grey of age 
 was thus metamorjjhosed into the tint of morn^ and hope, so 
 would their fortunes become young, and Mandor again be theirs." 
 Elevated by this prospect, they enlisted Harbuji on their side. 
 He accompanied them to the chieftain of Mewa, " whose stables 
 contained one hundred chosen steeds." Pabuji, a third inde- 
 pendent of the same stamp, with his ' coal-black steed,' was 
 gained to the cause, and Jodha soon found himself strong enough 
 to attempt the recovery of his capital. The sons of Chonda were 
 taken by surprise : but despising the numbers of the foe, and 
 ignorant who were their auxiliaries, they descended sword in 
 hand to meet the assailants. The elder ^ son of Chonda with 
 
 ^ The wood of Solomon's temple is called ahnug ; the prefix al is merely 
 the article [?]. This is the wood also mentioned in the annals of Gujarat, 
 of which the temple to Adinatli was constructed. It is said to be indestruc- 
 tible even by fire. It has been surmised that the fleets of Tyre frequented 
 the Indian coast : could they thence have carried the Almujd for the temple 
 of Solomon ? [Almug, according to the Encyclopcedia Biblica (i. 1196) is 
 either Brazil-wood or red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus). Sir G. Watt, 
 who has kindly examined the question, thinks it very improbable that the 
 mujd of the text is almug wood, because neither the true sandalwood {Scm- 
 tahim album) nor the red sandalwood [Pterocarpus santalinus) is found 
 in Rajputana. He identifies the inujd of the text with Moringa concanensis, 
 a sinaU tree found wild in Sind and the Konkan, which yields a gum of 
 considerable value, and its congener Moriruja pferygospertna {Comm. Prod. 
 784), the horse-radish tree of India, is used as a dye in Jamaica, and probably 
 could be so used in India.] 
 
 * This wood has a brownish-red tint. 
 
 ^ This is related with some variation in other annals of the period.
 
 330 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 many adherents was slain ; and the younger, deserted by the 
 subjects of Mandor, trusted to the swiftness of his horse for 
 escape ; but being pursued, was overtaken and killed on the 
 boundary of Godwar. Thus Jodha, in his turn, was revenged, 
 but the ' feud was not balanced.' Two sons of Chitor had 
 fallen for one chief of Mandor. But wisely reflecting on the 
 original aggression, and the superior power of Mewar, as well as 
 his being indebted for his present success to foreign aid, Jodha 
 sued for peace, and offered as the mundkati, or ' price of blood,' 
 and ' to quench the feud,' that the spot where Manja fell should 
 be the future barrier of the two States. The entire province of 
 Godwar was comprehended in the cession, which for three cen- 
 turies withstood every contention, till the internal dissensions 
 of the last half century, which grew out of the cause by wliich [283] 
 it was obtained, and the change of succession in Mewar severed 
 this most valuable acquisition.^ 
 
 Who would imagine, after such deadly feuds between these 
 rival States, that in the very next succession these hostile frays 
 were not only buried in oblivion, but that the prince of Marwar 
 abjured ' liis turban and his bed ' till he had revenged the 
 assassination of the prince of Chitor, and restored his infant heir 
 to his rights ? The amials of these States afford numerous 
 instances of the same hasty, overbearing temperament governing 
 all ; easily moved to strife, impatient of revenge, and steadfast 
 in its gratification. But this satisfied, resentment subsides. A 
 daughter of the offender given to wife banishes its remembrance, 
 and when the bard joins the lately rival names in the couplet, 
 each will complacently curl his mustachio over his lip as he hears 
 his ' renown expand like the lotus,' and thus ' the feud is 
 extinguished.' Thus have they gone on from time immemorial, 
 and will continue, till what we may fear to contemplate. They 
 have now neither friend nor foe but the British. The Tatar 
 invader sleeps in his tomb, and the INIahratta depredator is 
 muzzled and enchained. To return. 
 
 1 There is little hope, while British power acts as high constable and 
 keeper of the peace in Rajwara, of this being recovered : nor, were it other- 
 wise, would it be desirable to see it become an object of contention between 
 these States. Marwar has attained much grandeur since the time of Jodha, 
 and her resources are more unbroken than those of Mewar, who, if she 
 could redeem, could not, from its exposed position, maintain the province 
 against the brave Bathor.
 
 MOIvAI.: LAL BAI 331 
 
 Mokal, A.D. 1397-1433. — Mokal, who; obtained the throne by 
 Chonda's surrender of his birthright, was not destined long to 
 enjoy the distinction, though he evinced quahties worthy of 
 heading the Sesodias". He ascended the throne in S. 1454 (a.d. 
 1398), at an miportant era in the history of India ; when Timur, 
 who had already established the race of Chagatai in the kingdoms 
 of Central Asia, and laid prostrate the throne of Byzantium, 
 turned his arms towards India. But it was not a field for his 
 ambition; and the event is not even noticed in the annals of 
 Mewar : a proof that it did not affect their repose. But they 
 record an attempted mvasion by the king of Delhi, which is 
 erroneously stated to have been by Firoz Shah. A grandson of 
 this prince had indeed been set up, and compelled to flee from 
 the arms of Timur, and as the direction of his flight was Gujarat, 
 it is not miiikely that the recorded attempt to penetrate by the 
 passes of Mewar may have been his [284]. Be this as it may, 
 the Rana Mokal anticipated and met him beyond the passes 
 of the Aravalli, in the field of Raepur, and compelled him to 
 abandon his enterprise. Pursuing liis success, he took posses- 
 sion of Sanibhar and its salt lakes, and otherwise extended and 
 strengthened liis territory, which the distracted state of the 
 empire consequent to Timur's invasion rendered a matter of 
 little difficulty. Mokal fmished the palace conunenced by 
 Laldia, now a mass of ruins ; and erected the shrine of Chatur- 
 bhuja, ' the four-armed deity,' ^ in the western hills. 
 
 Lai Bai. — Besides tliree sons, Rana Mokal had a daughter, 
 celebrated for her beauty, called Lai Bai, or ' the ruby.' She 
 was betrothed to the Khiclii chieftain of Gagraun, who at the 
 Hathleva - demanded the pledge of succour on foreign invasion . 
 Dhiraj, the son of the Ivliichi, had come to solicit the stipulated 
 aid agamst Hoshang of Malwa, who had invested their capital. 
 The Rana's headquarters were then at Madri, and he was em- 
 ployed in quelling a revolt of the mountaineers, when Dhiraj 
 arrived and obtained the necessary aid. Madri was destined to be 
 the scene of the termination of Mokal's career : he was assassmated 
 by liis uncles, the natural brothers of his father, from an uninten- 
 tional offence, which tradition has handed down in aU its details. 
 
 ^ [The four-armed Vishuu, the favourite deity of the Mertia Rathors 
 {Census Report, Bajpuiana, 1891, ii. 26).] 
 ' The ceremony of joining hands.
 
 332 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Assassination of Rana Mokal. — Chacha and Mera were the 
 natural sons of Khetsi Rana (the predecessor of Lakha) ; their 
 mother a fair handmaid of low descent, generally allowed to be a 
 carpenter's daughter. ' The fifth sons of Mewar ' (as the natural 
 children are figuratively termed) possess no rank, and though 
 treated with kindness, and entrusted with confidential employ- 
 ments, the sons of the chiefs of the second class take precedence 
 of them, and ' sit higher on the carpet.' These brothers had the 
 charge of seven hundred horse in the train of Rana Mokal at 
 Madri. Some chiefs at enmity with them, conceiving that they 
 had overstepped their privileges, wished to see them humiliated. 
 Chance procured them the opportunity : which, however, cost 
 their prince his life. Seated in a grove with his chiefs around 
 him, he inquired the name of a particular tree. The Chauhan 
 chief, feigning ignorance, whispered him to ask either of the 
 brothers ; and not perceiving their scope, he artlessly did so. 
 " Uncle, what tree is this ? " The sarcasm thus prompted they 
 considered as reflecting on their birth (being sons [285] of the 
 carpenter's daughter), and the same day, while Mokal was at 
 his devotions, and in the act of counting his rosary, one blow 
 severed his arm from his body, while another stretched him 
 lifeless. The brothers, quickly mounting their steeds, had the 
 audacity to hope to surprise Chitor, but the gates were closed 
 upon them. 
 
 Rana Kiimbha, a.d. 1433-68. — Though the murder of Mokal 
 is related to have no other cause than tlie sarcasm alluded to, 
 the precautions taken by the young prince Kumbha,^ his suc- 
 cessor, would induce a belief that this was but the opening of a 
 deep-laid conspiracy. The traitors returned to the stronghold 
 near Madri, and Kumbha trusted to the friendship and good 
 feeling of the prince of Marwar in this emergency. His confidence 
 was well repaid. The prince put his son at the head of a force, 
 and the retreat of the assassins being near his own frontier, they 
 were encountered and dislodged. From Madri they fled to Pai, 
 where they strengthened a fortress in the mountains named 
 Ratakot ; a lofty peak of the compound chain whicli encircles 
 IJdaipur, visible from the" surrounding country, as are the remains 
 of this stronghold of the assassins. It would appear that their 
 
 ^ [His mother was a Praraar, Subhagya Devi, daughter of Raja Jaitmall, 
 Sankhla.]
 
 RANA KUMBHA 333 
 
 lives were dissolute, for they had carried off the virgin daughter 
 of a Chauhan, which led to their eventual detection and punish- 
 ment. Her father, Suja, had traced the route of the ravishers, 
 and, mixing Avith the workmen, foimd that the approaches to the 
 place of their concealment were capable of being scaled. He 
 was about to lay his complaint before his prince, when he met the 
 cavalcade of Kumbha and the Rathor. The distressed father, 
 ' covering his face,' disclosed the story of his own and daughter's 
 dishonour. They encamped till night at Delwara, when, led by 
 the Chandana, they issued forth to surprise the authors of so 
 many evils. 
 
 Suja and the Tiger. — Arrived at the base of the rock, where 
 the parapet was yet low, they commenced the escalade, aided 
 by the thick foliage. The path was steep and rugged, and in the 
 darkness of the night each had grasped his neighbour's skirt for 
 security. Animated by a just revenge, the Chauhan (Suja) led 
 the way, when on reaching a ledge of the rock the glaring eyeballs 
 of a tigress flashed upon him. Undismayed, he squeezed the 
 hand of the Rathor prince who followed him, and who on per- 
 ceiving the object of terror instantly buried his poignard in her 
 heart This omen was superb. They soon reached the summit. 
 Some had ascended the parapet ; others were scrambling over, 
 when the minstrel [286] slipping, fell, and his drum, which was to 
 have accompanied his voice in singing the conquest, awoke by 
 its crash the daughter of Chacha. Her father quieted her fears 
 by saying it was only " the thunder and the rains of Bhadon " : 
 to fear God only and go to sleep, for their enemies were safe at 
 Kelwa. At this moment the Rao and his party rushed in. 
 Chacha and Mera had no time to avoid their fate. Chacha was 
 cleft in two by the Chandana, while the Rathor prince laid Mera 
 at his feet, and the spoils of Ratakot were divided among the 
 assailants. 
 
 CHAPTER 8 
 
 Bana Kumbha, a.d. 1433-68. — Kumbha succeeded his father 
 in S. 1475 (a.d. 1419) ; ^ nor did any symptom of dissatisfaction 
 
 ^ [The dates given in the margin are based on recently found inscriptions 
 (Har Bilas Sarda, Maharana Kumbha : Sovereign, Soldier, Scholar, Ajmer, 
 1917, p. 2.]
 
 334 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 appear to usher in his reign, which was one of great success 
 amidst no common difficulties. The bardic historians ^ do as 
 much honour to the Marwar prince, who had made common 
 cause with their sovereign in revenging the death of his father, 
 as if it had involved the security of his crown ; but this was a 
 precautionary measure of the prince, who was induced thus to 
 act from several motives, and, above all, in accordance with 
 usage, which stigmatizes the refusal of aid when demanded : 
 besides ' Kumbha was the nephew of Marwar.' 
 
 It has rarely occurred in any country to have possessed suc- 
 cessively so many energetic princes as ruled Mewar through 
 several centuries. She was now in the middle path of her glory, 
 and enjoying the legitimate triumph of seeing the foes of her 
 religion captives on the rock of her power. A century had 
 elapsed since the bigot Ala had wreaked his vengeance on the 
 different monuments of art. Chitor had recovered the sack, and 
 new defenders had sprung up in the place [287] of those who had 
 fallen in their ' saffron robes,' a sacrifice for her preservation. 
 All that was wanting to augment her resources against the 
 storms which were collecting on the brows of Caucasus and the 
 shores of the Oxus, and were destined to burst on the head of his 
 grandson Sanga, was effected by Kumbha ; who with Hamir's 
 energy, Lakha's taste for the arts, and a genius comprehensive 
 as either and more fortunate, succeeded in all his undertakings, 
 and once more raised the ' crimson banner ' of Mewar upon the 
 banks of the Ghaggar, the scene of Samarsi's defeat. I/Ct us 
 contrast the patriarchal Hindu governments of this period with 
 the despotism of the Tatar invader. 
 
 From the age of Shihabu-d-din, the conqueror of India, and 
 his contemporary Samarsi, to the time we have now reached, 
 two entire dynasties, numbering twenty-four emperors and one 
 empress, through assassination, rebellion, and dethronement, 
 had followed in rapid succession, yielding a result of only nine 
 years to a reign. Of Mewar, though several fell in defending 
 their altars at home or their religion abroad, eleven princes 
 suffice to fill the same period. 
 
 It was towards the close of the Khilji dynasty that the satraps 
 
 ^ The Raj Ratana, by Ranchhor Bhat, says : " The Mandor Rao was 
 pardhan, or premier to Mokal, and conquered Nawa and Didwana for 
 Mewar."
 
 THE DEFEAT OF MAHMHD OF MALWA 335 
 
 of Delhi shook off its authority and estabhshed subordinate 
 kingdoms : Bijapur and Golkonda in the Deccan ; Malwa, 
 Gujarat, Jaunpur in the east ; and even Kalpi had its king. 
 Malwa and Gujarat had attained considerable power when 
 Kumbha ascended the throne. In the midst of his prosperity 
 these two States formed a league against him, and in S. 1496 
 (a.d. 1440) both kings, at the head of powerful armies, invaded 
 Mewar. Kumbha met them on the plains of Malwa bordering 
 on his own State, and at the head of one hundred thousand horse 
 and foot and fourteen hundred elephants, gave them an entire 
 defeat, carrying captive to Chitor Mahmud the Khilji sovereign 
 of Malwa. 
 
 Abu-1 Fazl relates this victory, and dilates on Kumbha's 
 greatness of soul in setting his enemy at libeii;y, not only without 
 ransom but with gifts.^ Such is the character of the Hindu : a 
 mixture of arrogance, political blindness, pride, and generosity. 
 To spare a prostrate foe is the creed of the Hindu cavalier, and 
 he carries all such maxims to excess. The annals, however, state 
 that Mahmud was confined six months in Chitor ; and that the 
 trophies of conquest were retained we have evidence from Babur, 
 who mentions receiving from the son of his opponent, Sanga, the 
 crown of the Malwa king. 
 
 The Tower of Victory. — But there is a more durable [288] 
 monument than this written record of victory : the triumphal 
 pillar in Chitor, whose inscriptions detail the event, " when, 
 shaking the earth, the lords of Gujarkhand and P»Ialwa, with 
 armies overwhelming as the ocean, invaded Medpat." Eleven 
 years after this event Kumbha laid the foundations of this 
 column, which was completed in ten more : a period apparently 
 too short to place " this ringlet on the brow of Chitor, which 
 makes her look down upon Meru with derision." We will leave 
 it, with the aspiration that it may long continue a monument of 
 the fortune of its founders.^ 
 
 It would appear that the Malwa king afterwards united his 
 
 ^ [It is the generosity of Rana Sanga to Muzaffar Shah of which Abn-1 
 Fazl speaks (Ain, ii. 221).] 
 
 ^ [The Musalman historians give a different account. Ferishta says that 
 Mahmud stormed the lower part of Cliitor, and that the Rana fled (iv. 209). 
 At any rate, Mahmiid erected a tower of victory at Mandu (IGI, xvii. 173). 
 The result was probably indecisive. For Kumbha's pillar see Fergusson, 
 Hist. Indian Architecture, ii. 59 ; Smith, HFA. 202 f.]
 
 336 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 arms with Kumbha, as, in a victory gained over the imperial 
 forces at Jhunjhumi, when ' he planted his standard in Hissar,' 
 the Malwa troops were combined with those of Mewar. The 
 imperial power had at this period greatly declined : the KJiutba 
 was read in the mosques in the name of Timur, and the Malwa 
 king had defeated, single-handed, the last Ghorian sultan of 
 Delhi. 
 
 The Fortresses of Mewar. — Of eighty-four fortresses for the 
 defence of Mewar, thirty-tv.^o were erected by Kumbha. Inferior 
 only to Chitor is that stupendous work called after him Kum- 
 bhalmer,^ ' the hill of Kumbha,' from its natural position, and 
 the works he raised, impregnable to a native army. These works 
 were on the site of a more ancient fortress, of which the moun- 
 taineers long held possession. Tradition ascribes it to Samprati 
 Raja, a Jain prince in the second century, and a descendant of 
 Chandragupta ; ^ and the ancient Jain temples appear to confirm 
 the tradition. When Kumbha captured Nagor he brought away 
 the gates, with the statue of the god Hanuman, who gives his 
 name to the gate which he still guards. He also erected a citadel 
 on a peak of Abu, within the fortress of the ancient Pramara, 
 where he often resided. Its magazine and alarm-tower still 
 bear Kumbha's name ; and in a rude temple the bronze effigies 
 of Kumbha and his father still receive divine honours.* Centuries 
 have passed since the princes of Mewar had influence here, but 
 the incident marks the vivid remembrance of their condition. 
 He fortified the passes between the western frontier and Abu, 
 and erected the fort Vasanti near the present Sirohi, and that of 
 Machin, to defend the Shero Nala and Deogarh against the Mers 
 of Aravalli. He re-established Ahor and other smaller [289] 
 forts to overawe the Bhumia * Bhil of Jharol and Panarwa, and 
 defined the boundaries of Marwar and Mewar. 
 
 Temples. — Besides these monuments of his genius, two conse- 
 crated to religion have survived : that of Kumbha Sham, on 
 Abu, which, though worthy to attract notice elsewhere, is here 
 eclipsed by a crowd of more interesting objects ; the other, one 
 
 ^ Pronounced Kumalmer. 
 2 [Grandson_of Asoka (Smith, EHI, 192 f.).] 
 
 ^ [For the Abu temples see Tod, Western India, 75 £f. ; Erskine iii. A. 
 295.] 
 
 * A powerful phrase, indicating ' possessor of the soil.'
 
 TEMPLES: MiRA BAl 337 
 
 of the largest edifices existing, cost upwards of a million sterling, 
 towards which Kumbha contributed eighty thousand pounds. 
 It is erected in the Sadri pass leading from the western descent 
 of the highlands of Mewar, and is dedicated to Rishabhadeva.^ 
 Its secluded position has preserved it from bigoted fury, and its 
 only visitants now are the wild beasts who take shelter in its 
 sanctuary. Kumbha Rana was also a poet : but in a far more 
 elevated strain than the troubadour princes, his neighbours, who 
 contented themselves with rehearsing their own prowess or 
 celebrating their lady's beauty. He composed a tika, or appendix 
 to the ' Divine Melodies,' ^ in praise of Krishna. We can pass 
 no judgment on these inspirations of the royal bard, as we are 
 ignorant whether any are preserved in the records of the house : 
 a point his descendant, who is deeply skilled in such lore, might 
 probably answer. 
 
 Mira Bai. — Kumbha married a daughter of the Rathor of 
 Merta, the first of the clans of Marwar. Mira Bai * was the most 
 celebrated princess of her time for beauty and romantic piety. 
 Her compositions were numerous, though better known to the 
 worshippers of the Hindu Apollo than to the ribald bards. Some 
 of her odes and hymns to the deity are preserved and admired. 
 Whether she imbibed her poetic piety from her husband, or 
 
 ^ The Rana's minister, of the Jain faith, and of the tribe Porwar (one of 
 the twelve and a half divisions), laid the foundation of this temple in a.d. 
 1438. It was completed by subscription. It consists of three stories, and 
 is supported by numerous columns of granite, upwards of forty feet in height. 
 The interior is inlaid with mosaics of cornelian and agate. The statues of 
 the Jain saints are in its subterranean vaults. We could not expect much 
 elegance at a period when the arts had long been declining, but it would 
 doubtless afford a fair specimen of them, and enable us to trace their gradual 
 descent in the scale of refinement. This temple is an additional proof of 
 the early existence of the art of inlaying. That I did not see it is now to me 
 one of the many vain regrets which I might have avoided. 
 
 ^ Gita Govinda. 
 
 ^ [She was daughter of Ratiya Rana, and was married to Kiimbha in 1413. 
 Her great work is the Rag Gobind (Grierson, Modern Literature of Hindustan, 
 12 ; Macauhffe, The Sikh Religion, vi. 342 ff. ; I A, xxv. 19, xxxii. 329 £f. ; 
 ASR, xxiii. 106). As an illustration of the uncertainty of early Mewar 
 history, according to Har Bilas Sarda, author of the monograph on Rana 
 Kumbha, Mira Bai was not wife of Kiimbha, but of Bhojraj, son of Rana 
 Sanga. She was daughter of Ratan Singh of Merta, fourth son of Rao 
 Duda (a.d. 1461-62). She was married to Bhojraj a.d. 1516, and died in 
 1546.] 
 
 VOL. I 7.
 
 338 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 whether from her lie caught the sympathy which produced the 
 ' sequel to the songs of Govinda,' we caruiot determine. Her 
 history is a romance, and her excess of devotion at every shrine 
 of the favourite deity with the fair of Hind, from the Yamuna to 
 ' the world's end,' ^ gave rise to many [290] tales of scandal. 
 Kumbha mixed gallantry with his warlike pursuits. He carried 
 off the daughter of the chief of Jhalawar, who had been betrothed 
 to the prince of Mandor : this renewed the old feud, and the 
 Rathor made many attempts to redeem his affianced bride. His 
 humiliation was insupportable, when through the purified atmo- 
 sphere of the periodical rains " the towers of Kumbhalmer became 
 visible from the castle of Mandor, and the light radiated from the 
 chamber of the fair through the gloom of a night in Bhadon,^ to 
 the hall where he brooded o'er his sorrows." It was surmised 
 that this night-lamp was an understood signal of the Jhalani, 
 who pined at the decree which ambition had dictated to her 
 father, in consigning her to the more powerful rival of her affianced 
 lord. The Rathor exhausted every resource to gain access to the 
 fair, and had once nearly succeeded in a surprise by escalade, 
 having cut his way in the night through the forest in the western 
 and least guarded acclivity : but, as the bard equivocally remarks, 
 " though he cut his way through the jhal (brushwood), he could 
 not reach the Jhalani." 
 
 The Assassination of Bana Kiimbha, a.d. 1468. — Kumbha had 
 occupied the throne half a century ; he had triumphed over the 
 enemies of his race, fortified his country with strongholds, em- 
 bellished it with temples, and with the superstructure of her fame 
 had laid the foundation of his own — when, the year which should 
 have been a jubilee was disgraced by the foulest blot in the annals ; 
 and his life, which nature was about to close, terminated by the 
 poignard of an assassin — that assassin, his son ! 
 
 RanaUda, a.d. 1468-73.— This happened in S. 1525 (a.d. 1469). 
 Uda was the name of the parricide, whose unnatural ambition, 
 and impatience to enjoy a short lustre of sovereignty, bereft of 
 life the author of his existence. But such is the detestation 
 which marks this unusual crime that, like that of the Venetian 
 traitor, his name is left a blank in the annals, nor is Uda known 
 but by the epithet Hatyara, ' the murderer.' Shunned by his 
 kin, and compelled to look abroad for succour to maintain him 
 ^ Jagat Khunt, or Dwarka. ^ The darkest of the rainy months.
 
 RANA UDA : BANISHMENT OF THE CHARANS 339 
 
 on the throne polkited by his crime, Mewar in five years of 
 illegitimate rule lost half the consequence which had cost so many 
 to acquire. He made the Deora prince independent in Abu, and 
 bestowed Sambhar, Ajmer, and adjacent districts on the prince 
 of Jodhpur ^ as the price of his friendship. But, a prey to re- 
 morse, he felt that he [291] could neither claim regard from, nor 
 place any dependence upon, these princes, though he bribed them 
 Avith provinces. He humbled himself before the king of Delhi, 
 offering him a daughter in marriage to obtain his sanction to his 
 authority ; " but heaven manifested its vengeance to prevent 
 this additional iniquity, and preserve the house of Bappa Rawal 
 from dishonour." He had scarcely quitted the divan {diwan- 
 khana), on taking leave of the king, when a flash of lightning 
 struck the Hatyara to the earth, whence he never arose .^ The 
 bards pass over this period cursorily, as one of their race was the 
 instrument of Uda's crime. 
 
 Banishment of the Charans. — There has always been a jealousy 
 between the Mangtas, as they term all classes ' who extend the,' 
 palm,' whether Brahmans, Yatis, Charans, or Bhats ; but since! 
 Hamir, the Charan influence had far eclipsed the rest. A Brahman 
 astrologer predicted Kumbha's death through a Charan, and as 
 the class had given other cause of offence, Kumbha banished 
 the fraternity his dominions, resuming all their lands : a strong 
 measure in those days, and which few would have had nerve to 
 attempt or firmness to execute. The heir-apparent, Raemall, 
 who was exiled to Idar for what his father deemed an impertinent 
 curiosity,^ had attached one of these bards to his suite, whose 
 ingenuity got the edict set aside, and his race restored to their 
 lands and the prince's favour. Had they taken off the Brahman's 
 head, they might have falsified the prediction which unhappily 
 was too soon fulfilled.* 
 
 ^ Jodha laid the foundation of his new capital in S. 1515 [a.d. 1459], ten 
 years anterior to the event we are recording. 
 
 2 [See p. 268 above.] 
 
 ^ He had observed that his father, ever since the victory over the king at 
 •Jhunjhunu, before he took a seat, thrice waved his sword in circles over his 
 head, pronouncing at the same time some incantation. Inquiry into the 
 meaning of this was the cause of his banishment. 
 
 * During the rains of 1820, when the author was residing at Udaipur, the 
 Rana fell ill.; his complaint was an intermittent (which for several years 
 returned with the monsoon), at the same time that he was jaundiced with
 
 340 ANNAI-S OF MEWAR 
 
 Rana Raemall, a.d. 1473-1508. — Raemall succeeded in S. 1530 
 (a.d. 1474) by his own valour to the seat of Kumbha. He had 
 fought and defeated the usurper, who on this occasion fied to the 
 king of Delhi and offered him a daughter of Mewar. After his 
 death in the manner described, the Delhi monarch, with Sahasmall 
 [292] and Surajmall, sons of the parricide, invaded Mewar, encamp- 
 ing at Siarh, now Nathdwara. The chiefs were faithful to their 
 legitimate prince, Raemall, and aided by his allies of Abu and 
 Girnar, at the head of fifty-eight thousand horse and eleven 
 thousand foot, he gave battle to the pretender and his imperial 
 ally at Ghasa. The conflict was ferocious. ' The streams ran 
 blood,' for the sons of the usurper were brave as lions ; but the 
 king was so completely routed that he never again entered Mewar. 
 
 Raemall bestowed one daughter on Surji (Yadu), the chief of 
 Girnar ; and another on the Deora, Jaimall of Sirohi, confirming 
 his title to Abu as her dower. He sustained the warlike reputa- 
 tion of his predecessors, and carried on interminable strife with 
 Ghiyasu-d-din of Malwa, whom he defeated in several pitched 
 battles, to the success of which the valour of his nephews, whom 
 he had pardoned, mainly contributed. In the last of these 
 encounters the Khilji king sued for peace, renouncing the pre- 
 tensions he had formerly urged."^ The dynasty of Lodi next 
 enjoyed the imperial bauble, and with it Mewar had to contest 
 her northern boundary. 
 
 The Sons of Rana Raemall. — Raemall had three sons, celebrated 
 
 bile. An intriguing Brahman, who managed the estates of the Rana's 
 eldest sister, held also the twofold office of physician and astrologer to the 
 Rana. He had predicted that year as one of evil in his horoscope, and was 
 about to verify the prophecy, since, instead of the active medicines requisite, 
 he was admijiistering the Haft dhat, or ' seven metals,' compounded. Having 
 a most sincere regard for the Rana's welfare, the author seized the opportunity 
 of a full court being assembled on the distribution of swords and coco-nuts 
 preparatory to the military festival, to ask a personal favour. The Rana, 
 smiUng, said that it was granted, when he was entreated to leave off the 
 poison he was taking. He did so ; the amendment was soon visible, and, 
 aided by the medicines of Dr. Duncan, which he readily took, his complaint 
 was speedily cured. The ' man of fate and physic ' lost half his estates, 
 which he had obtained through intrigue. He was succeeded by Amra the 
 bard, who is not hkely to ransack the pharmacopoeia for such poisonous 
 ingredients ; his ordinary prescription being the ' amrit.' 
 
 ^ [Ferishta does not mention these campaigns (iv. 236 ff.), and Ghiyasu-d- 
 dln (a.d. 1469-99) is said to have spent his life in luxury and never to have 
 left his palace {BG, i. Part i. 362 ff.).]
 
 THE SONS OP RANA RAEMALL 341 
 
 in the annals of Rajasthan : Sanga, the competitor of Babiir, 
 Prithiraj, the Rolando of his age, and Jaimall, Unhappily for 
 the country and their father's repose, fraternal affection was 
 discarded for deadly hate, and their feuds and dissensions were a 
 source of constant alarm. Had discord not disunited them, the 
 reign of Raemall would have equalled any of his predecessors. 
 As it was, it presented a striking contrast to them : his two elder 
 sons banished ; the first, Sanga, self-exiled from perpetual fear 
 of his life, and Prithiraj, the second, from his turbulence ; while 
 the youngest, Jaimall, was slain through his intemperance. A 
 sketch of these feuds will present a good picture of the Rajput 
 character, and their mode of life when their arms were not required 
 against their country's foes. 
 
 Sanga ^ and Prithiraj were the offspring of the .Jhali queen ; 
 Jaimall was by another mother. What moral influence the name 
 he bore had on Prithiraj we can surmise only from his actions, 
 which would stand comparison with those of his prototype [293] 
 the Chauhan of Delhi, and are yet the delight of the Sesodia. 
 When they assemble at the feast after a day's sport, or in a sultry 
 evening spread the carpet on the terrace to inhale the leaf or take 
 a cup of kusumbha,^ a tale of Prithiraj recited by the bard is the 
 highest treat they can enjoy. Sanga, the heir-apparent, was a 
 contrast to his brother. Equally brave, his courage was tempered 
 by reflection ; while Prithiraj burned with a perpetual thirst for 
 action, and often observed " that fate must have intended him 
 to rule Mewar." The three brothers, with their uncle, Surajmall, 
 were one day discussing these topics, when Sanga observed that, 
 though heir to ' the ten thousand towns ' of Mewar, he would 
 waive his claims, and trust them, as did the Roman brothers, to 
 the omen which should be given by the priestess of Charani Devi 
 at Nahra Magra,^ the ' Tiger's Mount.' They repaired to her 
 abode. Prithiraj and Jaimall entered first, and seated themselves 
 on a pallet : Sanga followed and took possession of the panther 
 hide of the prophetess ; his uncle, Surajmall, with one knee 
 resting thereon. Scarcely had Prithiraj disclosed their errand, 
 when the sibyl pointed to the panther-hide * as the decisive omen 
 
 ^ His name classically is Sangram Singh, ' the Hon of war.' 
 ^ [Infusion of opium.] 
 
 * About ten miles east of Udaipur. 
 
 * Singhasan is the ancient term for the Hindu throne, signifying ' the
 
 342 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of sovereignty to Sanga, with a portion to his uncle. They re- 
 ceived the decree as did the twins of Rome. Prithiraj drew his 
 sword and would have falsified the omen, had not Surajmall 
 stepped in and received the blow destined for Sanga, while the 
 prophetess fled from their fury. Surajmall and Prithiraj were 
 exliausted with wounds, and Sanga fled with five sword-cuts and 
 an arrow in Ms eye, which destroyed the sight for ever. He made 
 for the sanctuary of Chaturbhuja, and passing Sivanti, took 
 refuge with Bida (Udawat), who was accoutred for a journey, his 
 steed standing by him. Scarcely had he assisted the wounded heir 
 of Mewar to alight when JaimaU gaUoped up in pursuit. The 
 Rathor guarded the sanctuary, and gave up his life in defence of 
 his guest, who meanwhile escaped. 
 
 Retirement of Sanga. — Prithiraj recovered from his wounds ; 
 and Sanga, aware of his implacable enmity, had recourse to many 
 expedients to avoid discovery. He, who at a future period leagued 
 a hundred thousand men against the descendant of Timur, was 
 compelled to associate with goat-herds, expelled the peasant's 
 abode as too stupid [294] to tend his cattle, and, precisely like our 
 Alfred the Great, having in charge some cakes of flour, was re- 
 proached with being more desirous of eating than tending them. 
 A few faithful Rajputs found him in this state, and, providing him 
 with arms and a horse, they took service with Rao Karamchand, 
 Pramar, chief of Srinagar,"^ and with him ' ran the country.' 
 After one of these raids, Sanga one day alighted under a banian 
 tree, and placing his dagger under his head, reposed, while two 
 of his faithful Rajputs, whose names are preserved," prepared his 
 rcfjast, their steeds grazing by them. A ray of the sun penetrating 
 the foliage, fell on Sanga's face, and discovered a snake, which, 
 feeling the warmth, had uncoiled itself and was rearing its crest 
 over the head of the exile : * a bird of omen * had perched itself 
 
 lion-seat.' Charans, bards, who are all Maharajas, ' great princes,' by 
 courtesy, have their seats of the hide of the lion, tiger, panther, or black 
 antelope. 
 
 ^ IS early ten miles south-east of Ajmer. 
 
 ^ Jai Singh Baleo and Jaimu Sindhal. 
 
 * [A common folk-tale, told of Malhar Rao Holkar and many other 
 princes (Crooke, Popular Religion Northern India, ii. 142 ; Malcolm, Memoir 
 of Central India, 2nd ed. i. 143 f. ; E. S. Hartland, Ritual and Belief, 323 f.).] 
 
 * Called the devi, about the size of the wagtail, and like it, black and 
 white.
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF PRITHIRAJ 343 
 
 on the crested serpent, and was chattering aloud. A goat-herd 
 named Maru, ' versed in the language of birds,' passed at the 
 moment Sanga awoke. The prince repelled the proffered homage 
 of the goat-herd, who, however, had intimated to the Pramara 
 chief that he was served by ' royalty.' ^ The Pramara kept the 
 secret, and gave Sanga a daughter to wife, and protection till the 
 tragical end of his brother called him to the throne. 
 
 ' The Adventures of Prithiraj. — When the Rana heard of the 
 quarrel which had nearly deprived him of his heir, he banished 
 Prithiraj, telling him that he might live on his bravery and main- 
 tain himself with strife. With but five horse ^ Prithiraj quitted 
 the paternal abode, and made for Bali in Godwar. These dis- 
 sensions following the disastrous conclusion of the last reign, 
 paralysed the country, and the wild tribes of the west and the 
 mountaineers of the Aravalli so little respected the garrison of 
 Nadol (the chief to^vn of Godwar), that they carried their depreda- 
 tions to the plains. Prithiraj halted at Nadol, and having to 
 procure some necessaries pledged a ring to the merchant who had 
 sold it to him ; the merchant recognized the prince, and learning 
 the cause of his disguise, proffered his services in the scheme 
 which the prince had in view for the restoration of order in God- 
 war, being determined to evince to his father that he had resources 
 independent of birth. The Minas were the aboriginal proprietors 
 of all these regions ; the Rajputs were interlopers and conquerors. 
 A Rawat of this tribe had regained their ancient haunts, and held 
 his petty court at the [295] town of Narlai in the plains, and was 
 even served by Rajputs. By the advice of Ojha, the merchant, 
 Prithiraj enlisted himself and his band among the adherents of 
 the Mina. On the Aheria, or ' hunter's festival,' the vassals have 
 leave to rejoin their famUies. Prithiraj, who had also obtained 
 leave, rapidly retraced his steps, and despatching his Rajputs 
 to dislodge the Mina, awaited the result in ambush at the gate of 
 the town. In a short time the Mina appeared on horseback, and 
 in full flight to the mountains for security. Prithiraj pm-sued, 
 overtook, and transfixed him with his lance to a kesula tree, and 
 setting fire to the village, he slew the Minas as they sought to 
 escape the flames. Other towns shared the same fate, and all the 
 
 ^ Chhatrdhari. 
 
 * The names of his followers were, Jasa Sindhal, Sangam (Dahhi), Abha, 
 Jaiia, and a Badel Rathor.
 
 344 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 province of Godwar, with the exception of Desuri, a stronghold 
 of the Madrecha Chauhans, fell into his power. At this time 
 Sada Solanki, whose ancestor had escaped the destruction of 
 Patan and found refuge in these mountainous tracts, held Sodh- 
 garh. He had espoused a daughter of the Madrecha, but the grant 
 of Desuri and its lands ^ in perpetuity easUy gained him to the 
 cause of Prithiraj . 
 
 Prithiraj having thus restored order in Godwar, and appointed 
 Ojha and the Solanki to the government thereof, regained the 
 confidence of his father ; and his brother Jaimall being slain at 
 this time, accelerated his forgiveness and recall. Ere he rejoins 
 Raemall we will relate the manner of this event. Jaimall was 
 desirous to obtain the hand of Tara Bai, daughter of Rao Surthan,^ 
 who had been expelled Toda by the Pathans. The price of her 
 hand was the recovery of this domain : but Jaimall, willing to 
 anticipate the reward, and rudely attempting access to the fair, 
 was slain by the indignant father. The quibbling remark of the 
 bard upon this event is that " Tara was not the star (tara) of his 
 destiny." At the period of this occurrence Sanga was in conceal- 
 ment, Prithiraj banished, and Jaimall consequently looked to 
 as the heir of Mewar. The Rana, when incited to revenge, replied 
 with a magnanimity which deserves to be recorded, " that he who 
 had thus dared to insult the honour of a [296] father, and that 
 father in distress, richly merited his fate " ; and in proof of his 
 disavowal of such a son he conferred on the Solanki the district 
 of Radnor. 
 
 Prithiraj recalled. — This event led to the recall of Prithiraj, 
 who eagerly took up the gage disgraced by his brother. The 
 adventure was akin to his taste. The exploit which won the 
 hand of the fair Amazon, who, equipped with bow and quiver, 
 subsequently accompanied him in many perilous enterprises, 
 wiU be elsewhere related. 
 
 ^ The grant in the preamble denounces a curse on any of Prithiraj's 
 descendants who should resume it. I have often conversed with this 
 descendant, who held Sodhgarh and its lands, which were never resumed by 
 the princes of Chitor, though they reverted to Marwar. The chief still 
 honours the Rana, and many lives have been sacrificed to maintain his 
 claims, and with any prospect of success he would not hesitate to offer 
 his own. 
 
 ^ This is a genuine Hindu name, ' the Hero's refuge,' from sur, ' a warrior,' 
 and thari, ' an abode.'
 
 INTERVIEW BET\M5EN PRITHIRAJ & StJRAJMALL 345 
 
 Surajmall (the uncle), who had fomented these quarrels, re- 
 solved not to belie the prophetess if a crown lay in his path. The 
 claims acquired from his parricidal parent were revived when 
 Mewar had no sons to look to, Prithiraj on his return renewed 
 the feud with Surajmall, whose ' vaulting ambition ' persuaded 
 him that the crown was his destiny, and he plunged deep into 
 treason to obtain it. He joined as partner in his schemes Sarang- 
 deo, another descendant of Lakha Rana, and both repaired to 
 Muzaffar, the sultan of Malwa.^ With his aid they assailed the 
 southern frontier, and rapidly possessed themselves of Sadri, 
 Bataro, and a wide tract extending from Nai to Nimach, attempt- 
 ing even Chi tor. With the few troops at hand Raemall descended 
 to punisii the rebels, who met the attack on the river Gambhir.^ 
 The Rana, fighting like a common soldier, had received two-and- 
 twenty wounds, and was nearly falling through faintness, when 
 Prithiraj joined him with one thousand fresh horse, and reanimated 
 the battle. He selected his uncle Surajmall, whom he soon 
 covered with wounds. Many had fallen on both sides, but neither 
 party would yield ; when worn out they mutually retired from 
 the field, and bivouacked in sight of each other. 
 
 Interview between Prithiraj and Surajmall. — It will show the 
 manners and feelings so peculiar to the Rajput, to describe the 
 meeting between the rival uncle and nephew, — unique in the 
 details of strife, perhaps, since the origin of man. It is taken 
 from a MS. of the Jhala chief who succeeded Surajmall in Sadri. 
 Prithiraj visited his uncle, whom he found in a small tent reclining 
 on a pallet, having just had ' the barber ' (nai) to sew up his 
 wounds. He rose, and met his nephew with the customary 
 respect, as if nothing unusual had occurred ; but the exertion 
 caused some of the wounds to open afresh, when the following 
 dialogue ensued : 
 
 Prithiraj. — " Well, tmcle, how are your wounds ? " 
 
 Surajmall. — " Quite healed, my child, since I have the pleasure 
 of seeing you " [297]. 
 
 Prithiraj. — " But, uncle (kaka), I have not yet seen the 
 Diwanji.^ I first ran to see you, and I am very hungry ; have 
 you anything to eat ? " 
 
 ^ [There is an error here : there was no contemporary Sultan of Malwa 
 of this name.] ^ Near Chitor. 
 
 * ' Regent ' ; the title the Rana is most famiharly known by.
 
 346 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Dinner was soon served, and the extraordinary pair sat down 
 and ' ate off the same platter ' ; ^ nor did Prithiraj hesitate to 
 eat the pan,"^ presented on his taking leave. 
 
 Prithiraj. — " You and I will end our battle in the morning, 
 uncle," 
 
 Surajmall. — " Very well, child ; come early ! " 
 
 They met ; but Sarangdeo bore the brunt of the conflict, re- 
 ceiving thirty -five wounds. During "four gharis ' swords and 
 lances were plied, and every tribe of Rajput lost numbers that 
 day " ; but the rebels were defeated and fled to Sadri, and 
 Prithiraj returned in triumph, though with seven woimds, to 
 Chitor. The rebels, however, did not relinquish their designs, 
 and many personal encounters took place between the uncle and 
 nephew : the latter saying he would not let him retain " as much 
 land of Mewar as would cover a needle's point " ; and Suja * 
 retorting, that he would allow his nephew to redeem only as 
 much " as would suffice to lie upon." But Prithiraj gave them 
 no rest, piu-suing them from place to place. In the wilds of 
 Batara they formed a stockaded retreat of the dhao tree,^ which 
 abounds in these forests. Within tliis shelter, horses and men 
 were intermingled : Suja and his coadjutor communing by the 
 night-fire in their desperate plight, when their cogitations were 
 checked by the rush and neigh of horses. Scarcely had the 
 pretender exclaimed " This must be my nephew ! " when Prithiraj 
 dashed his steed through the barricade and entered with his troops. 
 All was confusion, and the sword showered its blows indiscrimin- 
 ately. The young prince reached his uncle, and dealt him a blow 
 which would have levelled him, but for the support of Sarangdeo, 
 who upbraided him, adding that " a buffet now was more than a 
 score of wovmds in former days " : to which Suja rejoined, " only 
 when dealt by my nephew's hand." Suja demanded a parley ; 
 and calling on the prince to stop the combat, he continued : " If 
 I am killed, it matters not — my children are Rajputs, they will 
 run the [298] country to find support ; but if you are slain, what 
 
 ^ TJiali, ' a brass platter.' This is the highest mark of confidence and 
 friendship. 
 
 * This compound of the betel or areca-nut, cloves, mace, Terra japonica, 
 and prepared lime, is always taken after meals, and has not unfrequently 
 been a medium for administering poison. 
 
 3 Hours of twenty-two minutes each. 
 
 * Famihar contraction of Surajmall. * [A7iogeissus laiifolia.]
 
 THE ADVENTURES C? PRITHIRAJ 347 
 
 will become of Chitor ? My face wiU be blackened, and my name 
 everlastingly reprobated." 
 
 The sword was sheathed, and as the imcle and nephew em- 
 braced, the latter asked the former, " What were you about, 
 uncle, when I came ? " — " Only talking nonsense, chUd, after 
 dinner." " But with me over your head, imcle, as a foe how 
 could you be so neghgent ? " — " What could I do ? you had 
 left me no resource, and I must have some place to rest my 
 head ! " There was a smaU temple near the stockade^ to which 
 in the morning Pritliiraj requested his uncle to accompany him 
 to sacrifice to Kali,^ but the blow of the preceding night prevented 
 liim. Sarangdeo was his proxy. One buffalo had fallen, and a 
 goat was about to foUow, when the prince turned his sword on 
 Sarangdeo. The combat was desperate ; but Prithiraj was the 
 victor, and the head of the traitor was placed as an offering on 
 the altar of Time. The Gaunda ^ was plundered, the town of 
 Batara recovered, and Surajmall fled to Sadri, where he only 
 stopped to fulfil liis threat, " that if he could not retain its lands 
 he would make them over to those stronger than the king " ; * 
 and having distributed them amongst Brahmans and bards, he 
 finally abandoned Mewar. Passing through the wUds of Kan- 
 thal,* he had an omen which recalled the Charani's prediction : 
 "a wolf endeavouring in vain to carry off a kid defended by 
 maternal affection." This was interpreted as ' strong groimd for 
 a dwelling.' He halted, subdued the aboriginal tribes, and on 
 this spot erected the town and stronghold of Deolia, becoming 
 lord of a thousand villages, which have descended to his offspring, 
 who now enjoy them under British protection. Such was the 
 origin of Partabgarh DeoUa.* 
 
 ^ The Hindu Proserpine, or CaUigenia. Is this Grecian handmaid of 
 Hecate also Hindu, ' born of time ' {Kali-janama) ? [Ka\\:7e;'tia, ' bearer of 
 fair offspring,' has, of course, no connexion with KaU.] 
 
 ^ Gaunda, or Gaimra, is the name of such temporary places of refuge ; 
 the origin of towns bearing this name. 
 
 * Such grants are irresumable, under the penalty of sixty thousand 
 years in hell. This fine district is eaten up by these mendicant Brahmans. 
 One town alone, containing 52,000 bighas (about 15,000 acres) of rich land, 
 is thus lost } and by such follies Mewar has gradually sunk to her present 
 extreme poverty. 
 
 * [Kauthal, in Partabgarh State, is the boundary [Kantha) between 
 Mewar on the north, Bagar on the west, and Malwa on the east and south.] 
 
 ^ [The statement in the text that Surajmall, son of Uda, retired to
 
 348 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Prithiraj poisoned : Death of Rana Raemall. — Prithiraj was 
 poisoned by his brother-in-law, of Abu, whom he had punished 
 for maltreating his sister, and afterwards confided in. His death 
 was soon followed by that of Rana Raemall, who, though not 
 equal to his predecessors, was greatly respected, and maintained 
 the dignity of his station amidst no ordinary calamities [299].^ 
 
 CHAPTER 9 
 
 Rana Sanga or Sangram Singh ; a.d. 1508-27. — ^Sangram, 
 better known in the annals of Mewar as Sanga (called Sanka by the 
 Mogul historians),^ succeeded in S. 1565 (a.d. 1509). With this 
 prince Mewar reached the summit of her prosperity. To use 
 their own metaphor, "he was the kalas^ on the pinnacle of her 
 glory." From him we shall witness this glory on the wane ; and 
 though many rays of splendour illuminated her declining career, 
 they served but to gild the ruin. 
 
 The imperial chair, since occupied by the Tuar descendant of 
 the Pandus, and the first and last of the Chauhans, and which had 
 been filled successively by the dynasties of Ghazni and Ghor, the 
 Khilji and Lodi, was now shivered to pieces, and numerous petty 
 thrones were constructed of its fragments. Mewar little dreaded 
 these imperial puppets, "when Amurath to Amurath succeeded," 
 and when four kings reigned simultaneously between Delhi and 
 Benares.* The kings of Malwa, though leagued with those of 
 Gujarat, conjoined to the rebels, could make no impression on 
 Mewar when Sanga led her heroes. Eighty thousand horse, seven 
 Rajas of the highest rank, nine Raos, and one hundred and four 
 chieftains bearing the titles of Rawal and Rawat, with five 
 hundred war elephants, followed him into the field. The princes 
 of Marwar and Amber * did him homage, and the Raos of Gwalior 
 
 Deolia is incorrect. SQrajmall was first-cousin, not son of Uda, and it 
 was his great-grandson, BiJia, who conquered the Kanthal and founded 
 the town of Deolia at least fifty years later (Erskiue ii. A. 197).] 
 
 1 The walls of his palace are still pointed out. 
 
 - [Ain, ii. 270.] 
 
 * Tlie ball or urn which crowns the pinnacle [sikhar). 
 
 * Delhi, Bayana, Kalpi, and Jaunpur. 
 
 ^ Prithiraj was yet but Rao of Amber, a name now lost in Jaipur. The
 
 ADMINISTRATION AND WARS OF RANA SANGA 349 
 
 Ajmer, Sikri, Raesen/ Kalpi, Chanderi [300], Bundi, Gagraim, 
 Rampura, and Abu, served him as tributaries or held of him in 
 chief. 
 
 Sanga did not forget those who sheltered him in his reverses. 
 Karamchand of Srinagar had a gTant of Ajmer and the title of 
 Rao for his son Jagmall, the reward of his services in the reduction 
 of Chanderi. 
 
 The Administration and Wars oS Rana Sanga.— In a short space 
 of time, Sanga entirely allayed the disorders occasioned by the 
 intestine feuds of his family ; and were it permitted to speculate 
 on the cause which prompted a temporary cession of his rights 
 and liis dignities to his more impetuous brother, it might be 
 discerned in a spirit of forecast, and of fraternal and patriotic 
 forbearance, a deviation from which would have endangered the 
 country as well as the safety of his family. We may assume this, 
 in order to account for an otherwise pusillanimous surrender of 
 his birthright, and being in contrast to all the subsequent heroism 
 of his life, which, when he resigned, was contained within the 
 wreck of a form. Sanga organized his forces, with which he 
 always kept the field, and ere called to contend with the de- 
 scendant of Timur, he had gained eighteen pitched battles against 
 the kings of Delhi and Malwa. In two of these he was opposed 
 by Ibrahim Lodi in person, at Bakrol and Ghatoli, in which last 
 battle the imperial forces were defeated with great slaughter, 
 leaving a prisoner of the blood royal to grace the triumph of 
 Chitor. The Pilakhal (yellow rivulet) near Bayana became the 
 northern boundary of Mewar, with the Sind River to the east, — 
 touching Malwa to the south, while his native hills were an 
 impenetrable barrier to the west. Thus swaying, directly or by 
 control, the greater part of Rajasthan, and adored by the Rajputs 
 for the possession of those qualities they hold in estimation, 
 Sanga was ascending to the pinnacle of distinction ; and had 
 not fresh hordes of Usbeks and Tatars from the prolific shores of 
 the Oxus and Jaxartes again poured down on the devoted plains 
 
 twelve sons of this prince formed the existing subdivisions or clans of the 
 Kachhwahas, whose pohtical consequence dates from Humayun, the son 
 and successor of Babur. 
 
 ^ [Sikri, afterwards Fatehpur Sikri, the site of Akbar's palace ; Raesen 
 in Bhopal State (/(?/, xxi. 62 f.).]
 
 350 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of Hindustan, the crown of the Chakravartin ^ might again have 
 encircled the brow of a Hindu, and the banner of supremacy 
 been transferred from Indraprastha to the battlements of Chitor. 
 But Babur arrived at a critical time to rally the dejected followers 
 of the Koran, and to collect them around his own victorious 
 standard. 
 
 Invasions from Central Asia. — From the earliest recorded 
 periods of her history, India has been the prey of [301] the more 
 hardy population from the central regions of Asia, From this 
 fact we may infer another, namely, that its internal form of 
 government was the same as at the present day, partitioned into 
 numerous petty kingdoms, of tribes and clans, of a feudal federa- 
 tion, a prey to all the jealousies inseparable from such a condition. 
 The historians of Alexander bear ample testimony to such form 
 of government, when the Panjab alone possessed many sovereigns, 
 besides the democracies of cities. The Persians overran it, and 
 Darius the Mede accounted India the richest of his satrapies. 
 The Greeks, the Parthians have left in their medals the best 
 proofs of their power ; the Getae or Yuti followed ; and from the 
 Ghori Shihabu-d-din to the Chagatai Babur, in less than three 
 centuries, five invasions are recorded, each originating a dynasty. 
 Sanga's opponent was the last, and will continue so until the rays 
 of knowledge renovate the ancient nursery of the human race, — 
 then may end the anomaly in the history of power, of a handful 
 of Britons holding the succession to the Mede, the Parthian, and 
 the Tatar. But, however surprise may be excited at witnessing 
 such rapidity of change, from the physical superiority of man 
 over man, it is immeasurably heightened at the little moral 
 consequence which in every other region of the world has always 
 attended such concussions. Creeds have changed, races have ■ 
 mingled, and names have been effaced from the page of history ; 
 but in this corner of civilization we have no such result, and the 
 Rajput remains the same singular being, concentrated in his 
 prejudices, political and moral, as in the days of Alexander, 
 desiring no change himself, and still less to cause any in others. 
 Whatever be the conservative principle, it merits a philosophic 
 analysis ; but more, a proper application and direction, by those 
 to whom the destinies of this portion of the globe are confided ; 
 
 ^ Universal potentate : [" he whose chariot wheels run everywhere 
 without obstruction "]; the Hiindua reckon only six of these in their history.
 
 BABUR'S invasion 351 
 
 for in this remote spot there is a nucleus of energy, on which may 
 accumulate a mass for our support or our destruction. 
 
 To return : a descendant of the Turushka of the Jaxartes, the 
 ancient foe of the children of Surya and Chandra, was destined 
 to fulfil the projihetic Purana which foretold dominion " to the 
 Turushka, the Yavan," and other foreign races in Hind ; and 
 the conquered made a right application of the term Turk, both 
 as regards its ancient and modern signification, when applied to 
 the conquerors from Turkistan. Babur, the opponent of Sanga, 
 was king of Ferghana, and of Turki race. His dominions were on 
 both sides the Jaxartes, a portion of ancient [302] Sakatai, or 
 Sakadwipa (Scjrthia), where dwelt Tomyris the Getic queen 
 immortalized by Herodotus, and where her opponent erected 
 Cyropolis, as did in after-times the Macedonian his most remote 
 Alexandria. From this region did the same Getae, Jat, or Yuti, 
 issue, to the destruction of Bactria, two centuries before the 
 Christian era, and also five subsequent thereto to found a king-' 
 dom in Northern India. Again, one thousand years later, Babur 
 issued with his bands to the final subjugation of India. As 
 affecting India alone, this portion of the globe merits deep atten- 
 tion ; but as the officina gentium, whence issued those hordes of 
 Asii, Jats, or Yeuts (of whom the Angles were a branch), who 
 peopled the shores of the Baltic, and the precursors of those 
 Goths who, under Attila and Alaric, altered the condition of 
 Europe, its importance is vastly enhanced.^ But on this occasion 
 it was not redundant population which made the descendant of 
 Timur and Jenghiz abandon the Jaxartes for the Ganges, but un- 
 successful ambition : for Babur quitted the delights of Samarkand 
 as a fugitive, and commenced his enterprise, which gave him the 
 throne of the Pandus, with less than two thousand adherents. 
 
 Character of Babur. — The Rajput prince had a worthy 
 antagonist in the king of Ferghana. Like Sanga, he was trained 
 in the school of adversity, and like him, though his acts of personal 
 heroism were even romantic, he tempered it with that discretion 
 which looks to its results. In a.d. 1494, at the tender age of 
 twelve, he succeeded to a kingdom ; ere he was sixteen he 
 defeated several confederacies and conquered Samarkand, and in 
 two short years again lost and regained it. His life was a tissue 
 
 ^ [As usual, the Indian Jats are identified with the Getae, lutae or luti , 
 Jutes of Bede.]
 
 352 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of successes and reverses ; at one moment hailed lord of the chief 
 kingdoms of Transoxiana ; at another flying, unattended, or 
 putting all to hazard in desperate single combats, in one of which 
 he slew five champions of his enemies. Driven at length from 
 Ferghana, in despair he crossed the Hindu-Kush, and in 1519 
 the Indus. Between the Pan jab and Kabul he lingered seven 
 years, ere he advanced to measure his sword with Ibrahim of 
 Delhi. Fortune returned to his standard ; Ibrahim was slain, 
 his army routed and dispersed, and Delhi and Agra opened their 
 gates to the fugitive king of Ferghana. His reflections on success 
 evince it was his due : " Not to me, O God ! but to thee, be the 
 victory ! " says the chivalrous Babur. A year had elapsed in 
 possession of Delhi, ere he ventured against the most powerful of 
 his antagonists, Rana Sanga of Chitor. 
 
 With all Babur's qualities as a soldier, supported by the hardy 
 clans of the ' cloud mountains ' ( Belut Tagh) [303] of Karateghin,^ 
 
 ^ [The author borrows from Elphinstone, Caubul, i. 118.] The literary 
 world is much indebted to Mr. Erskino for his Memoirs of Baber, a work 
 of a most original stamp and rare value for its extensive historical and 
 geographical details of a very interesting portion of the globe. The king of 
 Ferghana, hke Caesar, was the historian of his own conquests, and unites 
 all the quahties of the romantic troubadour to those of the warrior and 
 statesman. It is not saying too much when it is asserted, that Mr. Erskine 
 is the only person existing who could have made such a translation, or 
 preserved the great charm of the original — its elevated simphcity ; and 
 though his modesty malces him share the merit with Dr. Leyden, it is to 
 him the public tlianks are due. Mr. Erslcine's introduction is such as 
 might have been expected from his well-known erudition and research, 
 and with the notes interspersed adds immensely to the value of the original. 
 [A new translation by Mrs. Beveridge is in course of pubhcation.] With 
 his geographical materials, those of Mr. Elphinstone, and the journal of 
 the Voyage d'Orejibourg a Bokhara, full of merit and modesty, we now 
 possess sufficient materials for the geography of the nursery of mankind. 
 I would presume to amend one valuable geographical notice (Introd. p. 27), 
 and which only requires the permutation of a vowel, Kas-??2er for J£as-mir ; 
 when we have, not ' the country of the Kas,' but the Kasia 3Iontes (mer) of 
 Ptolemy : the Kho {mer) Kas, or Caucasus. Mir has no signification, Mer 
 is ' mountain ' in Sanskrit, as is Kho in Persian. [The origin of the name 
 Kashmir is very doubtful : but the view in the text cannot be accepted 
 (see Stein, Rajatarangini, ii. 353, 386 ; Smith, EHI, 38, note ; I A, xhii. 
 143 ff.).] Kas was the race inhabiting these : and Kasgar, the Kasia 
 Regio of Ptolemy [Chap. 15]. Gar [or garh.'\ is a Sanskrit word stiU in use 
 for a ' region,' as Kachhwahagar, Oujargar. [See Elliot, Supplementary 
 Glossary, 237.] A new edition of Erskine's translation, edited by Pro- 
 fessor Wliitc King, is in course of publication.
 
 BABUR and TFTE battle of KHANUA 353 
 
 the chances were many that he and they terminated their career 
 on the ' yellow rivxilet ' of Bayana. Neither bravery nor skill 
 saved him from this fate, which he appears to have expected. 
 What better proof can be desired than Babur's own testimony to 
 the fact, that a horde of invaders from the Jaxartes, without 
 support or retreat, were obliged to entrench themselves to the 
 teeth in the face of their Rajput foe, alike brave and overpower- 
 ing in numbers ? To ancient jealousies he was indebted for 
 not losing his life instead of gaining a crown, and for being 
 extricated from a condition so desperate that even the frenzy 
 of religion, which made death martyrdom in " this holy 
 war," scarcely availed to expel the despair which so infected 
 his followers, that in the bitterness of his heart he says " there 
 was not a single person who uttered a manly word, nor an 
 individual who delivered a courageous opinion." 
 
 The Battl8 of Khanua, March 16, 1527. — Babur advanced from 
 Agra and Sikri to oppose Rana Sanga, in full march to attack 
 him at the head of almost all the princes of Rajasthan. Although 
 the annals state some points which the imperial historian has 
 not recorded, yet both accounts of the conflict correspond in all 
 the essential details. On the 5th of Kartik, S. 1584 ^ (a.d. 1528), 
 according to the annals, the Rana raised the siege of Bayana, 
 and at Khanua encountered the advanced guard of the Tatars, 
 amounting to fifteen hundred men, which was entirely destroyed ; 
 the fugitives carrying to the main body the accounts of the 
 disaster, which paralysed their energies, and made them entrench 
 for security, instead of advancing with the confidence of victory. 
 Reinforcements met the same fate, and were pursued to the 
 camp. Accustomed to reverses, Babur met the check without 
 dismay, and adopted every precaution [304] that a mind fertile 
 in expedients could suggest to reassure the drooping spirits of his 
 troops. He threw up entrenchments, in which he placed his 
 artillery, connecting his guns by chains, and in the more exposed 
 parts chevaux de frise, united by leather ropes : a precaution 
 
 1 According to the Memoirs of Baber, February 11, 1527. [The battle 
 was fought at Khanua or Kanwaha, now in the Bharatpur State, about 
 twenty miles from Agra (Abu-1 Fazl, Akbarnama, i. 259 f. ; Ferishta ii. 55), 
 on March 16, 1527. Ferishta says that the provocation came from Rana 
 Sanga, who attacked Nazim Khan, Governor of Bayana, on which the latter 
 appealed to Babur (ii. 51). Babur says that Sanga broke his engagement 
 (ElUot-Dowson iv. 264 ; Badaoni, Muntakhabu-t-taivarikli, i. 444, 470).] 
 VOL. I 2 .\
 
 354 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 continued in every subsequent change of position. Everything 
 seemed to aid the Hindu cause : even the Tatar astrologer 
 asserted that as Mars was in the west, whoever should engage 
 coming froni the opposite quarter should be defeated. In this 
 state of total inactivity, blockaded in his encampment, Babur 
 remained near a fortnight, when he determined to renounce his 
 besetting sin, and merit superior aid to extricate himself from his 
 peril : the na'iveU of his vow must be given in his own words.'^ 
 
 ^ " On Monday, the 23rd of the first Jemadi, I had mounted to survey 
 my posts, and in the course of my ride was seriously struck with the reflec- 
 tion, that I had always resolved, one time or another, to make an effectual 
 repentance, and that some traces of a hankering after the renunciation of 
 forbidden works had ever remained in my heart : I said to myself, ' 0, my 
 soul.' 
 
 [Persian Verse.) 
 " ' How long wilt thou continue to take pleasure in sin ? 
 Repentance is not unpalatable — taste it. 
 
 (TurJci Verse.) 
 " ' How great has been thy defilement from sin ! 
 How much pleasure thou didst take in despair ! 
 How long hast thou been the slave of thy passions ! 
 How much of thy life hast thou thrown, away ! 
 Since thou hast set out on a holy war. 
 Thou hast seen death before thine eyes for thy salvation. 
 He who resolves to sacrifice his hfe to save himself 
 Shall attain that exalted state which thou knowest. 
 Keep thyself far away from all forbidden enjoyments ; 
 Cleanse thyself from all thy sins.' 
 
 " Having withdrawn myseK from such temptation, I vowed never more 
 to drink wine. Having sent for the gold and silver goblets and cups, with 
 all the other utensils used for drinking parties, I directed them to be broken, 
 and renounced the use of wine, purifying my mind. The fragments of the 
 goblets and other utensils of gold and silver I directed to be divided among 
 derwishes and the poor. The first person who followed me in my repentance 
 was Asas, who also accompanied me in my resolution of ceasing to cut the 
 beard, and of allowing it to grow. That night and the following, numbers 
 of Amirs and courtiers, soldiers, and persons not in the service, to the number 
 of nearly three hundred men, made vows of reformation. The wine which 
 we had with us we poured on the ground. I ordered that the wine brought 
 by Baba Dost should have salt thrown into it, that it might be made into 
 vinegar. On the spot where the wine had been poured out I directed a 
 wain to be sunk and built of stone, and close by the wain an almshouse to 
 be erected. In the month of Moharrem in the year 935, when I went to 
 visit Gualiar, in my way from Dholpur to Sikri, I found this wain completed. 
 I had previously made a vow, that if I gained the victory over Rana Sanka 
 the Pagan, I would remit the Temgha (or stamp-tax) levied from Musulmans.
 
 THE BATTLE OF KHANUA 355 
 
 But the destruction of the wine flasks would appear only to have 
 added to the existing consternation, and made him, as a last 
 resort, appeal to their faith. Having addressed them in a speech 
 of [305] manly courage, though bordering on despair, he seized 
 the happy moment that his exhortation elicited, to swear them 
 on the Koran to conquer or perish.^ Profiting by this excite- 
 ment, he broke up his camp, to which he had been confined 
 nearly a month, and marched in order of battle to a position two 
 miles in advance, the Rajputs skirmishing up to his guns. With- 
 
 At the time when I made my vow of penitence, Derwish Muhammed Sarban 
 and Sheikh Zin put me in mind of my promise. I said, ' You did right to 
 remind me of this : I renounce the temgha in all my dominions, so far as 
 concerns Musulmans ' ; and I sent for my secretaries, and desired them 
 to write and send to all ray dominions firmans conveying intelligence of 
 the two important incide:its that had occurred " {Memoirs of Baber, p. 354). 
 [Elliot-Dowson iv. 269.] 
 
 ^ " At this time, as I have already observed, in consequence of preceding 
 events, a general consternation and alarm prevailed among great and smaU. 
 There was not a single person who uttered a manly word, nor an individual 
 who delivered a courageous opinion. The Vazirs, whose duty it was to 
 give good counsel, and the Amirs, who enjoyed the wealth of kingdoms, 
 neither spoke bravely, nor was their counsel or deportment such as became 
 men of firmness. During the whole course of this expedition, Khalifeh 
 conducted himself admirably, and was unremitting and indefatigable in 
 his endeavours to put everything in the best order. At length, observing 
 the universal discouragement of my troops, and their total wa.nt of spirit, 
 I formed my plan. I called an assembly of all the Amirs and officers, and 
 addi-essed them : ' Noblemen and soldiers ! Every man that comes into 
 the world is subject to dissolution. When we are passed away and gone, 
 God only survives, unchangeable. Whoever comes to the feast of life 
 must, before it is over, drink from the cup of death. He who arrives at the 
 inn of mortality must one day inevitably take his departure from that 
 house of sorrow, the world. How much better it is to die with honour 
 than to hve with infamy ! 
 
 " ' With fame, even if I die, I am contented ; 
 Let fame be mine, since my body is death's. 
 
 " ' The most high God has been propitious to us, and has now placed us 
 in such a crisis, that if we fall in the field we die the death of martyrs ; if 
 we survive, we rise victorious, the avengers of the cause of God. Let us, 
 then, with one accord, swear on God's holy word, that none of us will even 
 think of turning his face from this warfare, nor desert from the battle and 
 slaughter that ensues, till his soul is separated from his body.' 
 
 " Master and servant, small and great, all with emulation, seizing the 
 blessed Koran in their hands, swore in the form that I had given. My plan 
 succeeded to admiration, and its effects were instantly visible far and near, 
 on friend and foe " {Memoirs of Baber, p. 357).
 
 356 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 out a regular circumvallation, his movable pallisadoes and guns 
 chained, he felt no security. The inactivity of Sanga can scarcely 
 escape censure, however we may incline to palliate it by supposing 
 that he deemed his enemy in the toils, and that every day's delay 
 brought with it increased danger to him. Such reasoning would 
 be valid, if the heterogeneous mass by which the prince of Mewar 
 was surrounded had owned the same patriotic sentiments as 
 himself : but he ought to have known his countrymen, nor 
 overlooked the regulating maxim of their ambition, get land. 
 Delay was fatal to this last coalition against the foes of his race. 
 Babur is silent on the point to which the annals ascribe their 
 discomfiture, a negotiation pending his blockade at Khanua ; but 
 these have preserved it, with the name of the traitor who sold 
 the cause of his country. The negotiation ^ had reached this 
 point, that on condition of Babur being left Delhi and its depend- 
 encies, the Pilakhal at Bayana should be the boundary of their 
 respective dominions, and even an annual tribute was offered to 
 the Rana [306]. We can believe that in the position Babur then 
 was, he would not scruple to promise anything. The chief of 
 Raesen, by name Salehdi, of the Tuar tribe, was the medium of 
 communication, and though the arrangement was negatived, 
 treason had effected the salvation of Babur. 
 
 On March 16 the attack commenced by a furious onset on the 
 centre and right wing of the Tatars, and for several hours the 
 conflict was tremendous. Devotion was never more manifest on 
 the side of the Rajput, attested by the long list of noble names 
 amongst the slain as well as the bulletin of their foe, whose 
 artillery made dreadful havoc in the close ranks of the Rajput 
 cavalry, which could not force the entrenchments, nor reach 
 the infantry which defended them. While the battle was still 
 doubtful, the Tuar traitor who led the van (harawal) went over 
 to Babur, and Sanga was obliged to retreat from the field, which 
 in the onset promised a glorious victory, himself severely wounded 
 and the choicest of his chieftains slain : Rawal Udai ^ Singh of 
 
 ^ Babur says, " Although Rana Sanka (Sanga) the Pagan, when I was at 
 Cabul, sent me ambassadors, and had arranged with me that if I would 
 march upon Delhi he would on Agra ; but when I took Delhi and Agra, 
 the Pagan did not move " {Memoirs of Baber, p. 339). 
 
 2 In the translation of Babur's Memoirs, Udai Singh is styled ' Wall 
 of the country,' confounding him with Udai Singh, successor of Sanga.
 
 THE DEATH OF RANA SANGA 357 
 
 Dungarpur. with two hundred of his clan ; Ratna of Salumbar, 
 with three hundred of his Chondawat kin ; Raemall Ratlior, 
 son of the prince of Marwar, with the brave Mertia leaders Khetsi 
 and Ratna ; Ramdas the Sonigira Rao ; Uja the Jhala ; Gokul- 
 das Pramara; Manikchand and Chandrbhan, Chauhan chiefs of 
 the first rank in Mewar ; besides a host of inferior names.' Hasan 
 Idian of Mewat, and a son of the last Lodi king of Delhi, who 
 coalesced with Sanga, were amongst the kUled.^ Triumphal 
 pyramids were raised of the heads of the slain, and on a hillock 
 which overlooked the field of battle a tower of skulls was erected ; 
 and the conqueror assumed the title of Ghazi, wliich has ever 
 since been retained by his descendants. 
 
 The Death of Rana Sanga. — Sanga retreated towards the hills 
 of Mewat, having announced his fixed determination never to 
 re-enter Chitor but with victor}^ Had his life been spared to 
 his country, he might have redeemed the pledge ; but the year 
 of his defeat was the last of his existence, and he died at Baswa,^ 
 on the frontier of Mewat, not without suspicion of poison. It is 
 painful to record the surmise that his ministers prompted the 
 deed, and the cause is one which would fix a deep stain on the 
 country ; namely, the purchase b}^ regicide of inglorious ease 
 and stipulated safety, in [307] preference to privations and 
 dangers, and to emulating the manly constancy of their prince, 
 who resolved to make the heavens his canopy tUl his foe was 
 crushed — a determination which was pursued with the most 
 resolute perseverance by some of his gallant successors. 
 
 Evils resulting from Polygamy. — Polygamy is the fertile 
 source of evil, moral as well as physical, in the East. It is a 
 relic of barbarism and primeval necessity, affording a proof that 
 
 He was Wall (sovereign) of Dungarpur, not ' Oodipoor,' wliich was not 
 then in existence. [Ersidne, in his later work {Hist. India, i. 473, note), 
 admits his error.] 
 
 ^ [A hst of the slain, nearly identical, is given by Abu-1 Fazl, Akbarnarna, 
 i. 265.] 
 
 - [The author confuses Hasan Khan, Mewati, an imjjortant officer 
 (Ferishta ii. 65 ; Bayley, Muhammad Dynasties of Gujarat, 278), whom 
 Badaoni {Muntakhabu-t-tawarikh, i. 447) calls a Jogi in form and appear- 
 ance, with Hasan Khan, Lodi {Aln, i. 503).] 
 
 * [About eighty-five miles north-north-west of Jaipur city. Babur says 
 that he intended to pursue Sanga to Chitor, but was prevented by the defeat 
 of his forces advancing on Lucknow (Klhot-Dowson iv. 277).]
 
 358 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 ancient Asia is still young in knowledge. The desire of each 
 wife,^ that her offspring should wear a crown, is natural ; but 
 they do not always wait the course of nature for the attainment 
 of their wishes, and the love of power too often furnishes instru- 
 ments for any deed, however base. When we see, shortly after 
 the death of Sanga, the mother of liis second son intriguuig with 
 Babur, and bribing him with the surrender of Ranthambhor and 
 the trophy of victory, the crown of the Malwa king, to supplant 
 the lawful heir, we can easily suppose she would not have scrupled 
 to remove any other bar. On this occasion, however, the sus- 
 picion rests on the ministers alone. That Babur respected and 
 dreaded his foe we have the best proof in his not risking another 
 battle with him ; and the blame which he bestows on liimself 
 for the slackness of his pursuit after victory is honourable to 
 Sanga, who is always mentioned with respect in the commentaries 
 of the conqueror : and although he generally styles him the 
 Pagan, and dignifies the contest with the title of " the holy war," 
 yet he freely acknowledges his merit when he says, " Rana Sanga 
 attained his present liigh eminence by his own valour and his 
 sword." 
 
 Appearance of Rana Sanga. — Sanga Rana was of the middle 
 stature, but of great muscular strength ; fair in complexion, 
 with unusually large eyes, which appear to be peculiar to his 
 descendants.^ He exhibited at his death but the fragments of 
 a warrior : one eye was lost in the broil with his brother ; an 
 arm in an action with the Lodi king of Delhi, and he was a cripple 
 owing to a limb being broken by a cannon-baU m another [308] ; 
 while he counted eighty womids from the sword or the lance 
 on various parts of his body. He was celebrated for energetic 
 
 ^ The number of queens is determined only by state necessity and the 
 fancy of the prince. To have them equal in number to the days of the 
 week is not unusual, while the number of Imndmaids is unhmited. It will 
 be conceded that the prince who can govern such a household, and maintain 
 equal rights when clamis to pre-emmence must be perpetually asserted, 
 possesses no httle tact. The government of the kingdom is but an amuse- 
 ment compared with such a task, for it is within the Eawala that intrigue 
 is enthroned. 
 
 ^ 1 possess his portrait, given to me by the present Hana, who has a 
 collection of full-lengths of ah his royal ancestors, from iSamarsi to himself, 
 of their exact heights and with every bodily pecuharity, whether of com- 
 plexion or form. They are valuable for the costume. He has often shown 
 them to mc while illustrating their actions.
 
 RATAN SINGH II 3S9 
 
 enterprise, of which his capture of Muzaffar, king of Malwa, in 
 his own capital, is a celebrated mstance ; and his successful 
 storm of the almost impregnable Ranthambhor, though ably 
 defended by the imperial general Ah, gained him great renown. 
 He erected a small palace at lOianua, on the line wliich he deter- 
 mined should be tiie northern limit of Mewar ; and had he been 
 succeeded by a prince possessed of his foresight and judgment, 
 Babur's descendants might not have retained the sovereignty of 
 India. A cenotaph long marked the spot where the fire con- 
 smned the remains of this celebrated prince. Sanga had seven 
 sons, of whom the two elder died in non-age. He was succeeded 
 by the third son, 
 
 Rana Ratan Singh II., a.d. 1527-31.— Ratna (S. 1586, a.d. 
 1530) possessed all the arrogance and martial virtue of his race. 
 Like his father, he determined to make the field his capital, and 
 commanded that the gates of Chitor never should be closed, 
 boasting that " its portals were Dellii and Mandu." Had he been 
 spared to temper by experience the exuberance of youthful 
 impetuosity, he would have well seconded the resolution of his 
 father, and the league against the enemies of his coimtry and 
 faith. But he was not destined to pass the age always dangerous 
 to the turbulent and impatient Rajput, ever courting strife if it 
 woiild not find him. He had married by stealth the daughter 
 of Prithiraj of Amber, probably before the death of liis elder 
 brothers made hun heir to Chitor. His double-edged sword, the 
 proxy of the Rajput cavalier, represented Ratna on this occasion.^ 
 Unfortunately it was kept but too secret ; for the Hara prince of 
 Bundi,^ in ignorance of the fact, demanded and obtained her to 
 wife, and carried her to his capital. The consequences are 
 attributable to the Rana alone, for he ought, on coming to the 
 throne, to have espoused her ; but his vanity was flattered at 
 the mysterious transaction, which he deemed would prevent all 
 apphcation for the hand of his ' affianced ' (manga). The 
 bards of Bundi are rather pleased to record the power of their 
 
 ^ [The practice of sending his sword to represent the bridegroom probably 
 originated in the desire for secrecy, and has since been observed, as among 
 the Raj Gonds of the Central Provinces, for the sake of convenience, and 
 in order to avoid expense (Forbes, Rasmala, 621 ; BG, ix. Part i. 143, 
 145 f . ; Russell, Tribes and Castes, Central Provinces, iii. 77).] 
 
 - yurajmali.
 
 360 ANNALS OF MEWAli 
 
 princes, who dared to solicit and obtain the hand of the ' bride ' 
 of Chitor. The princes of Buiidi had long been attached to the 
 Sesodia house : and from the period when their common ancestors 
 fought together on the banks of the Ghaggar against [309] Sliihabu- 
 d-din, they had silently grown to power under the wing of Mewar, 
 and often proved a strong plume in her pinion. The Hara in- 
 habited the hiUy tract on her eastern frontier, and tiiough not 
 actually incorporated with Mewar, they yet paid homage to her 
 princes, bore her ensigns and titles, and in return often poured 
 forth their blood. But at the tribunal of Ananga,"^ the Rajput 
 scattered all other homage and allegiance to the wmds. The 
 maiden of Amber saw no necessity for disclosing her secret or 
 refusing the brave Hara, of whom fame spoke loudly, when 
 Katna delayed to redeem liis proxy. 
 
 Death o£ Eana Eatan Singh. — The unintentional offence sank 
 deep into the heart of the liana, and though he was closely 
 connected with the Hara, havmg married liis sister, he brooded 
 on the means of revenge, in the attainment of which he sacrificed 
 his own life as well as that of his rival. The festival of the Aheria - 
 (the spring hunt), which has thrice been fatal to the princes of 
 Mewar, gave the occasion, when they fell by each other's weapons. 
 Though Ratna enjoyed the dignity only five years, he had the 
 satisfaction to see the ex-king of Ferghana, now fomider of the 
 Mogul dynasty of India, leave the scene before liim, and without 
 the diminution of an acre of land to Mewar smce the fatal day of 
 Bayana. Rana Ratna was succeeded by his brother, 
 
 Eaua Eikramajitj a.d. 1631 -S5. — Bikramajit,^ in S. 1591 
 (a.d. 1585). This prince had aU the turbulence, without the 
 redeenung qualities of character, which endeared his brother to 
 his subjects ; he was insolent, passionate, and vmdictive, and 
 utterly regardless of that respect which his proud nobles rigidly 
 exacted. Instead of appearing at their head, he passed his time 
 amongst wrestlers and prize-fighters, on whom and a multitude 
 
 ^ The Hindu Cupid, implying ' incorporeal,' from anga, ' body,' with 
 the privative prehx ' an.'' 
 
 ^ 1 have given the relation of this duel in the narrative of my journeys 
 on my visit to the cenotaph of Ratna, erected where he fell. It was the 
 pleasure of my hfe to listen to the traditional anecdotes illustrative of Rajput 
 history on the scenes of their transactions. 
 
 '^ The Rhakha orthogiajihy for Vikramaditya.
 
 ATTACK ON CHITOR BY SULTAN BAHADUR 361 
 
 of ' paiks,' or foot soldiers, he Ia\nslied those gifts and that appro- 
 bation, to which the aristocratic Rajput, the equestrian order 
 of Rajasthan, arrogated exclusive right. In this innovation he 
 probably imitated his foes, who had learned the superiority of 
 infantry, despised by the Rajput, who, except in sieges, or when 
 ' they spread the carpet and hamstrung their steeds,' held the 
 foot-soldier very cheap. The use of artillery was now becoming 
 general, and the [310] Muslims soon perceived the necessity of 
 foot for their protection : but prejudice operated longer upon 
 the Rajput, who still curses ' those vile guns,' which render of 
 comparatively little value the lance of many a gallant soldier ; 
 and he still prefers falling with dignity from his steed to descending 
 to an equality with his mercenary antagonist. 
 
 An open rupture was the consequence of such innovation, and 
 (to use the figurative expression for misrule) ' Papa Bai ka 
 Raj ' ^ was triumphant ; the police were despised ; the cattle 
 carried off by the mountaineers from under the walls of Chitor ; 
 and when his cavaliers were ordered in pursuit, the Rana was 
 tauntingly told to send his paiks. 
 
 The Attack by Bahadur, Sultan of Gujarat. — Bahadur, sultan 
 of Gujarat, determined to take advantage of the Rajput divisions, 
 to revenge the disgrace of the defeat and captivity of liis pre- 
 decessor Muzaffar.2 Reinforced by the troops of Mandu, he 
 marched against the Rana, then encamped at Loicha, in the 
 Bimdi territory. Though the force was overwhelming, yet with 
 the high courage which belonged to his house, Bikramajit did not 
 hesitate to give battle ; but he found weak defenders in his 
 mercenary paiks, while his vassals and kin not only kept aloof, 
 but marched off in a body to defend Chitor, and the posthumous 
 son of Sanga Rana, still an infant. 
 
 ^ The government of Papa Bai, a princess of ancient time, whose mis- 
 managed sovereignty has given a proverb to the Rajpuf. [Major Luard 
 informs me that Papa Bai is said to have been the daughter of a Rajput 
 of Siddal. She and Shiral Seth, a corn-merchant who, in return for his 
 penances, asked to be made a king for three ghatikas (tv.enty-four minutes 
 each)^ and gave indiscriminately alms to rich and poor, are bywords for 
 foohsh extravagance. She is worshipped at a shrine in Ujjain by all who 
 desire good crops, especially sugar. Another name for such a period of 
 misrule is Harbong ka raj (Elliot, Supplemental Glossary, 466 if.).] 
 
 ^ Taken by Prithiraj and carried to Rana Raemall, who took a large 
 sum of money and seven hundred horses as his ransom.
 
 362 ANNALS OF MEVVAR 
 
 There is a sanctity in the very name of Chitor, which from 
 the earhest times secured her defenders ; and now, when threat- 
 ened again by ' the barbarian,' such the inexphcable character 
 of the Rajput, we find the heir of SurajmaU abandonmg 
 his new capital of Deoha, to pour out tlie few drops which 
 yet circulated in his veins in defence of the abode of his 
 fathers. 
 
 ' The son of Bmidi,' with a brave band of five hundred 
 Haras, also came ; as did the Sonigira and Deora Raos of Jalor 
 and Abu, with many auxiliaries from aU parts of Rajwara. This 
 was the most powerful eflort hitherto made by the sultans of 
 Central India, and European artillerists ^ are recorded in these 
 [311] amials as brought to the subjugation of Chitor. The 
 engineer is styled ' Labri Khan of Fringan,' and to his skill 
 Bahadur was indebted for the successful storm which ensued. 
 He spriuig a mine at the ' Bika rock,' which blew up forty-five 
 cubits of the rampart, with the bastion where the brave Haras 
 were posted. The Bundi bards dwell on this incident, which 
 destroyed their prince and five hundred of his kin. Rao Durga, 
 with the Chondawat chieftains Sata and Dudu and their vassals, 
 bravely defended the breach and repelled many assaults ; and, 
 to set an example of courageous devotion, the queen-mother 
 Jawahir Bai, of Rathor race, clad in armour, headed a sally in 
 which she was slain. Still the besiegers gained gromid, and the 
 
 ^ We have, iu the poems of Chand, frequent indistinct notices of firearms, 
 especially the nal-gola or iw6e-ball ; but whether discharged by percussion 
 or the expansive force of gunpowder is dubious. The poet also repeatedly 
 speaks of " the volcano of the held," giving to understand great guns ; but 
 these may be interpolations, though I would not check a full investigation of 
 so curious a subject by raismg a doubt. Babur was the first who intro- 
 duced field guns in the Muhammadan wars, and Bahadur's mvasion is the 
 fii'st notice of their apphcatiou in sieges, for in Alau-d-din's time, in the 
 thirteenth century, he used the catapult or battering-ram, called manjanik. 
 To these guns Babur was indebted for victory over the united cavaky of 
 Rajasthan. They were served by Rumi Klian, probably a Boumehot, 
 or fciyrian Christian. The Franks (Faringis), with Bahadur, must have been 
 some of Vasco di Gama's crew. [For the use of artihery in Mogul times see 
 the full account by Irvine {Army of the Indian Moghuls, 113 &.). Manjanik 
 is the Greek /xdyyafof. Bumi K.han was an Ottoman Turk, called IChuda- 
 wand Khan, who learned the science in Turkish service (Erskine, Hist, of 
 India, ii. 49 ; Ain, i. 441). Akbar is said to have used Chinese artillery, 
 and to have employed Enghsh gunners from fcJurat (Manucci i. 139 ; Irvine, 
 op. oil. 152). J
 
 CROWNING OF A NEW RANA : THE JOHAR 363 
 
 last council convened was to concert means to save the infant 
 son of Sanga from this imminent peril. 
 
 Crowning oi a New Kana. — But Cliitor can only be defended by 
 royalty, and again they had recourse to the expedient of crowning 
 a king, as a sacrifice to the dignity of the protectmg deity of Chitor. 
 Baghji, prince of Deoha, courted the msignia of destruction ; the 
 bamier of Mewar floated over him, and the golden sun from its 
 sable field never shone more refulgent than when the changi ^ 
 was raised amidst the shouts of her defenders over the head of the 
 son of ISurajmaU. 
 
 The Johar. — The infant, Udai Smgh, was placed m safety 
 with Surthan, prmce of Bundi,^ the garrison put on their saffron 
 robes, wliile materials for the johar were preparmg. There was 
 little tune for the pyre. The bravest had fallen in defendmg the 
 breach, now completely exposed. Combustibles were quickly 
 heaped up m reservoirs and magazines excavated in the rock, 
 mider which gunpowder was strewed. Karnavati, mother of 
 the prmce, and sister to the gallant Arjmi Hara, led the procession 
 of willing victims to their doom, and thirteen thousand females 
 were thus swept at once from the record of life. The gates 
 were tlu'own open, and the Deoha chief, at the head of the 
 survivors, with a blind and impotent despair, rushed on his 
 fate [312J. 
 
 Bahadur must have been appalled at the horrid sight on viewing 
 his conquest ; ^ the mangled bodies of the slain, with hmidreds 
 ui the last agonies from the poniard or poison, awaiting death as 
 less dreadful than dishonour and captivity.* To use the emphatic 
 
 ^ The Changi, the chief insignia of regahty in Mewar, is a sun of gold in 
 the centre of a disc of black ostrich feathers or felt, about three leet in 
 diameter, elevated on a pole, and carried close to the prince. It has some- 
 thing oi a iScytiiic cast about it. What changi imports I never understood, 
 [l^robabiy fers. chang, ' anytiiiug bent.'] 
 
 ^ The name of the faitblul Kajput who preserved Udai Singh, Chakasen 
 Dhundei'a, deserves to be recorded. 
 
 ^ The date, " Jeth sudi I'Zth, S. 1589," a.d. 1533, and according to 
 Ferishta a.h. 949, a.d. 1532-33. [Chitor was taken in 1534. The Mirat-i- 
 Bikandari states that on March 24, 1533, Bahadur received the promised 
 tribute, and moved his camp from Ciiitor (Bayley, Muhammadan Dynasties 
 of Gujarat, 372).] 
 
 •* i^'rom ancient times, leadhig the females captive appears to have been 
 the sign of complete victory. Kajput inscriptions often ahude to " a con- 
 queror beloved by the wives of iiis conq^uered foe," and in the early parts
 
 364 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 words of the annalist, "the last day of Chitor had arrived." 
 Every clan lost its chief, and the choicest of their retainers ; 
 during tRe siege and in the storm thirty-two thousand Rajputs 
 were slain. This is the second sakha of Chitor. 
 
 Bahadur had remained but a fortnight, when the tardy advance 
 of Humayun with his succours warned him to retire.'^ According 
 to the annals, he left Bengal at the solicitation of the queen 
 Karnavati ; but instead of following up the spoU-encumbered 
 foe, he commenced a pedantic war of words with Bahadur, 
 punning on the word ' Chitor.' Had Humayun not been so 
 distant, this catastrophe would have been averted, for he was 
 bound by the laws of chivalry, the claims of which he had acknow- 
 ledged, to defend the queen's cause, whose knight he had become. 
 The relation of the peculiarity of a custom analogous to the taste 
 of the chivalrous age of Europe may amuse. ^Vlien her Ama- 
 zonian sister the Rathor queen was slain, the mother of the 
 infant prince took a surer method to shield him in demanding 
 the fulfilment of the pledge given by Humayun when she sent 
 the Rakhi to that monarch. 
 
 The Rakhi. — ' The festival of the bracelet ' ( Rakhi) is in spring, 
 and whatever its origin, it is one of the few when an intercourse 
 of gallantry of the most delicate nature is established between 
 the fair sex and the cavaliers of Rajasthan. Though the bracelet 
 may be sent by maidens, it is only on occasions of urgent necessity 
 or danger. The Rajput dame bestows with the Rakhi the title 
 of adopted brother ; and while its acceptance secures to her all 
 the protection of a cavaliere servente, scandal itself never suggests 
 any other tie to his devotion. He may hazard his life in her 
 cause, and yet never receive a smUe in reward, for he cannot 
 even see the fair object who, as brother of her adoption, has con- 
 stituted him her defender. But there is a charm in the mystery 
 of such connexion, never endangered by close observation, and 
 the loyal to the fair may well attach a value [313] to the public 
 recognition of being the Rakhi-band Bhai, the ' bracelet-bound 
 brother ' of a princess. The intrinsic value of such pledge is 
 
 of Scripture the same notion is referred to. The mother of Sisera asks* 
 " Have they not divided the prey ; to every man a damsel or two ? ' 
 (Judges v. 30.) 
 
 ^ [Ferishta ii. 75 f. Badaoni says that Humayun hesitated to interfere 
 because Bahadur was attacking an infidel {MuntaJchabu-t-tawarikh, i. 453 f.).]
 
 THE RAKHI 365 
 
 never looked to, nor is it requisite it should be costly, though it 
 varies with the means and rank of the donor, and may be of 
 flock silk and spangles, or gold chains and gems. The acceptance 
 of the pledge and its return is by the kachhli, or corset, of simple 
 silk or satin, of gold brocade and pearls. In shape or application 
 there is nothing similar in Europe, and as defending the most 
 delicate part of the structure of the fair, it is peculiarly appropriate 
 as an emblem of devotion. A whole province has often accom- 
 panied the Kachhli, and the monarch of India was so pleased with 
 this courteous delicacy in the customs of Rajasthan, on receiving 
 the bracelet of the princess Karnavati, which invested him with 
 the title of her brother, and uncle and protector to her infant 
 Udai Singh, that he pledged himself to her service, " even if the 
 demand were the castle of Ranthambhor." Humayun proved 
 himself a true knight, and even abandoned his conquests in 
 Bengal when called on to redeem his pledge and succour Chitor, 
 and the widows and minor sons of Sanga Rana.^ Humayun 
 had the highest proofs of the worth of those courting his pro- 
 tection ; he was with his father Babur in all his wars in India, 
 and at the battle of Bayana his prowess was conspicuous, and is 
 recorded by Babur's own pen. He amply fulfilled his pledge, 
 expelled the foe from Chitor, took Mandu by assault, and, as 
 some revenge for her king's aiding the king of Gujarat, he sent 
 for the Rana Bikramajit, whom, following their own notions of 
 
 ^ Many romantic tales are founded on ' the gift of the Rakhi.' The 
 author, who was placed in the enviable situation of being able to do good, 
 and on the most extensive scale, was the means of restoring many of these 
 ancient famihes from degradation to affluence. The greatest reward he 
 could, and the only one he would, receive, was the courteous civihty dis- 
 played in many of these interesting customs. He was the Rakhi-band Bhai 
 of, and received ' the bracelet ' from, three queens of Udaipur, Bundi, and 
 Kotah, besides Chand Bai, the maiden sister of the Rana ; as well as many 
 ladies of the chieftains of rank, with whom he interchanged letters. The 
 sole articles of ' barbaric pearl and gold,' which he conveyed from a country 
 where he was six years supreme, are these testimonies of friendly regard. 
 Intrinsically of no great value, they were presented and accepted in the 
 ancient spirit, and he retains them with a sentiment the more powerful, 
 because he can no longer render them any service. [The Rakhi (Skt. raksha, 
 ' protection ') is primarily a protective amulet assumed at the full moon 
 of Sawan (Julj -August) (Forbes, Rdsmala, 609). It was worn on this date 
 to avert the unhealthiness of the rainy season. Jahangir and Akbar followed 
 the custom, introduced by their Hindu ladies (Jahangir, Memoirs, 246 ; 
 Badaoni, op. cit. ii. 269).]
 
 366 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 investiture, he girt with a sword in the captured citadel of his 
 foe.i 
 
 The Muhammadan historians, strangers to their customs, or 
 the secret motives which caused the emperor to abandon Bengal, 
 ascribe it to the Rana's solicitation ; but we may credit the annals, 
 which are in vinison with the chivalrous notions of the Rajputs, 
 into which succeeding monarchs, the great Akbar, his son [314] 
 Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, entered with delight ; and even 
 Aurangzeb, two of whose original letters to the queen-mother of 
 Udaipur are now in the author's possession, and are remarkable 
 for their elegance and purity of diction, and couched in terms 
 perfectly accordant with Rajput delicacy.^ 
 
 Restoration of Bikramaiit. — Bikramajit, thus restored to his 
 capital, had gained nothing by adversity ; or, to employ the words 
 of the annalist, " experience had yielded no wisdom." He renewed 
 all his former insolence to his chiefs, and so entirely threw aside 
 his own dignity, and, what is of still greater consequence, the 
 reverence universally shown to old age, as to strike in open court 
 Karamchand of Ajmer, the protector of his father Sanga in his 
 misfortunes. The assembly rose with one accord at this indignity 
 to their order ; and as they retired, the Chondawat leader 
 Kanji, the first of the nobles, exclaimed, " Hitherto, brother 
 chiefs, we have had but a smell of the blossom, but now we 
 shaU be obliged to eat the fruit " ; to which the insulted Pramara 
 added, as he hastily retired, " To-morrow its flavour will be 
 known." 
 
 Though the Rajput looks up to his sovereign as to a divinity, 
 and is enjoined implicit obedience by his religion, which rewards 
 him accordingly hereafter, yet this doctrine has its limits, and 
 precedents are abundant for deposal, when the acts of the prince 
 may endanger the realm. But there is a bond of love as well as 
 of awe which restrains them, and softens its severity in the 
 paternity of sway ; for these princes are at once the father and 
 king of their people : not in fiction, but reality — for he is the 
 
 ^ [Probably policy, rather than romance, caused Hiimayun to interfere.] 
 ^ He addresses her as " dear and virtuous sister," and evinces much 
 interest in her welfare. We are in total ignorance of the refined sentiment 
 which regulates such a people — our home-bred prejudices deem them 
 beneath inquiry ; and thus indolence and self-conceit combine to deprive 
 the benevolent of a high gratification.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF UDAI SINGH 367 
 
 representative of the common ancestor of the aristocracy — the 
 sole lawgiver of Rajasthan. 
 
 Death of Rana Bikramajit. — Sick of these minors (and they 
 had now a third in prospect), which in a few years had laid pros- 
 trate the throne of Mewar, her nobles on lea\'ing their unworthy 
 prince repaired to Banbir, the natural son of the heroic Prithiraj, 
 and offered " to seat him on the throne of Chitor." He had the 
 virtue to resist the solicitation ; and it was only on painting the 
 dangers which threatened the country, if its chief at such a period 
 had not their confidence, that he gave his consent. The step 
 between the deposal and death of a king is necessarily short [315], 
 and the cries of the females, which announced the end of Bik- 
 ramajit, were drowned in the acclamations raised on the elevation 
 of the changi over the head of the bastard Banbir. 
 
 CHAPTER 10 
 
 Rana Banbir Singh, a.d. 1535-37. — A few hours of sovereignty 
 sufficed to check those ' compunctious visitings ' which assailed 
 Banbir ere he assumed its trappings, with which he found himself 
 so little encumbered that he was content to wear them for life. 
 Whether this was the intention of the nobles who set aside the 
 unworthy son of Sanga, there is abundant reason to doubt ; and 
 as he is subsequently branded with the epithet of ' usurper ' it 
 was probably limited, though unexpressed, to investing him with 
 the executive authority during the minority of Udai Singh. 
 Banbir, however, only awaited the approach of night to remove 
 with his own hands the obstacle to his ambition. 
 
 The Escape of Udai Singh, the Heir. — Udai Singh was about 
 six years of age. " He had gone to sleep after his rice and milk," 
 when his nurse was alarmed by screams from the rawala,^ and the 
 Bari ^ coming in to take away the remains of the dinner, informed 
 her of the cause, the assassination of the Rana. Aware that one 
 murder was the precursor of another, the faithful nurse put her 
 
 ^ The seraglio, or female palace. 
 
 5* Bari, Nai, are names for the barbers, who aie the cuisiniers of the Rajputs. 
 [The special duty of the Bari is making leaf -platters from which Hindus eat : 
 he is also a domestic servant, but does not, like the Nai, work as a barber.]
 
 368 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 charge into a fruit basket and, covering it with leaves, she de- 
 livered it to the Bari, enjoining him to escape with it from the 
 fort. Scarcely had she time to substitute her own infant in the 
 room of the prince, when Banbir, entering, inquired for him. 
 Her lips refused their ofBce ; she pointed to the cradle, and beheld 
 the murderous steel buried in the heart of her babe [316]. The 
 little victim to fidelity was burnt amidst the tears of the rawala, 
 the inconsolable household of their late sovereign, who supposed 
 that their grief was given to the last pledge of the illustrious Sanga. 
 The nurse (Dhai) was a Rajputni of the Khichi tribe, her name 
 Panna, or ' the Diamond.' Having consecrated with her tears 
 the aslies of her child, she hastened after that she had preserved. 
 But well had it been for Mewar had the poniard fulfilled its in- 
 tention, and had the annals never recorded the name of Udai 
 Singh in the catalogue of her princes. 
 
 The faithful barber was awaiting the nurse in the bed of the 
 Berach River, some miles west of Chitor, and fortunately the 
 infant had not awoke until he descended the city. They departed 
 for Deolia, and sought refuge with Singh Rao, the successor to 
 Baghji, who fell for Chitor ; who dreading the consequence of 
 detection, they proceeded to Dungarpur. Rawal Askaran then 
 ruled this principality, which, as well as Deolia, was not only a 
 branch, but the elder branch, of Chitor. With every wish to 
 afford a shelter, he pleaded the danger which threatened himself 
 and the child in such a feeble sanctuary. Pursuing a circuitous 
 route through Idar, and the intricate valleys of the Aravalli, by 
 the help and with the protection of its wild inmates, the Bhils, she 
 gained Kumbhaimer. The resolution she had formed was bold 
 as it was judicious. She demanded an interview with the governor^ 
 Asa Sail his name, of the mercantile tribe of Depra,^ and a follower 
 of the theistical tenets of the Jains. The interview being granted, 
 she placed the infant in his lap, and bid him " guard the life of 
 his sovereign.'" He felt perplexed and alarmed : but his mother, 
 who was present^ upbraided him for his scruples. " Fidelity," 
 said she, " never looks at dangers or difficulties. He is your 
 master, the son of Sanga, and by God's blessing the result will 
 be glorious." Having thus fulfilled her trust, the faithful Panna 
 
 ^ [Dr. Tessitori states that the true form of the name is Dahipra or Dahi- 
 pura, and they seem to be the same as the Depla of Gujarat, where they are 
 said to have been originally Lohanas {BG, ix. Part i. 122).]
 
 INSTALLATION OF RANA UDAI SINGH 369 
 
 withdrew from Kumbhalmer to avoid the suspicion which a 
 Rajputni about a Srawak's ^ child would have occasioned, as the 
 heir of Chitor was declared to be the nephew of the Depra. 
 
 The Boyhood of Udai Singh. — Suspicions were often excited 
 regardinjT Asa's nephew ; once, especially, on the anniversary 
 (samvatsara) of the governor's father, when " the Rajput guests 
 being in one rank, and the men of v/ealth in another, j'oung Udai 
 seized a vessel of curds, which no intreaty could prevail on him 
 to relinquish, deriding their threats " [317]. Seven years elapsed 
 before the secret transpired ; at length self-revealed, from the 
 same independent bearing. On occasion of a visit from the 
 Sonigira chief, Udai was sent to receive him, and the dignified 
 manner in which he performed the duty convinced the chief 
 ' he was no nephew to the Sah.' Rumour spread the tale, and 
 brought not only the nobles of Mewar, but adjacent chiefs, to 
 hail the son of Sanga Rana. Sahidas of Salumbar, the representa- 
 tive of Chonda, Jaga of Kelwa, Sanga of Bagor, all chiefs of the 
 clans of Chondawat ; the Chauhans of Kotharia and Bedla, the 
 Pramar of Bijolia Akhiraj (Sonigira), Prithiraj of Sanchor, and 
 Lunkaran Jethawat, repaired to Kumbhalmer, when all doubt 
 was removed by the testimony of the nurse, and of her coadjutor 
 in the preservation of the child. 
 
 Installation of Rana Udai Singh, a.d. 1537-72. — A court was 
 formed, when the faithful Asa Sah resigned his trust and placed 
 the prince of Chitor ' in the lap of the Kotharia Chauhan,' as 
 the ' great ancient ' ^ among the nobles of Mewar, who was 
 throughout acquainted with the secret, and who, to dissipate the 
 remaining scruples which attached to the infant's preservation, 
 ' ate off the same platter with him.' The Sonigira Rao did not 
 hesitate to affiance to him his daughter, and it was accepted 
 by his advisers, notwithstanding the interdict of Hamir to any 
 intermarriage with the Sonigira, since the insult of giving the 
 widow to his bed. Udai received the tika of Chitor in the 
 castle of Kumbha, and the homage of nearly all the chiefs of 
 Mewar. 
 
 The tidings soon reached the usurper, who had not borne his 
 
 ^ The laity of the Jain persuasion are so called [srdvaJc, meaning ' a 
 disciple ']. 
 
 * Bara ' great,' burha ' aged ' ; the ' wise elder ' of Rajasthan, where old 
 age and dignity are synonymous. 
 
 VOL. I 2 B
 
 370 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 faculties meekly since his advancement ; but having seized on 
 the dignity, he wished to ape all the customs of the legitimate 
 monarchs of Chitor, and even had the effrontery to punish as an 
 insult the refusal of one of the proud sons of Chonda to take the 
 dauna from his bastard hand. 
 
 The Dauna, a Recognition of Legitimacy. — The dauna, or daua, 
 is a portion of the dish of which the prince partakes, sent by his 
 own hand to whomsoever he honours at the banquet. At the 
 rasora, or refectory, the chiefs who are admitted to dine in the 
 presence of their sovereign are seated according to their rank. 
 The repast is one of those occasions when an easy familiarity 
 is permitted, which, though unrestrained, never exceeds the 
 bounds [318] of etiquette, and the habitual reverence due to their 
 father and prince. \Vlien he sends, by the steward of the kitchen, 
 a portion of the dish before him, or a little from his own kansa, 
 or plate, all eyes are guided to the favoured mortal, whose good 
 fortune is the subject of subsequent conversation. Though, with 
 the diminished lustre of this house, the dauna may have lost its 
 former estimation, it is yet received with reverence ; but the 
 extent of this feeling, even so late as the reign of Arsi Rana, the 
 father of the reigning prince, the following anecdote will testify. 
 In the rebellion during this prince's reign, amongst the ancient 
 customs which became relaxed, that of bestowing the dauna 
 was included ; and the Rana conferring it on the Rathor prince 
 of Kishangarh, the Bijolia chief, one of the sixteen superior nobles 
 of Mewar, rose and left the presence, observing, " Neither the 
 Kachhwaha nor the Rathor has a right to this honour, nor can we, 
 who regard as sanctified even the leavings of your repast, witness 
 this degradation ; for the Thakur of Kishangarh is far beneath 
 me." To such extent is this privilege even yet carried, and such 
 importance is attached from habit to the personal character of the 
 princes of Mewar, that the test of regal legitimacy in Rajasthan 
 is admission to eat from the same plate (kansa) with the Rana : 
 and to the refusal of this honour to the great Man Singh of Amber 
 may be indirectly ascribed the ruin of Mewar.^ 
 
 It may therefore be conceived with what contempt the 
 
 haughty nobility of Chitor received the mockery of honour from 
 
 the hand of this ' fifth son of Mewar ' ; and the Chondawat chief 
 
 had the boldness to add to his refusal, " that an honour from the 
 
 ^ [On the privilege of eating with the Rana see p. 213 above.]
 
 DEPOSITION OF RANA BANBIR SINGH 371 
 
 hand of a true son of Bappa Rawal became a disgrace when proffered 
 by the offspring of the handmaid Sitalseni." The defection soon 
 became general, and all repaired to the valley of Kumbhalmer 
 to hail the legitimate son of Mewar. A caravan of five hundred 
 horses and ten thousand oxen, laden with merchandise from 
 Cutch, the dower of Banbir's daughter, guarded by one thousand 
 Gaharwar Rajputs, was plundered in the passes : a signal intima- 
 tion of the decay of his authority, and a timely supply to the 
 celebration of the nuptials of Udai Rana with the daughter of 
 the Rao of Jalor. Though the interdict of Hamir was not for- 
 gotten, it was deemed that the insult given by Banbir Sonigira was 
 amply effaced by his successor's redemption of the usurpation 
 of Banbir Sesodia. The marriage was solemnized at Bali, within 
 the limits of Jalor, and the [319] customary offerings were sent 
 or given by all the princes of Rajasthan. Two chiefs only, of 
 any consequence, abstained from attending on their lawful prince 
 on this occasion, the Solanki of Maholi and Maloji of Tana. In 
 attacking them, the bastard was brought into conflict ; but 
 Maloji was slain and the Solanki surrendered. 
 
 Deposition of Rana Banbir Singh. — Deserted by all, Banbir 
 held out in the capital ; but his minister admitted, under the garb 
 of a reinforcement with supplies, a thousand resolute adherents 
 of the prince : the keepers of the gates were surprised and slain, 
 and the an of Udai Singh was proclaimed. Banbir was even 
 permitted to retire with his family and his wealth. He sought 
 refuge in the Deccan, and the Bhonslas of Nagpur are said to 
 derive their origin from this spurious branch of Chitor.^ 
 
 Rana Udai Singh, a.d. 1537-72. — Rana Udai Singh ascended 
 the throne in S. 1597 (a.d. 1541-2). Great were the rejoicings on 
 the restoration of this prince. ' The song of joy,' ^ which was 
 composed on the occasion, is yet a favourite at Udaipur, and 
 on the festival of Isani (the Ceres of Rajasthan), the females still 
 chant in chorus the ' farewell to Kumbhalmer.' * But the evil days 
 of Mewar which set in with Sanga's death, and were accelerated 
 by the fiery valour of Ratna and the capricious conduct of Bik- 
 ramajit, were completed by an anomaly in her annals : a coward 
 succeeding a bastard to guide the destinies of the Sesodias. The 
 
 ^ [There seems no basis for this tradition. The Bhonslas sprang from a 
 Maratha headman of Deora in Satara {IGI, xviii. 306).] 
 
 ^ Suhaila. ^ Kumbhalmer bidaona.
 
 372 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 vices of Ratna and his brother were virtues compared to this 
 physical defect, the consequences of which destroyed a great 
 national feeling, the opinion of its invincibility. 
 
 His Character. — " Woe to the land where a minor rules or a 
 woman bears sway ! " exclaims the last of the great bards ^ of 
 Rajasthan ; but where both were united, as in Mewar, the 
 measure of her griefs was full. Udai Singh had not one quality 
 of a sovereign ; and wanting martial virtue, the common heritage 
 of his race, he was destitute of all. Yet he might have slumbered 
 life away in inglorious repose during the reign of Humayun, or 
 the contentions of the Pathan usurpation ; but, unhappily for 
 Rajasthan, a prince was then rearing who forged fetters for the 
 Hindu race which enthralled them for ages ; and though the 
 corroding hand of time left but their fragments, yet even now, 
 though emancipated, they bear the indelible marks of the manacle ; 
 not like the galley slave's, physical and exterior, but deep mental 
 scars, never to be effaced. Can a nation which has run its long 
 career of glory be [320] regenerated ? Can the soul of the Greek 
 or the Rajput be reanimated with the spark divine which defended 
 the kunguras ^ of Chitor or the pass of Thermopylae ? Let history 
 answer the question. 
 
 Birth of Akbar. — In the same year that the song of joy was 
 raised in the cloud-capped ' palace of Kiunbhalmer for the 
 deliverance of Udai Singh, the note of woe was pealed through 
 the walls of Umarkot, and given to the winds of the desert, to 
 proclaim the birth * of an infant destined to be the greatest 
 monarch who ever swayed the sceptre of Hindustan. In an oasis 
 of the Indian desert, amidst the descendants of the ancient Sogdoi ^ 
 of Alexander, Akbar first saw the light ; his father a fugitive, the 
 diadem torn from his brows, its recovery more improbable than 
 was its acquisition by Babur. The ten years which had elapsed 
 since Humayun's accession were passed in perpetual strife with 
 his brothers, placed according to custom in subordinate govern- 
 ments. Their selfish ambition met its reward ; for with the fall 
 of Humayun their own was ensured, when Sher Shah displaced 
 the dynasty of Chagatai for his own, the Pathan (or Sur). 
 
 ^ Chand, the heroic bard of the last Hindu emperor. [Cf. Ecclesiastes, 
 X. 16.] 
 
 « Battlements. » Badal MahaU. * November 23, a.d. 1542. 
 
 * The Sodhas, a branch of the Pramaras, see p. 111.
 
 EARLY YEARS OF AKB.\R 373 
 
 Defeat and Flight of Humayun, a.d. 1540. — From the field of 
 battle at Kanauj, where Humayun left his crown, his energetic 
 opponent gave him no respite, driving him before him from Agra 
 to Lahore. Thence, with his family and a small band of adherents, 
 alternately protected and repelled by Hindu chieftains, he reached 
 the valley of Sind, where he struggled to maintain himself amidst 
 the greatest privations, attempting in succession each stronghold 
 on the Indus, from Multan to the ocean. Foiled in every object, 
 his associates made rebels by distress, he abandoned them for 
 the more dubious shelter of the foes of his race. Vain were his 
 solicitations to Jaisalmer and Jodhpur ; and though it cannot 
 be matter of wonder that he found no commiseration from either 
 Bhatti or Rathor, we must reprobate the unnational conduct of 
 Maldeo, who, the Mogul historian says, attempted to make him 
 captive. From such inhospitable treatment the royal exile 
 escaped by again plunging into the desert, where he encoimtered, 
 along with the tender objects of his solicitude, hardships of the 
 most appalling description, until sheltered by the Sodha prince 
 of Umarkot. The high courage and the virtues of this monarch 
 increase that interest in liis sufferings which royalty in distress 
 never fails to awaken by its u'resistible influence [321] upon our 
 sympathies ; and they form an affecting episode in the history 
 of Ferishta.^ Humayun, though more deeply skilled in the 
 
 ^ " Humaioon mounted his horse at midnight and fled towards Amercot, 
 which is about one hundred coss from Tatta. His horse, on the way, falling 
 down dead with fatigue, he desired Tirdi Beg, who was weU mounted, to let 
 him have liis ; but so ungenerous was this man, and so low was royalty 
 faUen, that he refused to comply with his request. The troops of the raja 
 being close to his heels, he was necessitated to mount a camel, tiU one Nidim 
 Koka, dismounting his own mother, gave the king her horse, and, placing 
 her on the camel, ran himself on foot by her side. 
 
 " The country through which they iied being an entire sandy desert, the 
 troop began to be'in the utmost distress for water. Some ran mad, others 
 feh down dead ; nothing was heard but dreadful screams and lamentations. 
 To add, if possible, to this calamity, news arrived of the enemy's near 
 approach. Humaioon ordered ah those who could light to halt, and let the 
 women and baggage move forward. The enemy not making their appear- 
 ance, the king rode on in front to see how it fared with his famUy. 
 
 " Night, in the meantime, coming on, the rear lost their way, and in the 
 morning were attacked by a party of the enemy. Shech Ah, with about 
 twenty brave men, resolved to seU his life dear. Having repeated the creed 
 of martyrdom, he rushed upon the enemy, and the first arrow having reachetl 
 the heart of the chief of the party, the rest were by the valour of his handful
 
 374 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 mysteries of astrology than any professed seer of his empire, 
 appears never to have enjoyed that prescience which, according 
 to the initiated in the science, is to be obtained from accurate 
 observation : 
 
 And coming events cast their shadows before ; 
 
 for, could he, by any prophetic power, have foreseen that the 
 cloud which then shaded his fortunes, was but the precursor of 
 glory to his race, he would have continued his retreat from the 
 sheltering sand-hills of Umarkot with very different sentiments 
 from those which accompanied his flight into Persia [322]. 
 
 Early Years of Akbar. — Hmnayvm educated the young Akbar 
 
 put to flight. The other Moguls joined in the pursuit, and took many of the 
 camels and horses. They then continued their march, found the king 
 sitting by a well which he had fortunately found, and gave him an account 
 of their adventure. 
 
 " Marching forward the next day from this well, they were more dis- 
 tressed than before, there being no water for two days' journey. On the 
 fourth day of their retreat they fell in with another well, which was so deep, 
 that the only bucket they had took a great deal of time in being wound up, 
 and therefore a drum was beat to give notice to the caffilas when the bucket 
 appeared, that they might repair by turns to drink. The people were so 
 impatient for the water, that as soon as the first bucket appeared, ten or 
 twelve of them threw themselves upon it before it quite reached the brim 
 of the well, by which means the rope broke, and the bucket was lost, and 
 several fell headlong after it. When this fatal accident happened, the 
 screams and lamentations of all became loud and dreadful. Some loUing 
 out their tongues, rolled themselves in agony on the hot sand ; while others, 
 precipitating themselves into the well, met with an immediate, and conse- 
 quently an easier death. What did not the unhappy king feel, when he saw 
 this terrible situation of his few faithful friends ! 
 
 " The next day, though they reached water, was not less fatal than the 
 former. The camels, who had not tasted water for several days, now drank 
 so much that the greatest part of them died. The people, also, after drink- 
 ing, complained of an oppression of the heart, and in about half an hour a 
 great part of them expired.. 
 
 " A few, with the king, after this unheard-of distress, reached Amercote. 
 The raja, being a humane man, took compassion on their misfortunes : he 
 spared nothing that could alleviate their miseries, or express his fidelity to 
 the king. 
 
 " At Amercote, upon Sunday the fifth of Rigib, in the year nine hundred 
 and forty-nine, the prince Akber was brought forth by Hamida Banu Begum. 
 The king, after returning thanks to God, left his family under the protection 
 of Raja Rana, and, by the aid of that prince, marched against Bicker." 
 Dow's Feyishta [2nd ed. ii. 136 ff. Compare that of Briggs ii. 93 ff.].
 
 EARLY YEARS OF AKBAR 375 
 
 in the same school of adversity in which he had studied under 
 Babur. Between the Persian court and his ancient patrimony 
 in Transoxiana, Kandahar, and Kashmir, twelve years were 
 passed in everj^ trial of fortune. During this short period, India, 
 always the prize of valour, had witnessed in succession six ^ 
 kings descended from the Pathan ' Lion ' {sher), of whom the 
 last, Sikandar, was involved in the same civil broUs which brought 
 the crown to his family. Humayun, then near Kashmir, no 
 sooner observed the tide of events set counter to liis foe, than he 
 crossed the Indus and advanced upon Sirhind, where the Pathan 
 soon appeared with a tumultuous array. The impetuosity of 
 young Akbar brought on a general engagement, which the veterans 
 deemed madness. Not so Humayun, who gave the command to 
 his boy, whose heroism so excited all ranks, that they despised 
 the numbers of the enemy, and gained a glorious victory. This 
 was the presage of his future fame ; for Akbar was then but 
 twelve years of age,^ the same period of life at which his grand- 
 father, Babur, maintained himself on the throne of Farghana. 
 Humayun, worthy of such a son and such a sire, entered Delhi in 
 triumph ; but he did not long enjoy Ms recovered crown. His 
 death will appear extraordinary, according to the erroneous 
 estimate formed of Eastern princes : its cause was a faU from 
 the terrace of his library ; ' for, like every individual of his race, 
 lie was not merely a patron of literature, but himself a scholar. 
 Were we to contrast the literary acquirements of the Chagatai 
 princes with those of their contemporaries of Europe, the balance 
 of lore would be found on the side of the Asiatics, even though 
 Elizabeth and Henry IV. of France were in the scale. Amongst 
 the princes from the Jaxartes are historians, poets, astronomers, 
 founders of systems of government and religion, warriors, and 
 great captains, who claim our respect and admiration. 
 
 Akbar's Struggle for the Empire. — Scarcely had Akbar been 
 seated on the throne, when Delhi and Agra were wrested from 
 him, and a nook of the Panjab constituted all his empire : but by 
 the energetic valour of the great Bairam Khan, his lost sovereignty 
 was regained with equal rapidity, and estabhshed by the wisdom 
 
 ^ [Four are usually reckoned : Islam Shah, Muhammad Shah Adil, 
 Ibrahim Shah, and Sikandar Shah.] 
 2 A.D. 1554. 
 * [At the Sher Mandal in Parana Kila, Delhi, on January 24, 1556.]
 
 376 ANNALS OF BIEWAR 
 
 of this Suliy ^ of Hindustan on a rock. Kalpi, Chanderi, Kalanjar, 
 all Bundelkhand and Malwa, were soon attached to the empire, 
 and at the early age of eighteen Akbar assumed the uncontrolled 
 [323] direction of the State. He soon turned his attention 
 towards the Rajputs ; and whether it was to revenge the in- 
 hospitality of Maldeo towards his father, he advanced against 
 the Rathors, and stormed and took Merta, the second city in 
 Marwar. Raja Biharimall [or Bahar MaU] of Amber anticipated 
 the king, enrolled himself and son Bhagwandas amongst his 
 vassals, gave the Chagatai a daughter to wife, and held his country 
 as a fief of the empire. But the rebellions of the Usbek nobles, 
 and the attempts of former princes to regain their lost power, 
 checked for a time his designs upon Rajasthan. These matters 
 adjusted, and the petty sovereigns in the East (to whom the 
 present monarch of Oudh is as Alexander) subjected to authority, 
 he readily seized upon the provocation which the sanctuary given 
 to Baz Bahadur of Malwa and the ex-prince of Narw^ar afforded, 
 to turn his arms against Chitor.^ 
 
 Comparison o£ Akbar with Rana Udai Singh. — Happy the 
 country where the sovereignty is in the laws, and where the 
 monarch is but the chief magistrate of the State, unsubjected to 
 those vicissitudes which make the sceptre in Asia unstable as a 
 pendulum, kept in perpetual oscillation by the individual passions 
 of her princes ; where the virtues of one will exalt her to the 
 summit of prosperity, as the vices of a successor will plunge her 
 into the abyss of degradation . Akbar and Udai Singh furnish 
 the corollary to this self-evident truth. 
 
 The Rana was old enough to pliilosophize on ' the uses of 
 adversity ' ; and though the best of the ' great ancients ' had 
 fallen in defence of Chitor, there were not wanting individuals 
 capable of instilling just'^ and noble sentiments into his mind : 
 but it was of that common character which is formed to be 
 
 ^ There are excellent grounds for a parallel between Akbar and Henry 
 IV. and between Bairam and Sully, who were, moreover, almost contem- 
 poraries. The haughty and upright Bairam was at length goaded from 
 rebeUion to exile, and died by assassination only four years after Akbar's 
 accession. [January 31, 1561.] The story is one of the most useful lessons 
 of history. [The life of Akbar has been fully told, with much new evidence, 
 by V. A. Smith, Akbar the Great Mogul, 1917.] 
 
 - A.H. 975, or A.D. 1567.
 
 AKBAR AND RANA UDAI SINGH 377 
 
 controlled by others ; and an artful and daring concubine stepped 
 in, to govern Udai Singh and Mewar. 
 
 Akbar was not older when he came to the throne ^ of Delhi 
 than Udai Singh when he ascended that of Mewar. Nor were 
 his hopes much brighter ; but the star which beamed upon his 
 cradle in the desert, conducted to his aid such coiuisellors as the 
 magnanimous Bairam, and the wise and virtuous Abu-1 Fazl. 
 Yet it mavii be deemed hardly fair to contrast the Rajput with 
 the Mogul : the one disciplined into an accurate knowledge of 
 human nature, by experience of the [324] mutability of fortune ; 
 the other cooped up from infancy in a valley of his native hills, 
 his birth concealed, and his education restricted.^ 
 
 Akbar was the real founder of the empire of the Moguls, the 
 first successful conqueror of Rajput independence : to tliis end 
 his virtues were powerful auxiliaries, as by his skill in the analysis 
 of the mind and its readiest stimulant to action, he was enabled 
 to gild the chains with which he boimd them. To these they 
 became familiarized by habit, especially when the throne exerted 
 its power in acts gratifying to national vanity, or even in minister- 
 ing to the more ignoble passions. But generations of the martial 
 races were cut off by his sword, and lustres roUed away ere his 
 conquests were sufficiently confirmed to permit him to exercise 
 the beneficence of his nature, and obtain by the imiversal acclaim 
 of the conquered, the proud epithet of Jagad Guru, or ' guardian 
 of mankuid.' He was long ranked with Shihabu-d-din, Ala, and 
 other instruments of destruction, and with every just claim ; and, 
 like these, he constructed a Mimbar ^ for the Koran from the 
 altars of Eklinga. Yet he finally succeeded in healing the wounds 
 his ambition had inflicted, and received from millions that meed 
 of praise which no other of his race ever obtained. 
 
 The absence of the kingly virtues in the sovereign of Mewar 
 filled to the brim the bitter cup of her destiny. The guardian 
 goddess of the Sesodias had promised never to abandon the rock 
 of her pride while a descendant of Bappa Rawal devoted himself 
 to her service. In the first assault by Ala, twelve crowned heads 
 
 ^ A.D. 1556 ; both were under thirteen years of age. 
 
 ^ If we argue this according to a Rajput's notions, he will reject the com- 
 promise, and say that the son of Sanga should have evinced himself worthy 
 of his descent, under whatever circumstances fortune might have placed 
 him. 
 
 * The pulpit or platform of the Islamite preachers.
 
 378 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 defended the ' crimson banner ' to the death. In the second, 
 when conquest led by Bajazet ^ came from the south, the chieftain 
 of Deoha, a noble scion of Mewar, " though severed from her 
 stem," claimed the crown of glory and of martyrdom. But on 
 this, the third and grandest struggle, no regal victim appeared 
 to appease the Cybele of Chitor, and win her to retain its ' kun- 
 guras ' * as her coronet. She fell ! the charm was broken ; the 
 mysterious tie was severed for ever which connected p325] Chitor 
 with perpetuity of sway to the race of Guhilot. With Udai Singh 
 fled the " fair face " which in the dead of night unsealed the eyes 
 of Samarsi, and told him " the glory of the Hindu was depart- 
 ing " : ^ with him, that opinion, which for ages esteemed her walls 
 the sanctuary of the race, which encircled her with a halo of glory, 
 as the palladium of the religion and the liberties of the Rajputs. 
 
 To traditions such as these, history is indebted for the noblest 
 deeds recorded in her page ; and in Mewar they were the covert 
 impulse to national glory and independence. For this the 
 philosopher will value the relation ; and the philanthropist as 
 being the germs or nucleus of resistance against tyrannical 
 domination. Enveloped in a wild fable, we see the springs of 
 their prejudices and their action : batter down these adamantine 
 walls of national opinion, and all others are but glass. The once 
 invincible Chitor is now pronounced indefensible. " The abode 
 of regality, which for a thousand years reared her head above all 
 the cities of Hindustan," is become the refuge of wild beasts, 
 which seek cover in her temples ; and this erst sanctified capital 
 is now desecrated as the dwelling of evil fortune, into which the 
 entrance of her princes is solemnly interdicted. 
 
 Akbar besieges Chitor, September, a.d. 1567. — Ferishta men- 
 tions but one enterprise against Chitor, that of its capture ; but 
 the annals record another, when Akbar was compelled to relinquish 
 the undertaking.* The successful defence is attributed to the 
 
 ^ Malik Bayazid was the name of the Malwa sovereign ere he came to the 
 throne, corrupted by Europeans to Bajazet. He is always styled ' Baz 
 Bahadur ' in the annals of Mewar. 
 
 * Battlements. 
 
 ' The last book of Chand opens with this vision. 
 
 * [Ferishta ii. 299 ff. " It does not appear when that attempt was made, 
 and it is diflScult to find a place for it in Abu-1 Fazl's chronology, but there 
 is also difficulty in believing the alleged fact to be an invention " (Smith, 
 Akbar, the Oreat Mogxd, 81).]
 
 AKBAR BESIEGES CHITOR 379 
 
 masculine courage of the Rana's concubine queen, who headed 
 the sallies into the^heart of the Mogul camp, and on one occasion 
 tQ the emperor's headquarters. The imbecile Rana proclaimed 
 that he owed his deliverance to her ; when the chiefs, indignant 
 at this imputation on their courage, conspired and put her to 
 death. Internal discord invited Akbar to reinvest Chitor ; he 
 had just attained his twenty-fifth year, and was desirous of the 
 renown of capturing it. The site of the royal Urdu,^ or camp, 
 is still pointed out. It extended from the village of Pandauli ^ 
 along the high road to Basai, a distance of ten miles. The head- 
 quarters of Akbar are yet marked by a pyramidal column of 
 marble, to which tradition has assigned the [326] title of Akbar 
 ka diwa, or ' Akbar's lamp.' * Scarcely had Akbar sat down 
 before Chitor, when the Rana was compelled (say the annals) to 
 quit it ; but the necessity and his wishes were in unison. It 
 lacked not, however, brave defenders. Sahidas, at the head of a 
 numerous band of the descendants of Chonda, was at his post, 
 
 ^ Of which horde is a corruption. 
 
 2 There are two villages of this name. This is on the lake called Man- 
 sarowar on whose bank I obtained that invaluable inscriijtion (see No. 2) 
 in the nail-headed character, which settled the estabhshment of the Guhilot 
 in Chitor, at a httle more than (as Orme has remarked) one thousand years. 
 To the eternal regret of my Yati Guru and myself, a barbarian Brahman 
 servant, instead of having it copied, broke the venerable column to bring 
 the inscription to Udaipur. 
 
 ^ It IS as perfect as when constructed, being of immense blocks of compact 
 white Hmestone, closely fitted to each other ; its height thirty feet, the base 
 a square of twelve, and summit four feet, to which a staircase conducts. A 
 huge concave vessel was then filled with fire, which served as a night-beacon 
 to this ambulatory city, where all nations and tongues were assembled, or 
 to guide the foragers. Akbar, who was ambitious of being the founder of 
 a new faith as well as kingdom, had tried every creed, Jewish, Hindu, and 
 even made some progress in the doctrines of Christianity, and may have in 
 turn affected those of Zardusht, and assuredly this pyramid possesses more 
 of the appearance of a pyreum than a ' diwa ' ; though either would have 
 fulfilled the purport of a beacon. [Mr. V. A. Smith, quoting Kavi Raj 
 Shyamal Das, 'Antiquities at Nagari ' {JASB, Part i. vol. Ivi. (1887), 
 p. 75), corrects the statements in this note. There was no interior staircase, 
 and more accurate measurements are : height, 36 ft. 7 in. ; 14 ft. 1 in. 
 square at base ; 3 ft. 3 in. square at apex. The tower is sohd for 4 ft., then 
 hollow for 20 ft., and sohd again up to the top. The building may be very 
 ancient, though used by Akbar as alleged by popular tradition ; probably a 
 wooden ladder gave access to the chamber and to the summit. The original 
 purpose of the building, which stands near Nagari, some six miles N.E. of 
 Chitor, is uncertain [Akbar the Great Mogul, 86, note).]
 
 380 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 ' the gate of the sun ' ; there he fell resisting the entrance of the 
 foe, and there his altar stands, on the brow of the rock which was 
 moistened with his blood. Rawat Duda of Madri led ' the sons 
 of Sanga.' ^ The feudatory chiefs of Bedla and Kotharia, 
 descended from Pritliiraj of Delhi- — the framar of Bijolia — the 
 Jhala of Sadri — inspired their contingents with their brave 
 example : these were all home chieftains. Another son of Deolia 
 again combated for Chitor, with the Sonigira Rao of Jalor — 
 Isaridas Rathor, Karamchand Kachhwaha,^ with Duda Sadani,* 
 and the Tuar prince of Gwalior, were distinguished amongst the 
 foreign auxiharies on tliis occasion. 
 
 Jaimall and Fatta. — But the names which shine brightest in 
 this gloomy page of the annals of Mewar, which are still held 
 sacred by the bard and the true Rajput, and immoitahzed by 
 Akbar's own pen, are Jaimall of Radnor and Patta of Kelwa, 
 both of the sixteen superior vassals of Mewar. The first was a 
 Rathor of the Mertia house, the bravest of the brave clans of 
 Marwar ; the other was head of the Jagawats, another gi-and 
 shoot from Chonda. The names of Jaimall and Patta are ' as 
 household words,' inseparable in Mewar, and will be honoured 
 while tiie Rajput retains a shred of his inheritance or a spark of 
 his ancient recollections. Though deprived of the stimulus which 
 would have been given had their prince been a witness of their 
 deeds, heroic achievements such as those already recorded were 
 conspicuous on this occasion ; and many a fair form threw the 
 buclder over the scarf, and led the most desperate sorties [327]. 
 
 When Salumbar * fell at the gate of the sun, the command 
 devolved on Patta of Kelwa. He was only sixteen ; ^ his father 
 had fallen in the last shock, and his mother had survived but to 
 rear this the sole heir of their house. Like the Spartan mother 
 of old, she commanded him to put on the ' saffron robe,' and to 
 die for Chitor : but surpassing the Grecian dame, she illustrated 
 
 ^ The Sangawats, not the sons of Rana Sauga, but of a chieftain of 
 Chonda's kin, whose name is the patronymic of one of its principal sub- 
 divisions, of whom the chief of Deogarh is now head (see p. 188). 
 
 ^ Of the Panchaenot branch. 
 
 ^ One of the iShaikhavat subdivisions. 
 
 * The abode of the Chondawat leader. It is common to call them by 
 the name of their estates. 
 
 * [He must have been older, as he left two sons, and had already served 
 in defence of Merta (fcjmith, op. cil. 88).]
 
 THE JOHAR 381 
 
 her precept by example ; and lest any soft ' compunctious 
 \'isitings ' for one dearer than herself might dim the lustre of 
 Kelwa, she armed the young bride with a lance, with her de- 
 scended the rock, and the defenders of Chitor saw her fall, fighting 
 by the side of her Amazonian mother. "When their wives and 
 daughters performed such deeds, the Rajputs became reckless of 
 life. They had maintained a protracted defence, but had no 
 thoughts of surrender, when a ball struck Jaimall, who took the 
 lead on the fall of the kin of Mewar. His soul revolted at the 
 idea of ingloriously perishing by a distant blow. He saw there 
 was no ultimate hope of salvation, the northern defences being 
 entirely destroyed, and he resolved to signalize the end of his 
 career. The fatal Johar was commanded, while eight thousand 
 Rajputs ate the last ' bira ' ^ together, and put on their saffron 
 robes ; the gates were thrown open, the work of destruction 
 commenced, and few survived ' to stain the yellow mantle ' 
 by inglorious surrender. Akbar entered Chitor, when thirty 
 thousand of its inhabitants became \actims to the ambitious 
 thirst of conquest of this ' guardian of mankind.' All the heads 
 of clans, both home and foreign, fell, and seventeen hundred of 
 the immediate kin of the prince sealed their duty to their country 
 with their lives. The Tuar chief of Gwalior appears to have been 
 the only one of note who was reserved for another day of glory .^ 
 Nine queens, five princesses (their daughters), with two infant 
 sons, and the families of all the chieftains not at their estates, 
 perished in the flames or in the assault of this ever memorable 
 day. Their divinity had indeed deserted them ; for it was on 
 Adityawar, the day of the sun,' he shed for the last time a ray of 
 glory on Chitor. The rock of their strength was despoiled ; the 
 temples, the palaces dilapidated : and, to complete her humilia- 
 tion and his triumph, Akbar bereft her of all the symbols of [328] 
 regality : the nakkaras,* whose reverberations proclaimed, for miles 
 
 ^ The bira, or pan, the aromatic leaf so called, enveloping spices, terra 
 japonica, calcined shell-hne, and pieces of the areca nut, is always presented 
 on taking leave. 
 
 ^ [His name appears to have been SaHvahan, and as he had married a 
 Sesodia princess, he was bound to fight for the Rana {A8R, ii. 394).] 
 
 ' " Chait sudi igarahwan, S. 1624," 11th Chait, or May, a.d. 1568. 
 [The Musalman writers give February 23, 1568 {Akbarridma, ii. 471 ; 
 Elhot-Dowson v. 327 ; c/. Badaoni ii. 111).] 
 
 * Grand kettle-drums, about eight or ten feet in diameter.
 
 382 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 around, the entrance and exit of her princes ; the candelabras 
 from the shrine of the ' great mother,' who girt Bappa Rawal with 
 the sword with which he conquered Chitor ; and, in mockery of her 
 misery, her portals, to adorn his projected capital, Akbarabad.^ 
 
 Akbar claimed the honour of the death of Jaimall by his own 
 hand : the fact is recorded by Abu-1 Fazl, and by the emperor 
 Jahangir, who conferred on the matchlock which aided him to 
 this distinction the title of Sangram.* But the conqueror of 
 Chitor evinced a more exalted sense, not only of the value of his 
 conquest, but of the merits of his foes, in erecting statues to the 
 names of Jaimall and Patta at the most conspicuous entrance of 
 his palace at Delhi ; and they retained that distinction even 
 when Bernier was in India.' 
 
 The Sin oJ the Capture oJ Chitor. — When the Carthaginian 
 gained the battle of Cannae, he measured his success by the 
 bushels of rings taken from the fingers of the equestrian Romans 
 
 ^ The tija sakha Chitor ra, or ' tliird sack of Chitor,' was marked by the 
 most illiterate atrocity, . for every monument spared by Ala or Bayazid 
 was defaced, which has left an indehble stain on Akbar's name as a lover 
 of the arts, as well as of humanity. Ala's assault was comparatively harm.- 
 less, as the care of the fortress was assigned to a Hindu prince ; and Bayazid 
 had little time to fulfil this part of the Mosaic law, maintained with rigid 
 severity by the followers of Islamism. Besides, at those periods, they 
 possessed both the skill and the means to reconstruct : not so after Akbar, 
 as the subsequent portion of the annals will show but a struggle for existence. 
 The arts do not flourish amidst penury : the principle to construct cannot 
 long survive, when the means to execute are fled ; and in the monumental 
 works of Chitor we can trace the gradations of genius, its splendour and 
 decay. [There is no good evidence that Akbar destroyed the buildings 
 (Smith, op. cit. 90).] 
 
 ^ " He (Akber) named the matchlock with which he shot Jeimul Singram. 
 being one of great superiority and choice, and with which he had slain three 
 or four thousand birds and beasts " (Jahangir-namah). [Ed. Rogers- 
 Beveridge 45 ; Ain, i. 116, 617 ; Badaoni ii. 107.] 
 
 * " I find nothing remarkable at the entry but two great elephants of 
 stone, which are in the two sides of one of the gates. Upon one of them is 
 the statue of Jamel (Jeimul), that famous raja of Cheetore, and upon the 
 other Potter (Putta) his brother. These are two gallant men that, together 
 with their mother, who was yet braver than they, cut out so much work 
 for Ekbar ; and who, in the sieges of towns which they maintained against 
 him, gave such extraordinary proofs of their generosity, that at length they 
 would rather be killed in the outfalls (salhes) with their mother, than submit ; 
 and for this gallantry it is, that even their enemies thought them worthy to 
 have these statues erected to them. These two great elephants, together 
 with the two resolute men sitting on them, do at the first entry into this
 
 THE CAPTURE OF CHITOR 383 
 
 who fell in that memorable field. Akbar estimated his, by the 
 quantity of cordons (zimnar) of [329] distinction taken fi-om the 
 necks of the Rajputs, and seventy-four mans and a half ^ are the 
 recorded amount. To eternize the memory of this disaster, the 
 numerals '74J' are talak, or accursed.^ Marked on the banker's 
 letter in Rajasthan it is the strongest of seals, for ' the sin of the 
 slaughter of Chitor ' ^ is thereby invoked on all who violate a 
 letter under the safeguard of this mysterious number. He would 
 be a fastidious critic who stopped to calculate the weight oi these 
 cordons of the Rajput cavaliers, probably as much over-rated 
 as tlie trophies of the Roman rings, which are stated at three and 
 a half bushels. It is for the moral impression that history deigns 
 to note such anecdotes, in themselves of trivial import. So long 
 as ' 74| ' shall remain recorded, some good will result from the 
 calamity, and may survive when the event which caused it is 
 buried in oblivion. 
 
 Escape of Rana Udai Singh : Foundation of Udaipur. — When 
 Udai Singh abandoned Chitor, he found refuge with the Gohil in 
 the forests of Rajpipli. Thence he passed to the valley of the 
 
 fortress make an impression of I know not what greatness and awful terror " 
 (Letter written at Delhi, 1st July 1663, from edition printed in London in 1684, 
 ill the author's possession). [Ed. V. A. Smith, 256.] Such the impression 
 made on a Parisian a century after the event : but far more powerful the 
 charm to the author of these annals, as he pondered on the spot where 
 Jaimall received the fatal shot from Sangram, or placed flowers on the 
 cenotaph that marks the fall of the son of Chonda and the mansion of 
 Patta, whence issued the Sesodia matron and her daughter. Every foot of 
 ground is hallowed by ancient recollections. [For the question of these 
 statues see V. A. Smith, HFA, 426 ; ASR, i. 225 ff. ; Manucci, ii. 11.] 
 
 In these the reader may in some degree participate, as the plate gives 
 in the distance the runas of the dwellings both of Jaimall and Patta on 
 the projection of the rock, as well as ' the ringlet on the forehead of 
 Chitor,' the column of victory raised by Lakha Rana. 
 
 ^ The mail is of four seers : the maund is forty, or seventy-five pounds. 
 Dow, calculating all the captured wealth of India by the latter, has rendered 
 many facts improbable. [The man in the Ain was 55^ lbs.] 
 
 ^ [Sir H. M. EUiot proved that the use of 74i is merely a modification 
 of the figures 74^^, meaning apparently 84, a sacred number {Suppleme^ital 
 Glossary, 197). In the Central Provinces it is said that it originated in 
 Jahangir's slaughter of the Nagar Brahmans, when 7450 of them threw 
 away their sacred cords and became Sudras to save their lives (Russell, 
 Tribes and Castes, ii. 395).] 
 
 * ' Chitor marya ra pap ' .* ra is the sign of the genitive, in the Doric 
 tongue of Mewar, the la of the refined.
 
 384 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Giro in the Aravalli, in the vicinity of the retreat of his great 
 ancestor Bappa, ere he conquered Chitor. At the entrance of this 
 valley, several years previous to this catastrophe, he had formed 
 the lake, still called after him Udai Sagar, and he now raised a 
 dyke between the mountains which dammed up another mountain 
 stream. On the cluster of hills adjoining he raised the small 
 palace called Nauchauki, around which edifices soon arose, and 
 formed a city to which he gave his own name, Udaipur,^ hence- 
 forth the capital of Mewar. 
 
 Death of Rana Udai Singh. — Four years had Udai Singh sur- 
 vived the loss of Chitor, when he expired at Gogunda, at the early 
 age of forty-two ; yet far too long for his country's honour and 
 welfare. He left a num.erovis issue of twenty-five legitimate sons, 
 whose descendants, all styled Ranawat, pushed aside the more 
 ancient stock, and form that extensive clan distinctively termed 
 the Babas, or ' infants,' of Mewar, whether Ranawats, Purawats, 
 or Kanawats. His last act was to entail with a barren sceptre 
 contention upon his children ; for, setting aside the established 
 laws of primogeniture, he proclaimed his favourite son Jagmall 
 his successor. 
 
 Jagmall proclaimed Rana. — In Mewar there is no interregnum : 
 even the ceremony of matam (mourning) is held at the [330] 
 house of the family priest while the palace is decked out for 
 rejoicing. On the full moon of the spring month of Phalgun, 
 while his brothers and the nobles attended the funeral pyre, 
 Jagmall took possession of the throne in the infant capital, 
 Udaipur : but even while the triunpets sounded, and the heralds 
 called aloud " May the king live for ever ! " a cabal was formed 
 round the bier of his father. 
 
 Jagmall deposed in favour o£ Rana Partap Singh. — It will be 
 borne in mind that Udai Singh espoused the Sonigira princess ; 
 and the Jalor Rao, desirous to see his sister's son have his right, 
 demanded of Kistna, the ' great ancient ' of Mewar and the leader 
 of the Chondawats, how such injustice was sanctioned by him. 
 " When a sick man has reached the last extreme and asks for 
 milk to drink, why refuse it ? " was the reply ; with the addition : 
 " The Sonigira's nephew is my choice, and my stand by Partap." 
 JagmaU had just entered the Rasora, and Partap was saddling 
 
 ^ Classically Udayapura, the city of the East ; from udaya (oriens), the 
 point of sunrise, as asta (west) is of sunset.
 
 RANA PARTAP SINGH 385 
 
 for his departure, when Rawat Kistna entered, accompanied by 
 the ex-prince of GwaHor. Each chief took an arm of Jagmall, 
 and with gentle violence removed him to a seat in front of the 
 ' cushion ' he had occupied ; the hereditary premier remarking, 
 " You had made a mistake, Maharaj : that place belongs to your 
 brother " : and girding Partap with the sword (the privilege of 
 this house), thrice touching the ground, hailed him king of Mewar. 
 All followed the example of Salumbar. Scarcely was the ceremony 
 over, when the young prince remarked, it was the festival of the • 
 Aheria, nor must ancient customs be forgotten : " Therefore to 
 horse, and slay a boar to Gauri,^ and take the omen for the 
 ensuing year." They slew abundance of game, and in the mimic 
 field of war, the nobles who surrounded the gallant Partap antici- 
 pated happier days for Mewar [331]. 
 
 CHAPTER 11 
 
 Bana Partap Singh, a.d. 1572-97. — Partap ^ succeeded to the 
 titles and renown of an illustrious house, but without a capital, 
 without resources, his kindred and clans dispirited by reverses : 
 yet possessed of the noble spirit of his race, he meditated the 
 recovery of Chitor, the vindication of the honour of his house, 
 and the restoration of its power. Elevated with this design, he 
 hurried into conflict with his powerful antagonist, nor stooped 
 to calculate the means which were opposed to him. Accustomed 
 to read in his country's annals the splendid deeds of his fore- 
 fathers, and that Chitor had more than once been the prison of 
 their foes, he trusted that the revolutions of fortune might co- 
 operate with his own efforts to overturn the unstable throne of 
 Delhi. The reasoning was as just as it was noble ; but whilst 
 he gave loose to those lofty aspirations which meditated liberty 
 to Mewar, his crafty opponent was counteracting his views by a 
 scheme of policy which, when disclosed, filled his heart with 
 
 ^ Ceres — The Aheria, or Mahurat ka Shikar, will be explained in the 
 Personal Narrative, as it would here break the connexion of events. 
 
 ^ [Partap Singh is usually caUed by the Muhammadans Rana Kika, 
 Ktka (in Marwar gtga, in Malwa Kuka), meaning ' a small boy ' {Ain, i. 
 339 ; EIliot-Dowson v. 397, 410).] 
 
 VOL. I 2 c
 
 386 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 anguish. The wily Mogul arrayed against Partap his kindred in 
 faith as well as blood. The princes of Marwar, Amber, Bikaner, 
 and even Bundi, late his firm ally, took part with Akbar and 
 upheld despotism. Nay, even his own brother, Sagarji,^ deserted 
 him, and received, as the price of his treachery, the ancient capital 
 of his race, and the title which that possession conferred 
 [332]. 
 
 Rana Partap Singh resists the Moguls. — But the magnitude of the 
 peril confirmed the fortitude of Partap, who vowed, in the words 
 of the bard, "to make his mother's milk resplendent"; and he 
 amply redeemed his pledge. Single-handed, for a quarter of a 
 century did he withstand the combined efforts of the empire ; 
 at one time carrying destruction into the plains, at another fljang 
 from rock to rock, feeding his family from the fruits of his native 
 hills, and rearing the nursling hero Amra, amidst savage beasts 
 and scarce less savage men, a fit heir to his prowess and revenge. 
 The bare idea that " the son of Bappa Rawal should bow the 
 head to mortal man," was insupportable ; and he spurned every 
 overture which had submission for its basis, or the degradation 
 of uniting his family by marriage with the Tatar, though lord 
 of countless multitudes. 
 
 The brilliant acts he achieved during that period live in every 
 valley ; they are enshrined in the heart of every true Rajput, 
 and many are recorded in the annals of the conquerors. To 
 recount them all, or relate the hardshijDs he sustained, would be 
 to pen what they would pronounce a romance who had not 
 traversed the country where tradition is yet eloquent with his 
 exploits, or conversed with the descendants of his chiefs, who 
 
 ^ Sagarji held the fortress and lands of Kandhar. His descendants 
 formed an extensive clan called Sagarawats, who continued to hold Kandhar 
 till the time of Sawai Jai Singh of Amber, whose situation as one of the great 
 tatraps of the Mogul court enabled him to wrest it from Sagarji's issue, upon 
 sheir refusal to intermarry with the house of Amber. The great Mahabat 
 Khan, the most intrepid of Jahangir's generals, was an apostate Sagarawat. 
 They established many chieftainships in Central India, as Umri Bhadaura, 
 Ganeshganj, Digdoh ; places better known to Sindhia's officers than to the 
 British. [It is remarkable that the author beheved that Mahabat Khan was 
 a Rajput. This man, the De Montfort of Jahanglr, had such close Hindu 
 affinities and associations that he was thought to be a Hindu. He was a, 
 Musulman, Zamana Beg of Kabul, best known for his arrest of Jahangir in 
 1628. He died in 1644. (Jahanglr, Memoirs, Rogers-Beveridge i. 24 ; 
 Ain, i. 337 f., 347, 371, 414 ; Elphinstonc, Hist, of India, 567.)]
 
 THE VOW OF RANA PARTAP SINGH 387 
 
 cherish a recollection of the deeds of their forefathers, and melt, 
 as they recite them, into manly tears.^ 
 
 Partap was nobly supported ; and though wealth and fortune 
 tempted the fidelity of his chiefs, not one was found base enough 
 to abandon him. The sons of Jaimall shed their blood in his 
 cause, along with the successors of Patta — ^the house of Salumbar 
 redoubled the claims' of Chonda to fidelity ; and these five lustres 
 of adversity are the brightest in the chequered page of the history 
 of Mcwar, Nay, some chiefs, attracted by the very desperation 
 of his fortunes, pressed to his standard, to combat and die with 
 Partap. Amongst these was the Delwara chief, whose devotion 
 gained him the prince's ' right hand.' 
 
 The Vow of Rana Partap Singh. — To commemorate the desola- 
 tion of C'hitor, which the bardic historian represents as a ' widow ' 
 despoiled of the ornaments to her loveliness, Partap interdicted 
 to himself and his successors every article of luxury or pomp, 
 until the insignia of her glory should be redeemed. The gold 
 and silver dishes were laid aside [383] for pattras ^ of leaves ; 
 their beds henceforth of straw, and their beards left untouched. 
 But in order more distinctly to mark their fallen fortune and 
 stimulate to its recovery, he commanded that the martial nakkaras, 
 which always sounded in the van of battle or processions, should 
 follow in the rear. This last sign of the depression of Mewar 
 still survives ; the beard is yet untouched by the shears ; and 
 even in the subterfuge by which the patriot king's behest is set 
 aside, we have a tribute to his memory : for though his descendant 
 eats off gold and silver, and sleeps upon a bed, he places the 
 leaves beneath the one and straw under the other.^ 
 
 Often was Partap heard to exclaim, " Had Udai Singh never 
 been, or none intervened between him and Sanga Rana, no 
 
 ^ I have climbed the rocks, crossed the streams, and traversed the plains 
 which were the theatre of Partap's glory, and conversed with the lineal 
 descendants of Jaimall and Patta on the deeds of their forefathers, and 
 many a time has the tear started in their eye at the tale they recited. 
 
 ^ The first invented drinking cup or eating vessel being made from the 
 leaf {jMt) of particular trees, especially the palasa {Butea frondosa) and bar 
 (Ficus religiosa). The cups of a beautiful brown earthenware, made at 
 Kotharia, are chiefly pateras, of a perfectly classical shape. Query, the 
 Roman j^atera, or the Greek ttot?;/?, or Saxon j90< ? \jpatera, pateo, ' to lie open ' ; 
 pot. O.E. pott, Lat. potus, ' drinking.'] 
 
 ^ [For some further details see Rdsmdla, 307.]
 
 388 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Turk should ever have given laws to Rajasthan." Hindu society 
 had assumed a new form within the century preceding : the 
 wrecks of dominion from the Jumna and Ganges had been silently 
 growing into importance ; and Amber and Marwar had attained 
 such power, that the latter single-handed coped with the imperial 
 Sher Shah ; while numerous minor chieftainships were attaining 
 shape and strength on both sides the Chambal. A prince of 
 commanding genius alone was wanting, to snatch the sceptre of 
 dominion from the Islamite. Such a leader they found in Sanga, 
 who possessed every quality which extorts spontaneous obedience, 
 and the superiority of whose birth, as well as dignity, were ad- 
 mitted without cavil, from the Himalaya to Rameswaram.^ 
 These States had powerful motives to obey such a leader, in the 
 absence of whom their ancient patrimony was lost ; and such 
 they would have found renewed in Sanga's grandson, Partap, 
 had Udai Singh not existed, or had a less gifted sovereign than 
 Akbar been his contemporary. 
 
 With the aid of some chiefs of judgment and experience, 
 Partap remodelled his government, adapting it to the exigencies 
 of the times and to his slender resources. New grants were 
 issued, with regulations defining the service required. Kxun- 
 bhalmer, now the seat of government, was strengthened, as well 
 as Gogunda and other mountain fortresses ; and, being unable 
 to keep the field in the plains [334] of Me war, he followed the 
 system of his ancestors, and commanded his subjects, on pain of 
 death, to retire into the mountains. During the protracted 
 contest, the fertile tracts watered by the Banas and the Berach, 
 from the Aravalli chain west to the eastern tableland, were be 
 chiragh, ' without a lamp.' 
 
 Many tales are related of the unrelenting severity with which 
 Partap enforced obedience to this stern policy. Frequently, 
 with a few horse, he issued forth to see that his commands were 
 obeyed. The silence of the desert prevailed in the plains ; grass 
 had usurped the place of the waving corn ; the highways were 
 choked with the thorny babul,^ and beasts of prey made their 
 abode in the habitations of his subjects. In the mi^st of this 
 desolation, a single goatherd, trusting to elude observation, dis- 
 obeyed his prince's injunction., and pastured his flock in the 
 
 1 The bridge of Rama, the southern point of the peninsula {lOI, xxi. 173 ff.] 
 2 Mimosa [Acacia} Arabica.
 
 AKBAR ATTACKS RANA PARTAP SINGH 389 
 
 luxuriant meadows of Untala, on the banks of the Banas. After 
 a few questions, he was killed and hung up in terrorem. By such 
 patriotic severity Partap rendered ' the garden of Rajasthan ' of 
 no value to the conqueror, and the commerce already estabUshed 
 between the INIogid court and Europe, conveyed through Mewar 
 from Surat and other ports, was intercepted and plundered. 
 
 Akbar attacks Rana Partap Singh, a.d. 1576.— Akbar took 
 the field against the Rajput prince, establishing his headquarters 
 at Ajmer. This celebrated fortress, destined ultimately to be one 
 of the twenty -two subahs of his empire and an imperial residence, 
 had admitted for some time a royal garrison. Maldeo of Marwar, 
 who had so ably opposed the usurper Sher Shah, was compelled 
 to follow the example of his brother prince, Bhagwandas of Amber, 
 and to place himself at the footstool of Akbar : only two years 
 subsequent to Partap's accession, after a brave but fruitless 
 resistance in Merta and Jodhpur, he sent his son, Udai Singh, to 
 pay homage to the king.^ Akbar received him at Nagor, on his 
 route to Ajmer, on which occasion the Raos of Mandor were made 
 Rajas ; and as the heir of Marwar was of uncommon bulk, the 
 title by which he was afterwards known in Rajasthan was Mota 
 Raja,2 and henceforth the descendants of the kings of Kanauj 
 had the ' right hand ' of the emperor of the Moguls. But the 
 Rathor was greater in his native pride than with all the accession 
 of dignity or power which accrued on his sacrifice of Rajput 
 principles [335]. Udai ' le gros ' was the first of his race who 
 gave a daughter in marriage to a Tatar. The bribe for which 
 he bartered his honour was splendid ; for four provinces,' yielding 
 £200,000 of aimual revenue, were given in exchange for Jodh 
 Bai,* at once doubling the fisc of Marwar. With such examples 
 
 1 A.H. 977, A.D. 1569. [Ai7i, i. 429 £.] 
 
 - There is less euphony in the English than in the French designation, 
 Udai ' le Gros.' [Erskine (iii. A. 58) with less probabihty says it may mean 
 ' great, potent, good.'] 
 
 3 Godwar, Rs. 900,000 ; Ujjain, 249,914 ; Debalpur, 182,500; Badnawar, 
 250,000. 
 
 * The magnificent tomb of Jodh Bai, the mother of Shah Jahan, is at 
 Sikandra, near Agra, and not far from that in which Akbar's remains are 
 deposited. [Jodh Bai is a title, meaning ' Jodhpur lady.' There were some 
 doubts about her identity, but she was certainly daughter of Udai Singh 
 and wife of Jahanglr {Ain, i. 619). For her tomb see Sleeman, Rambles, 
 348.]
 
 390 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 as Amber and Marwar, and with less power to resist the temptation, 
 the minor chiefs of Rajasthan, with a brave and numerous vassal- 
 age, were transformed into satraps of Delhi, and the importance 
 of most of them was increased by the change. Truly did the 
 Mogul historian designate them ' ' at once the props and the orna- 
 ments of the throne." 
 
 Rana Partap Singh deserted by Rajput Princes. — But these were 
 fearful odds against Partap : the arms of his countrymen thus 
 turned upon him, derived additional weight from their self- 
 degradation, which kindled into jealousy and hatred against the 
 magnanimous resolution they wanted the virtue to imitate. 
 When Hindu prejudice was thus violated by every prince in 
 Rajasthan (that of Biuidi alone excepted ^), the Rana renounced 
 all alliance with those who were thus degraded ; and in order to 
 carry on the line, he sought out and incorporated with the first 
 class of nobles of his own kin the descendants of the ancient 
 princes of Delhi, of Patau, of Marwar, and of Dhar. To the 
 eternal honour of Partap and his issue be it told, that to the very 
 close of the monarchy of the Moguls, they not only refused such 
 alliance with the throne, but even with their brother princes of 
 Marwar and Amber. It is a proud triumph of virtue to record, 
 from the autograph letters of the most powerful of their princes, 
 Bakhta Singh and Jai Singh, that whilst they had risen to great- 
 ness from the surrender of principle, as Mewar had decayed from 
 her adherence to it, they should, even while basking in court 
 favour, solicit, and that humbly, to be readmitted to the honour 
 of matrimonial intercourse — ' to be purified,' ' to be regenerated,' 
 ' to be made Rajputs ' : and that this was granted only on 
 condition of their abjuring the contaminating practice which 
 had disunited them for more than a century ; with the additional 
 stipulation, that the issue of marriage with the house [336] 
 of Mewar should be the heirs to those they entered : con- 
 ditions which the decline of the empire prevented from being 
 broken. 
 
 Raja Man Singh and Rana Partap Singh.— An anecdote illus- 
 trative of the settled repugnance of this noble family to sully 
 the purity of its blood may here be related, as its result had a 
 
 1 The causes of exemption are curious, and are preserved in a regular 
 treaty with the emperor, a copy of which the author possesses, which will 
 be given in The Annals of Bundi.
 
 RAJA MAN SINGH AND RANA PARTAP SINGH 391 
 
 material influence on its subsequent condition. Raja Man, who 
 had succeeded to the throne of Amber, was the most celebrated of 
 his race, and from him may be dated the rise of his country. 
 This prince exemplified the wisdom of that policy which Babur 
 adopted to strengthen his conquest ; that of connecting his 
 family by ties of marriage with the Hindus. It has been already 
 related, that Humayun espoused a daughter of Bhagwandas, 
 consequently Raja Man was brother-in-law to Akbar.^ His 
 courage and talents well seconded this natural advantage, and 
 he became the most conspicuous of all the generals of the empire. 
 To him Akbar was indebted for half his triumphs. The Kachh- 
 waha bards find a delightful theme in recounting his exploits, 
 from the snow-clad Caucasus to the shores of the ' golden Cher- 
 sonese.' ^j Let the eye embrace these extremes of his conquests, 
 Kabul and the Paropanisos of Alexander, and Arakan (a name 
 now well known) on the Indian Ocean ; the former reunited, the 
 latter subjugated, to the empire by a Rajput prince and a Rajput 
 army. But Akbar knew the master-key to Hindu feeling, and by 
 his skill overcame prejudices deemed insurmountable, and many 
 are the tales yet told of their blind devotion to their favourite 
 emperor. 
 
 Raja Man was returning from the conquest of Sholapur to 
 Hindustan when he invited himself to an interview with Partap, 
 then at Kumbhalmer, who advanced to the Udaisagar to receive 
 him. On the mound which embanks this lake a feast was pre- 
 
 ^ [Akbar married a daughter of Raja Bihari Mall and sister of Bhag- 
 wandas {Ain, i. 310, 339). There is no evidence of the marriage of Humayun 
 into this family.] 
 
 * When Raja Man was commanded to reduce the revolted province of 
 Kabul, he hesitated to cross the Indus, the Rubicon of the Hindu, and which 
 they term Atak, or ' the barrier,' as being the hmit between their faith and 
 the barbarian. On the Hindu prince assigning this as his reason for not 
 leading his Rajputs to the snowy Caucasus, the accomphshed Akbar sent 
 him a couplet in the dialect of Rajasthan : — 
 
 " Sabhi bhumi Gopal ki " The whole earth is of God, 
 Ja men Atak kaha. In which he has placed the Atak. 
 
 Ja ke man men atak he. The mind that admits imxiediments 
 Soi Atak raha." Will always find an Atak." 
 
 [Dr. Tessitori, whose version is given, remarks that the popular form of 
 the third hne is : Bhitar tati pap ki.] This dehcate irony succeeded when 
 stronger language would have failed.
 
 392 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 pared for the prince of Amber. The board v/as spread, the Raja 
 summoned, and Prince Amra appointed to wait upon him ; but 
 no Rana appeared, for whose absence apologies alleging headache 
 were urged by his son, with the request [337] that Raja Man 
 would waive all ceremony, receive his welcome, and commence. 
 The prince, in a tone at once dignified and respectful, replied : 
 " Tell the Rana I can divine the cause of his headache ; but the 
 error is irremediable, and if he refuses to put a plate (kansa) 
 before me, who will ? " Further subterfuge was useless. The 
 Rana expressed his regret ; but added, that " he could not eat 
 with a Rajput who gave his sister to a Turk, and who probably 
 ate with him." Raja Man was unwise to have risked this disgrace : 
 and if the invitation went from Partap, the insult was ungenerous 
 as well as impolitic ; but of this he is acquitted. Raja Man left 
 the feast untouched, save the few grains of rice he offered to Anndeva,^ 
 which he placed in his turban, observing as he withdrew : "It 
 was for the preservation of your honour that we sacrificed our 
 own, and gave our sisters and our daughters to the Turk ; but 
 abide in peril, if such be your resolve, for this country shall not 
 hold you " ; and mounting his horse he turned to the Rana, who 
 appeared at this abrupt termination of his visit, "If I do not 
 humble your pride, my name is not Man " : to which Partap 
 replied, " he should always be happy to meet him " ; while 
 some one, in less dignified terms, desired he would not forget to 
 bring his ' Phupha ' [father's sister's husband], Akbar, The 
 ground was deemed impure where the feast was spread : it was 
 broken up and lustrated with the water of the Ganges, and the 
 chiefs who witnessed the humiliation of one they deemed apostate, 
 bathed and changed their vestments, as if polluted by his presence. 
 Every act was reported to the emperor, who was exasperated at 
 the insult thus offered to himself, and who justly dreaded the 
 revival of those prejudices he had hoped were vanquished ; and 
 it hastened the first of those sanguinary battles which have 
 immortalised the name of Partap : nor will Haldighat be for- 
 gotten while a Sesodia occupies Mewar, or a bard survives to 
 relate the tale. 
 
 Salim's Campaign, a.d. 1576.- — Prince Salim, the heir of 
 
 ^ The Hindus, as did the Greeks and other nations of antiquity, always 
 made offering of the first portion of each meal to the gods. Anndeva, 
 * the god of food.'
 
 BATTLE OF HALDIGHAT O:^ GOGUNDA 393 
 
 Delhi/ led the war, guided by the counsels of Raja Man and the 
 distinguished apostate sou of Sagarji, INIahabat lOian. Partap 
 truste(4 to his native hills and the valour of twenty-two thousand 
 Rajputs to withstand the son of Akbar. The divisions of the 
 royal army encountered little opposition at the exterior defiles 
 by which they penetrated the western side of the [338] Aravalli, 
 concentrating as they approached the chief pass which conducted 
 to the vulnerable part of this intricate country. 
 
 Battle o£ Haldighat or Gogunda, June 18, 1576.— The range to 
 which Partap was restricted was the mountainous region around, 
 though cliiefly to the west of the new capital. From north to 
 south, Kimibhalmer to Rakhablmath,^ about eighty miles in 
 length ; and in breadth, from Mirpur west to Satola east, about 
 the same. The whole of this space is moimtain and forest, valley 
 and stream. The approaches to the capital from every point to 
 the north, west, and south are so narrow as to merit the term of 
 defile ; on each side lofty perpendicular rocks, with scarcely 
 breadth for two carriages abreast, across wliich are those ramparts 
 of nature termed Col in the mountain scenery of Europe, which 
 occasionally open into spaces sufficiently capacious to encamp a 
 large force. Such was the plain of Haldighat, at the base of a 
 neck of mountain which shut up the valley and rendered it almost 
 inaccessible.* Above and belotv the Rajputs were posted, and 
 on the cliffs and pinnacles overlooking the field of battle, the 
 faithful aborigines, the Bhil, with his natural weapon the bow and 
 arrow, and huge stones ready to roU upon the combatant enemy. 
 
 At this pass Partap was posted with the flower of Mewar, and 
 glorious was the struggle for its maintenance. Clan after clan 
 followed with desperate intrepidity, emulating the daring of their 
 prince, who led the crimson banner into the hottest part of the 
 field. In vain he strained every nerve to encounter Raja Man ; 
 but though denied the luxury of revenge on his Rajput foe, he 
 
 ^ [Tliis is impossible, because Sallm, aftenvards the Emperor Jahangir, 
 was only iu his seventh year. The generals in command were Man Singh 
 and Asaf Khan.] 
 
 2 [Rakhabhdev, with a famous Jain temple, forty miles south of Udaipur 
 city (Erskine ii. A. 118).] 
 
 * Whoever has travelled through the OberhasU of Meyringen, in the 
 Oberland Bernois, requires no description of the alpine AravaUi. The Col 
 de Balme, in the vale of Chamouui, is, on a larger scale, the Haldighat of 
 Mewar.
 
 394 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 made good a passage to where Salim commanded. His guards 
 fell before Partap, and but for the steel plates which defended 
 his howda, the lance of the Rajput would have deprived •A.kbar 
 of his heir. His steed, the gallant Chetak, nobly seconded his 
 lord, and is represented in all the historical drawings of this 
 battle with one foot raised upon the elephant of the Mogul, while 
 his rider has his lance propelled against his foe. The conductor, 
 destitute of the means of defence, was slain, when the infuriated 
 animal, now without control, carried off Salim. On this spot 
 the carnage was imoiense : the Moguls eager to defend Salim ; 
 the heroes of Mewar to second their prince, who had already 
 received seven woiuids [339].^ Marked by the ' royal umbrella,' 
 which he would not lay aside, and which collected the might of 
 the enemy against him, Partap was thrice rescued from amidst 
 the foe, and was at length nearly overwhelmed, when the Jhala 
 chief gave a signal instance of fidelity, and extricated him with 
 the loss of his own life. Mana seized upon the insignia of Mewar, 
 and rearing the ' gold sun ' over his own head, made good his way 
 to an intricate position, drawing after him the brunt of the 
 battle, while his prince was forced from the field. With all his 
 brave vassals the noble Jhala fell ; and in remembrance of the 
 deed his descendants have, since the day of Haldighat, borne the 
 regal ensigns of Mewar, and enjoyed ' the right hand of her 
 princes.' ^ But this desperate valour was unavailing against 
 such a force, with a numerous field artillery and a dromedary 
 corps mounting swivels ; and of twenty-two thousand Rajputs 
 assembled on that day for the defence of Haldighat, only eight 
 thousand quitted the field alive.* 
 
 The Escape of Bana Partap Singh. — Partap, unattended, fled 
 on the gallant Chetak, who had borne him through the day, and 
 who saved him now by leaping a mountain stream when closely 
 pursued by two Mogul chiefs, whom this impediment momentarily 
 
 ^ Three from the spear, one shot, and three by the sword. 
 
 ^ The descendants of Mana yet hold Sadri and all the privileges obtained 
 on this occasion. Their kettle-drums beat to the gate of the palace, a 
 privilege allowed to none besides, and they are addressed by the title of Raj, 
 or royal. 
 
 3 [The battle fought on June 18, 1576, is known to Musalman historians 
 as the battle of Khamnaur or Khamnor, twenty-six miles north of Udaipur 
 city (Badaoni ii. 237 ; Akbarndma, iii. 244 if. ; Elhot-Dowson v. 398 ; 
 Aiii, i. 339; Smith, Akbar the Great Mogul, 151 H'.).]
 
 THE ESCAPE OF RANA PARTAP SINGH 395 
 
 checked. But Chetak, like his master, was wounded ; his 
 pursuers gained upon Partap, and the flash from the flinty rock 
 announced them at his heels, when, in the broad accents of his 
 native tongue, the salutation Ho ! nila ghora ra aswnr, ' Ho ! rider 
 of the blue horse,' made him look back, and he beheld but a single 
 horseman : that horseman his brother. 
 
 Sakta, whose personal enmity to Partap had made him a 
 traitor to Mewar, beheld from the ranks of Akbar the ' blue 
 horse ' flying unattended. Resentment was extinguished, and a 
 feeling of affection, mingling with sad and humiliating recollec- 
 tions, took possession of his bosom. He joined in the pursuit, 
 but only to slay the pursuers, who fell beneath his lance ; and 
 now, for the first time in their lives, the brothers embraced in 
 friendship. Here Chetak feU, and as the Rana unbuckled his 
 caparison to place it upon Ankara, presented to him by his 
 brother, the noble steed expired. An altar was raised, and yet 
 marks the spot, where Chetak ^ died ; and the entire scene may 
 be seen painted on the walls of half the houses of the capital [340]. 
 
 The greeting between the brothers was necessarily short ; but 
 the merry Sakta, who was attached to Salim's personal force, 
 could not let it pass without a joke ; and inquiring " how a man 
 felt when flying for his hfe ? " he quitted Partap with the assur- 
 ance of reunion the first safe opportunity. On rejoining Salim, 
 the truth of Sakta was greatly doubted when he related that 
 Partap had not only slain his pursuers, but his own steed, which 
 obliged him to return on that of the Khorasani. Prince Salim 
 pledged his word to pardon him if he related the truth ; when 
 Sakta replied, " The burthen of a kingdom is on my brother's 
 shoulders, nor could I witness his danger without defending him 
 from it." Salim kept his word, but dismissed the future head of 
 the Saktawats. Determined to make a suitable nazar on his 
 introduction, he redeemed Bhainsror by a coup de main, and 
 joined Partap at Udaipur, who made him a grant of the conquest, 
 which long remained the chief abode of the Saktawats ; ^ and 
 
 ^ ' Chetak ka Chabutra'' is near to Jharol. 
 
 2 The mother of Sakta was the Baijiraj, ' Royal Mother ' (Queen 
 Dowager) of Mewar. She loved this son, and left Udaipur to superintend 
 his household at Bhainsror: since which renunciation of rank to affection, 
 the mothers of the senior branch of Saktawab are addressed Baijiraj. 
 [Bliainsror is now held by a Chondawat Rawat.]
 
 396 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 since the day when this, their founder, preserved the Ufe of his 
 brother and prince against his Mogul pursuers, the birad of the 
 bard to all of his race is Khorasani Multani ka Agal, ' the 
 barrier to Khorasan and Multan,' from which countries were the 
 chiefs he slew. 
 
 On the 7th of Sawan, S. 1632 (July, a.d. 1576), a day ever 
 memorable in her annals, the best blood of Mewar irrigated the 
 pass of Haldighat. Of the nearest kin of the prince five hundred 
 were slain : the exiled prince of Gwalior, Ramsah, his son lOian- 
 derao, with three hundred and fiftj'' of his brave Tuar clan, paid 
 the debt of gratitude with their lives. Since their expulsion by 
 Babur they had found sanctuary in Mewar, whose princes 
 diminished their feeble revenues to maintain inviolable the rites 
 of hospitality.^ Mana, the devoted Jhala, lost one hundred and 
 fifty of his vassals, and every house of Mewar mourned its chief 
 support. 
 
 Siege of Kumbhalmer. — Elate with victory, Salim left the 
 hills. The rainy season had set in, which impeded operations, 
 and obtained for Partap a few months of repose ; but with the 
 spring the foe returned, when he was again defeated,^ and took 
 post in Kumbhalmer, which was invested by the Koka, Shahbaz 
 Khan. He here made a gallant and [341] protracted resistance, 
 and did not retire till insects rendered the water of the Naugun 
 well, their sole resource, impure.' To the treachery of the 
 Deora chief of Abu, who was now with Akbar, this deed is im- 
 puted. Partap thence withdrew to Chawand,* while Bhan, the 
 Sonigira chief, defended the place to the last, and was slain in 
 the assault. On this occasion also fell the chief bard of Mewar, 
 who inspired by his deeds, as well as by his song, the spirit of 
 resistance to the ' ruthless king,' and whose laudatory couplets 
 on the deeds of his lord are still in every mouth. But the spirit 
 of poesy died not with him, for princes and nobles, Hindu and 
 
 ^ Eight hundred rupees, or £100 daily, is the sum recorded for the support 
 of this prince. 
 
 2 The date of this battle is Magh Sudi 7, S. 1633, a.d. 1577. 
 
 3 [For the career of Shahbaz Khan, known as Koka or 'foster-brother,' 
 who died in 1600, see Aln, i. 399 if. Kumbhalmer was captured in 1578-9 
 (EUiot-Dowson v. 410, vi. 58). "About 1578 " (Erskine ii. A. 116).] 
 
 * A town in the heart of the mountainous tract on the south-west of 
 Mewar, called Chappan, containing * about three hundred and fifty towns 
 and villages, peopled chiefly by the aboriginal Bhils.
 
 FURTHER IMPERIALIST ADVANCE 397 
 
 Turk, vied with each other in exalting the patriot Partap, in 
 strains replete with those sentiments which elevate the mind of 
 the martial Rajput, who is inflamed into action by this national 
 excitement. 
 
 Further Imperialist Advance.— On the fall of Kumbhalmer, the 
 castles of Dharmeti and Gogunda were invested by Raja Man. 
 Mahabat Khan took possession of Udaipur ; and while a prince 
 of the blood ^ cut off the resources furnished by the inhabitants 
 of Oghna Panarwra, Khan Farid invaded Chappan, and ap- 
 proached Chawand from the south. Thus beset on every side, 
 dislodged from the most secret retreats, and hunted from glen 
 to glen, there appeared no hope for Partap : yet, even while his 
 pursuers deemed him panting in some obscure lurking-place, he 
 would by mountain signals reassemble his bands, and assail them 
 unawares and often unguarded. By a skilful manoeuvre, Farid, 
 who dreamed of nothing less than making the Rajput prince 
 his prisoner, was blocked up in a defile and his force cut off to 
 a man. Unaccustomed to such warfare, the mercenary Moguls 
 became disgusted in combating a foe seldom tangible ; while the 
 monsoon swelled the mountain streams, filling the reservoirs 
 with mineral poisons and the air with pestilential exlialations. 
 The periodical rains accordingly always brought some respite to 
 Partap. 
 
 Years thus rolled away, each ending with a diminution of his 
 means and an increase to his misfortunes. His family was his 
 chief source of anxiety : he dreaded their captivity, an appre- 
 hension often on the point of being realised. On one occasion 
 they were saved by the faithful Bhils of Kava, who carried them 
 in wicker baskets and concealed them in the tin mines of Jawara. 
 where they guarded [342] and fed them. Bolts and rings are 
 still preserved in the trees about Jawara and Chawand, to which 
 baskets were suspended, the only cradles of the royal children of 
 Mewar, in order to preserve them from the tiger and the wolf. 
 Yet amidst such complicated evils the fortitude of Partap re- 
 mained unshaken, and a spy sent by Akbar represented the 
 Rajput and his chiefs seated at a scanty meal, maintaining all 
 the etiquette observed in prosperity, the Rana bestowing the 
 dauna to the most deserving, and which, though only of the wild 
 fruit of the country, was received with all the reverence of better 
 ^ Called Ami Sah in the Annals.
 
 398 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 days. Such inflexible magnanimity touched the soul of Akbar,^ 
 and extorted the homage of every chief in Rajasthan ; nor could 
 those who swelled the gorgeous train of the emperor withhold 
 their admiration. Nay, these annals have preserved some 
 stanzas addressed by the Khankhanan,^ the first of the satraps 
 of Delhi, to the noble Rajput, in his native tongue, applauding his 
 valour and stimulating his perseverance : " All is unstable in 
 this world : land and wealth will disappear, but the virtue of a 
 great name lives for ever. Patta ^ abandoned wealth and land, 
 but never bowed the head : alone, of all the princes of Hind, he 
 preserved the honour of his race." 
 
 But there were moments when the wants of those dearer than 
 his own life almost excited him to frenzy. The wife of his bosom 
 was insecure, even in the rock or the cave ; and his infants, heirs 
 to every luxury, were weeping around him for food : for with 
 such pertinacity did the Mogul myrmidons pursue them, that 
 " five meals have been prepared and abandoned for want of 
 opportunity to eat them." On one occasion his queen and his 
 son's wife were preparing a few cakes from the flour of the meadow 
 grass,* of which one was given to each ; half for the present, the 
 rest for a future meal. Partap was stretched beside them ponder- 
 ing on his misfortunes, when a piercing cry from his daughter 
 roused him from reflection : a wild cat had darted on the reserved 
 portion of food, and the agony of hunger made her shrieks in- 
 supportable. Until that moment his fortitude had been un- 
 subdued. He had beheld, his sons and his kindred fall around 
 him on the field without emotion — " For this the Rajput was 
 born " ; but the lamentation of his children for food " unmanned 
 him." He cursed the name of royalty, if only to be enjoyed on 
 such conditions, and he demanded of Akbar a mitigation of his 
 hardships [343]. 
 
 Submission of Rana Partap Singh. — Overjoyed at this indica- 
 tion of submission, the emperor commanded pubhc rejoicings, 
 and exultingly showed the letter to Prithiraj, a Rajput compelled 
 to follow the victorious car of Akbar. Prithiraj was the younger 
 
 1 [Akbar was anxious to destroy Partap, but he could not carry on a 
 guerilla campaign in Rajputana, and he had work to do elsewhere (Smith, 
 Akbar the Great Mogul, 153).] 
 
 ^ fMirza Abdu-r-rahim, son of Bairam Khan (Ain, i. 334).] 
 
 3 A colloquail contraction for Partap. * Called Mol. 
 
 \
 
 SUBMISSION OF RANA PARTAP SINGH 399 
 
 brother of the prince of Bikaner,^ a State recently grown out of 
 the Rathors of jNIarvvar, and which, being exposed in the flats of 
 the desert, had no power to resist the example of its elder, Maldeo. 
 Prithiraj was one of the most gallant chieftains of the age, and 
 like the Troubadour princes of the west, could grace a cause 
 with the soul-insi^iring effusions of the muse, as well as aid it 
 with his sword : nay, in an assembly of the bards of Rajasthan, 
 the palm of merit was unanimously awarded to the Rathor 
 cavalier. He adored the very name of Partap, and the intelligence 
 filled him with grief. With all the warmth and frankness of his 
 nature, he told the king it was a forgery of some foe to the fame 
 of the Rajput prince. " I know him well," said he ; " for your 
 crown he would not submit to your terms." He requested and 
 obtained permission from the king to transmit by his courier a 
 letter to Partap, ostensibly to ascertain the fact of his submission, 
 but really with the view to prevent it. On this occasion he 
 composed those couplets, still admired, and which for the effect 
 they produced will stand comparison with any of the sirvcntes of 
 the Troubadours of the west.^ 
 
 " The hopes of the Hindu rest on the Hindu ; yet the Rana 
 forsakes them. But for Partap, all would be placed on the same 
 level by Akbar ; for our chiefs have lost their valour and our 
 females their honour. Akbar is the broker in the market of our 
 race : all has he purchased but the son of Uda ; he is beyond his 
 price. What true Rajput would part with honour for nine days 
 (nauroza) ; yet how many have bartered it away ? Will Chitor 
 come to this market, when all have disposed of the chief article 
 of the Ivhatri ? Though Patta has squandered away wealth, 
 yet this treasure has he preserved. Despair has driven man to 
 this mart, to witness their dishonour : from such infamy the 
 descendant of Hamir alone has been preserved. The world asks, 
 whence the concealed aid of Partap ? None but the soul of 
 manliness and his sword : with it, well has he maintained the 
 Khatri's pride. This broker in the market [344] of men will one 
 day be overreached ; he cannot live for ever : then will om* race 
 come to Partap, for the seed of the Rajput to sow in our desolate 
 
 1 [Rae Singh (1571-1611).] 
 
 ^ It is no affectation to say that the spirit evaporates in the lameness of 
 the translation. The author could feel the force, though he failed to imitate 
 the strength, of the original.
 
 400 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 lands. To him all look for its preservation, that its purity may 
 again become resplendent." 
 
 Rally o£ Rana Partap Singh. — This effusion of the Rathor was 
 equal to ten thousand men ; it nerved the drooping mind of 
 Partap, and roused him into action : for it was a noble incentive 
 to find every eye of his race fixed upon him. 
 
 The Nauroza. — The allusion of the princely poet in the phrase, 
 " bartering their honour on the Nauroza," requires some explana- 
 tion. The Nauroza, or ' New Year's Day,' when the sun enters 
 Aries, is one of great festivity among the Muhammadan princes 
 of the East ; but of that alluded to by Prithiraj we can form an 
 adequate idea from the historian Abu-1 Fazl.^ 
 
 It is not New Year's Day, but a festival especially instituted 
 by Akbar, and to which he gave the epithet lOiushroz, ' day of 
 pleasure,' held on the ninth day (nauroza), following the chief 
 festival of each month. The court assembled, and was attended 
 by all ranks. The queen also had her court, when the wives of 
 the nobles and of the Rajput vassal princes were congregated. 
 But the Khushroz was chiefly marked by a fair held within the 
 precincts of the court, attended only by females. The merchants' 
 wives exposed the manufactures of every clime, and the ladies 
 of the court were the purchasers.^ " His majesty is also there in 
 disguise, by which means he learns the value of merchandise, and 
 hears what is said of the state of the empire and the character of 
 the officers of government." The ingenuous Abu-1 Fazl thus 
 
 ^ [Ain, i. 276 f. ; Memoirs of Jahangir, trans. Rogers-Beveridge, 48 £.] 
 ^ At these royal fairs were also sold the productions of princely artisans, 
 male and female, and which, out of compliment to majesty, made a bounte- 
 ous return for their industry. It is a fact but little known, that most Asiatic 
 princes profess a trade : the great Aurangzeb was a cap-maker, and sold 
 them to such advantage on these ' ninth day ' fairs, that his funeral ex- 
 penses were by his own express command defrayed from the privy purse, 
 the accumulation of his personal labour. A delightful anecdote is recorded 
 of the Khilji king Mahmud, whose profession was hterary, and who obtained 
 good prices from his Omrahs for his specimens of calligraphy. While engaged 
 in transcribing one of the Persian poets, a professed scholar, who with 
 others attended the conversazione, suggested an emendation, which was 
 instantly attended to, and the supposed error remedied. When the MuUah 
 was gone, the monarch erased the emendation and re-inserted the passage. 
 An Omrah had observed and questioned the action, to which the king 
 repUed : "It was better to make a blot in the manuscript than wound the 
 vanity of a humble scholar." [Ferishta tolls the story of Nasiru-d-din 
 Mahmud, i. 24G.] 
 
 i
 
 AKBAR AND RAJPUT LADIES 401 
 
 softens down the unhallowed purpose of this day ; but posterity 
 cannot admit that the great Akbar was to obtain these results 
 amidst the Pushto jargon of the dames of Islam, or the mixed 
 Bhakha of the fair of [345] Rajasthan. These ' ninth day fairs ' 
 are the markets in which Rajput honour was bartered, and to 
 which the brave Prithiraj makes allusion.^ 
 
 Akbar and Rajput Ladies. — It is scarcely to be credited that 
 a statesman like Akbar should have hazarded his popularity or 
 his power, by the introduction of a custom alike appertaining to 
 the Celtic races of Europe as to these the Goths of Asia ; * and 
 that he should seek to degrade those whom the chances of war 
 had made his vassals, by conduct so nefarious and repugnant to 
 the keenly cherished feelings of the Rajput. Yet there is not a 
 shadow of doubt that maiiy of the noblest of the race were dis- 
 honoured on the Nauroza ; and the chivalrous Prithiraj was only 
 preserved from being of the number by the high courage and 
 virtue of his wife, a princess of Mewar, and daughter of the 
 founder of the Saktawats. On one of these celebrations of the 
 
 ^ [Compare the later accounts of these fairs by Bernier 272 f. ; and 
 Manucci i. 195. Aurangzeb transferred the Nauroz rejoicings to the corona- 
 tion festival in Raniazan ( Jadunath Sarkar, Life of Aurangzib, iii. 93). The 
 ladies of the Mughal court usually spoke, not Pushto, but Turki.] 
 
 ^ This laxity, as regards female delicacy, must have been a remnant of 
 Scythic barbarism, brought from the banks of the Jaxartes, the land of the 
 Getae, where now, as in the days of Tomyris, a shoe at the^door is a sufficient 
 barrier to the entrance of many Tatar husbands. It is a well-known fact, 
 also, that the younger son in these regions inherited a greater share than the 
 elder, which is attributed to their pastoral habits, which invited early 
 emigration in the elder sons. This habit prevailed with the Rajput tribes 
 of very early times, and the annals of the Yadus, a race alhed to the Yuti- 
 Getae, or Jat, afford many instances of it. Modified it yet exists amongst the 
 Jarejas (of the same stock), with whom the sons divide equally ; which 
 custom was transmitted to Europe by these Getic hordes, and brought into 
 England by the Jut brothers, who foimded the kingdom of Kent {kanthi, ' a 
 coast' in Gothic and Sanskrit), where it is yet known as Gavelkind. In 
 Enghsh law it is termed borough-English. In Scotland it existed in barbarous 
 times, analogous to those when the Nauroza was sanctioned ; and the lord of 
 the manor had privileges which rendered it more than doubtful whether the 
 first-born was natural heir : hence, the youngest was the heir. So in France, 
 in ancient times ; and though the ' droit de Jambage ' no longer exists, the 
 term sufficiently denotes the extent of privilege, in comparison with which 
 the other rights of ' Noi^ages,^ the seigneur's feeding his greyhounds with 
 the best dishes and insulting the bride's blushes with ribald songs, were 
 innocent. [The ethnological views in this note do not deserve notice.] 
 VOL. I 2d
 
 402 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 lOiushroz, the monarch of the Moguls was struck with the beauty 
 of the daughter of Mewar, and he singled her out from amidst the 
 united fair of Hind as the object of his passion. It is not im- 
 probable that an ungenerous feeling vmited with that already 
 impure, to despoil the Sesodias of their honour, through a princess 
 of their house under the protection of the sovereign. On retiring 
 from the fair, she found herself entangled amidst the labyrinth 
 of apartments by which egress was purposely ordained, when 
 Akbar stood before her : but instead of acquiescence, she drew 
 a poniard from her corset, and held it to his breast, dictating, 
 and making him repeat, the oath of renunciation of the infamy 
 to all her race. The anecdote is accompanied in the original 
 with many dramatic circumstances. The guardian goddess of 
 Mewar, the terrific Mata, appears on her tiger in the subterranean 
 passage of this palace of pollution, to strengthen her mind by a 
 solemn denunciation [346], and her hand with a weapon to 
 protect her honour. Rae Singh, the elder brother of the princely 
 bard, had not been so fortunate ; his wife wanted either courage 
 or virtue to withstand the regal tempter, and she returned to 
 their dwelling in the desert despoiled of her chastity, but loaded 
 with jewels ; or, as Prithiraj expresses it : " She returned to her 
 abode, tramping to the tinkling sound of the ornaments of gold 
 and gems on her person ; but where, my brother, is the moustache ^ 
 on thy lip ? " 
 
 Adventures o£ Rana Partap Singh. — It is time to return to the 
 Aravalli, and to the patriot j^rince Partap. Unable to stem the 
 torrent, he had formed a resolution worthy of his character ; he 
 determined to abandon Mewar and the blood-stained Chitor (no 
 longer the stay of his race), and to lead his Sesodias to the Indus, 
 plant the ' crimson banner ' on the insular capital of the Sogdoi, 
 and leave a desert between him and his inexorable foe. With his 
 family, and all that was yet noble in Mewar, his chiefs and vassals, 
 a firm and intrepid band, who prefeiTcd exile to degradation, he 
 descended the Aravalli, and had reached the confines of the desert, 
 when an incident occurred which made him change his measures, 
 and still remain a dweller in the land of his forefathers. If the 
 historic annals of Mewar record acts of unexampled severity, 
 
 ^ The loss of this is the sign of mourning. [Tliere is naturally no confirma- 
 tion of these anecdotes in the Musalman historians, but they possibly may 
 be true.]
 
 ADVENTURES OF RANA PARTAP SINGH 403 
 
 they are not without instances of unparalleled devotion. The 
 minister of Partap, whose ancestors had for ages held the office, 
 placed at his prince's disposal their accumulated wealth, which, 
 with other resources, is stated to havej been equivalent to the 
 maintenance of twenty-five thousand men for twelve years. 
 The name of Bhama Sah is preserved as the saviour of Mewar. 
 With this splendid proof of gratitude, and the sirvente of Prithiraj 
 as incitements, he again " screwed his courage to the sticking- 
 place," collected his bands, and while his foes imagined that he 
 was endeavouring to effect a retreat through the desert, surprised 
 Shahbaz in his camp at Dawer, whose troops were cut in pieces. 
 The fugitives were pursued to Amet, the garrison of which shared 
 the same fate. Ere they could recover from their consternation, 
 Kumbhalmer was assaulted and taken ; Abdulla and his garrison 
 were put to the sword, and thirty-two fortified posts in like manner 
 carried by surprise, the troops being put to death without mercy. 
 To use the words of the annals : " Partap made a desert of Mewar ; 
 he made an [347] offering to the sword of whatever dwelt in its 
 plains " : an appalling but indispensable sacrifice. In one short 
 campaign (S. 1586, a.d. 1530), he had recovered all Mewar, except 
 Chitor, Ajmer, and Mandalgarh ; and determining to have a 
 slight ovation in return for the triumph Raja Man had enjoyed 
 (who had fulfilled to the letter his threat, that Partap should 
 " live in peril "), he invaded Amber, and sacked its chief mart of 
 commerce, Malpura. 
 
 Udaipur was also regained ; though this acquisition was so 
 unimportant as scarcely to merit remark. In all likelihood it 
 was abandoned from the difficulty of defending it, when all around 
 had submitted to Partap ; though the annals ascribe it to a gener- 
 ous sentiment of Akbar, prompted by the great Khankhanan, 
 whose mind appears to have been captivated by the actions of 
 the Rajput prince.^ An anecdote is appended to account for 
 Akbar's relaxation of severity, but it is of too romantic a nature 
 even for this part of their annals. 
 
 Mewar left in Peace by the Imperialists. — Partap was indebted 
 to a combination of causes for the repose he enjoyed during the 
 latter years of his life ; and though this may be ascribed principally 
 to the new fields of ambition which occupied the Mogul arms, we 
 are authorized also to admit the full weight of the influence that 
 1 [See p. 398, above.]
 
 404 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 the conduct of the Hindu prince exerted upon Akbar, together 
 with the general sympathy of his fellow-princes, who swelled the 
 train of the conqueror, and who were too powerful to be regarded 
 with indifference. , 
 
 Repose was, however, no boon to the noblest of his race. A 
 mind like Partap's could enjoy no tranquillity while, from the 
 summit of the pass which guarded Udaipur, his eye embraced the 
 Kunguras of Chitor, to which he must ever be a stranger. To a 
 soul like his, burning for the redemption of the glory of his race, 
 the mercy thus shown him, in placing a limit to his hopes, was 
 more difficult of endurance than the pangs of fabled Tantalus. 
 Imagine the warrior, yet in manhood's prime, broken with fatigues 
 and covered with scars, from amidst the fragments of basaltic 
 ruin ^ (fit emblem of his own condition !), casting a wistful eye to 
 [348] the rock stained with the blood of his fathers ; whilst in the 
 ' dark chamber ' of his mind the scenes of glory enacted there 
 appeared with unearthly lustre. First, the youthful Bappa, on 
 whose head was the ' mor he had won from the Mori ' : ^ the 
 warlike Samarsi, arming for the last day of Rajput independence, 
 to die with Prithiraj on the banks of the Ghaggar : again, descend- 
 ing the steep of Chitor, the twelve sons of Arsi, the crimson banner 
 floating aroimd each, while from the embattled rock the guardian 
 goddess looked down on the carnage which secured a perpetuity 
 of sway. Again, in all the pomp of sacrifice, the Deolia chiefs, 
 Jaimall and Patta ; and like the Pallas of Rajasthan, the Chon- 
 dawat dame, leading her daughter into the ranks of destruction : 
 examples for their sons' and husbands' imitation. At length 
 clouds of darkness dimmed the walls of Chitor : from her battle- 
 
 1 These mountains are of granite and close-grained quartz ; but on the 
 summit of the pass there is a mass of columnar rocks, which, though the 
 author never examined them very closely, he has little hesitation in calling 
 basaltic. Were it permitted to intrude his own feelings on his reader, he 
 would say, he never passed the portals of Debari, which close the pass leading 
 from Chitor to Udaipur, without throwing his eye on this fantastic pinnacle 
 and imagining the picture he has drawn. Whoever, in rambhng through 
 the ' eternal city,' has had his sympathy awakened in beholding at the 
 Porta Salaria the stone seat where the conqueror of the Persians and the 
 Goths, the blind Bclisarius, begged his daily dole,— or pondered at the un- 
 sculptured tomb of Napoleon upon the vicissitudes of greatness, will appre- 
 ciate the feeUng of one who, in sentiment, had identified himself with the 
 Rajputs, of whom Partap was justly the model. 
 
 2 [A pun on maur, ' a crown,' and the Maurya tribe.]
 
 THE LAST DAYS OF RANA PARTAP 405 
 
 merits ' Kungura Rani ' ^ had fled ; the tints of dishonour began 
 to blend with the visions of glory ; and lo ! Udai Singh appeared 
 flying from the rock to which the honour of his house was united . 
 Aghast at the picture his fancy had portrayed, imagine him turn- 
 ing to the contemplation of his own desolate condition, indebted 
 for a cessation of persecution to the most revolting sentiment that 
 can assail an heroic mind — compassion ; compared with which 
 scorn is endurable, contempt even enviable : these he could 
 retaliate ; . but for the high-minded, the generous Rajput, to be 
 the object of that sickly sentiment, pity, was more oppressive 
 than the arms of his foe. 
 
 The Last Days of Rana Partap. — A premature decay assailed 
 the pride of Rajasthan ; a mind diseased preyed on an exhausted 
 frame, and prostrated him in the very summer of his days. The 
 last moments of Partap were an appropriate commentary on his 
 life, which he terminated, like the Carthaginian, swearing his suc- 
 cessor to eternal conflict against the foes of his country's indej^end- 
 ence. But the Rajput prince had not the same joyful assurance 
 that inspired the Numidian Hamilcar ; for his end was clouded 
 with the presentiment that his son Amra would abandon his 
 fame for inglorious repose. A powerful sympathy is excited by 
 the picture which is drawn of this final scene. The dying hero 
 is represented in a lowly dwelling ; his chiefs, the faithful com- 
 panions of many a glorious day, awaiting round his pallet the 
 dissolution of their prince, when a groan of mental anguish made 
 Salumbar inquire [349], " Wliat afflicted his soul that it would 
 not depart in peace ? " He rallied : " It lingered," he said, 
 " for some consolatory pledge that his country should not be 
 abandoned to the Turk " ; and with the death-pang upon him, 
 he related an incident which had guided his estimate of his son's 
 disposition, and now tortured him with the reflection that for 
 personal ease he would forgo the remembrance of his own and 
 his country's wrongs. 
 
 On the banks of the Pichola, Partap and his chiefs had con- 
 structed a few huts - (the site of the future palace of Udaipur), 
 
 ^ ' The queen of battlements,' the turreted Cybele of Rajasthan. 
 
 2 This magnificent lake is now adorned with marble palaces. Such was 
 the wealth of Mewar even in her dechne. [The lake is said to have been 
 constructed by a Banjara at the end of the fourteenth century, and the 
 embankment was built by Rana Udai Singh in 1560. The lake is 2^ miles
 
 456 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 to protect them during the inclemency of the rains in the day of 
 their distress. Prince Amra, forgetting the lowhness of the 
 dwelhng, a projecting bamboo of the roof caught the folds of 
 his turban and dragged it off as he retired. A hasty emotion, 
 which disclosed a varied feeling, was observed with pain by 
 Partap, who thence adopted the opinion that his son would never 
 withstand the hardships necessary to be endured in such a cause. 
 " These sheds," said the'dying prince, " will give way to sumptuous 
 dwellings, thus generating the love of ease ; and luxury with its 
 concomitants will ensue, to which the independence of Mewar, 
 which we have bled to maintain, will be sacrificed : and you, 
 my chiefs, will follow the iDcrnicious example." They pledged 
 themselves, and became guarantees for the prince, " by the throne 
 of Bappa Rawal," that they would not permit mansions to be 
 raised till Mewar had recovered her independence. The soul 
 of Partap was satisfied, and with joy he expired. 
 
 Thus closed the life of a" Rajput whose memory is even now 
 idolized by every Sesodia, and will continue to be so, till renewed 
 oppression shall extinguish the remaining sparks of patriotic 
 feeling. May that day never arrive ! yet if such be her destiny, 
 may it, at least, not be hastened by the arms of Britain ! 
 
 It is worthy the attention of those who influence the destinies 
 of States in more favoured climes, to estimate the intensity of 
 feeling which could arm this prince to oppose the resources of a 
 small principality against the then most powerful empire of the 
 world, whose armies were more numerous and far more efficient 
 than any ever led by the Persian against the liberties of Greece. 
 Had Mewar possessed her Thucydides or her Xenophon, neither 
 the wars of the Peloponnesus nor the retreat of the ' ten thousand ' 
 would have yielded more diversified incidents for [350] the historic 
 muse, than the deeds of this brilliant reign amid the many vicissi- 
 tudes of Mewar. Undaunted heroism, inflexible fortitude, that 
 which ' keeps honour bright,' perseverance, — with fidelity such 
 as no nation can boast, were the materials opposed to a soaring 
 ambition, commanding talents, unlimited means, and the fervour 
 of religious zeal ; all, however, insufficient to contend with one 
 unconquerable mind. There is not a pass in the alpine Aravalli 
 
 long, and IJ broad, with an area of over one square mile. In the middle 
 stand the island palaces, the Jagmandir and the Jagniwas (Erskine ii. A. 
 109).]
 
 RANA MiAR SINGH I. 407 
 
 that is not sanctified by some deed of Partap, — some brilliant 
 victory or, oftener, more glorious defeat. Haldigliat is the 
 Thermopylae of Mewar ; the field of Dawer her Marathon. 
 
 CHAPTER 12 
 
 Rana Amar Singh I., a.d. 1597-1620. — Of the seventeen sons 
 of Partap, Amra, who succeeded him, was the eldest. From the 
 early age of eight to the hour of his parent's death, he had been 
 his constant companion and the partner of his toils and dangers. 
 Initiated by his noble sire in every act of mountain strife, familiar 
 with its perils, he entered on his career ^ in the very floAver of 
 manhood, already attended by sons able to maintain whatever 
 his sword might recover of his patrimony. 
 
 Akbar, the greatest foe of Mewar, survived Partap nearly 
 eight years .^ The vast field in which he had to exert the re- 
 sources of his mind, necessarily withdrew him from a scene where 
 even success ill repaid the sacrifices made to attain it. Amra 
 was left in perfect repose during the remainder of this monarch's 
 life, which it was not wisdom to disturb by the renewal of a 
 contest against the colossal power of the Mogul. An extended 
 reign of more than half a century permitted Akbar to consolidate 
 the vast empire he had erected, and to model the form of his 
 [351] government, which displays, as handed down by Abu-1 
 Fazl, an incontestable proof of his genius as well as of his natural 
 beneficence. Nor would the Mogul lose, on being contrasted 
 with the contemporary princes of Europe : with Henry IV. of 
 France, who, like himself, ascended a throne weakened by dis- 
 sension ; with Charles V., alike aspiring to universal sway : or 
 the glorious queen of our own isle, who made advances to Akbar 
 and sent him an embassy.^ Akbar was fortunate as either Henry 
 
 1 S. 1653, A.D. 1597. 
 
 ^ [It has now been established by Mr. V. A. Smith that Akbar died on 
 October 17, O.S., October 27, N.S., 1605 {lA, xliv. November 1915).] 
 
 * The embassy under Sir Thomas Roe was prepared by EHzabeth, but 
 did not proceed till the accession of James. He arrived just as Mewar had 
 bent her head to the Mogul yoke, and speaks of the Rajput prince Karan, 
 whom he saw at court as a hostage for the treaty, with admiration. [The 
 embassy was in India from 1615 to 1619. Roe's Journal has been edited by 
 W. Foster, Hakluyt Society, 1899.]
 
 408 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 or Elizabeth in the choice of his ministers. The lofty integrity, 
 military genius, and habits of civil industry, for which Sully was 
 distinguished, found their parallel in Bairam ; and if Burleigh 
 equalled in wisdom, he was not superior in virtue to Abu-1 Fazl, 
 nor possessed of his excessive benevolence. Unhappily for 
 Mewar, all this genius and power combined to overwhelm' her. 
 It is, however, a proud tribute to the memory of the Mogul 
 that his name is united with that of his rival Partap in numerous 
 traditionary couplets honourable to both ; and if the Rajput 
 bard naturally emblazons first on his page that of his own hero, 
 he admits that none other but Akbar can stand a comparison 
 with him ; thereby confirming the eulogy of the historian of his 
 race, who, in sumining up his character, observes that, "if he 
 sometimes did things beneath the dignity of a great king, he never 
 did anything unworthy of a good man." But if the annalist of 
 the Bundi State can be relied upon, the very act which caused 
 Akbar's death will make us pause ere we subscribe to these testi- 
 monies to the worth of departed greatness, and, disregarding 
 the adage of only speaking good of the dead, compel us to in- 
 stitute, in imitation of the ancient Egyptians, a posthumous 
 inquest on the character of the monarch of the Moguls. The 
 Bundi records are well worthy of belief, as diaries of events were 
 kept by her princes, who were of the first importance in this and 
 the succeeding reigns : and they may be more likely to throw a 
 light upon points of character of a tendency to disgrace the 
 Mogul king, than the historians of his court, who had every 
 reason to withhold such. A desire to be rid of the great Raja 
 Man of Amber, to whom he was so much indebted, made the 
 emperor descend [352] to act the part of the assassin. He pre- 
 pared a ma'ajun, or confection, a part of which contained poison ; 
 but, caught in his own snare, he presented the innoxious portion 
 to the Rajput and ate that drugged with death himself.^ We 
 have a sufficient clue to the motives which influenced Akbar to 
 a deed so unworthy of him, and which were more fully developed 
 in the reign of his successor ; namely, a design on the part of 
 Raja Man to alter the succession, and that Khusru, his nephew, 
 should succeed instead of Salim. With such a motive, the aged 
 emperor might have admitted with less scruple the advice which 
 prompted an act he dared not openly undertake, without exposing 
 ^ [The question has been discussed in the Bundi Annals, below.]
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF RANA AMAR SINGH 409 
 
 the throne in his latter days to the dangers of civil contention, 
 as Raja Man was too powerful to be openly assaulted. 
 
 The Administration of Rana Amar Singh. — Let us return to 
 Mewar. Ainra remodelled the institutions of his country, made 
 a new assessment of the lands and distribution of the fiefs, appor- 
 tioning the service to the times. He also established the grada- 
 tion of ranks such as yet exists, and regulated the sumptuary laws 
 even to the tie of a turban,^ and many of these are to be seen 
 engraved on pillars of stone in various parts of the country. 
 
 The repose thus enjoyed realized the prophetic fears of Partap, 
 whose admonitions were forgotten. Amra constructed a small 
 palace on the banks of the lake, named after himself ' the abode 
 of immortality,' - still remarkable for its Gothic contrast to the 
 splendid marble edifice erected by his successors, now the abode 
 of the princes of Mewar. 
 
 Jahangir attacks Mewar. — Jahangir had been four years on 
 the throne, and having overcome all internal dissension, resolved 
 to signalize his reign by the subjugation of the only prince who 
 had disdained to acknowledge the paramount power of the Moguls ; 
 and assembling the royal forces, he put them in motion for Mewar. 
 
 Amra, between tlie love of ease and reputation, wavered as to 
 the conduct he should adopt ; nor were sycophants wanting who 
 
 Counselled ignoble ease and peaceful sloth, 
 Not peace : 
 
 and dared to prompt his following the universal contagion, by 
 accepting the imperial farman. In such a state of mind the 
 chiefs foimd their prince, when [353] they repaired to the new 
 abode to warn him, and prepare him for the emergency. But 
 the gallant Chondawat, recalling to their remeinbrance the dying 
 behest of their late glorious head, demanded its fulfilment. All 
 resolved to imitate the noble Partap, 
 
 . . . preferring 
 Hard liberty before the easy yoke 
 Of servile pomp. 
 
 Chief of Salumbar intervenes. — A magnificent mirror of 
 
 ^ The Amrasahi pagri, or turban, is still used by the Rana and some nobles 
 on court days, but the foreign nobiUty have the privilege, in this respect, 
 of conforming to their own tribes. ^ Amara mahall.
 
 410 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 European fabrication adorned the embryo palace. Animated 
 with a noble resentment at the inefficacy of his appeal to the 
 better feelings of his prince, the chieftain of Salumbar hurled ' the 
 slave of the carpet ' ^ against the splendid bauble, and starting 
 up, seized his sovereign by the arm and moved him from the 
 throne. " To horse, chiefs ! " he exclaimed, " and preserve from 
 infamy the son of Partap." A burst of passion followed the 
 seeming indignity, and the patriot chief was branded with the 
 harsh name of traitor ; but with his sacred duty in view, and 
 supported by every vassal of note, he calmly disregarded the 
 insult. Compelled to mount his steed, and surrounded by the 
 veterans and all the chivalry of Mewar, Amra's passion vented 
 itself in tears of indignation. In such a mood the cavalcade 
 descended the ridge, since studded with palaces, and had reached 
 the sjjot where the temple of Jagannath now stands, when he 
 recovered from this fit of passion ; the tear ceased to flow, and 
 passing his hand over his moustache,^ he made a courteous 
 salutation to all, entreating their forgiveness for this omission of 
 respect ; but more especially expressing his gratitude to Salumbar, 
 he said, " Lead on, nor shall you ever have to regret your 
 late sovereign." Elevated with every sentiment of generosity 
 and valour, they passed on to Dawer, where they encountered 
 the royal army* led by the brother of the Khankhanan, as it 
 entered the pass, and which, after a long and sanguinary combat, 
 they entirely defeated.* 
 
 Defeat of the Imperialists. — The honours of the day are chiefly 
 attributed to the brave Kana, uncle to the Rana, and ancestor 
 of that numerous clan called after him Kanawats. A truce 
 followed this battle, but it was of short duration ; for another 
 and yet more murderous conflict took place in the spring of 1666, 
 in the pass of the sacred Ranpur [35 J.], where the imperial army, 
 under its leader AbduUa, was almost exterminated ; * though 
 with the loss of the best and bravest of the chiefs of Mewar, 
 
 ^ A small brass ornament placed at the corners of the carpet to keep it 
 steady. 
 
 ^ This is a signal both of defiance and self-gratulation. 
 
 3 S. 1664, A.D. 1608. 
 
 « Phalgun 7th, S. 1666, the spring of A.D. 1610. Ferishta [Dow iii. 37] 
 misplaces this battle, making it immediately precede the invasion under 
 Khurram. The defeats of the Mogul forces are generally styled ' recalls of 
 the commander.'
 
 JAHANGIR establishes SAGRA as ran a 411 
 
 whose names, however harsh, deserv^e preservation.^ A feverish 
 exultation was the fruit of this victorj% which shed a hectic flush 
 of glory over the declining days of Mewar, when the crimson 
 banner once more floated throughout the province of Godwar. 
 
 Jahangir establishes Sagra as Rana. — Alarmed at these suc- 
 cessive defeats, Jahangir, preparatory to equipping a fresh army 
 against Mewar, determined to establish a new Rana, and to instal 
 him in the ancient seat of power, Chitor, thus hoping to withdraw 
 from the standard of Amra many of his adherents. The experi- 
 ment evinced at least a knowledge of their prejudices ; but, to 
 the honour of Rajput fidelity, it failed. Sagra, who abandoned 
 Partap and went over to Akbar, was selected ; ^ the sword of in- 
 vestiture was girded on him by the emperor's own hands, and 
 under the escort of a Mogul force he went to reign amidst the 
 ruins of Chitor. Her grandeur, even in desolation, is beautifully 
 depicted at this very period by the chaplain to the embassy from 
 P^lizabeth to Jahangir, the members composing which visited 
 the capital of the Sesodias in their route to Ajmer.' 
 
 For seven years Sagra had a spurious homage paid to him 
 amidst this desolation, the ruined pride of his ancestors. But 
 
 ^ Dudo, Sangawat of Deogarh, Narayandas, Surajmall, Askarn, all 
 Sesodias of the first rank ; Puran Mall, son of Bhan, the chief of the Sak- 
 tawats ; Haridas Rathor, Bhopat the Jhala of Sadri, Kahirdas Kachhwaha, 
 Keshodas Ghauhan of Bedla, Mukimddas Rathor, Jaimallot, of the blood of 
 Jaimall. 
 
 - [When Partap was attacked by Akbar, Sakra, as he is called, paid his 
 respects at court, and was appointed Commander of 200 {Ain, i. 519).] 
 
 ' " Chitor, an antient great kingdom, the chief city so called, which 
 standeth upon a mighty hill flat on the top, walled about at the least ten 
 Enghsh miles. There appear to this day above a hundred ruined churches, 
 and divers fair palaces, which are lodged in like manner among the ruins, 
 besides many exquisite pillars of carved stone, and the ruins likewise of a 
 hundred thousand stone houses, as many English by their observation have 
 guessed. There is but one ascent unto it, cut out of a firm rock, to which a 
 man must pass through four (sometime very magnificent) gates. Its chief 
 inhabitants at this day are Ziim and Ohim, birds and wild beasts ; but the 
 stately ruins thereof give a shadow of its beauty ivhile it flourished in its pride. 
 It was won from Ramas, an ancient Indian prince, who was forced to live 
 himself ever after on high mountainous places adjoining to that province, 
 and his posterity to hve there ever since. Taken from him it was by Achabar 
 Padsha (the father of that king who lived and reigned when I was in these 
 parts) after a very long siege, which famished the besieged, without which 
 it could never have been gotten." [E. Terry, A Voyage to East-India, \111, 
 p. 77 f.]
 
 412 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 it is gratifying to record, that not even by this recreant son of 
 Chitor could the impressions formed in contemplating such scenes 
 be resisted ; and Sagra, though flinty as the rock to a brother and 
 nephew, could not support the silent admonition of the altars of 
 the heroes who had fallen in her defence. The triumphal column 
 raised for victory over a combination of [355] kings, was a per- 
 petual memento of his infamy ; nor could he pass over one 
 finger's breadth of her ample surface, without treading on some 
 fragment which remmded him of their great deeds and his own 
 unworthiness. We would be desirous of recording, that a nobler 
 remembrancer than ' coward conscience,' animated the brother of 
 Partap to an act of redeeming virtue ; but when the annals tell us, 
 that " the terrific Bhairon (the god of battle) openly manifested his 
 displeasure," it is decisive that it was not less the wish for greatness, 
 than the desire to be " without the illness should attend it " ; and 
 sending for his nephew, he restored to him Chitor, retiring to the 
 isolated Kandhar.^ Some time after, upon going to court, and 
 being upbraided by Jahangir, he drew his dagger and slew himself 
 in the emperor's presence : an end worthy of such a traitor.^ 
 
 Conquests of Rana Amar Singh I. — Amra took possession of 
 the seat 'of his ancestors ; but wanting the means to put it in 
 defence, the acquisition only served to increase the temporary 
 exultation. The evil resulting from attaching so much conse- 
 quence to a capital had been often signally manifested ; as to 
 harass the enemy from their mountains, and thereby render his 
 conquests unavailing, was the only policy which could afford 
 the chance of independence. With Chitor the Rana acquired, by 
 surrender or assault, possession of no less than eighty of the chief 
 towns and foi'tresses of Mewar : amongst them Untala, at whose 
 capture occurred the patriotic struggle between the clans of 
 Chondawat and Saktawat for the leading of the vanguard, else- 
 where related.^ On this memorable storm, besides the leaders 
 
 ^ An isolated rock in the plain between the confluence of the Parbati 
 and Chambal, and the famous Rauthambhor. The author has twice passed 
 it in his travels in these regions. 
 
 " It was one of his sons who apostatized from his faith, who is well known 
 in the imperial liistory as Mahabat Khan, beyond doubt the most daring 
 chief in Jahangir's reign [see p. 386, above]. This is the secret of his bond 
 of luiion with prince Khurram (Shah Jahan), himseK half a Rajput. It was 
 with his Rajputs Mahabat did that daring deed, making Jahangir jirisoner 
 in his own camp, in the zenith of his power. ^ Page 175, above. 
 
 i
 
 SAKTA AND THE SAKTAWATS 413 
 
 of the rival bands, five of the infant clan Saktawat, consisting 
 but of sixteen brave brothers, with three of the house of Salumbar, 
 perished, struggling for the immortality promised by the bard. 
 We may here relate the rise of the Saktawats, with which is 
 materially connected the future history of Mewar. 
 
 Sakta and the Saktawats. — Sakta was the second of the twenty- 
 four sons of Udai Singh. Wlien only five years of age, he dis- 
 covered that fearless temperament which marked' his manhood 
 [356]. The armourer having brought a new dagger to try its 
 edge by the usual proof on thinly spread cotton, the child asked 
 the Rana " if it was not intended to cut bones and flesh," and 
 seizing it, tried it on his own litfle hand. The blood gushed on 
 the carpet, but he betrayed no symptom of pain or surprise. 
 Whether his father admitted the tacit reproof of his own want 
 of nerve, or that it recalled the prediction of the astrologers, 
 who, in casting Sakta's horoscope, had announced that he was 
 to be " the bane of Mewar," he was incontinently commanded 
 to be put to death, and was carried off for this purpose, when 
 saved by the Salumbar chief, who arrested the fiat, sped to the 
 Rana, and begged his life as a boon, promising, having no heirs, 
 to educate him as the future head of the ChondaAvats. The 
 Salumbar chief had children in his old age, and while wavering 
 between his own issue and the son of his adoption, the young 
 Sakta was sent for to court by his brother Partap. The brothers 
 for a considerable time lived on the most amicable footing, un- 
 happily interrupted by a dispute while hunting, which in time 
 engendered mutual dislike. While riding in the ring, Partap 
 suddenly proposed to decide their quarrel by single combat, 
 " to see who was the best lancer." Not backward, Sakta replied, 
 " Do you begin " ; and some little time was lost in a courteous 
 struggle for the first spear, when, as they took their ground and 
 agreed to charge together, the Purohit ^ rushed between the 
 combatants and implored them not to ruin the house. His 
 appeal, however, being vain, there was but one way left to pre- 
 vent the imnatural strife : the priest drew his dagger, and plung- 
 ing it in his breast, fell a lifeless corpse between the combatants. 
 Appalled at the horrid deed, ' the blood of the priest on their 
 head,' they desisted from their infatuated aim. Partap, waving his 
 hand, commanded Sakta to quit his dominions, who bowing retired, 
 ^ Family priest.
 
 414 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 and carried his resentments to Akbar. Partap performed with the 
 obsequies of this faithful servant many expiatory rites, and made an 
 irrevocable grant of Salera to his son, still enjoyed by his descend- 
 ants, while a small column yet identifies the spot of sacrifice to 
 fidelity. From that hour to the memorable day when the founder 
 of the Saktawats gained the birad of the race ' Khurasan Multan 
 ka Aggal,' on the occasion of his saving his sovereign flying from 
 the field, the brothers had never beheld each other's face [357]. 
 
 Sakta had seventeen sons, all of whom, excepting the heir 
 of Bhainsror,^ attended his obsequies. On return from this rite 
 they found the gates barred against them by Bhanji, now chief 
 of the Saktawats, who told them " there were too many mouths," 
 and that they must push their fortunes elsewhere wlule he attended 
 his sovereign with the quota of Bhainsror. They demanded their 
 horses and their arms, if such were his pleasure ; and electing 
 Achal as their head (whose wife was then pregnant), they took 
 the route to Idar, which had recently been acquired by a junior 
 branch of the Rathors of Marwar.^ They had reached Palod 
 when the pangs of childbirth seized the wife of Achal ; and being 
 rudely repulsed by the Sonigira vassal of Palod, who refused her 
 shelter at such a moment, they sought refuge amidst the ruins 
 of a temple.^ It was the shrine of Mata Janavi, ' the mother of 
 births,' the Juno Lucina of the Rajputs. In a corner of the 
 sanctviary they placed the mother of a future race ; but the rain, 
 which fell in torrents, visibly affected the ruin. A beam of 
 stone gave way, which but for Bala would have crushed her : 
 he supported the sinking roof on his head till the brothers cut 
 down a babul tree, with which they propped it and relieved him. 
 In this retreat Asa (Hope) was born, who became the parent of 
 an extensive branch known as the Achalis Saktawats. 
 
 The ' Great Mother ' was propitious. The parent of ' Hope ' 
 was soon enabled to resume her journey for Idar, whose chief 
 received them with open arms, and assigned lands for their 
 
 1 I have visited the cenotaphs of Sakta and his successors at the almost 
 insulated Bhainsror on the Chanibal. The castle is on a rock at the conflu- 
 ence of the blatk Bamani and the Chambal. 
 
 '^ [idar was not occupied by the Rathors till 1728 {IGI, xiii. 325).] 
 ^ Probably the identical temple to the Mother, in which I found a valu- 
 able inscription of Kumarpal of Anhilwara Patau, dated S. 1207. Palod 
 is in the district of Nimbahera, now alienated from Mewar, and under that 
 upstart Pathan, Amir Khan.
 
 SAKTA AND THE SAKTAWATS 415 
 
 support. Here they had been some time when the Rana's prime 
 minister passed through Idar from a pilgrimage to Satrunjaya.^ 
 A violent storm would have thrown down the tent in which was 
 his wife, but for the exertion of some of the brothers ; and the 
 minister, on learning that it was to the near kin of his sovereign 
 he was indebted for this kindness, Invited them to Udaipur, 
 taking upon him to provide for them with their own proper head, 
 which they declined without a special invitation. This was not 
 long wanting ; for Amra [358] was then collecting the strength 
 of his hills against the king, and the services of the band of 
 brothers, his kinsmen, were peculiarly acceptable. The first act 
 of duty, though humble, is properly recorded, as ennobled by the 
 sentiment which inspired it, and the pictured scene is yet pre- 
 served of Bala and Jodha collecting logs of wood for a night fire 
 in the mountain bivouac for their kinsman and sovereign. In 
 the more brilliant exploit which followed Bala took the lead, 
 and though the lord of Bhainsror was in camp, it was Bala who 
 obtained the leading of the vanguard : the commencement of 
 that rivalry of clanship from whence have resulted some of the 
 most daring, and many of the most merciless deeds in the history 
 of Mewar. The right to lead in battle belonged to the Chonda- 
 wats, and the first intimation the chieftain had of his prince's 
 inconsiderate insult was from the bard incessantly repeating the 
 ' birad ' of the clan, until ' the portal of the ten thousand ' of 
 Mewar deemed him mad. " Not so," replied he ; " but it is, perhaps, 
 the last time your ears may be gratified with the watchword of 
 Chonda, which may to-morrow be given as well as the Harawal to the 
 Saktawats." An explanation followed, and the assault of Untala 
 ensued, which preserved the rights of the Chondawats, though nobly 
 contested by their rivals. The vassal of Bakrol carried the tidings 
 of the successful assault to the Rana, who arrived in time to re- 
 ceive the last obeisance of Bala, whose parting words to his prince 
 were seized on by the bard and added to the birad of the clan : 
 and although, in sloth and opium, they now " lose and neglect the 
 creeping hours of time," yet whenever a Saktawat chief enters 
 the court of his sovereign, or takes his seat amongst his brother 
 chiefs, the bards still salute him with the dying words of Bala : 
 
 ^ One of the five sacred mounts of the Jains, of whose faith was the 
 minister. Of these I shall speak at length in the Personal Narrative. [IGI, 
 xix. 316 ff.]
 
 416 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 " Dilua ddtdr. 
 Chauguna junjhdr, 
 Khurdsdn Multdn ka dggdl." ^ 
 
 Then passing the hand over his moustache, for a moment the 
 escalade of Untala flits before liis vision, where Bala, Achalis, 
 Jodha, Dilla, and Chatiu-bhan, five of the seventeen sons of Sakta, 
 fell for the maintenance of the post of honour [359]. Bhanji 
 soon after performed a service which obtained him the entire 
 favour of his prince, vt^ho, returning from Ratlam, was insulted 
 by the Rathors of Bhindar, which was punished by the Saktawat, 
 who took the town by assault, expelling the aggressors. Anara 
 added it to his fief of Bhainsror, and since the latter was bestowed 
 on the rival clan, Bliindar has continued the chief residence of 
 the leader of the Saktawats. Ten chiefs ^ have followed in regular 
 
 ^ ' Double gifts, fourfold sacrifice.' Meaning, with increase of their 
 prince's favour the sacrifice of their hves would progress ; and which, for 
 the sake of euphony probably, preceded the birad won by the founder, 
 ' the barrier to Khurasan and Multan.\ 
 
 The Birad of the Chondawats is : Das sahas Mewar lea bar Kewdr, ' the 
 portal of the ten thousand [towns] of Mewar.' It is related that Sakta, 
 jealous of so sweeping a birad, complained that nothing was left for him : 
 when the master bard reph'ed, he was Kewdr ka aggal, the bar which secures 
 the door {Kewdr). 
 
 2 Sakta. — 17 sons. 
 
 Bhanji. 
 
 Dayal. Ber. Man. Gokuldas. Puran Mall. 
 
 Sabal Singh. 
 
 I 
 Mokham Singh. 
 
 I 
 Amar Singh. 
 
 Prithi Singh. 
 
 Jeth Singh. 
 
 Ummed Singh. 
 
 I 
 Kushal Singh. 
 
 Zorawar, 
 [to whom succeeded in order Hamir Singh, Madan Singh, Kesari Singh, 
 and Madho Singh, the present Maharaja, who succeeded in 1900 (Erskine 
 ii. A. 99).]
 
 RENEWED ATTACK BY JAHANGIR 41T 
 
 succession, whose issue spread over Mewar, so that in a few genera- 
 tions after Sakta, their prince could muster the swords of ten 
 thousand Saktawats ; but internal feuds and interminable 
 spoliation have checked the progress of population, and it might 
 be difficult now to assemble half that number of the ' children 
 of Sakta ' fit to bear arms. 
 
 Renewed Attack by Jahangir. Battle of Khamnor. — To 
 return. These defeats alarmed Jahangir, who determined to 
 equip an overwhelming force to crush the Rana. To this end he 
 raised the imperial standard at Ajmer, and assembled the expedi- 
 tion under his immediate inspection, of which he appointed his 
 son Parvez commander, with instructions on departure " that if 
 the Rana or his elder son Karan should repair to him, to receive 
 them with becoming attention, and to offer no molestation to 
 the country." ^ But the Sesodia prince little thought of sub- 
 mission : on the contrary, flushed with success, he gave the 
 royal army the meeting at a spot oft moistened with blood, the 
 pass of Khamnor,^ leading into the heart of the hills. The 
 imperial army was disgracefully beaten, and fled, pursued with 
 great havoc, towards Ajmer. The Mogul historian admits it 
 to have been a glorious day for Mewar. He describes Parvez 
 entangled in the passes, dissensions in his camp, his supplies cut 
 off, and under all [360] these disadvantages attacked ; his pre- 
 cipitate flight and pursuit, in which the royal army lost vast 
 numbers of men.^ But Jahangir in his diary slurs it over, and 
 
 ^ A.D. 1611. 
 
 ^ Translated ' Brampoor ' in Dow's Ferishta, and transferred to the 
 Deccan ; and the pass {bdla-ghat) rendered the Balaghat mountains of the 
 south. There are numerous similar errors. [The Author seems to be mis- 
 taken. Dow (iii. 39) speaks of " Brampour, the capital of the Rana's 
 dominions." Khamnor is in W. Mewar, a httle distance south of Nath- 
 dwara.] 
 
 ^ The details of battles, unless accompanied by exploits of individuals, 
 are very uninteresting. Under this impression, I have suppressed whatever 
 could impair the current of action by amphfication, otherwise not only the 
 Rajput bard, but the contemporary Mogul historian, would have afforded 
 abundant matter ; but I have deemed both worthy of neglect in such cases. 
 Ferishta's history is throughout most faulty in its geograpliical details, 
 rendered still more obscure from the erroneous orthography, often arising 
 from mistaken punctuation of the only translation of this valuable work yet 
 before the public. There is one gentleman (Lieut. -Col. Briggs) well quali- 
 fied to remedy these defects, and who, with a laudable industry, has made 
 VOL. I 2 E
 
 418 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 simply remarks : " Fearing that Khusrau's affair might be pro- 
 longed, I ordered my son Parwiz to leave some of the Sardars 
 to look after the Rana, and to come to Agra with Asaf Khan and 
 a body of those nearly connected with him in the service." ^ 
 
 This son, tutored by the great Mahabat Khan, fared no better 
 than Parvez ; he was routed and slain. But the Hydra was 
 indestructible ; for every victory, while it cost the best blood of 
 Mewar, only multiplied the number of her foes. Seventeen 
 pitched battles had the illustrious Rajput fought since the death 
 of his father : but the loss of his experienced veterans withered 
 the laurels of victory, nor had he sufficient repose either to 
 husband his resources or to rear his young heroes to replace 
 them. Another and yet more mighty army was assembled 
 under Prince Kliurram, the ablest of the sons of Jahangir, and 
 better known in history as Shah Jahan, when emperor of the 
 Moguls. 
 
 Again did the Rana with his son Karan collect the might of 
 their hills ; but a handful of warriors was all their muster to meet 
 the host of Delhi, and the ' crimson banner,' which for more than 
 eight hundred years had waved in proud independence over the 
 heads of the Guhilots, was now to be abased to the son of Jahangir. 
 The Emperor's own pen shall narrate the termination of this 
 strife. 
 
 " My chief object, after my visit to the Khwaja [the tomb of 
 Mu'inu-d-dln Chishti, the saint of Ajmer] was to put a stop to 
 the affair of the rebel Rana. On this account I determined to 
 remain myself at Ajmlr and send on Baba Khurram, my fortunate 
 son. This idea was a very good one, and on this account, on 
 the 6th of Day [tenth month of the solar year] at the hour fixed 
 on, I dispatched him in happiness and triumph. I presented 
 him with a qaba (outer coat) of gold brocade with jewelled flowers 
 and pearls round the flowers, a brocaded turban with strings of 
 pearls, a gold woven sash with chains of pearls, one of my private 
 elephants called Fath Gaj, with trappings, a splendid horse, a 
 
 an entire translation of the works of Ferishta, besides collating the best MSS. 
 of the original text. It is to be hoped he wiU present his performance to the 
 public. [This appeared in four volumes, 1829; reprinted, Calcutta, 1908.] 
 ^ [Memoirs of Jalmnglr, trans. Rogers-Beveridge, p. 70. The incorrect 
 versions of this and other passages in the text have been replaced from the 
 recent translation and that in EUiot-Dowson.]
 
 RECEPTION OF THE RANA BY PRINCE KHURRAM 419 
 
 jewelled sword, with a phul katdra (dagger). In addition to the 
 men first appomted to this duty under the leadership of Khan 
 A'zam, I sent 12,000 more horse with my son, and honoured their 
 khil'at (wearing robes of honour) leaders." ^ 
 
 On 14th Isfandarmuz [twelfth month of the solar year] " a 
 representation came from my son Baba Khurram that the elephant 
 'Alam Guman [' arrogant of the earth '], of which the Rana was 
 very fond, together with seventeen 'Alamguman other elephants, 
 had fallen into the hands of the victorious army." ^ Jahangir 
 rode this elephant on the second day of the New Year, which began 
 on 21st March 1614.' 
 
 " In the month of Bahman [eleventh solar month] there came 
 pieces of good news, one after the other. The first was that the 
 Rana Amar Singh had elected for obedience and service to the 
 Court. The circumstances of this affair are these. Sultan 
 KhuiTam, by dint of placing a great inany posts, especially in 
 some places where most people said it was impossible to place 
 them on account of the badness of the air and water and the wild 
 nature of the localities, and by dmt of moving the royal forces 
 one after another in pursuit, without regard to the heat or ex- 
 cessive rain, and making prisoners of the inhabitants of that 
 region, brought matters with the Rana to such a pass that it 
 became clear to him that if this should happen to him again he 
 must either fly the country or be made prisoner. Being without 
 remedy, he chose obedience and loyalty, and sent to my fortunate 
 son his maternal uncle Subhkaran, with Haridas Jhala, who was 
 one of the two men in his confidence, and petitioned that if that 
 fortunate son would ask forgiveness for his offences and tran- 
 quillize his mind, and obtain for him the auspicious sign-manual 
 (panja,* the mark of the Emperor's five fingers), he would himself 
 
 1 [Memoirs, 256.] 2 [-/^j^ 259.] ' [Ibid. 2G0.] 
 
 * The giving the hand amongst all nations has been considered as a pledge 
 for the iDerformance or ratification of some act of importance, and the 
 custom amongst the Scythic or Tatar nations, of transmitting its impress as 
 a substitute, is here practically described. I have seen the identical Farman 
 in the Rana's archives. The hand being immersed in a compost of sandal- 
 wood, is appUed to the paper, and the palm and five fingers (panja) are yet 
 distinct. In a masterly dehneation of Oriental manners {Camels Letters 
 from the East) is given an anecdote of Muhammad, who, unable to sign his 
 name to a convention, dipped liis hand in ink, and made an impression 
 therewitli. It is evident the Prophet of Islam only followed an ancient 
 solemnity, of the same import as that practised by Jahangir.
 
 420 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 wait on my son, and would send his son and successor, Karan 
 Singh, or he, after the manner of other Rajas, would be enrolled 
 among the servants of the Court and do service. He also begged 
 that he himself might be excused from coming to Court on account 
 of his old age. Accordingly, my son sent them in company with 
 his own Dlwan, Mulla Shukru-llah, whom after the conchision of 
 this business I dignified with the title of Afzal Khan, and Sundar 
 Das, his major-domo, who, after the matter was settled, was 
 honoured with the title of Ray Rayan, to the exalted Court, and 
 represented the circumstances. My lofty mind was always 
 desirous, as far as possible, not to destroy the old families. The 
 real point was that as Rana Amar Singh and his fathers, proud 
 in the strength of the hilly country and their abodes, had never 
 seen or obeyed any of the kings of Hindustan, this should be 
 brought about in my reign. At the request of my son, I forgave 
 the Rana's offences, and gave a gracious farman that should 
 satisfy him, and impressed on it the mark of my auspicious i^alm. 
 I also wrote a farman of kindness to my son that if he could 
 arrange to settle the matter I should be much pleased. My son 
 also sent them [perhaps the uncle and Haridas, or the farmans] 
 with Mulla Shukru-llah and Sundar Das to the Rana to console 
 him and make him hopeful of the royal favour. They gave him 
 the gracious farman with the sign-manual of the auspicioiis hand, 
 and it was settled that on Sunday, the 26th of the month Bahman, 
 he and his sons should come and pay their respects to my 
 son." ^ 
 
 " In the end of this month, when I was employed in hunting 
 in the environs of Ajmlr, Muhammad Beg, an attendant on my 
 fortunate son Sultan Khurram, came and brought a report from 
 that son, and stated that the Rana had come with his sons and 
 paid his respects to the prince : the details would be made known 
 by the report. I immediately turned the face of supplication 
 to the Divine Court, and prostrated myself in thanksgiving. I 
 presented a horse, an elephant, and a jewelled dagger to the 
 aforesaid Muhammad Khan, and honoured him with the title of 
 Zu-1-faqar Khan [' Lord of the sword ']."2 
 
 " From the report it appeared that on Sunday the 26tli Bah- 
 man, the Rana paid his respects to my fortunate son with the 
 politeness and ritual that servants pay their respects, and pro- 
 1 [3Iemoirs, 272 £f.] ^ ^jiji^_ 275.]
 
 RECEPTION OF THE RANA BY PRINCE KHURRAM 421 
 
 duced as offerings a famous large ruby that was in his house, 
 with some decorated articles and seven elephants, some of them 
 fit for the private stud, and which had not fallen into our hands, 
 and were the only ones left him, and nine horses. My son also 
 behaved to him with perfect kindness. When the Rana clasped 
 his feet and asked forgiveness for his faults, he took his hand 
 and placed it on his breast, and consoled him in such a manner 
 as to comfort him. He presented him with a superb dress of 
 honour, a jewelled sword, a horse with a jewelled saddle, and a 
 private elephant with silver housings, and as there were not more 
 than 100 men with him who were worthy of complete robes of 
 honour, he gave 100 sarupd [dresses] and 50 horses and 12 jewelled 
 khapivd [daggers]. As it is the custom of the Zamlndars ^ that 
 the son who is the heir-apparent should not go with his father 
 to pay his respects to a king or prince,- the Rana observed tliis 
 custom, and did not bring with him Karan, the son who had 
 received the tlkd [forehead mark of inauguration]. As the hour 
 (fixed by astrology) of his departure of that son of lofty fortune 
 from that place was the end of that same day, he gave him leave, 
 so that, having himself gone, he might send Karan to pay his 
 respects. To hun also he gave a superb dress of honour, a jewelled 
 sword and dagger, a horse with a gold saddle, and a special ele- 
 phant, and on the same day, taking Karan in attendance, he 
 proceeded towards the illustrious Court." * 
 
 " In my mterview with Sultan Khurram on his arrival at Ajmer,* 
 he represented that if it was my pleasure he would present the 
 prince Karan, whom I accordingly desired him to bring. He 
 arrived, paid his respects, and his rank was commanded to be, at 
 the request of my son, immediately on my right hand, and I rewarded 
 him with suitable khilats. As Karan, owing to the rude life he 
 had led in his native hills, was extremely shy, and unused to the 
 pageantry and experience of a court, in order to reconcile and 
 give him confidence I daily gave him some testimonies of my 
 
 ^ [The Rana is purposely treated as a mere landowner under the State.] 
 
 * This was to avoid treachery. I have often had the honour to receive 
 the descendant princes, father and son, ' of these illustrious ones ' together 
 (note by the Author). 
 
 3 [Memoirs, 275 f.] 
 
 * [The remaining part of the narrative is fairly correct, and has been 
 allowed to stand, with necessary corrections in transHteration of proper 
 names.]
 
 422 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 regard and protection, and in the second day of his service I gave 
 him a jewelled dagger, and on the third a choice steed of Irak 
 with rich caparisons ; and on the same day, I took him with me 
 to the queen's court, when the queen, Nur Jahan, made him 
 si^lendid kliilats, elephant and horse caparisoned, sword, etc. 
 The same day I gave him a rich necklace of pearls, another day 
 an elephant, and it was my wish to give him rarities and choice 
 things of every kind. I gave him three royal hawks and three 
 gentle falcons trained to the hand,^ a coat of mail, chain and plate 
 armour, and two rings of value ; and, on the last day of the 
 month, carpets, state cushions, perfumes, vessels of gold, and a 
 pair of the bullocks of Gujarat.^ 
 
 " 10th year.' At this time I gave prince Karan leave to return 
 to his jagir ; * when I bestowed on him an elephant, horse, and 
 a pearl necklace valued at 50,000 rupees (£5000) ; and from the 
 day of his repairing to my court to that of his departure, the 
 value of the various gifts I presented him exceeded ten laklis of 
 rupees (£125,000), exclusive of one hundred and ten horses, five 
 elephants, or what my son lOiurram gave him. I sent Mubarik 
 Khan along with [364] him, by whom I sent an elephant, horse, 
 etc., and various confidential messages to the Rana. 
 
 " On the 8th Safar ^ of the 10th year of the h. 1024 Karan 
 was elevated to the dignity of a Mansabdar * of five thousand, 
 when I presented him with a bracelet of pearls, in which was a 
 ruby of great price. 
 
 " 24th Muharram,' 10th year (a.d. 1615), Jagat Sing, son of 
 Karan, aged twelve years, arrived at court and paid his respects, 
 and presented the arzis of his father and grandfather, Rana 
 Amra Singh. His countenance carried the impression of his 
 
 ^ Baz and Tura. 
 
 2 [On the famous oxen of Gujarat see Forbes, Rasmala, 540; Watt, 
 Comm. Prod. 733 ff.] 
 ' Of his reign. 
 
 * Such was now the degraded title of the ancient, independent sovereign 
 Mewar. Happy Partap, whose ashes being mingled with his parent earth, 
 was spared his country's humiliation ! 
 
 * [The second mouth of the Musalman calendar.] 
 
 ® With this the annals state the restoration of many districts : the 
 Kherar, Phulia, Badnor, Mandalgarh, Jiran, Nimach, and Bhainsror, with 
 supremacy over DeoMa, and Dungarpur. 
 
 ' [The first month of the Muhammadan year.]
 
 LETTER OF JAHANGIR TO JAMES I. 423 
 
 illustrious extraction,^ and I delighted his heart with presents and 
 kindness. 
 
 ^ It must have been this grandson of Amra of whom Six Thomas Roe 
 thus writes : " The right issue of Porus is here a king m the midst of the 
 Mogul's dominions, never subdued till last year ; and, to say the truth, 
 he is rather bought than conquered : won to own a superior by gifts and laot 
 by arms. The pillar erected by Alexander is yet standing at Delhi, the 
 ancient seat of Rama, the successor of Porus " {Extract of a letter to the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, dated at Ajmere, January 29, 1615). 
 
 Copy of a letter written by the great Mogul unto King James, in the 
 Persian tongue, here faithfully translated, which was as follows : 
 
 " Unto a king rightly descended from his ancestors, bred in mihtary 
 affairs, clothed with honour and justice, a commander worthy of all com- 
 mand, strong and constant in the rehgion which the great prophet Christ 
 did teach. King James, whose love hath bred such an impression in my 
 thoughts as shall never be forgotten ; but as the smell of amber, or as a 
 garden of fragrant flowers, whose beauty and odour is still increasing, so, 
 be assured, my love shall still grow and increase with yours. 
 
 " The letters which you sent me in the behalf of your merchants I have 
 received, whereby I rest satisfied of your tender love towards me, desiring 
 you not to take it iU, that I have not wrote to you heretofore : this present 
 letter I send to you to renew our loves, and herewith do certifie you, that I 
 have sent forth my firmaunes throughout all my countries to this effect, 
 that if any Enghsh ships or merchants shall arrive in any of my ports, my 
 people shall permit and suffer them to do what they please, freely in their 
 merchandising causes, aiding and assisting them in all occasion of injuries 
 that shall be offered them, that the least cause of discourtesie be not done 
 unto them ; that they may be as free, or freer than my own people. 
 
 " And as now, and formerly, I have received from you divers tokens of 
 your love ; so I shall still desire your mmdfulness of me by some novelties 
 from your countries, as an argument of friendship betwixt us, for such is the 
 custom of princes here. 
 
 " And for your merchants, I have given express order through all my 
 dominions, to suffer them to buy, sell, transport, and carry away at their 
 pleasure, without the lett or hinderance of any person whatsoever, all such 
 goods and merchandises as they shall desire to buy ; and let this my letter as 
 fully satisfie you in desired peace and love, as if my own son had been 
 messenger to ratifie the same. 
 
 " And if any in my countries, not fearing God, nor obeying their king, 
 or any other void of rehgion, should endeavour to be an instrument to break 
 tliis league of friendship, I would send my son Sultan Caroom, a souldier 
 approved in the wars, to cut him off, that no obstacle may hinder the con- 
 tinuance and increase of our affections. 
 
 " When your majesty shall open this letter, let your royal heart be as 
 fresh as a small garden, let all people make reverence at your gate. Let 
 your throne be advanced higher. Amongst the greatness of the kings of 
 the prophet Jesus, let your majesty be the greatest ; and all monarchs 
 derive their wisdom and counsel from your breast, as from a fountain, that
 
 424 ANNAI.S OF MEWAR 
 
 " On the 10th Shaban,^ Jagat Singh had permission to return 
 to his house. At his departure I presented him with 20,000 
 rupees, a horse, elephant, and khilats [365] ; and to Haridas 
 Jhala, preceptor of Prince Karan, 5000 rupees, a horse, and 
 khilat ; and I sent by him six golden images ^ to the Rana. 
 
 " 28th Rabiu-1-Akhir,^ 11th year. The statues of the Rana and 
 Karan, sculptured in zvhite marble, I desired should have inscribed 
 the date in which they were jjrejyared and presented, and commanded 
 they should be placed in the gardens at Agra.'*^ 
 
 " In the 11th year of my reign an arzi from Itimad Khan 
 acquainted me that Sultan Khurram had entered the Rana's 
 country, and that prince and his son had both exchanged visits 
 with my son ; and that from the tribute, consisting of seven 
 elephants, twenty-seven saddle horses, trays of jewels, and 
 ornaments of gold, my son took three horses and returned all the 
 rest, and engaged that Prince Karan and fifteen hundred Rajput 
 horse should remain with him in the wars. 
 
 " In the 13th year Prince Karan repaired to my court, then at 
 Sindla, to congratulate me on my victories and conquest of the 
 Deccan, and presented 100 mohars,^ 1000 rupees, nazarana, and 
 effects in gold and jewels to the amount of 21,000 rupees, hardy 
 
 the law of the majesty of Jesus may receive, and flourish under your pro- 
 tection. 
 
 " The letters of love and friendship which you sent me, the present 
 tokens of your good affection towards me, I have received by the hands of 
 your ambassadour, Sir Thomas Row, who weU deserveth to be j^our trusty 
 servant, dehvered to me in an acceptable and happy hour ; upon which 
 mine eyes were so fixed, that I could not easily remove them unto any other 
 objects, and have accepted them with great joy and dehght, etc." 
 
 The last letter had this beginning : " How gracious is your majesty, 
 whose greatness God preserve. As upon a rose in a garden, so are mine 
 eyes fixed upon you. God maintain your estate, that your monarchy may 
 prosper and be augmented ; and that you may obtain all your desires 
 worthy the greatness of your renown ; and as the heart is noble and upright, 
 so let God give you a glorious reign, because you strongly defend the law of 
 the majesty of Jesus, which God made yet more flourishing, for that it was 
 confirmed by miracles, etc." {Delia Valle, p. 473). 
 
 ' [Sha'ban, the eighth month.] 
 
 ^ There are frequent mention of such images (puilis), but I know not 
 which they are. [The word in the original is SJioshpari, ' golden maces.'] 
 
 3 [The fourth month.] 
 
 * [On these statues see Smith, HFA, 42G ff.] 
 
 ^ Golden suns, value £1 : 12s.
 
 TREATMENT OF THE RANA BY JAHANGIR 425 
 
 elephants and horses ; the last I returned, but kept the rest, and 
 next daj' presented him a dress of honour ; and from Fatehpur 
 gave him his leave, with elephant, horse, sword, and dagger, and 
 a horse for his father. 
 
 " 14th year of my reign. On the 17th Rabiu-1-awwal,^ 1029 h., 
 I received intelligence of the death of Rana Amra Singh.^ To 
 Jagat Singh, his grandson, and Bhim Singh, his son, in attendance, 
 I gave khilats, and dispatched Raja Kishordas * with the farman 
 conferring benefits and with the dignity of Rana, the khilat of 
 investiture, choice horses, and a letter of condolence suitable 
 to the occasion to Prince Karan. 7th Shawwal.* Biharidas 
 Brahman I dispatched with a [366] farman to Rana Karan, 
 desiring that his son with his contingent should attend me." 
 
 Treatment of the Rana by Jahangir. — To have generalized this 
 detail of the royal historian would have been to lessen the interest 
 of this important period in the annals of Mewar. Jahangir 
 merits to have his exultation, his noble and unostentatious 
 conduct, described by his own pen, the extreme minuteness of 
 which description but increases the interest. With his self- 
 gratulation, he bears full testimony to the gallant and long- 
 protracted resistance of the Rajputs ; and while he impartially, 
 though rather erroneously, estimates their motives and means 
 of opposition, he does Amra ample justice in the declaration, that 
 he did not yield until he had but the alternative of captivity or 
 exile ; and with a magnanimity above all praise, he records the 
 Rajput prince's salvo for his dignity, " that he would hold himself 
 excused from attending in person." The simple and naive 
 declaration of his joy, " his going abroad on Alam Guman," 
 the favourite elephant of the Rana which had been captured, on 
 learning his submission, is far stronger than the most pompous 
 testimony of public rejoicing. But there is a heart-stirring 
 philanthropy in the conduct of the Mogul which does him im- 
 mortal honour ; and in commanding his son " to treat the 
 illustrious one according to his heart's wishes," though he so 
 long and so signally had foiled the roj'al armies, he proved himself 
 worthy of the good fortune he acknowledges, and well shows his 
 
 1 [The third month.] ^ |-He died in 1620.] 
 
 ^ Increasing the respect to the Ranas by making a prince the bearer of 
 the farman. 
 
 * [The tenth month.]
 
 426 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 sense of the superiority of the chief of all the Rajputs, by placing 
 the heir of Mewar, even above all the princes of his own house, 
 ' immediately on his right hand.' Whether he attempts to relieve 
 the shyness of Karan, or sets forth the princely appearance of 
 Jagat Singh, we see the same amiable feeling operating to lighten 
 the chains of the conquered. But the shyness of Karan deserved 
 a worthier term : he felt the degradation which neither the 
 statues raised to them, the right hand of the monarch, the dignity 
 of a ' commander of five thousand,' or even the restoration of the 
 long-alienated territory could neutralize, when the kingdom to 
 which he was heir was called a fief (jagir), and himself, ' the 
 descendant of a hundred kings,' a vassal (jagirdar) of the empire, 
 under whose banner, which his ancestors had so signally opposed, 
 he was now to follow with a contingent of fifteen hundred Rajput 
 horse. 
 
 Seldom has subjugated royalty met with such consideration ; 
 yet, to a lofty mind like Amra's, this courteous condescension 
 but increased the severity of endurance [367]. In the bitterness 
 of his heart he cursed the magnanimity of lOiurram, himself of 
 Rajput blood ^ and an admirer of Rajput valour, which circum- 
 stance more than the force of his arms had induced him to sur- 
 render ; for Khurram demanded but the friendship of the Rajput 
 as the price of peace, and to withdraw every Muhammadan from 
 Mewar if the Rana would but receive the emperor's farman 
 outside of his capital. This his proud soul rejected ; and though 
 he visited Prince Khurram as a friend, he spurned the proposition 
 of acknowledging a superior, or receiving tlie rank and titles 
 awaiting such an admission. The noble Amra, who — 
 
 Rather than be less. 
 Cared not to be at all — 
 
 took the resolution to abdicate ^ the throne he could no longer 
 hold but at the will of another. Assembling his chiefs, and 
 
 ^ Khurram was son of a Rajput princess of Amber [whose name, accord- 
 ing to Beale, was Balmati] of the Kachhwaha tribe, and hence his name was 
 probably Kurm, synonymous to kachhwa, a tortoise. The bards are always 
 punning upon it. [The Persian word khurram, ' glad, joyful,' has, of 
 course, no connexion with Hindi kurm, ' a tortoise.'] 
 
 * Surrendered S. 1672, a.d. 1G16 (according to Dow, S. 1669, a.d. 1613) ; 
 died 1621 [1620. There seems to bo no corroboration of his abdication.]
 
 RANA KARAN SINGH II. 427 
 
 disclosing his determination, he made the tika on his son's fore- 
 head ; and observing that the honour of Mewar was now in his 
 hands, forthwith left the capital and secluded himself in the 
 Nauchauki : ^ nor did he from that hour cross its threshold, but 
 to have his ashes deposited with those of his fathers. 
 
 Character of Eana Amar Singh. — All comment is superfluous 
 on such a character as Rana Amra. He was worthy of Partap 
 and his race. He possessed all the physical as well as mental 
 qualities of a hero, and was the tallest and strongest of all the 
 princes of Mewar. He was not so fair as they usually are, and 
 he had a reserve bordering upon gloominess, doubtless occasioned 
 by his reverses, for it was not natural to him ; he was beloved 
 by his chiefs for the qualities they most esteem, generosity and 
 valour, and by his subjects for his justice and kindness, of which 
 we can judge from his edicts, many of which yet live on the 
 column or the rock [368]. 
 
 CHAPTER 13 
 
 Eana Karan Singh II., a.d. 1620-28. — Karan, or Kama [the 
 radiant), succeeded to the last independent king of Mewar, S. 1677, 
 A.D. 1621. Henceforth we shall have to exhibit these princely 
 ' children of the sun ' with diminished lustre, moving as satellites 
 round the primary planet ; but, unaccustomed to the laws of 
 its attraction, they soon deviated from the orbit prescribed, and 
 in the eccentricity of their movements occasionally displayed 
 their unborrowed effulgence. For fifteen himdred years we have 
 traced each alternation of the fortune of this family, from their 
 establishment in the second, to their expulsion in the fifth century 
 from Saurashtra by the Parthians ; the acquisition and loss of 
 Idar ; the conquest and surrender of Chitor ; the rise of Udaipur 
 
 ^ It must have been here that Sultan Khurram visited the Rana. The 
 remams of this palace, about half a mile without the city wall (north), on a 
 cluster of hills, are yet in existence. It was built by Udai Singh on the banks 
 of a lake, under which are gardens and groves, where the author had the 
 Rana's permission to pitch liis tents in the hottest m'onths. [When Khurram 
 was in revolt against his father, he stayed at first in the Rana's palace ; but 
 as his followers Uttle respected Rajput prejudices, he removed to the Jag- 
 mandir, and the island became his home till shortly before his father's death 
 (Erskine ii. A. 109).]
 
 428 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 and abasement of the red flag to Jahangir ; and we shall conclude 
 with not the least striking portion of their history, their unity of 
 interests with Britain. 
 
 Karan was deficient neither in courage nor conduct ; of both 
 he had given a decided proof, when, to relieve the pecuniary 
 difficulties of his father, with a rapidity unparalleled, he passed 
 through the midst of his foes, surjorised and plundered Surat, 
 and carried off a booty which was the means of protracting the 
 evil days of his country. But for the exercise of the chief virtue 
 of the Rajput, he [369] had little scope throughout his reign, and 
 fortunately for his country the powerful esteem and friendship 
 which Jahangir and Prince Khurram evinced for his house, enabled 
 him to put forth the talents he possessed to repair past disasters. 
 He fortified the heights round the caj^ital, which he strengthened 
 with a wall and ditch, partly enlarged the noble dam which 
 retains the waters of the Pichola, and built that entire portion of 
 the palace called the Rawala, still set apart for the ladies of the 
 court. 
 
 Terms between Rana Karan Singh and Jahangir.— When Rana 
 Amra made terms with Jahangir, he stipulated, as a salvo for his 
 dignity and that of his successors, exemption from all personal 
 attendance ; and confined the extent of homage to his successors 
 receiving, on each lapse of the crown, the farman or imperial 
 decree in token of subordination, which, more strongly to mark 
 their dependent condition, the Rana was to accept without the 
 walls of his capital ; accordingly, though the heirs-apparent of 
 Mewar ^ attended the court, they never did as Rana. Partly to 
 lessen the weight of this sacrifice to independence, and partly to 
 exalt the higher grade of nobles, the princes of the blood-royal 
 of Mewar were made to rank below the Sixteen, a fictitious diminu- 
 tion of dignity which, with similar acts peculiar to this house, 
 enhanced the self-estimation of the nobles, and made them brave 
 every danger to obtain such sacrifices to the ruling passion of the 
 Rajput, a love of distinction.^ It is mentioned by the emperor 
 
 ^ The contingent of Mewar was one thousand horse. 
 
 ^ During the progress of my mediation between the Rana and his nobles, 
 in 1818, the conduct of the Hneal representative of Jainiall, the defender of 
 Chitor against Akbar, was striking. Instead of surrendering the lands 
 whicli he was accused of usurping, he placed himself at the door of the thresh- 
 old of the palace, whence he was immovable. His claims were left to my 
 adjudication : but he complained with great heat of the omission of cere-
 
 SESODIAS IN THE IMPERIAL SERVICE 429 
 
 that he placed the heir-apparent of Mewar immediately on his 
 right hand, over all the princes of Hindustan ; consequently the 
 superior nobles of Mewar, who were all men of royal descent, 
 deemed themselves, and had their [370] claims admitted, to rank 
 above their peers at other courts, and to be seated almost on an 
 equalitj^ witli their princes.* 
 
 Sesodias in the Imperial Service. — The Sesodia chieftains were 
 soon distinguished amongst the Rajput vassals of the Mogul, and 
 had a full share of power. Of these Bhim, the younger brother 
 of Karan, who headed the quota of Mewar, was conspicuous, and 
 became the chief adviser and friend of Sultan Khurram, who well 
 knew his intrepidity. At his son's solicitation, the emperor 
 conferred upon him the title of Raja, and assigned a small princi- 
 pality on "the Banas for his residence, of which Toda was the 
 capital. Ambitious of perpetuating a name, he erected a new 
 city and palace on the banks of the river, which he called Raj- 
 mahall, and which his descendants held till about forty years ago. 
 The ruins of Rajmahall ^ bear testimony to the architectural taste 
 
 monials, and especially of the prostration of honours by the prince. I in- 
 cautiously remarked that these were trivial compared with the other objects 
 in view, and begged him to disregard it. " Disregard it ! why, it was for 
 these things my ancestors sacrificed their lives ; when such a band * as this 
 on my turban was deemed ample reward for the most distinguished service, 
 and made them laugh at wounds and hardships ! " Abashed at the incon- 
 siderate remark which provoked this lofty reproof, I used my influence to 
 have the omission rectified : the lands were restored, and the enthusiastic 
 reverence with which I spoke of Jaimall would have obtained even greater 
 proof of the Badnor chief's regard for the fame of his ancestors than the 
 surrender of them implied. Who would not honour this attachment to 
 such emblems in the days of adversity ? 
 
 ^ This was conceded, as the following anecdote will attest. When the 
 first Peshwa [Balaji Visvanath (1707-20)] appeared at the Jaipur court he 
 was accompanied by the Salumbar chieftain. The Jaipur prince divided his 
 gaddi (cushion) with the Peshwa, and the latter made room for the Salumbar 
 chief upon it, observing that their privileges and rank were similar. The 
 same Peshwa had the address to avoid all discussion of rank at Udaipur, by 
 alleging the prerogative of his order to ' spread his cloth in front of the throne,^ 
 a distinction to which every priest is entitled. 
 
 ^ The plate represents Rajmahall, on the Banas, now in the fief of Rao 
 Chand Singh, one of the Jaipur nobles, whose castle of Duni is in the 
 
 * Balaband, a fillet or band, sometimes embroidered ; often, as in the 
 present case, of silk or gold tliread knotted, and tassels tied round the turban. 
 Balaband is synonymous with diadem.
 
 430 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of this son of Mewar, as do the fallen fortunes of his descendant 
 to the instability of power : the lineal heir of Raja Bhim serves 
 the chief of Shahpura on half a crown a day ! 
 
 Revolt and Death of Bhim Singh. — Jahangir, notwithstanding 
 his favours, soon had a specimen of the insubordinate spirit of 
 Bhim. Being desirous to separate him from Sultan Khurram, 
 who aspired to the crown in prejudice to his elder brother Parvez, 
 he appointed Bhim to the government of Gujarat, which was 
 distinctly refused. Detesting Parvez, who, it will be recollected, 
 invaded Mewar, and was foiled for his cruelty on this occasion^ 
 Bhim advised his friend at once to throw off the mask, if he 
 aspired to reign. Parvez was slain,^ and Khurram manifested his 
 guilt by flying to arms [371]. He was secretly supported by a 
 strong party of the Rajput interest, at the head of which was 
 Gaj Singh of Marwar, his maternal grandfather, who cautiously 
 desired to remain neutral. Jahangir advanced to crush the 
 incipient revolt ; but dubious of the Rathor (Gaj Singh), he gave 
 the van to Jaipur, upon which the prince furled his banners and 
 determined to be a spectator. The armies approached and were 
 joining action, when the impetuous Bhim sent a message to the 
 Rathor either to aid or oppose them. The insult provoked him 
 to the latter course, and Bhim's party was destroyed, himself 
 slain,^ and Khurram and Mahabat Khan compelled to seek refuge 
 
 distance. There are many picturesque scenes of this nature on the Banas. 
 Duni made a celebrated defence against Sindhia's army in 1808, and held 
 out several months, though the Mahratta prince had an army of forty thou- 
 sand men and a park of eighty pieces of cannon to oppose two hundred 
 Rajputs. They made sorties, captured his foragers, cut his batteries to pieces, 
 and carried off his guns (of which they had none), and, placing them on their 
 walls, with his own shot made the whole army change position, beyond 
 matchlock range. At last their inexpertness rendered them useless, and 
 they obtained honourable terms. On one occasion the foragers of our escort 
 were returning, and met Sindhia's coming away without their guns and 
 cattle, which had just been taken from them. Our lads, from fellowship, 
 volunteered to recover them, and returned on the captors, who gave them 
 up (if my memory deceive me not) without a struggle, and from respect to 
 the red coat ! 
 
 1 [Parvez died at Burhanpur, Nimar District, Central Provinces, in his 
 thirty-eighth year, on October 28, 1626.] 
 
 ^ Man Singh, chief of the Saktawats, and lus brother Gokuldas, were 
 Bhim's advisers, and formed with Mahabat Khan the junta who ruled the 
 Mogul heir-apparent. Man held Sanwar in tlie Khairar, and was celebrated
 
 REVOLT AND DEATH OF BHiM SINGH 431 
 
 in Udaipur. In this asylum he remained undisturbed : apart- 
 ments in the palace were assigned to him ; but his followers little 
 respecting Rajput prejudices, the island became his residence, 
 on Avliich a sumptuous edifice Avas raised, adorned with a lofty 
 dome crowned with the crescent. The interior was decorated 
 with mosaic, in onyx, cornelian, jaspers, and agates, rich Turkey 
 carpets, etc. ; and that nothing of state might be wanting to 
 the royal refugee, a throne was sculptured from a single block of 
 serpentine, supported by quadriform female Caryatidae. In the 
 court a little chapel was erected to the Muhammadan saint Madar,^ 
 and here the prince with his court resided, every wish anticipated, 
 till a short time before his father's death, when he retired into 
 Persia.^ 
 
 Such was Rajput gratitude to a prince who, when the chances 
 of war made him victor over them, had sought unceasingly to 
 mitigate the misery attendant on the loss of independence ! It 
 is pleasing to record to the honour of this calumniated race, that 
 these feelings on the part of Karan were not transient ; and that 
 so far from expiring with the object. 
 
 The debt immense of endless gratitude 
 
 was transmitted as an heirloom to his issue ; and though two 
 centuries have fled, during which Mewar had suffered every 
 
 in Anira's wars as the great champion of the Sesodias. He counted above 
 eighty wounds, and had at various times " sent a ser (two pounds) of ex- 
 foUated bone to the Ganges." Such was the affection between Man and 
 Bhim, that they concealed the death of the latter, sending him food in 
 Bhim's name ; but he no sooner learned the truth than he tore away the 
 bandages and expired. Of Gokuldas the bard says, in allusion to the 
 peaceful reign of Karan, " The wreath of Karan's renown was fading, but 
 Gokul revived it with his blood." It was with the Sesodia Rajputs and 
 the Saktawats that Mahabat performed the most daring exploit in Mogul 
 history, making Jahangir prisoner in his own camp : but it is too long for 
 insertion in a note. [This occurred in 1626 ; see Elphinstone, Hist, of 
 India, 568.] 
 
 ^ [The saint Madar is said to have been a Jew from Aleppo who hved 
 from A.D. 1050 to 1433, and was buried at Makanpur in the Cawnpur District, 
 where pilgrims visit his tomb {101, xvii. 43 ; Dabistan, trans. Shea-Troyer 
 iii. 244 ff.).] 
 
 ^ Contemporary historians say to Golkonda. [Khurram was prevented 
 by bad health from going to Persia, and proceeded to the Deccan, whence 
 he returned after his father's death (Elphinstone, op. cit. 573 ; EUiot- 
 Dowson vi. 433, 437, 445).]
 
 432 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 variety of woe, pillaged by Mogul [372], Pathan, and Mahratta, 
 yet the turban of Prince Khurram, the symbol of fraternity,^ has 
 been preserved, and remains in the same folds as when transferred 
 from the head of the Mogul to that of the Rajput prince. The 
 shield is yet held as the most sacred of relics, nor will the lamp 
 which illumines the chapel of Madar want oil while the princes of 
 Udaipur have wherewithal to supply it.^ 
 
 Death of Rana Karan Singh. — Rana Karan had enjoyed eight 
 years of perfect tranquillity when he was gathered to his fathers. 
 The sanctuary he gave Prince Khurram had no apparent effect 
 on Jahangir, who doubtless believed that the Rana did not 
 sanction the conduct of his brother Bhim. lie was succeeded 
 by his son Jagat Singh, ' the lion of the world,' in S. 1684 (a.d. 
 1628). 
 
 Bana Jagat Singh I., a.d. 1628-53. — The Emperor Jahangir died 
 shortly after his accession [October 28, 1627], and while Khurram 
 was in exile. This event, which gave the throne to the friend of 
 his house, was announced to him by the Rana, who sent his 
 brother and a band of Rajputs to Surat to form the cortege of 
 the emperor, who repaired directly to Udaipur ; and it was in 
 the Badal Mahall (' the cloud saloon ') of his palace that he was 
 first saluted by the title of ' Shah Jahan,' by the satraps and 
 tributary princes of the empire.^ On taking leave, the new 
 monarch restored five alienated districts, and presented the Rana 
 
 ^ An exchange of turbans is the symbol of fraternal adoption. 
 ^ It is an affecting proof of the perpetuity of true gratitude, 
 
 " Which owing, owes not," 
 
 as weU as of reUgious toleration, to find the shrine of the Muhammadan 
 saint maintained in this retreat of the Sesodias, and the priest and estabhsh- 
 ment kept up, though the son of their benefactor persecuted them with 
 unrelenting barbarity. Are these people worth concihating ? or does the 
 mist of ignorance and egotism so blind us that we are to despise the minds 
 hidden under the cloak of poverty and long oppression ? The orange- 
 coloured turban, and the shield of Shah Jahan, have been brought from 
 their sacred niche for my view : that I looked on them with sentiments of 
 reverence, as reUcs consecrated by the noblest feehng of the mind, wiU 
 be credited. I bowed to the turljan with an irresistible impulse, and a 
 fervour as deep as ever did pilgrim before the most hallowed shrine. 
 
 3 Ferishta [Dow iii. 99], whose geography is often quite unintelligible, 
 omits this in his history, and passes the king direct to Ajmer : but the 
 annals are fuller, and describe the royal insignia conveyed by Mahabat, 
 AbduUa, Khan Jahan, and his secretary Sadullah.
 
 ERECTION OF BUILDINGS AT UDAIPUR 433 
 
 •with a ruby of inestimable value, giving him also permission to 
 reconstruct the fortifications of Chitor.^ 
 
 The twenty-six years during which Jagat Singh occupied the 
 throne passed in uninterrupted tranquillity : a state imfruitful 
 to the bard, who flourishes only amidst agitation and strife. 
 This period was devoted to the cultivation of the peaceful arts, 
 especially architecture ; and to Jagat Singh Udaipur is indebted 
 for those magnificent works which bear his name, and excite our 
 astonishment, after all the disasters we have related, at the 
 resources he found to accomplish them [373]. 
 
 Erection of Buildings at Udaipur. — The palace on the lake 
 (covering about four acres), called the Jagniwas, is entirely his 
 work, as well as many additions to its sister isle, on which is the 
 Jagmandir.*^ Nothing but marble enters into their composition ; 
 columns, baths, reservoirs, fountains, all are of this material, 
 often inlaid with mosaics, and the uniformity pleasingly diversified 
 by the hght passing through glass of every hue. The apartments 
 are decorated with historical paintings in water-colours, almost 
 meriting the term fresco from their deep absorption in the wall, 
 though the darker tmts have bleaded with and in part oljscured 
 the more delicate shades, from atmospheric causes. The walls, 
 both here and in the grand palace, contain many medallions, in 
 considerable relief, in gypsum, portraying the principal historical 
 events of the family, from early periods even to the marriage 
 pomp of the present Rana. Parterres of flowers, orange and 
 lemon groves, intervene to dispel the monotony of the buildings, 
 shaded by the wide-spreading tamarind and magnificent evergreen 
 khirni ; * while the graceful palmyra and coco wave their plume- 
 like branches over the dark cypress or cooling plantain. Detached 
 colonnaded refectories are placed on the water's edge for the 
 chiefs, and extensive baths for their use. Here they listened to 
 the tale of the bard, and slept off their noonday opiate amidst 
 
 ^ [According to Manucci (i. 214 f.) Shahjahan ordered his Wazir S'adullah 
 Khan to prepare a campaign against the Rana, but the plan was disclosed 
 by a woman, and the Rana made terms, ceded territory, and paid a sum 
 of money. Shahjahan is said to have destroyed the fortifications of Chitor, 
 on the ground that they had been repaired without his father's permission.] 
 
 ^ ' The minster of the world.' [According to Erskine (ii. A. 109) the 
 Jagmandir was built by Jagat Singh I. (1628-52) ; the Jagniwas by Jagat 
 Singh II. (1734-51).] 
 
 ^ [Wrightia tinctoria (Watt, Comm. Prod. 1131 f.).] 
 VOL. I 2 F
 
 434 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 the cool breezes of the lake, wafting delicious odours from mjTiads 
 of the lotus-flower which covered the surface of the waters ; and 
 as the fumes of the potion evaporated, they opened their eyes 
 on a landscape to which not even its inspirations could frame an 
 equal : the broad waters of the Pichola, with its indented and 
 well-wooded margin receding to the terminating point of sight, 
 at which the temple of Brahmpuri opened on the pass of the 
 gigantic Aravalli, the field of the exploits of their forefathers. 
 Amid such scenes did the Sesodia princes and chieftains recreate 
 during two generations, exchanging the din of arms for voluptuous 
 inactivity. 
 
 Jagat Singh was a liighly respected prince, and did much to 
 efface the remembrance of the rude visitations of the Moguls. 
 The dignity of his character, his benevolence of address and 
 personal demeanour, secured the homage of all who had access 
 to him, and are alike attested by the pen of the emperor, the 
 ambassador of England, and the chronicles of Mewar. He had 
 the proud satisfaction [374] of redeeming . the ancient capital 
 from ruin ; rebuilding the " chaplet bastion,' restoring the portals, 
 and replacing the pinnacles on the temples of Chitrakot." By a 
 princess of Marwar he left two sons, the eldest of whom succeeded. 
 
 Rana Raj Singh, a.d. 1652-80. — Raj Singh (the royal lion) 
 moiuited the throne in S. 1710 (a.d. 1654). Various causes over 
 which he had no control combined, together with his personal 
 character, to break the long repose his country had enjoyed. The 
 emperor of the Moguls had reached extreme old age, and the 
 ambition of his sons to usurp his authority involved every Rajput 
 in support of their individual pretensions. The Rana inclined to 
 Dara,^ the legitimate heir to the throne, as did nearly the whole 
 Rajput race ; but the battle of Fatehabad * silenced every 
 pretension, and gave the lead to Aurangzeb, which he maintained 
 by the sacrifice of whatever opposed his ambition. His father, 
 brothers, nay, his own offspring, were in turn victims to that 
 thirst for power which eventually destroyed the monarchy of the 
 Moguls. 
 
 ^ The Mala Burj, a ' chaplet bastion ' blown up by Akbar, is a small 
 fortress of itself. 
 
 * I have copies of the original letters written by Dara, Suja, Murad, and 
 Aurangzeb on this occasion, each soliciting the Rana's aid. 
 
 ^ [SamQgarh, afterwards called Fatehabad, May 20, 1658 (Jadunath 
 Sarkar, Life of Aurangzib, ii. 32 ff. ; Manucci i. 270 ff. ; Bernier 49 ff.)-]
 
 PRINCES CONTEMPORARY WITH AURANGZEB 435 
 
 The policy introduced by their founder, from which Akbar, 
 Jahangir, and Shah Jahan had reaped so many benefits, was 
 unwisely abandoned by the latter, who of all had the most power- 
 ful reasons for maintaining those ties which connected the Rajput 
 princes vnth his house. Historians have neglected to notice the 
 great moral strength derived from this unity of the indigenous 
 races with their conquerors ; for during no similar period was 
 the empire so secure, nor the Hindu race so cherished, as during 
 the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan : the former born from a 
 Rajput princess of Amber, and the latter from the house of 
 Marwar. Aurangzeb's unmixed Tatar blood brought no Rajput 
 sympathies to his aid ; on the contrary, every noble family shed 
 their best blood in withstanding his accession, and in the defence 
 of Shah Jahan's rights, while there was a hope of success. The 
 politic Aurangzeb was not blind to this defect, and he tried to 
 remedy it in his successor ; for both his declared heir. Shah Alam, 
 and Azam, as well as his favourite grandson,^ were the offspring 
 of Rajputnis ; but, uninfluenced himself by such predilections, 
 his bigotry outweighed his policy, and he visited the Rajputs 
 with an unrelenting and unwise persecution [375]. 
 
 We shall pass the twice-told tale of the struggle for power 
 which ended in the destruction of the brothers, competitors with 
 Aurangzeb : this belongs to general history, not to the annals of 
 Mewar ; and that history is in every hand,- in which the magna- 
 nimity of Dara,^ the impetuosity of Murad, and the activity of 
 Suja met the same tragical end. 
 
 Princes contemporary with Aurangzeb. — It has seldom occurred 
 that so many distinguished princes were contemporary as during 
 the reign of Aurangzeb. Every Rajput principality had a head 
 above mediocrity in conduct as in courage. Jai Singh of Amber, 
 
 ^ Kambakhsh (son of Jodhpuri, not Udaipuri), 'the gift of Cupid.' Of 
 this the Greeks made Cambyses. [Kambakhsh was son of Udaipuri, the 
 youngest and best-loved concubine of Aurangzeb (Judunath Sarkar i. 64). 
 Cambyses is Old Persian Kabuziya or Kambuziya (Maspero, Passing of 
 the Empires, 655, note).] 
 
 * Bernier, who was an eye-witness of these transactions, describes them 
 far better than the Mogul historians, and his accounts tally admirably 
 with the Rajput annals. [But he is not always to be trusted (Jadunath 
 Sarkar ii. 10, note).] 
 
 * [The proper form is Dara Shukoh or Shikoh, ' equal in splendour to 
 Darius.']
 
 436 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 surnamed ' the Mirza Raja ' ; Jaswant Singh of Marwar, with the 
 Haras of Bundi and Kotah ; the Rathors of Bikaner, and 
 Bundelas of Orchha and Datia, were men whose prejudices, 
 properly consulted, would have rendered the Mogul power in- 
 dissoluble : but he had but one measure of contumely for all, 
 which inspired Sivaji with designs of freedom to Maharashtra, 
 and withdrew every sentiment of support from the princes of 
 Rajasthan. In subtlety and the most specious hypocrisy, in that 
 concentration of resolve which confides its deep purpose to none, 
 in every qualification of the warrior or scholar,^ Aurangzeb had 
 
 ^ We possess a most erroneous idea of the understanding of Asiatic 
 princes, and the extent of its cultivation. Aurangzeb's rebuke to his tutor 
 MuUa Sale [MuUa Sahh, Bemier 154 ; Manucci ii. 30], who beset him with 
 a sycophantic intrusion on his coming to the throne, may correct tliis, 
 and, with the letter of Rana Raj Singh, give the European world juster 
 notions of the pawers of mind both of Hindu and Muhammadan. It is 
 preserved by Bernier, who had ample opportunity to acquire a knowledge 
 of them. (From an edition in the autJior^s possession, printed a.t>. 1684, 
 only three years after these events.) 
 
 " ' What is it you would have of me. Doctor ? Can you reasonably 
 desire I should make you one of the chief Omrahs of my court ? Let me 
 tell you, if you had instructed me as you should have done, nothing would 
 be more just ; for I am of this persuasion, that a child well educated and 
 instructed is as much, at least, obliged to his master as to his father. But 
 where are those good documents you have given me ? In the first place, 
 you have taught me that all that Frangistan (so it seems they call Europe) 
 was nothing but I know not what Uttle island, of which the greatest king 
 was he of Portugal, and next to him he of Holland, and after him he of 
 England : and as to the other kings, as those of France and Andalusia, 
 you have represented them to me as our petty Rajas ; teUing me that the 
 kings of Indostan were far above them aU together, and that they were the 
 true and only Houmayons, the Ekbars, the Jehan-Guyres, the Chah-Jehans, 
 the fortunate ones, the great ones, the conquerors and kings of the world ; 
 and that Persia and Usbec, Kachguer, Tartar and Catay, Pegu, Cliina and 
 Matchina did tremble at the name of the. kings of Indostan. Admirable 
 geography ! You should rather have taught me exactly to distinguish 
 all those different states of the world, and well to understand their strength, 
 their way of fighting, their customs, rehgions, governments, and interests ; 
 and, by the perusal of sohd lustory,.to observe their rise, progBess, decay, 
 and whence, how, and by what accidents and errors those great changes 
 and revolutions of empires and kingdoms have happened. I have scarce 
 learnt of you the name of my grandsires, the famous founders of this empire : 
 so far were you from having taught me the history of their fife, and what 
 course they took to make such great conquests. You had a mind to teach 
 me the Arabian tongiie, to read and to write. I am much obliged to you, 
 forsooth, for having made me lose so much time upon a language that
 
 AURANGZEB'S REBUKE TO HIS TUTOR 437 
 
 no superior amongst the many distinguished [376] of his race ; 
 but that sin by which ' angels fell ' had steeped him in an ocean 
 of guilt, and not only neutralized his natural capacities, but 
 converted the means for unlimited power into an engine of self- 
 
 requires ten or twelve years to attain to its perfection ; as if the son of a 
 king should think it to be an honour to him to be a grammarian or some 
 doctor of the law, and to learn other languages than those of his neighbours, 
 when he cannot well bo without them ; he, to whom time is so precious for 
 so many weighty things, which he ought by times to learn. As if there 
 were any spirit that did not with some reluctancy, and even with a kind of 
 debasement, employ itself in so sad and dry an exercise, so longsoni and 
 tedious, as is that of learning words.' 
 
 " Thus did Arung-Zebe resent the pedantic instructions of his tutor ; 
 to which 'tis affirmed in that court, that after some entertainment which 
 he had with others, he further added the following reproof : 
 
 " ' Know you not, that childhood well govern'd, being a state which is 
 ordinarily accompanied with an happy memory, is capable of thousands of 
 good precepts and instructions, which remain deeply impressed the whole 
 remainder of a man's life, and keep the mind always raised for great actions ? 
 The law, prayers, and science, may they not as well be learned in our mother- 
 tongue as in Arabick ? You told my father, Chah Jehan, that you would 
 teach me philosophy. 'Tis true, I remember very well, that you have 
 cntertain'd me for many years with airy questions of tilings that afford 
 no satisfaction at aU to the mind, and are of no use in humane society, 
 empty notions and mere phancies, that have only this in them, that they 
 are very hard to understand and very easie to forget, which are only capable 
 to tire and spoil a good understanding, and to breed an opinion that is 
 insupportable. I still remember, that after you had thus amused me, I 
 know not how long, with your fine philosophy, all I retained of it was a 
 multitude of barbarous and dark words, proper to bewilder, perplex, and 
 tire out the best wits, and only invented the better to cover the vanity and 
 ignorance of men hke yourself, that would make us beheve that they know 
 all, and that under those obscure and ambiguous words are hid great mysteries 
 which they alone are capable to understand. If you had season'd me with 
 that plulosophy which formeth the mind to ratiocination, and insensibly 
 accustoms it to be satisfied with nothing but sohd reasons, if you had given 
 me those excellent precepts and doctrines which raise the soul above the 
 assaults of fortune, and reduce her to an unshakeable and always equal 
 temper, and permit her not to be lifted up by prosperity nor debased by 
 adversity ; if you had taken care to give me the knowledge of what we are 
 and what are the first principles of things, and had assisted me in forming 
 in my mind a fit idea of the greatness of the universe, and of the admirable 
 order and motion of the parts thereof ; if, I say, you had instdled into me 
 this kind of philosophy, I should think myself incomparably more obhged 
 to you than Alexander was to his Aristotle, and beheve it my duty to 
 recompense you otherwise than he did him. Should not you, instead of 
 your flattery, have taught me somewhat of that point so important to a
 
 438 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 destruction. " This hypocrisy," says the eloquent Orme/ 
 " encreased with his power, and in order to palliate to his Maho- 
 medan subjects the crimes by which he had become their sove- 
 reign, he determined to enforce the conversion of the Hindoos 
 by the severest penalties, and even threatned the sword ; as if 
 the blood of his subjects were to wash away the stains, with 
 which he was imbrued by the blood of his family. . . . Labour 
 left the field and industry the loom, until the decrease of the 
 revenues drew representations from the governors of the pro- 
 vinces ; which induced Aurungzebe to substitute a capitation 
 tax ^ as the ballance of the account between the two religions." 
 The same historian justly characterizes this enactment as one so 
 contrary to all notions of sound policy, as well as of the feelings 
 of humanity, that " reflection seeks the motive with amazement." 
 In this amazement we might remain, nor seek to develop the 
 motive, did not the ample page of history in all [377] nations 
 disclose that in the name of rehgion more blood has been shed, 
 and more atrocity committed, than by the united action of the 
 whole catalogue of the passions. Muhammad's creed was based 
 on conversion, which, by whatever means effected, was a plenary 
 atonement for every crime. In obedience thereto Aurangzeb 
 acted ; but though myriads of victims who clung to their faith 
 were sacrificed by him at the fiat of this gladiatorial prophet, yet 
 nor these, nor the scrupulous fulfilment of fanatic observances, 
 could soothe at the dread hour the perturbations of the ' still 
 small voice ' which whispered the names of father, brother, son, 
 bereft by him of life. Eloquently does he portray these terrors 
 in his letters to his grandson on his death-bed, wherein he says, 
 " Whichever way I look, I see onlj^ the divinity " — and that an 
 offended divinity [378] .» 
 
 king, which is, what the reciprocal duties are of a sovereign to his subjects 
 and those of subjects to their sovereign ; and ought not you to have con- 
 sidered, that one day I should be obhged witli the sword to dispute my 
 life and thfe crown with my brothers ? Is not that the destiny almost of 
 all the sons of Indostan ? Have you ever taken any care to make me learn, 
 what 'tis to besiege a town or to set an army in array ? For tliese things I am 
 obliged to others, not at all to you. Go, and retire to the village whence you 
 are come, and let nobody know who you are or what is become of you.' " 
 [For another version of th's speech see Bcrnier 154 ff., Manucci ii. 30 fl:.] 
 
 ^ [Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire, ed. 1782, p. 101. The 
 quotation in the text has been corrected.] - The Jizya. 
 
 ^ I deem it right, in order further to illustrate the cultivated understand-
 
 RANA raj SINGH 439 
 
 Rana Raj Singh defies Aurangzeb. — ^Raj Singh had signaUzed 
 his accession by tlie revival of tlie warlike Tika-daur, and plundered 
 
 ing of Aurangzeb, to annex the letters written to his sons a few days before 
 his death. With such talents, with so just a conception as these and the 
 rebuke to his tutor evince of his kiaowledgo of the right, what might he not 
 have been had not fell ambition misguided him ! 
 
 ■' To Shaw Azim Shaw. [Shah Azam Shah.] 
 " Health to thee ! my heart is near thee. Old age is arrived : weakness 
 subdues me, and strength has forsaken aU my members. I came a stranger 
 into this world, and a stranger I depart. I know nothing of myself, what 
 I am, and for what I am destined. The instant which passed in power, 
 hath left only sorrow behind it. I have not been the guardian and pro- 
 tector of the empire. My valuable time has been passed vainly. I had 
 a patron in my own dwelling (conscience), but his glorious light was unseen 
 by my dim sight. Life is not lasting, there is no vestige of departed breath, 
 and all hopes from futurity are lost. The fever has left me, but nothing 
 of me remains but skin and bono. My son (Kaum Buksh), though gone 
 towards Beejapore, is still near ; and thou, my son, are yet nearer. The 
 worthy of esteem, Shaw Aulum, is far distant ; and my grandson (Azeem 
 Ooshauu), by the orders of God, is arrived near Hindostan. The camp 
 and followers, helpless and alarmed, are hke myself, full of affliction, restless 
 as the quicksilver. Separated from their lord, they know not if they have 
 a master or not. 
 
 " I brought nothing into this world, and, except the infirmities of man, 
 carry nothing out. I have a dread for my salvation, and with what torments 
 I may be punished. Though I have strong rehance on the mercies and 
 bounty of God, yet, regarding my actions, fear will not quit me ; but 
 when I am gone, reflection wiU not remain. Come then what may, I have 
 launched my vessel to the waves. Though Providence wiU protect the 
 camp, yet, regarding appearances, the endeavours of my sons are indis- 
 pensably incumbent. Give my last prayers to my grandson (Bedar Bukht), 
 whom I cannot see, but the desire affects me. The Begum (his daughter) 
 appears affhcted ; but God is the only judge of hearts. The foolish thoughts 
 of women produce nothing but disappointment. FareweU ! farewell ! 
 farewell ! " [This letter is printed by H. Bihmoria, Letters oj Aurangzeb, 
 71 f.] 
 
 " To the Prince Kaum Buksh. [Kambakhsh.] 
 " My son, nearest to my heart. Though in the height of my power, 
 and by God's permission, I gave you advice, and took with you the greatest 
 pains, yet, as it was not the divine will, you did not attend with the ears 
 of compliance. Now I depart a stranger, and lament my own ineignificance, 
 what does it profit nie ? I carry with me the fruits of my sins and imperfec- 
 tions. Surprising Providence ! I came here alone, and alone I depart. 
 The leader of this caravan hath deserted me. The fever which troubled 
 me for twelve days has left me. Wherever I look, I see nothing but the 
 divinity. My fears for the camp and foUowers are great : but, alas ! I 
 know not myself. My back is bent with weakness, and my feet have lost 
 the powers of motion. The breath which rose is gone, and left not even
 
 440 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Malpura, which though on the Ajmer frontier, Shah Jahan, when 
 advised to vengeance, replied " it was only a folly of his nephew." ^ 
 An appeal to his gallantry made him throw down the gauntlet 
 to Aurangzeb in the plenitude of his power, when the valour of 
 the Sesodias again burst forth in all the splendour of the days of 
 Partap ; nor did the contest close till after a series of brilliant 
 victories, and with the narrow escape from captivity of the 
 Xerxes of Hindustan. The Mogul demanded the hand of the 
 princess of Rupnagar, a junior branch of the Marwar house, and 
 sent with the demand (a compliance with which was contemplated 
 
 hope behind it. I have committed numerous crimes, and know not with 
 what punishments I may be seized. Though the protector of mankind 
 will guard the camp, yet care is incumbent also on the faitliful and my sons. 
 When I was ahve, no care was taken ; and now I am gone, the consequence 
 may be guessed. The guardianship of a people is the trust by God com- 
 mitted to my sons. Azim Shaw is near. Be cautious that none of the 
 faitliful are slain, or their miseries fall upon my head. I resign you, your 
 mother and son, to God, as I myself am going. The agonies of death come 
 ujion me fast. Behadur Shaw is still where he was, and his son is arrived 
 near Hindostan. Bedar Bukht is in Guzarat. Hyaut al Nissa, who has 
 beheld no afflictions of time till now, is full of sorrows. Regard the Begum 
 as without concern. Odiporee,* your mother, was a partner in my illness, 
 and wishes to accompany me in death ; but every thing has its appointed time. 
 
 " The domestics and courtiers, however deceitful, yet must not be ill- 
 treated. It is necessary to gain your views by gentleness and art. Extend 
 your feet no lower than your skirt. The couiplaints of the unpaid troops 
 are as before. Dara Shelckoh, though of much judgment and good under- 
 standing, settled large pensions on his people, but paid them ill and they 
 were ever discontented. I am going. Whatever good or evil I have done, 
 it Avas for you. Take it not amiss, nor rememlier what offences I have done 
 to yourself ; that account may not be demanded of me hereafter. No one 
 has seen the departure of his own soul ; but 1 see that mine is departing " 
 {Memoirs of Eradut Khan). See Scott's Hist, of the Dekhan [ii. Part iv.]. 
 [This letter, with some variants, is printed by BiUmoria, 73 f.] 
 
 ^ The emperor was the adojited brother of Rana Karan. 
 
 * Orriie [Fragments, 119] calls her a Cashmerian ; certainly she was not 
 a daughter of the Rana's family, though it is not impossible she may have 
 been of one of the great famihes of Shahpura or Banera (then acting in- 
 dependently of the Rana), and her desire to burn shows her to have been 
 Rajput. [" Such an inference is wrong, because a Hindu princess on 
 marrying a Muslim king lost her caste and rehgion, and received Islamic 
 burial. We read of no Rajputni of the harem of any of the Mughal emperors 
 having burnt herself with her deceased husband, for the very good reason 
 that a Mushm's corpse is buried and not burnt. Evidently Udipuri meant 
 that she would kiU herself in passionate grief on the death of Aurangzib " 
 (Jadunath Sarkar i. 64, note).]
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE JIZYA 441 
 
 as certain) a cortege of two thousand horse to escort the fair to 
 court. But the haughty Rajputni, either indignant at such 
 precipitation or charmed with the gallantry of the Rana, who 
 had e^dnced his devotion to the fair by measuring his sword with 
 the head of her house, rejected with disdain the proffered alliance, 
 and, justified by brilliant precedents in the romantic history of 
 her nation, she entrusted her cause to the arm of the chief of the 
 RajjDut race, offering herself as the reward of protection. The 
 family priest (her preceptor) deemed his office honoured by being 
 the messenger of her wishes, and the billet he conveyed is in- 
 corporated in the memorial of this reign. " Is the swan to be 
 the mate of the stork : a Rajputni, pure in blood, to be wife to 
 the monkey- faced barbarian ! " concluding with a threat of self- 
 destruction if not saved from dishonour. This appeal, with other 
 powerful motives, was seized on with avidity by the Rana as a 
 pretext to throw away the scabbard, in order to illustrate the 
 opening of a warfare, in which he determined to put all to the 
 hazard in defence of his country and his faith. The issue was an 
 omen of success to his warlike and [379] superstitious vassalage. 
 With a chosen band he rapidly passed the foot of the Aravalli 
 and appeared before Hupnagar, cut up the imperial guards, and 
 bore off the prize to his capital. The daring act was applauded 
 by all who bore the name of Rajput, and his chiefs with joy 
 gathered their retainers around the ' red standard,' to protect 
 the queen so gallantly achieved. 
 
 The Imposition of the Jizya or Capitation Tax. — The annaUst of 
 Rajputana is but an indifferent chronologist, and leaves us 
 doubtful of the exact succession of events at this period. It was 
 not, however, till the death of those two powerful princes, Jaswant 
 Singh of Marwar and Jai Singh of Amber, both poisoned by 
 conunand of the tjTant, the one at his distant government of 
 Kabul, the other in the Deccan, that he deemed himself free to 
 put forth the full extent of his long-concealed design, the imposi- 
 tion of the jizya or capitation tax on the whole Huidu race. But 
 he miscalculated his measures, and th» murder of these princes, 
 far from advancing his aim, recoiled with vengeance on his head. 
 Foiled in his plot to entrap the infant sons of the Rathor by the 
 self-devotion of his vassals,^ the compound treachery evinced that 
 
 1 Two hundred and fifty Rajputs opposed five thousand of the Imperialists 
 at a pass, till the family of Jaswant escaped.
 
 442 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 their only hope lay in a deadly resistance. The mother of Ajit, 
 the infant heir of Marwar, a woman of the most determined 
 character, was a princess of Mewar, and she threw herself upon 
 the Rana as the natural guardian of his rights, for sanctuary 
 {saran) during the dangers of his minority. This was readily 
 yielded, and Kelwa assigned as his residence, where under the 
 immediate safeguard of the brave Durgadas Ajit resided,^ while 
 she nursed the spirit of resistance at home. A union of interests 
 was cemented between these the chief States of Rajputana, for 
 which they never before had such motive, and but for repeated 
 instances of an ill-judged humanity, the throne of the Moguls 
 might have been completely overturned [380]. 
 
 Letter of Remonstrance to Aurangzeb. — On the promulgation 
 of that barbarous edict, the jizya, the Rana remonstrated by 
 letter, in the name of the nation of which he was the head, in a 
 style of such micompromising dignity, such lofty yet temperate 
 resolve, so much of soul-stirring rebuke mingled with a boundless 
 and tolerating benevolence, such elevated ideas of the Divinity 
 with such pure philanthropy, that it may challenge competition 
 with any epistolary production of any age, clime, or condition.^ 
 
 ^ The Rana received the young Rathor with the most princely hospitaUty, 
 and among other gifts a diamond worth ten thousand dinars is enumerated. 
 
 2 This letter, first made known to Europe by Orme {Fragments, Notes, 
 sciii. ft'.], has by him been erroneously attributed to Jaswant Singh of 
 Marwar, who was dead before the promulgation of the edict, as the mention 
 of Ramsingh sufficiently indicates, whose father, Jai Smgh, was contemporary 
 with Jaswant, and ruled nearly a year after his death. My Munshi obtained 
 a copy of the original letter at Udaipur, where it is properly assigned to 
 the Rana. [Compare the version of this letter in Jadunath Sarkar (iii. 
 325 ft.), who remarks that " the internal evidence and biographical details 
 of the writer apply to Shivaji and not to Raj Singh. In the penultimate 
 paragraph of the letter Eajah Ram Singh is given for Rana Raj Singh 
 by ASBMs and Orme ; but no Jaipur chieftain could have been ' the 
 head of the Hindus.' "] It were superfluous to give a translation after 
 the elegant production of Sir W. B. Rouse. 
 
 " Letter from Rana Raj Singh to Aurangzeb. 
 " All due jiraise be rendered to the glory of the Ahnighty, and the munifi- 
 cence of your majesty, which is conspicuous as the sun and moon. Although 
 I, your well-wisher, have separated from your subhme presence, I am never- 
 theless zealous in the performance of every bounden act of obedience and 
 loyalty. My ardent wishes and strenuous services are employed to promote 
 the pros^jerity of the Kings, Nobles, IVIirzas, Rajahs, and Roys of the pro- 
 vinces of Hindostan, and the chiefs of ^rauu, Turaun, Room, and Shawm,
 
 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE TO AURANGZEB 443 
 
 In this are contained the true principles of Christianity, and to 
 the illustrious Gentile, and such as acted as he did, was pointed 
 
 the inhabitants of the seven climates, and all persons travelling by land 
 and by water. This my inclination is notorious, nor can your royal wisdom 
 entertain a doubt thereof. Reflecting therefore on my former services, 
 and your majesty's condescension, I presume to sohcit the royal attention 
 to some circumstances, in which the pubUc as weU as private welfare is 
 greatly interested. 
 
 " I have been informed that enormous sums have been dissipated in the 
 prosecution of the designs formed against me, your well-wisher ; and that 
 you have ordcfed a tribute to be levied to satisfy the exigencies of your 
 exhausted treasury. 
 
 " May it please your majesty, your royal ancestor Mahomed 'Jelaul ul 
 Deen Akbar, whose throne is now in heaven, conducted the affairs of this 
 empire in equity and fu-m security for the space of fifty-two years, preserving 
 every tribe of men in ease and happiness, whether they were followers of 
 Jesus or of Moses, of David or Mahomed ; were they Brahmins, were they 
 of the sect of Dharians, which denies the et'ernity of matter, or of that which 
 ascribes the existence of the world to chance, they all equally enjoyed his 
 countenance and favour : insomuch that his people, in gratitude for the 
 indiscriminate protection he afforded them, distmguished him by the appel- 
 lation of Juggut Gooroo (Guardian of Mankind). 
 
 " His majesty Mahomed Noor ul Deen Jehanghccr, likewise, whose 
 dweUing is now in paradise, extended, for a period of twenty-two years, 
 the shadow of his protection over the heads of his people ; successful by a 
 constant fidehty to his alhes, and a vigorous exertion of his arm in business. 
 
 " Nor less did the illustrious Shah Jehan, by a propitious reign of thirty- 
 two years, acquire to himself immortal reputation, the glorious reward of 
 clemency and virtue. 
 
 " Such were the benevolent inchnations of your ancestors. Whilst they 
 pursued these great and generous principles, wheresoever they directed 
 their steps, conquest and prosperity went before them ; and then they 
 reduced many countries and fortresses to their obedience. During your 
 majesty's reign, many have been ahenated from the empire, and farther 
 loss of territory must necessarily follow, since devastation and rapine now 
 universally prevail without restraint. Your subjects are trampled under 
 foot, and every province of your empire is impoverished ; depopulation 
 spreads, and difficulties accumulate. When indigence has reached the 
 habitation of the sovereign and his princes, what can be the condition of 
 the nobles ? As to the soldiery, they are in murmurs ; the merchants 
 complaining, the Mahomedans discontented, the Hindoos destitute, and 
 multitudes of people, Avretched even to the want of their nightly meal, are 
 beating their heads throughout the day in rage and desperation. 
 
 " How can the dignitj'^ of the sovereign be preserved who employs his 
 power in exacting heavy tributes from a people thus miserably reduced ? 
 At this juncture it is told from east to west, that the emperor of Hindostan, 
 jealous of the poor Hindoo devotee, will exact a tribute from Brahmins, 
 Sanorahs, Joghies, Berawghies, Sanyasees ; that, regardless of the illustrious
 
 444 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 that golden sentence of toleration, " Those [381] who have not 
 the law, yet do by nature the things contamed in the law, shall 
 be a law unto themselves." 
 
 Aurangzeb attacks Mewar. — This letter, the sanctuary afforded 
 Ajit, and (what the historical parasite of the Mogul's life dared 
 not indite ^) the carrying off of his betrothed, made him pour out 
 all the phials of his wrath against the devoted Mewar, and his 
 preparations more resembled those for the conquest of a potent 
 kingdom than the subjugation of a Rajput zamindar,^ a vassal of 
 that colossal empire on whose surface his domain was but a 
 speck. In the very magnitude of these, the Suzerain of Hindustan 
 paid the highest tribute of praise to the tributary Rajput, for he 
 denuded the very extremities of his empire to assemble a host 
 which he deemed must prove irresistible. Akbar was recalled 
 from his province, Bengal ; Azam from the distant Kabul ; and 
 even Muazzam (the Mogul's heir) from the war in the Deccan. 
 
 honour of his Timurean race, he condescends to exercise his power over the 
 solitary inoffensive anchoret. If your majesty places any faith in those 
 books, by distinction called divine, you will there be instructed that God 
 is the God of all mankind, not the God of Mahomedans alone. The Pagan 
 and the Mussulman are equally in His presence. Distinctions of colour are 
 of His ordination. It is He who gives existence. In your temples, to His 
 name the voice is raised in prayer ; in a house of images, where the bell is 
 shaken, stiU He is the object of adoration. To vilify the rehgion or customs 
 of other men is to set at naught the pleasure of the Almighty. When we 
 deface a picture, we naturally incur the resentment of the painter ; and 
 justly has the poet said, presume not to arraign or scrutinize the various 
 works of power divine. 
 
 " In fine, the tribute you demand from the Hindoos is repugnant to 
 justice : it is equally foreign from good pohcy, as it must impoverish the 
 country : moreover, it is an innovation and an infringement of the laws of 
 Hindostan. But if zeal for your own rehgion hath induced you to deter- 
 mine upon this measure, the demand ought, by the rules of equity, to have 
 been made first upon Ramsing, who is esteemed the principal amongst the 
 Hindoos. Then let your weU-wisher be called upon, with whom you will 
 have less difficulty to encounter ; but to torment ants and flies is unworthy 
 of an heroic or generous mind. It is wonderful that the ministers of your 
 government shoidd have neglected to instruct your majesty in the rules 
 of rectitude and honour." 
 
 ^ It is well known that Aurangzeb forbade the continuation of the 
 history of his hfe, subsequent to that portion comprehending the first ten 
 years [the Alamgirndma ; see Jadunath Sarkar ii. 302]. 
 
 ^ The epithet by which these Tatar sovereigns affected to call the 
 indigenous (bhumia) princes.
 
 AURANGZEB ATTACKS IVfEWAR 445 
 
 With this formidable array ^ the emperor entered Mewar, and 
 soon reduced the low countries, which experience had taught 
 them were indefensible, the inhabitants pre\aously retiring with 
 their effects to the hills.^ Chitor, Mandalgarh, Mandasor, Jiran, 
 and many other strongholds were obtained after the usual form 
 of opposition, and garrisoned by the Moguls. Meanwhile the 
 Rana was animating the might of the Aravalli, where he meditated 
 a resistance proportioned to the peril which threatened every 
 cherished prejudice of his race : not the mere defence of dominion 
 or dignity, but a struggle, pro arts et focis, around which rallied 
 every Rajput with the most deadly determination. Even the 
 pruTiitive races of the western wilds, " the Palindas ^ and Pali- 
 pats 3 {lord of the passes), with thousands of bows, and hearts 
 devoted in the cause of Hindupat," * assembled round the red 
 banner of Mewar. The Rana divided his forces into three bodies 
 [382]. His eldest son, Jai Singh, was posted on the crest of the 
 AravalU, ready to act on the invaders from either side of the 
 mountains. Prince Blum was to the west, to keep up the com- 
 munications with the outlets to Gujarat ; while the Rana, with 
 the main body, took post in the Nai deftle, unassailable by the 
 enemy, and hanging on his left flank, ready to turn it, and cut 
 off all retreat the moment the Imperialists entered the mountains. 
 Aurangzeb advanced to Debari, but instead of entering the 
 valley of Avhich it was the gorge, he halted, and by the advice of 
 Taha-rt'^var Khan ^ sent on Prince Akbar with fifty thousand men 
 to the capital. This caution of the wily monarch saved him 
 from the ably planned scheme of the Rajput prince, who evinced 
 a thorough knowledge * of the topography of this intricate and 
 
 ^ There were no such field trains in Europe as those of the Moguls. 
 Seventy pieces of heavy ordnance, sixty of horse artillery, and a dromedary 
 corps three hundred strong, mounting swivels, accompanied the emperor 
 on an excursion to Kashmir. Bernier, who gives this detail, describes 
 what he saw [217 f.]. 
 
 - [For this campaign see the account in Jadunath Sarkar, Life of Axirangzib , 
 iii. 365 ft'.] 
 
 ^ Pal is the local term for these long defiles, the residence of the moun- 
 taineers : their chiefs are called Indras, Pali, in Bhakha, Pat. 
 
 * Chief of the Hindus. 
 
 ^ [In the text " Tyber " Khan. His original name was Jan Beg, also 
 known as Badshah Kuh Khan, one of Aurangzeb's great nobles (Manucci 
 ii. 239, note 3, 247, note). His tragical end is told later on.] 
 
 ^ The Saktawat leader, Gharibdas, has the merit of having prompted
 
 446 ANNALS OF JMEWAR 
 
 romantic portion of his domain. The Girwa, emphatically ' the 
 Circle,' from which the valley of the capital is named, has this 
 form to the eye when viewing it from thence as a centre. It is, 
 however, an irregular ellipse of about fourteen miles in length 
 from south to north, and about eleven in breadth from east to 
 west, the capital being situated towards the extremity of the 
 transverse axis, having only the lake Pichola between it and the 
 base of the Aravalli, The mountains of this circular (girwa) 
 valley, ranging from eight to twelve hundred feet in height, are 
 of primitive formation, and raise their fantastic pinnacles in 
 every diversity of shape over each other. To the westward the 
 grand chain rises two thousand feet above the plains, and might 
 be termed the chords of which the Girwa is an irregular segment 
 of a circle, less in height, and far less compound in character. 
 Towards the plains east, it has three practicable passes ; one, the 
 more northern, by Delwara ; the other (central), by Debari ; a 
 third, leading to the intricacies of Chappan, that of Nai. Of 
 these three passes the emperor chose the most practicable, and 
 encamped near the Udaisagar lake, on the left of its entrance. 
 
 The Advance oJ Prince Akbar. — Prince Akbar advanced. 
 " Not a soul interrupted his progress to the city. Palaces, 
 gardens, lakes, and isles met his eye, but no living thing : all was 
 silence." Akbar encamped. Accustomed to this desertion from 
 the desire of the people to avoid a licentious soldiery, and lulled 
 into a hardy security, he was surprised [383] by the heir of Mewar. 
 Some were praying, some feasting, some at chess : " they came 
 to steal and yet fell asleep," says the annalist, and were dispersed 
 with terrific and unrelenting slaughter. Cut off from the possi- 
 bility of a junction with the emperor by a movement of a part 
 of the Rana's personal force, Akbar attempted a retreat to the 
 plains of Marwar by the route of Gogunda. It was a choice of 
 evils, and he took the worst. The allodial vassals of the moun- 
 tains, with the Bhil auxiliaries, outstripped his retreat, and 
 blocked up farther egress in one of those long-extended valleys 
 termed Nal, closed by a natural rampart or Col, on which they 
 
 this plan. His speech on the advance of Aurangzeb is given in the Annals ; 
 and his advice, " Let the king have free entrance through the passes, shut 
 him in, and make famine his foe," was literally followed, with the hard 
 knocks, which being a matter-of-course accompaniment, the gallant Saktawat 
 deemed it unnecessary to specify.
 
 THE ADVANCE OF PRINCE AKBAR 447 
 
 formed nhhaiis of trees, and manning the crests on each side, 
 hurled destruction on the foe ; while the prince, in like manner, 
 blocked up the entrance and barred retrogression. Death 
 menaced them in every form. For several days they had only 
 the prospect of surrender to save them from famine and a justly 
 incensed foe, when an ill-judged humanity on the part of Jai 
 Singh saved them from annihilation. He admitted overtures, 
 confided in protestations to renounce the origin of the war, and 
 gave them guides to conduct them by the defile of Jhilwara, nor 
 did they halt till protected by the walls of Chitor.^ 
 
 ^ Orme, who has many valuable historical details of this period, makes 
 Aurangzeb in person to have been in the predicament assigned by the 
 annals to his son, and to have escaped from the operation of those liigh and 
 gallant sentiments of the Rajput, which make him no match for a wily 
 adversary. 
 
 " In the meantime Aurengzebe was carrying on the war against the Rana 
 of Cheetore, and the Raja of Marwar, who on the approach of his army at 
 the end of the preceding year, 1678, had abandoned the accessible country, 
 and drew their herds and inhabitants into the vallies, within the mountains ; 
 the army advanced amongst the defiles with incredible labour, and with so 
 little inteUigence, that the division which moved with Aurengzebe himself 
 was unexpectedly stopped by insuperable defences and precipices in front ; 
 whilst the Rajpoots in one night closed the streights in his rear, by feUing 
 the overhanging trees ; and from their stations above prevented all en- 
 deavours of the troops, either within or without, from removing the obstacle. 
 Udeperri, the favourite and Circassian wife of Aurengzebe, accompanied 
 him in this arduous war, and with her retinue and escort was enclosed in 
 another part of the mountains ; her conductors, dreading to expose her 
 person to danger or public view, surrendered. She was carried to the Rana, 
 who received her with homage and every attention. Meanwhile the em- 
 peror himself might have perished by famine, of which the Rana let him 
 see the risque, by a confinement of two days ; when he ordered his Rajpoots 
 to withdraw from their stations, and suffer the way to be cleared. As soon 
 as Aurengzebe was out of danger, the Rana sent back his wife, accompanied 
 by a chosen escort, who only requested in return that he would refrain from 
 destroying the sacred animals of their rehgion which might still be left in the 
 plains ; but Aurengzebe, who believed in no virtue but seK-interest, imputed 
 the generosity and forbearance of the Rana. to the fear of future vengeance, 
 and continued the war. Soon after he was again well-nigh enclosed in the 
 mountains. This second experience of difficulties beyond his age and con- 
 stitution, and the arrival of his sons, Azim and Acbar, determined him not 
 to expose himself any longer in the field, but to leave its operations to their 
 conduct, superintended by his own instructions from Azmir ; to which city 
 he retired with the households of his family, the officers of his court, and his 
 bodyguard of four thousand men, dividing the array between his two sons, 
 who each had brought a considerable body of troops from their respective
 
 448 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Another body of the Imperialists, under the celebrated Dilir 
 Khan,^ who [384] entered by the Desuri Pass from Marwar (prob- 
 ably with a view of extricating Prince Akbar), were allowed to 
 advance imopposed, and when in the long intricate gorge were 
 assailed by Bikram Solanki ^ and Gopinath Rathor ' (both nobles 
 of Me war), and after a desperate conflict entirely destroyed. On 
 each occasion a vast booty fell into the hands of the Rajputs. 
 
 So ably concerted was this mountain Avarfare, that these defeats 
 were the signal for a simultaneous attack by the Rana on Aurang- 
 zeb, who, with his son Azam, watched at Debari the result of the 
 operations under Akbar and Dilir. The great home-clans had 
 more than their wonted rivalry to sustain them, for the gallant 
 Durgadas with the Rathor swords (tahvCir Bdthorun) whetted by 
 an accumulation of wrongs, were to combat with them against 
 their common oppressor ; and nobly did they contest the palm of 
 glory. The tyrant could not withstand them : his guns, though 
 manned by Franks, could not protect him against the just cause 
 and avenging steel of the Rajput, and he was beaten and com- 
 pelled to disgraceful flight, with an immense loss in men and 
 equipment. The Rana had to lament many brave leaders, home 
 and auxiliary ; and the imperial standard, elephants, and state 
 equipage fell into his hands, the acquisition of Mohkam and the 
 Saktawats. This glorious encounter occurred in the spring month 
 of Phalgun, S. 1737, March a.d. 1681 [1680]. 
 
 The discomfited forces formed a junction under the walls of 
 Chitor, whence the emperor dictated the recall of his son. Prince 
 Muazzam, from the Deccan, deeming it of greater moment to 
 regain lost importance in the north than to prevent the independ- 
 ence of Sivaji. Meanwhile the acti^^ty of Sawaldas (descended 
 from the illustrious Jaimall) cut off the communication between 
 Chitor and Ajmer, and alarmed the tyrant for his personal safety. 
 Leavmg, therefore, this perilous warfare to his sons Azam and 
 Akbar, with instructions how to act till reinforced, — foiled in his 
 
 governments. They continued the war each in a different part of the 
 country, and neither at the end of the year had forced the ultimate passes of 
 the mountains" {^Historical Fragments, 119 f.]. 
 
 ^ [Dilir Khan, otherwise Jalal Khan Daudzai, died at Aurangabad, 
 1682-83 (Manucci i. 243). Grant Duff speaks highly of his services in the 
 Deccan (145 f.)-] 
 
 ^ Chief of Rupnagar. 
 
 ' Chief of Ghancrao, in Godwar, now alienated from Mewar.
 
 DIVERSION MADE BY THE RAJPUTS 449 
 
 vengeance and personally disgraced, he abandoned Mewar, and 
 at the head of his guards repaired to Ajmer. Thence he detached ^ 
 Khan Rohilla, with twelve thousand men, against Sawaldas, 
 with supplies and equipments for his sons. The Rathor, joined 
 by the troops of Marwar, gave him the meeting at Pur Mandal, 
 and defeated the Imperialists with great loss, driving them back 
 on Ajmer [385]. 
 
 Diversion made by the Rajputs. — Wliile the Rana, his heir and 
 auxiliaries, were thus triumphant in all their operations, Prince 
 Bhim with the left division was not idle, but made a powerful 
 diversion by the invasion of Gujarat, captured Idar, expelling 
 Hasan and his garrison, and proceeding by Birnagar, suddenly 
 appeared before Patau, the residence of the provincial satrap, 
 which he plundered. Siddhpur, Modasa,^ and other towns shared 
 the same fate ; and he was in full march to Surat, when the bene- 
 volence of the Rana, touched at the woes of the fugitives, who 
 came to demand his forbearance, caused liim to recall Bhim in 
 the midst of his career. 
 
 Contrary to the Rajput character, whose maxim is parcere 
 subjectis, they were compelled by the utter faithlessness of Aurang- 
 zeb (chiefly vulnerable through his resources) to retaliate his 
 excesses ; and Dayal Sah, the civil minister, a man of high 
 courage and activity, headed another flying force, which ravaged 
 Malwa to the Nerbudda and Betwa. Sarangpur, Dewas, Sironj, 
 Mandu, Ujjain, and Chanderi were plundered, and numerous 
 garrisons put to the sword ; and, to use the words of the Chronicle, 
 " husbands abandoned their wives and children, and whatever 
 could not be carried off was given to the flames." For once they 
 avenged themselves, in imitation of the tyrant, even on the 
 religion of their enemies : " the Kazis were bound and shaved, 
 and the Korans thrown into wells." The minister was unrelenting 
 and made Malwa a desert, and from the fruits of his incursions 
 repaired the resources of his master. Flushed with success, 
 he formed a junction with the heir of Mewar, and gave battle to 
 Azam near Chitor. On this occasion the flower of Mewar, with 
 the Rathor and Khichi auxiliaries,* were engaged, and obtained 
 
 ^ [Some name is wanting here.] 
 
 ^ [Siddhpur, a famous place of pilgrimage in Baroda State {IGI, xxii. 
 358 f.); Modasa, fifty-two miles north-east of Ahmadabad (BG, vi. 346).] 
 * Mokham and Ganga Saktawats, Ratan Chondawat of Salumbar, 
 VOL. I 2 G
 
 450 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 a glorious victorj', the Mogul prince being defeated and pursued 
 with great slaughter to Ranthambhor, which he entered. This 
 was a just revenge, for it was Azam who surprised Chitor the year 
 preceding. In Mewar the contest terminated with the expulsion 
 of the Imperialists from the country ; when the Rana, in support 
 of the rights of the minor prince of Marwar, united his arms to 
 the forces of that state, and opened the campaign at Ghanerao, 
 the chief town of [386] Godwar. The heroic mother of the infant 
 Rathor prince, a daughter of Mewar, had, since the death of her 
 husband, well supported his rights, having resisted every aggres- 
 sion and regained many lost advantages over their antagonist. 
 Prince Bhim commanded the Sesodias, who formed a junction 
 with the Rathors, and gave battle to the royal forces led by 
 Akbar and Tahawwar Khan, whom they entirely defeated. 
 The victory is chiefly attributed to a stratagem of a Rajput chief, 
 who, having carried off five hxmdred camels from the Imperialists, 
 conceived the idea of fixing torches to them and letting them 
 loose in the royal camp ; and, in the confusion produced by the 
 charge of such a body, the Rajputs assaulted them. 
 
 Plan to dethrone Aurangzeb. — On their continued successes, 
 the Rana and his allies meditated the project of dethroning the 
 tyrant and setting up his son Akbar. The pernicious example 
 of his father towards Shah Jahan was not lost upon Akbar, who 
 favourably received the overture ; but he wanted the circum- 
 spection which characterized Aurangzeb, whose penetration 
 defeated the scheme when on the eve of execution.^ Already 
 had the Rajput armies united with Akbar, and the astrologer had 
 fixed the day which was to exalt him ; but the revealer of secrets 
 baffled his own prediction by disclosing it to the emperor. Au- 
 rangzeb, attended only by his guards at Ajmer, had recourse to 
 the same artifice which raised him to empire, in order to ward 
 off this danger. Akbar was but one day's march distant ; his 
 elder sons, Muazzam and Azam, yet far off. Not a moment was 
 to be lost : he penned a letter to his son, which by a spy was 
 
 Chandrasen Jhala of Sadri, Sabal Singh Chauhan of Bedla, Berisal Pun war of 
 Bijolia. Four of the chiefs made speeches on the eve preceding the battle, 
 which are recorded in the Chronicle. 
 
 ^ [For Akbar's rebellion see Jadunath Sarkar ii. 402 ff. ; Elliot-Dowson 
 vii. 298 ff. ; Manucci ii. 243 ff.]
 
 OVERTURES FOR PEACE 451 
 
 dropped in 'the tent of the Rajput leader Durgadas.^ In this he 
 applauded a pretended scheme by which Akbar was to fall upon 
 them when they engaged the emperor. The same scheme had 
 saved Sher Shah in this coimtry from Maldeo, and has more 
 recently been put in practice, and with like success, in the war -svith 
 Sivaji. It succeeded. The Rajputs detached themselves from 
 the prince Avho had apparently betrayed them. Tahaw^var Khan, 
 in despair, lost his life in an attempt to assassinate the emperor, ^ 
 and before the artifice was discovered, the reinforcements under 
 Muazzam and Azam arrived, and Aurangzeb was saved. The 
 Rajputs still offered saran (refuge) to Akbar ; but aware of his 
 father's \ngour of character, he deemed himself unsafe in his 
 vicinage, and accepted the escort of five himdred Rajputs led by 
 Durgadas [387], who cut their way through everj^ opposition by 
 the defiles of Mewar and Dungarpur, and across the Nerbudda, 
 to the Mahratta leader Sambhaji, at Palargarh, whence he was 
 shortly after conveyed in an English ship to Persia.' 
 
 Overtures for Peace. — " The escape of Acbar " (observes an 
 historian,* who appreciated the importance of the transactions 
 of this period) " to Sambagee, oppressed Aurengzebe with as 
 much anxiety, as formerly the phantom of his brother Sujah 
 amongst the Pitans ; and the consequence of their alliance 
 
 ^ A portrait of tWs Rathor hero was given to the author of the present 
 work by his descendants. He was chief of Dunara, on the Luni. He saved 
 his young sovereign's hfe from the tyrant, and guarded him during a long 
 minority, heading the Rathors in all the wars for the independence of his 
 country. A bribe of forty thousand gold s^uns was sent to him by Azam 
 without stipulation, when conveying Akbar out of danger. The object was 
 obvious, yet the Mogul prince dared not even specify his wishes. It is 
 needless to say that Durga spurned the offer. [For the flight of Akbar see 
 Jadunath Sarkar ii. 415 £F.] 
 
 - [For the attempt of Tahawwar Khan to assassinate Aurangzeb see 
 Manucci ii. 247 ff. ; Jadunath Sarkar ii. 411 ff.] 
 
 * [Palargarh is perhaps Palanpur (IGI, xix. 354). Akbar died in Persia, 
 1706.1 
 
 * " We are not without hopes that some of the many in India who have 
 the means will supply the portions of information which are deficient in 
 these fragments, and must otherwise always continue out of our reach. 
 The knowledge is well worth the inquiry ; for, besides the magnitude of the 
 events and the energy of the characters which arise within this period, there 
 are no states or powers on the continent of India, with whom our nation 
 have either connection or concern, which do not owe the origin of their 
 present condition to the reign of Aurengzebe, or to its influence on the reigns 
 of his successors " (Orme's Fragments [Notes i. f.]).
 
 452 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 became a nearer care than the contuiuance of the war against 
 the Rajpoots, whose gallant activity prevented a speedy decision 
 by the sword ; but the dignity of the throne forbad any overtures 
 of peace to a resistance which had attempted the deposal, if not 
 the life, of the monarch. A Rajpoot officer, who had long served 
 with distinction under Delire Khan, solved the difficulty : he 
 quitted the army on the pretence of retiring to his own country 
 and visited the Rana as from courtesy on his journey. The 
 conversation turned on the war, which the Rajpoot perhaps reaUy 
 lamented, and he persuaded the Rana that although Aurengzebe 
 would never condescend to make, he might accept overtures 
 of peace : upon which he was empowered by the Rana to tender 
 them." ^ The domestic annals confirm this account, and give 
 the name of this mediator. Raja Shyam Singh of Bikaner ; but 
 the negotiation was infamously protracted to the rains, the period 
 when oi^erations necessarily cease, and by which time Aurangzeb 
 had recruited his broken forces, and was again enabled to take 
 the field ; and it was concluded " without assertion or release of 
 the capitation tax, but with the surrender of the districts taken 
 from Chitor, and the State of Jodhpur was included in the treaty." 
 How correctly this elegant historian had obtained a knowledge 
 of those events, a translation of the treaty evinces.^ But these 
 
 1 [Orme, Fragments, 150 f.] 
 
 ^ " Jawab-sotval [treaty, Q QQ 'question — answer '] o/ ^Swr 
 
 Singh (uncle of Rana Raj j . L f] Singh) and Narhar Bhat 
 
 ivith the AUUII Emperor. 
 
 Panja, or impress of the Em- v^ ^^ peror's hand, with the word 
 ' Manzuri,' written by him- \_ ' J self. Manzuri (' agreed '). 
 
 " Your servants, according to your royal pleasure and summons, have 
 been sent by the Rana to represent what is written underneath. We hope 
 you will agree to these requests, be.sides others which will be made by 
 Padam Singh. 
 
 "1. Let Chitor, with the districts adjacent appertaining thereto when it 
 was inhabited, be restored. 
 
 " 2. In such temples and places of Hindu religious resort as have been 
 converted into mosques, the past cannot be recalled, but let this practice 
 be abolished. 
 
 " 3. The aid hitherto afforded to the empire by the Rana shall be con- 
 tinued, but let no additional commands be imposed. 
 
 " 4. The sons and dependants of the deceased Raja Jaswant Singh so
 
 CRUEL TREATMENT OF RAJA OF GOLKONDA 453 
 
 occurrences belong to the succeeding reign, for the Rana died 
 about this period/ from wounds and vexation. 
 
 Cruel Treatment of Raja of Golkonda. — Once more we claim 
 the reader's admiration on behalf of another patriot prince of 
 Mewar, and ask him to contrast the indigenous Rajput with the 
 emperor of the Aloguls [388] ; though to compare them would be 
 manifestly unjust, since in every moral virtue they were antipodes 
 to each other. Aurangzeb accumulated on his head more crimes 
 than any prince who ever sat on an Asiatic throne. With all 
 the disregard of life which marks his nation, he was never be- 
 trayed, even in the fever of success, into a single generous action ; 
 and, contrary to the prevailing principle of our nature, the 
 moment of his foe's submission was that chosen for the maUgnant 
 completion of his revenge : witness his scourging the prostrate 
 Iving of Golkonda.^ How opposite to the beneficence of the 
 Rajput prince, who, when the most efficient means of self-defence 
 lay in the destruction of the resources of his enemy, feeling for 
 the miseries of the suffering population of his persecutor, recalled 
 his son m the midst of victory ! As a skilful general and gallant 
 soldier, in the defence of his country, he is above all [389] praise. 
 As a chivalrous Rajput, his braving all consequences when called 
 upon to save the honour of a noble female of his race, he is without 
 parallel. As an accomphshed prince and benevolent man, his 
 dignified letter of remonstrance to Aurangzeb on the promulga- 
 tion of the capitation edict, places him high in the scale of moral 
 as well as intellectual excellence ; and an additional evidence 
 of both, and of his taste for the arts, is furnished by the formation 
 of the inland lake, the Rajsamund, with a slight account of which, 
 and the motives for its execution, we shall conclude the sketch of 
 this glorious epoch in the annals of Mewar. 
 
 soon as enabled to perform their duties, we hope will have their country 
 restored to them. * 
 
 " Respect prevents inferior demands. May the splendour of your for- 
 tune, like the sun illuminating the world, be for ever increasing and never set. 
 
 " The Arzi (requests) of your servants, Sur Singh and Narhar Bhat." 
 * S. 1737, A.D. 1681. 
 
 ^ It was to defend the rights of the heir of Marwar, as well as to oppose 
 the odious jizya, that the Rana took to arms. Ajit was still under the 
 Rana's safeguard. 
 
 2 [Orme, Fragments, 217 f. A tUti'erent story is told by Khafi Khan 
 (EUiot-Dowson vii. 334).]
 
 454 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 The Rajsamund Lake. — This great national work is twenty- 
 five miles north of the capital, and is situated on the declivity 
 of the plain about two miles from the base of the Aravalli. A 
 small perennial stream, called the Gomati or ' serpentine,' ^ 
 flowing from these mountains, was arrested in its course, and 
 confined by an immense embankment, made to form the lake 
 called after himself, Rajsamund, or ' royal sea.' The hand or 
 dam forms an irregular segment of a circle, embracing an extent 
 of nearly three miles, and encirchng the waters on every side 
 except the space between the north-west and north-east points. 
 This barrier, which confines a sheet of water of great depth, and 
 about twelve miles in circumference, is entirely of white marble, 
 with a flight of steps of the same material, throughout this extent, 
 from the summit to the water's edge ; the whole buttressed by an 
 enormous rampart of earth, wliich, had the projector lived, would 
 have been planted with trees to form a promenade. On the south 
 side are the town and fortress built by the Rana, and bearing his 
 name, Rajnagar ; and upon the embankment stands the temple 
 of KankroU, the shrine of one of the seven forms {sarup) of 
 Krishna. The whole is ornamented with sculpture of tolerable 
 execution for the age ; and a genealogical sketch of the founder's 
 family is inscribed in conspicuous characters. One million one 
 hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling,^ contributed by the 
 Rana, his chiefs and opulent subjects, was expended on this work, 
 of which the material was from the adjacent quarries. But, 
 magnificent, costly, and useful as it is, it derives its chief beauty 
 from the benevolent motive to which it owes its birth : to alleviate 
 the miseries of a starving population, and make their employment 
 conducive to national benefit, during one of those awful visitations 
 [390] of providence, famine, and pestilence with which these 
 states are sometimes afflicted. 
 
 The Famine o£ a.d. 1662. — It was in S. 1717,^ only seven years 
 after the accession of Raj Singh, that these combined evils reached 
 Mewar, less subject to them, owing to its natural advantages, 
 than any other State in India ; * and on Tuesday the 8th of Pus, 
 
 ^ [A common error ; Gtomati, meaning ' rich in cattle,' has no connexion 
 with Hiiadi ghumna, ' to twist.'] 
 
 " Ninety-six lakhs of rupees [Erskine ii. A. 9]. 
 
 3 A.D. 1661. 
 
 * From all I could learn, it was the identical pestilence which has been 
 ravaging India for the last ten years, erroneously called cholera morbus.
 
 THE FAMINE OF A.D. 1662 455 
 
 Hasti Nakshatra (constellation of the elephant), as fixed by the 
 astrologer, the first stone was laid. " The chief of Mewar, deeply 
 meditating on this extreme distress, determined to raise a monu- 
 ment, by which the wretched might be supported and his own 
 name perpetuated. This was seven years in constructing, and 
 at its commencement and termination all the rites of sacrifice 
 and oblation were observed. 
 
 " The Rana went to implore favour at the temple of the ' four- 
 armed ' ; for though Asarh ^ was over, not a drop of rain fell 
 from the heavens ; and, in like manner, the months of Sawan |; 
 and Bhadon ^ passed away. For want of water the world was 
 in despair, and people went mad with himger. Things unknown 
 as food were eaten. The husband abandoned the wife, the wife 
 the husband — parents sold their children — time increased the 
 evil ; it spread far and wide : even the insects died : they had 
 nothing to feed on. Thousands of aU ages became victims to 
 hunger. Those who procured food to-day, ate twice what nature 
 required. The wind was from the west, a pestilential vapour. 
 The constellations were always visible at night, nor was there a 
 cloud in the sky by day, and thunder and lightning were unknown. 
 Such portents filled mankind with dread. Rivers, lakes, and 
 fountains were dried up. Men of wealth meted out the portions 
 of food. The ministers of religion forgot their duties. There 
 was no longer distinction of caste, and the Sudra and Brahman 
 were undistingiiishable. Strength, wisdom, caste, tribe, all were 
 abandoned, and food alone was the object. The Charbaran ^ 
 threw away every symbol of separation ; all was lost in hunger. 
 Fruits, flowers, every vegetable thing, even trees were stripped 
 of their bark, to appease the cravings [391] of hunger : nay, 7nan 
 ate man ! Cities were depopulated. The seed of families was 
 lost, the fishes were extinct, and the hope of all extmguished." ^ 
 
 About thirty-five years ago the same disease carried off multitudes in these 
 countries. Orme [Fragments, 200] gives notice of something similar in 
 A.D. 1684, in the imperial camp near Goa, when five hundred victims daily 
 fell its prey. Mewar was not free from the last visitation of 1818, and the 
 only son of the Rana was the first person attacked. 
 
 ^ The three months of rain, termed the Barsat. [Asarh is the month 
 June to July, followed by Sawan«and Bhadon.] 
 
 ^ The four castes, sacerdotal, mihtary, mercantile, and servile. 
 
 ^ From the Eaj Vilas, the chronicle of the reign of Raj Singh.
 
 456 ANNAI.S OF MEWAR 
 
 Such is the simple yet terrific record of this pestilence, from 
 which Mewar was hardly freed, when Aurangzeb commenced the 
 religious warfare narrated, with all its atrocities, still further to 
 devastate this fair region. But a just retribution resulted from 
 this disregard to the character and prejudices of the Rajputs, 
 which visited the emperor with shame, and his successors with 
 the overthrow of their power. 
 
 CHAPTER 14 
 
 Rana Jai Singh, a.d. 1680-98. — Rana Jai Singh took possession 
 of the Gaddi ^ in S. 1737 (a.d. 1681). A circumstance occurred 
 at his birth, which as descriptive of manners may deserve notice. 
 A few hours only intervened between his entrance into the world 
 and that of another son called Bhim. ,It is customary for the 
 father to bind round the arm of the new-born infant a root of 
 that species of grass called the amardub, the ' imi^erishable ' dub, 
 well known for its nutritive properties and luxuriant vegetation 
 under the most intense heat.^ The Rana first attached the 
 ligature round the arm of the youngest, apparently an oversight, 
 though in fact from superior affection for his mother. As the 
 boys approached to manhood, the Rana, apprehensive that this 
 preference might create dissension, one day drew his sword, and 
 placing it in the hand of Bhim (the elder), said, it was better to 
 use it at once on his brother, than hereafter to endanger the 
 safety of the State. This [392] appeal to his generosity had an 
 instantaneous effect, and he not only ratified, ' by his father's 
 throne,' ^ the acknowledgment of the sovereign rights of his 
 brother, but declared, to remove all fears, " he was not his son 
 if he again drank water within the pass of Debari " ; and, collect- 
 ing liis retain^s, he abandoned Udaipur to court Fortune where 
 she might be kinder. The day was sultry, and on reaching the 
 barrier he halted tmder the shade of a sacred fig-tree to bestow a 
 last look upon the place of his birth. His cup-bearer {Paniyari) 
 brought his sUver goblet filled from the cool fountain, but as he 
 
 ^ ' The Cushion,' by -which a Rajput tlirone is designated. 
 * [Dub, Cynodon dactylon, the most common and useful Indian grass 
 (Watt, Comm. Prod., 463 f).] 
 ' Gaddi hi an.
 
 RANA JAI SINGH AND AURANGZEB 457 
 
 raised it to liis lips, he recollected that his vow was incomplete 
 while within the portal ; he poured the libation on the earth in 
 the name of the Supreme, and casting the cup as an offering to 
 the deity of the fountain, the huge gates closed upon the valley. 
 He proceeded to Bahadur Shah, who conferred upon him the 
 dignity (niansab) of a leader of three thousand five hundred horse, 
 with the Bawana, or fifty-two districts for their support : but 
 quarrelling with the imperial general, he was detached with his 
 contingent west of the Indus, where he died.^ 
 
 Treaty between Rana Jai Singh and Aurangzeb. — Let us return 
 to Jai Singh {the lion of victory). He concluded a treaty with 
 Aurangzeb, conducted by Prince Azam and Dilir Khan, who 
 took every occasion to testify his gratitude for the clemency of 
 Rana Raj Singh, when blockaded in the defiles of the Aravalli. 
 At this conference, the Rana was attended by ten thousand horse 
 and forty thousand foot, besides the multitude collected from 
 the momitams to view the ceremony, above one hundred thousand 
 souls, who set up a shout of joy at the prospect of revisiting the 
 plams, which disconcerted Azam, while Dilir expatiated on the 
 perils from which the Rana's generosity had liberated him. 
 Azam, who said he was no stranger to the Rana's illustrious house, 
 concluded a treaty on the sj^ot, in which, as a salvo for the imperial 
 dignity, a nommal fine and surrender of three districts were 
 inserted for aiding Akbar's rebellion, and a hint that the regal 
 colour {crimson) of his tents and umbrella [393] should be dis- 
 continued. That advantages were gained by the Rana, we may 
 infer from Dilir' s sons being left as hostages for Azam's good 
 faith ; a fact we learn from his farewell address to the Rana ! 
 " Your nobles are rude, and my children are the hostages of your 
 safety ; but if at the expense of their lives I can obtain the entire 
 
 ^ I give these anecdotes as related to me by his descendant and repre- 
 sentative the Raja of Banera, while seated in a balcony of his castle over- 
 looking the plains of Mewar. Often have I quenched my thirst at the 
 fountain, and hstened to their traditionary tales. It is a spot consecrated 
 to recollections : every altar which rises around it is a text for the ' great 
 ancients ' of the clans to expatiate on ; and it is, moreover, a grand place of 
 rendezvous, whether for the traveller or sportsman. Bhim dislocated his 
 spine in a feat of strength. He was celebrated for activity, and could, 
 while his steed was urged to his speed, disengage and suspend himself by 
 the arms from the bough of a tree ; and to one of these experiments he owed 
 his death.
 
 458 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 restoration of your country, keep your mind at ease, for there 
 was friendship between your father and me." 
 
 The Jaisamund Lake.— But all other protection than what 
 his sword afforded was futile ; and though Dilir's intentions were 
 noble, he had little control over events : in less than five years 
 after his accession, the Rana was again forced to fly the plains 
 for the inaccessible haunts of Kamori. Yet, in spite of these 
 untoward circumstances and luiinterrupted warfare, such were 
 the resources of this little State that the Rana completed a work 
 which perpetuates his name. He threw a dam across a break in 
 the moxintains, the channel of an ever-flowing stream, by which 
 he formed the largest lake in India,^ giving it his own name, the 
 Jaisamund, or sea of victory. Nature had furnished the hint 
 for tliis undertaking, for there had always existed a considerable 
 volume of water ; but the Rana had the merit of uniting these 
 natural buttresses, and creating a Uttle sea from the Dhebar pool, 
 its ancient appellation. The circumference cannot be less than 
 thirty miles, and the benefits to cultivation, especially in respect 
 to the article of rice, which requires perpetual irrigation, were 
 great. On this huge rampart he erected a palace for his favourite 
 queen, Komaladevi, a princess of the Pramara race, famiharly 
 known as the Ruthi Rani, or ' testy queen.' 
 
 Rana Jai Singh and his heir Amar Singh. — Domestic unhappi- 
 ness appears to have generated in the Rana inaptitude to state 
 affairs ; and, unluckUy, the favoured queen estranged him from 
 his son. Amra, a name venerated in Mewar, was that of the 
 heir of Jai Singh. His mother was of the Bundi house, a family 
 which has performed great services to, and brought great calami- 
 ties upon, the ancient sovereigns of Mewar. To the jealousies of 
 the rival queens, one of them mother to the heir, the other the 
 favourite of the sovereign, are attributed dissensions, which at 
 such a juncture were a greater detriment than the loss of a battle, 
 and which afford another illustration, if any were wanting, of 
 the impolicy of polygamy. The annals of Mewar seldom exhibit 
 those unnatural contentions for power, from which no other 
 Hindu State was exempt ; this was owing to the wholesome 
 regulation of not investing the princes of the blood with any [394] 
 
 ^ [The Bhojpur lake, which covered an area of 250 square miles, was 
 much larger, the Jaisamund covering only 21 square miles (Smith, EHl, 
 39G ; Erskine ii. A. 8 f.).]
 
 REBELLION OF AMAR SINGH 459 
 
 political authority ; and establishing as a counterpoise to natural 
 advantages an artificial degradation of their rank, which placed 
 them beneath the sixteen chief nobles of the State ; which, while 
 it exalted these in their own estimation, lessened the national 
 humiUation, when the heirs-apparent were compelled to lead 
 their quota in the arriere-ban of the empire. 
 
 Rebeliion of Amar Singh.— Rana Jai Singh, who had evinced 
 such gallantry and activity in the wars of Aurangzeb, now secluded 
 himself with Komala in the retreat of Jaisamund, leaving Amra 
 imder the guidance of the Pancholi ^ minister, at the capital. 
 But he having personally insulted this chief officer of the State, 
 iu consequence of receiving a rebuke for turning loose an in- 
 furiated elephant in the town, the Rana left his retreat, and 
 visiting Chitor in his tour, arrived at Udaipur. Amra awaited 
 not his father's arrival, but adding his mother's resentments to 
 a feeling of patriotic indignation at the abasement his indolence 
 produced, fled to Bundi, took up arms, and, joined by many of 
 his owia nobles and Hara auxiliaries, returned at the head of ten 
 thousand men. Desirous of averting civil war, the Rana retired 
 to Godwar beyond the Aravalli, whence he sent the Ghanerao 
 chieftain, the first feudatory of that department, to expostulate 
 with his son. But Amra, supported by three-fourths of the 
 nobles, made direct for Kumbhalmer to secure the State treasure, 
 saved by the Depra governor for his sovereign. A failure in 
 tliis project, the knowledge that the Rathors fostered the quarrel 
 with a view to obtain Godwar, and the determination of the few 
 chiefs yet faithful ^ to the Rana, to defend the Jhilwara pass to 
 the last, made the prince listen to terms, which were ratified at 
 the shrine of EkJinga, whereby the Rana was to return to the 
 capital, and the prince to abide in exile at the new palace during 
 the life of his father, which closed twenty years after his accession. 
 Had he maintained the reputation he established in his early 
 years, the times v»^ere well calculated for the redemption of his 
 country's independence ; but documents which yet exist afford 
 little reason to doubt that in his latter years a state of indolence, 
 
 ^ [Pancholi, Panchauli, of wiiich the derivation is uncertain, perhajis 
 pancha-kula, ' five houses,' is the local title of the Desi or Mathur Kayasths, 
 or writer caste {Census Report Marwar, 1891, ii. 111).] 
 
 ^ Beri Sal of Bijoha, Kandal of Salumbar, Gopinath of Ghanerao, and 
 the Solanki of Desuri.
 
 460 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 having all the effects of imbecility, supervened, and but for the 
 formation of ' the victorious sea,' would have left his name a 
 blank in the traditional history of Mewar. 
 
 Rana Amar Singh II., a.d.. 1698-1710. — Amra II., who suc- 
 ceeded in S. 1756 (a.d. 1700), had much of the gallantry [395] and 
 active turn of mind of his illustrious namesake ; but the degrading 
 conflict with his father had much impaired the moral strength of 
 the country, and counteracted the advantages which might have 
 resulted from the decline of the Mogul power. The reigns of Raj 
 Singh and Jai Singh illustrate the obvious truth, that on the 
 personal character of the chief of a feudal government everything 
 depends. The former, infusing by his talent and energy patriotic 
 sentiments into all his subordinates, vanquished in a series of 
 conflicts the vast military resources of the empire, led by the 
 emperor, his sons, and chosen generals ; while his successor, heir 
 to this moral strength, and with every collateral aid, lowered her 
 to a stage of contempt from which no talent could subsequently 
 raise her. 
 
 Amra early availed himself of the contentions amongst the 
 sons of Aurangzeb to anticipate events, and formed a private 
 treaty ^ with the Mogul heir-apparent, Shah Alam, when com- 
 
 ^ " Private Treaty between the Rana and Shah Alam Bahadur Shah, 
 and bearing his sign-manual. 
 
 " Six articles of engagement, just, and tending to the happiness of the 
 jjeople, have been submitted by you, and by mo accepted, and with God's 
 blessing shall be executed without deviation — 
 
 " 1. The re-estabhshment of Cliitor as in the time of Shah Jahan. 
 
 " 2. Prohibition of kine-kilhng.* 
 
 * From the second of these articles, which alternate between stipulations 
 of a temporal and spiritual nature, we may draw a lesson of great poMtical 
 importance. In ail the treaties which have come under my observation, 
 the insertion of an article against the slaughter of kine was prominent. This 
 sacrifice to their national prejudices was the subject of discussion with every 
 ambassador when the States of Rajasthan formed engagements with the 
 British Government in 18f 7-18, " the prohibition of kine-kilhng within their 
 respective hmits." From the construction of our armies we could not 
 guarantee this article, but assurances were given that every practical atten- 
 tion would be paid to their wishes ; and kine are not absolutely slain within 
 the jurisdiction of any of these Rajput princes. But even long habit, 
 though it has famiharized, has not reconciled them to this revolting sacrifice ; 
 nor would the kine-killer in Mewar be looked upon with less detestation 
 than was Cambyses by the Egyptians, when he thrust his lance into the 
 fiank of Apis. But in time this will be overlooked, and the verbal assurance
 
 RESULTS OF RAJPUT DEFECTION 461 
 
 manded to the countries west of the Indus, on which occasion 
 [396] the Mewar contingent ^ accompanied him, and fought 
 several gallant actions under a Saktawat chieftain. 
 
 Breach between the Rajputs and the Mughal Empire. — It is 
 important to study the events of this period, which involved the 
 overthrow of the IMogul power, and originated that form of 
 society which paved the way to the dominion of Britain in these 
 distant regions. From such a review a political lesson of great 
 value may be learned, which wiU show a beacon warning us 
 against the danger of trusting to mere physical power, unaided 
 
 "3. The restoration of all the districts held in the reign of Shah Jahan. 
 
 " 4. Freedom of faith and religious worship, as during the government 
 of him whose nest is Paradise (Akbar). 
 
 " 5. Whoever shall be dismissed by you shall receive no countenance from 
 the Icing. 
 
 " 6. The abrogation of the contingent for the service of the Deccan." * 
 
 ^ It consisted of twenty-two Nakkarahand chiefs, i.e. each entitled to a 
 kettle-drum, and fifteen Turais, or chiefs, entitled to brass trumpets. [" As 
 a mark of favour, kettle-drums (naqqdrah) and the right to play them (naubat) 
 might be granted to a subject, but ho must be a man of the rank of 2000 
 sawar (troopers) or upwards. As an invariable condition, however, it was 
 stipulated they should not be used when the Emperor was present, or 
 within a certain distance from his residence " (Irvine, Army of the 
 Indian Moghuls, 30, 208 f.).] 
 
 wiU become a dead letter ; men of good intention will be lulled into the 
 belief that, because not openly combated, the prejudice is extinct, and that 
 homage to our power has obliterated this article of their creed. Thus 
 Aurangzeb thought, but he avowedly and boldly opposed the religious 
 opinions of his tributaries ; we only hold them in contempt, and even pro- 
 tect them when productive of no sacrifice. Yet if we look back on the 
 early page of history, we shaU find both policy and benevolence combined 
 to form this legislative protection to one of the most useful of domestic 
 animals, and which would tempt the belief that Triptolemus, the lawgiver 
 of Sparta, had borrowed from Manu [Latus, xi. 60, 69, 71], or rather from 
 the still greater friends of dumb creatiires, the Jains, in the law which 
 exempted not only the lordly bull from the knife, but " every Uving thing." 
 
 * The Mewar contingent had been serving under Azam in the south, as 
 the following letter from him to the Rana discloses : — " Be it known to 
 Rana Amra Singh, your arzi [petition]"'arrived, and the accounts of your 
 mother gave me great grief, but against the decrees of God there is no 
 struggling. Pray for my welfare. Raja Rae Singh made a request for you ; 
 you are my own ; rest in full confidence and continue in your obedience. 
 The lands of your illustrious ancestors shall all be yours — but this is the time 
 to evince your duty — the rest learn from your own servants — continue to 
 think of me." 
 
 " Your Rajputs have behaved well."
 
 462 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 by the latent, but more durable support of moral influence. 
 When Aurangzeb neglected the indigenous Rajputs, he en- 
 dangered the keystone of his power ; and in despising opinion, 
 though his energetic mind might for a time render him independent 
 of it, yet long before his death the enormous fabric reared by 
 Akbar was tottering to its foundation : demonstrating to convic- 
 tion that the highest order of talent, either for government or 
 war, though aided by unlimited resources, will not suffice for the 
 maintenance of power, unsupported by the affections of the 
 governed. The empire of Aurangzeb was more extensive than 
 that of Britain at this day — the elements of stability were in- 
 comparably more tenacious : he was associated with the Rajputs 
 by blood, which seemed to guarantee a respect for their opinions ; 
 he possessed the power of distributing the honours and emolu- 
 ments of the statCj when a service could be rewarded by a pro- 
 vince,^ drawing at will supplies of warriors from the mountains 
 of the west, as a check on his indigenous subjects, while these 
 left the plains of India to control the Afghan amidst the snows of 
 Caucasus. But the most devoted attachment and most faithful 
 service were repaid by insults to their habits, and the imposition 
 of an obnoxious tax ; and to the jizya, and the unwdse pertinacity 
 with which his successors adhered to it, must be directly ascribed 
 the overthrow of the monarchy. No condition was exempted 
 from this odious and impolitic assessment, which was deemed by 
 the tyrant a mild substitute for the conversion he once meditated 
 of the entire Hindu race to the creed of Islam. ^ 
 
 ^ In lieu of all, what reward does Britain hold out to the native popula- 
 tion to be attached ? Heavy duties exclude many products of their industry 
 from the home market. The rates of pay to civil officers afford no security 
 to integrity ; and the faithful soldier cannot aspire to higher reward than 
 £1 20 per annum, were his breast studded with medals. Even their prejudices 
 are often too little considered, prejudices, the violation of which lost the 
 throne of India, in spite of every local advantage, to the descendants of 
 Aurangzeb. 
 
 * [Jizya, meaning ' tribute,' was a capitation tax imposed on subjects 
 {zimmi) who did not follow the state religion, Islam. Its hardship lay in 
 the fact that it was additional to, and about the same amount as the revenue 
 demand, the latter being thus nearly doubled. Great merchants in the 
 time of Aurangzeb paid Rs. 13.8 ; the middle class Rs. 6.12 ; the poor 
 Rs. 3.8 per annum per head (Manucci ii. 234). On the Jizya see Hughes, 
 Diet. Islam, 248 ; Smith, Akbar the Great Mogul, 65 f. ; Keene, Turks in 
 India, 153 ff. ; Grant Duff, Hist, of the Mahrattas, 145; Jadunath Sarkar, 
 Life of Aurangzib, iii. 305 iL]
 
 RAJPUT APOSTATES 463 
 
 Rajput Apostates. — An abandonment of their faith was the 
 Rajput's surest road to the tyrant's favour [397], and an instance 
 of this dereliction in its consequences powerfully contributed to 
 the annihilation of the empire. Rao Gopal, a branch of the 
 Rana's family, held the fief of Rampura, on the Chambal,^ and 
 was serving with a select quota of his clan in the wars of the 
 Deccan, when his son, who had been left at home, withheld the 
 revenues, which he applied to his own use instead of remitting 
 them to his father. Rao Gopal complained to the emperor ; but 
 the son discovered that he could by a sacrifice not only appease 
 Aurangzeb, but attain the object of his wishes : he apostatized 
 from his faith, and obtained the emperor's forgiveness, with the 
 domain of Rampura. Disgusted and provoked at such infurious 
 conduct, Rao Gopal fled the camp, made an unsuccessful attempt 
 to redeem his estate, and took refuge with Rana Amra, his 
 suzerain. This natural asylum granted to a chief of his own kin 
 was construed by the tyrant into a signal of revolt, and Azam 
 was ordered to Malwa to w^atch the Rana's motions : conduct 
 thus characterized in the memoirs of a Rajput chieftain,^ one of 
 the most devoted to Aurangzeb, and who died fighting for his 
 son. " The emperor showed but little favour to his faithful and 
 most useful subjects the Rajputs, which greatly cooled their 
 ardour in his service." The Rana took up arms, and Malwa 
 joined the tumult ; while the first irruption of the Mahrattas 
 across the Nerbudda,^ under Nima Sindhia, compelled the em- 
 peror to detach Raja Jai Singh to join Prince Azam. Amidst 
 these accumulated troubles, the Mahrattas rising into importance, 
 the Rajput feudatories disgusted and alienated, his sons and 
 grandsons ready to commit each individual pretension to the 
 decision of the sword, did Aurangzeb, after a reign of terror of 
 half a century's duration, breathe his last on the 28th Zilqa'da, a.d. 
 1707 [February 21], at the city bearing his name — Aurangabad. 
 
 ^ Rampura Bhanpura (city of the sun) to distinguish it from Rampura 
 Tonk. Rao Gopal was of the Chandarawat clan. See note, p. 306. 
 
 ^ Rao Dalpat Bundela of Datia, a portion of whose memoirs were pre- 
 sented to me by the reigning prince, his descendant. 
 
 * A.D. 1706-7. [The Mahrattas crossed the Nerbudda in 1705 (Grant 
 Duff, Hist. Mahrattas, 177 ; Malcolm, Memoir Central India, i. 58 ff.). The 
 latter remarks that they came to attack the government, not the people, 
 and acted with the concurrence of the Plindu chiefs discontented with the 
 policy of Aurangzeb.]
 
 464 ANNALS OF IVfEWAR 
 
 Shah Alam Bahadur Shah, Emperor, a.d. 1707-12. — At his 
 death his second, son Azani assumed the imperial dignity, and 
 aided by the Rajput princes of Datia and Kotah,^ who had 
 always served in his division, he marched to Agra to contest the 
 legitimate claims of his eldest brother Muazzam, who was ad- 
 vancing from Kabul supj^orted by the contingents of Mewar and 
 Marwar, and all western Rajwara. The battle of Jajau [398] ^ 
 was fatal to Azam, who with his son Bedarbakht and the princes 
 of Kotah and Datia was slain, when Muazzam ascended the 
 throne under the title of Shah Alam Bahadur Shah. This prince 
 had many qualities which endeared him to the Rajputs, to whom 
 his sympathies were united by the ties of blood, his mother being 
 a Rajput princess.* Had he immediately succeeded the bene- 
 ficent Shah Jahan, the race of Timur, in all human probability, 
 would have been still enthroned at Delhi, and might have pre- 
 sented a picture of one of the most powerful monarchies of Asia. 
 But Aurangzeb had inflicted an incurable wound on the mind of 
 the Hindu race, which for ever estranged them from his successors ; 
 nor were the virtues of Bahadur, during the short lustre of his 
 sway, capable of healing it. The bitter fruit of a long experience 
 had taught the Rajputs not to hope for amelioration from any 
 graft of that stem, which, like the deadly Upas, had stifled the 
 vital energies of Rajasthan, whose leaders accordingly formed a 
 league for mutual preservation; which it would have been madness 
 to dissolve merely because a fair portion of virtue was the in- 
 heritance of the tyrant's successor. They had proved that no 
 act of duty or subserviency could guarantee them from the 
 infatuated abuse of power, and they were at length steeled 
 against every appeal to their loyalty, replying with a trite adage, 
 which we may translate ' quern Deus vult perdere, prius de.mentat,'' 
 — of common application with the Rajput in such a predicament. 
 
 The Rise o£ the Sikhs. — The emperor was soon made to perceive 
 the little support he had in future to expect from the Rajputs. 
 Scarcely had he quashed the pretensions of Kambakhsh, his 
 youngest brother, who proclaimed himself emperor in the Deccan, 
 than he was forced to the north, in consequence of an insurrection 
 
 ^ Rao Dalpat (Bundela), and Rao Ram Singh (Hara). 
 ^ [Twenty miles south of Agra, June 1, 1707.] 
 
 3 [Nawab Bai, daughter of the Raja of Rajauri, Kashi^Ir, who died in 
 1690 (Manucci ii. 57, note).]
 
 THE RISE OF THE SIKHS 465 
 
 of the Sikhs of Lahore. This singular race, the disciples (sikhs) 
 of a teacher called Nanak, were the descendants of the Scythic 
 Getae/ or Jat, of Transoxiana, who so early as the fifth century 
 were established in the tract watered by the Ave arms {Punjab) 
 of the Indus. Little more than a century has elapsed since their 
 conversion from a spurious Hinduism to the doctrines of the 
 sectarian Nanak, and their first attempt to separate themselves, 
 in temporal as well as spiritual matters, from all control, and they 
 are now the sole independent power within the limits [399 J of the 
 Mogul monarchy. On this occasion ^ the princes of Amber and 
 Marwar visited the emperor, but left his camp without permission, 
 and, as the historian * adds, manifested a design to struggle for 
 independence. Such was the change in their mutual circum- 
 stances that the Mogul sent the heir-apparent to conciliate and 
 conduct thein to him ; but they came at the head of all their 
 native bands, when " they were gratified with whatever their 
 insolence demanded " : * a splenetic effusion of the historian, 
 which well paints their altered position. From the royal urdu,^ 
 or camp, they repaired to Rana Amra at Udaipur, where a triple 
 league was formed, which once more united them to the head of 
 their nation. This treaty of unity of interests against the common 
 foe was solemnized by nuptial engagements, from which those 
 princes had been excluded since the reigns of Akbar and Partap. 
 To be readmitted to this honour was the basis of this triple 
 alliance, in which they ratified on oath the renunciation of all 
 connexion, domestic or political, with the empire. It was, 
 moreover, stipulated that the sons of such marriage should be 
 heirs, or if the issue were females, that they should never be 
 dishonoured by being married to a Mogul. 
 
 Sacrifice o£ the Right of Primogeniture.— But this remedy, as 
 will be seen, originated a worse disease ; it was a sacrifice of the 
 rights of primogeniture (chmg to by the Rajputs with extreme 
 pertinacity), productive of the most injurious effects, which 
 
 ^ See History of ike Tribes, article ' Jats,' p. 127. 
 
 2 A.D. 1709-10. 
 
 ^ Memoirs of Iradat Khan, p. 58 [translated by Captain Jonathan Scott ; 
 extracts from the work of Iradat Khan will be found in EUiot-Dowson vii. 
 534 f.] ; also autograph letters of all those princes, with files of the regular 
 newspapers {akhbars) of the day, in my possession, dated from the emperor's 
 camp. * Metiioirs of Iradat Khan. 
 
 ^ Hence the corruption of horde. 
 VOL. I 2 H
 
 466 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 introduced domestic strife, and called upon the stage an umpire 
 not less baneful than the power from whose iron grasp they were 
 on the point of freeing themselves : for although this treaty laid 
 prostrate the throne of Babur, it ultimately introduced the 
 Mahrattas as partisans in their family disputes, who made the 
 bone of contention their own. 
 
 The injudicious support afforded by the emperor to the apostate 
 chief of Rampura first brought the triple federation into action. 
 The Rana, upholding the cause of Himmat Singh, made an 
 attack on Rampura, which the apostate usurper Ratan Singh, 
 now Raj Muslim Khan, defeated, and was rewarded for [400] it 
 by the emperor.^ But the same report conveyed to the king 
 " that the Rana determined to lay waste his country, and retire 
 to the hills," '' which was speedily confirmed by the unwelcome 
 intelligence that Sawaldas, an officer of the Rana's, had attacked 
 Firoz Khan^ the governor of Pur Mandal, who was obliged to 
 retreat with great loss to Ajmer ; ^ on which occasion this loyal 
 descendant of the illustrious Jaimall lost his life.* The brave 
 Durgadas, who conveyed the rebellious Akbar through all opposi- 
 tion to a place of refuge, again appeared upon the stage — his 
 own prince being unable to protect him, he had found a safe 
 asylum at Udaipur, and had the sum of five hundred rupees 
 daily paid for his expenditure — a princely liberality. But the 
 result of this combination was reserved for the following reigns, 
 Shah Alam being carried off by poison,^ ere he could correct the 
 disorders which were rapidly breaking up the empire from the 
 Hindu-Kush to the ocean. Had his life been spared, his talents 
 for business, his experience, and courteous manners might have 
 retarded the ruin of the monarchy, which the utter unworthiness 
 of his successor sunk beyond the power of man to redeem. Every 
 
 ^ Newspapers, dated 3rd Rajab, San. 3 — (3rd year of his reign). 
 ^ Newspapers, 10th Rajab, San. 3. 
 ' Newspapers, 5th Shavval, San. 3. 
 
 * The following edict, which caused this action, I translated from the 
 archives ; it is addressed to the son of Sawaldas : — " Maharana Amra Singh 
 to Rathor Rae Singh Sawaldasot (race of Sawaldas) — Lay waste your 
 villages and the country around you — your families shall have other habita- 
 tions to dwell in — for particulars consult Daulat Singh Chondawat : obey 
 these." Asoj, S. 1764 (Dec. a.d. 1708). 
 
 * [February 18] a.d. 1712. [The Musalraan authorities do not cor^ 
 roborate the assertion that he was poisoned.]
 
 FARRUKHSIYAR, EMPEROR, A.D. 1712 13 4G7 
 
 subsequent succession was through blood ; and the sons of Shah 
 Alam performed the part for which they had so many great 
 examples. Two brothers,^ Sayyids, from the town of Barha in the 
 Duab, were long the Warwicks of Hindustan, setting up and 
 plucking down its puppet kings at their pleasure ; they had 
 elevated Farrukhsiyar when the triumvirs of Rajasthan com- 
 menced their operations. 
 
 Farrukhsiyar, Emperor, a.d. 1712-19. — Giving loose to long- 
 suppressed resentment, the Rajputs abandoned the spirit of 
 toleration which it would have been criminal to preserve ; and 
 profiting by the lessons of their tyrants, they overthrew the 
 mosques built on the sites of their altars, and treated the civil 
 and religious officers of the government with indignity. Of these 
 every town in Rajasthan had its mulla to proclaim the name of 
 Muhammad, and its kazi for the administration of justice, — 
 branches of government [401] entirely wrested from the hands of 
 the native princes,^ abusing the name of independence. But for 
 a moment it was redeemed, especially by the brave Rathors, who 
 had made a noble resistance, contesting every foot of land since 
 the death of .Jaswant Singh, and now his son Ajit entirely expelled 
 the Moguls from jMarwar. On this occasion the native forces of 
 the triple alliance met at the salt lake of Sambhar, which was 
 made the common boundary of their territory, and its revenues 
 were equally divided amongst them. 
 
 The pageant of an emperor, guided by the Sayyids, or those 
 who intrigued to supplant their ministry, made an effort to 
 oppose the threatening measures of the Rajputs ; and one of 
 them, the Amiru-1-iunara,^ marched against Raja Ajit, xA\o 
 received private instructions from the emperor to resist his 
 commander - in - chief, whose credit was strengthened by the 
 means taken to weaken it, which engendered suspicions of 
 treachery. Ajit leagued with the Sayyids, who held out to the 
 Rathor an important share of power at court, and agreed to pay 
 tribute and give a daughter in marriage to Farrukhsiyar. 
 
 ^ Husain Ali and Abdu-lla Khan. 
 
 ^ Next to kine-killing was the article inhibiting the introduction of the 
 Adalat, or British courts of justice, into the Rajput States, in all their 
 treaties with the British Government in a.d. 1817-18, the very name of 
 which is abhorrent to a native. 
 
 ^ The title of Husain Ah, — ^as Kutbu-1-mulk (the axis of the State), was 
 that of his brother Abdu-lla.
 
 468 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Marriage of Farrukhsiyar : Grant to the British. — This marriage 
 yielded most important results, which were not confined to the 
 Moguls or Rajputs, for to it may be ascribed the rise of the British 
 power in India. A dangerous malady,^ rendering necessary a 
 surgical operation upon Farrukhsiyar, to which the faculty of 
 the court were unequal, retarded the celebration of the nuptials 
 between the emperor and the Rajput princess of Marwar, and 
 even threatened a fatal termination. A mission from the British 
 merchants at Surat was at that time at court, and, as a last 
 resource, the surgeon attached to it was called in, who cured 
 the malady, and made the emperor happy in his bride.* His 
 gratitude was displayed with oriental magnificence. The em- 
 peror desired Mr. Hamilton to name [402] his reward, and to the 
 disinterested patriotism of this individual did the British owe 
 the first royal grant or farman, conferring territorial possession 
 and great commercial privileges. These were the objects of the 
 mission, which till this occurrence had proved unsuccessful. 
 
 This gorgeous court ought to have been, and probably was, 
 impressed with a high opinion of the virtuous self-denial of the 
 inhabitants of Britain ; and if history has correctly preserved the 
 transaction, some mark of public gratitude should have been 
 forthcoming from those who so signally benefited thereby. But 
 to borrow the phraseology of the Italian historian, " Obligations 
 which do not admit of being fully discharged are often repaid 
 with the coin of ingratitude " : the remains of this man rest in 
 the churchyard of Calcutta, without even a stone to mark the 
 spot ! ^ 
 
 ^ A white swelling or tumour on the back. 
 
 - The ceremony is described, as it was celebrated, with true Asiatic 
 pomp. " The Ameer-ool Omra conducted the festivities on the part of the 
 bride, and the marriage was performed with a splendour and magnificence 
 till then unseen among the princes of Hindust'han. Many pompous insignia 
 were added to the royal cortege upon this occasion. The illuminations 
 rivalled the planets, and seemed to upbraid the faint lustre of the stars. 
 The nuptials were performed at the palace of the Ameer-ool Omra, whence 
 the emperor conveyed his bride with the highest splendour of imperial 
 pomp to the citadel, amidst the resoundings of musical instruments and 
 the acclamations of the people " (Scott's History of Aurangzeb^s Successors, 
 vol. i. p. 132. [For the cure of Farrukhsiyar by Surgeon W. Hamilton see 
 C. R. Wilson, Early Annals of the English in Bengal, ii. 235.] 
 
 * [There is a monument of Hamilton in St. John's Church, Calcutta {IGI, 
 X. 280).]
 
 THE JIZYA REIMPOSED 469 
 
 The Jizya Reimposed. — This marriage, which promised a 
 renewal of interests with the Rajputs, was soon followed by the 
 revival of the obnoxious jizya. The character of this tax, though 
 much altered from its original imposition by Aurangzeb, when 
 it was at once financial and religious, was held in vinmitigated 
 abhorrence by the Hindus from the complex association ; and 
 although it was revived cliiefly to relieve pecuniary wants, it 
 kindled a universal feeling of hatred amongst aU classes, and 
 quenched the little zeal which the recent marriage had inspired 
 in the Rajputs of the desert. The mode and channel of its 
 introduction evinced to them that there was no hope that the 
 intolerant spirit which originally suggested it would ever be 
 subdued. The weak Farrukhsiyar, desirous of snapping the 
 leading-strings of the Sayyids, recalled to his court Inayatu-lla 
 Khan,^ the minister of Aurangzeb, and restored to him his office 
 of Diwan, who, to use \he words of the historian of the period, 
 " did not consult the temper of the times, so very different from 
 the reign of Aurangzeb, and the revival of the jizya came with 
 him." Though by no means severe in its operation, not amount- 
 ing to three-quarters per cent on annual income,^ — from which 
 the lame, the blind, and very poor were exempt, — it nevertheless 
 raised a general spirit of hostility, particularly from its retaining 
 the insulting distinction of a ' tax on mfidels.' Resistance to 
 taxation appears to be a universal feeling, in which even the 
 Asiatic forgets the divine right of sovereignty, and wliich throws 
 us back on the pervading spirit of selfishness which [403] governs 
 human nature. The tamgha,^ or stamp tax, which preceded the 
 jizya, would appear to have been as unsatisfactory as it was 
 general, from the solemnity of its renunciation by Babur on the 
 field of battle after the victory over infidels, which gave him the 
 crown of India ; and though we have no record of the jizya being 
 its substitute, there are indications which authorize the inference. 
 
 ^ [Inayatu-Ua Khan, a Persian of Naishapur, was tutor of Zebu-n-nissa 
 Begam, daughter of Aurangzeb, and held high office in his reign and in that 
 of Farrukhsiyar. He died in 172G (Beale, s.v.).] 
 
 ^13 rupees on every 2000 rupees. 
 
 ' [Altamgha, ' the red seal,' technically ' a royal grant. On its 
 remission by Babur see Erskine, Hist, of India, i. 467. EUiot remarks that 
 the altamgha as a tax was eniorced as early as the time of Alau-d-din and 
 Flroz Shah (Elhot-Dowson iii. 36.5). For the use of the seal see Memoirs 
 of Jalidiujlr, trans. Rogers-Beveridge, 23.]
 
 470 ANNALS OF IVIEWAR 
 
 Rana Amar Singh asserts Rajput Independence. — Rana Amra 
 was not an idle spectator of these occurrences ; and although the 
 spurious thirst for distinction so early broke up the alUance by 
 detaclung Ajit, he redoubled his efforts for personal independence, 
 and with it that of the Rajput nation. An important document 
 attests this solicitude, namely, a treaty ^ with the emperor, in 
 which the second article stipulates emancipation from the galling 
 jizya. It may be well to analyse this treaty, which attests the 
 ^ " Memorandum of Bequests. 
 
 " 1. The Mansab of 7000, the highest grade of rank. 
 
 " 2. Farman of engagement under the panja private seal and sign that 
 the jizya shall be abolished — that it shall no longer be imposed on the 
 Hindu nation ; at all events, that none of the Chagatai race shaU authorize 
 it in Mewar. Let it be annulled. 
 
 "3. The contingent of one thousand horse for service in the Deccau to 
 be excused. 
 
 " 4. AU places of Hmdu faith to be rebuild, with perfect freedom of 
 religious worship. 
 
 " 5. If my uncles, brothers, or chiefs, repair to the Presence, to meet no 
 encouragement. 
 
 " 6. The Bhumias of DeoHa, Banswara, Dungarpur, and Sirohi, besides 
 other zamindars over whom I am to have control, they shall not be admitted 
 to the Presence. 
 
 " 7. The forces I possess are my chiefs — what troops you may require 
 for a given period, you must furnish with rations (peti), and when the 
 service is over, their accounts will be settled. 
 
 " 8. Of the Hakkdars, Zamindars, Mansabdars, who serve you with zeal 
 and from the heart, let me have a hst — and those who are not obedient I 
 will punish ; but in effecting this no demand is to be made ioT-Faemali." * 
 
 " List of the districts attached to the PwnjJmzari,] at present under 
 sequestration, to be restored — Phuha, Mandalgarh, Badnor, Pur, Basar, 
 Ghayaspur, Pardhar, Banswara, Dungarpur. Besides the 5000 of old, you 
 had on ascending the throne granted an increase of 1000, and on account of 
 the victory at Sinsuii 1000 more, of two and three horse." % 
 
 " Of three crores of dams \\ in gift {iyiam,), namely, two according to far- 
 man, and one for the payment of the contingent in the Deccan, and of 
 which two are immediately required, you have given me in heu thereof 
 Sirohi. 
 
 " Districts uov/ desired — Idar, Kekri, Mandal, Jahazpur, Malpur (and 
 another illegible)." 
 
 * Destruction of property, alluding to the crops which always suffered 
 in the movements of disorderly troops. 
 
 t Mansab of 5000. 
 
 + It was usual to allow two and thi-eo horses to each cavaher when favour 
 was intended. 
 
 II 40 dams to the rupee.
 
 DEATH OF RANA AMAR SINGH 471 
 
 altered condition of both parties. Its very title marks the 
 subordination of the chief of the Rajputs ; but while this is 
 headed a ' Memorandum of Requests,' the eighth article dis- 
 closes the effective means of the Rana, for there he assumes an 
 air of protection towards the emperor. In the opening stipulation 
 for the mansah of 7000, the [404] mind reverts to the great Amra, 
 who preferred abdication to acknowledgment of a superior ; but 
 opinion had undergone a change as great as the mutual relations 
 of the Rajputs. In temporal dignities other States had risen to 
 an equality with Mewar, and all had learned to look on the Mogul 
 as the fountain of honour. The abolition of the jizya, freedom 
 from religious restraint, control over the ancient feudatories of 
 his house, and the restoration of all sequestrations, distinguish 
 the other articles, and amply attest the improving attitude of 
 Mewar, and the rapid decay of the Mogul empire. The Mahrattas 
 imder Raja Sahu ^ were successfully prosecuting their peculiar 
 system in the south, with the same feelings which characterized 
 the early Gothic invaders of Italy ; strangers to settled govern- 
 ment, they imposed the taxes of chauth and desmukhi,^ the fourth 
 and tetith of all territorial income, in the countries they overran. 
 The Jat tribes west of the Chambal likewise bearded their 
 oppressors in this reign, by hoisting the standard of independence 
 at the very threshold of their capital ; and from the siege of 
 Sinsini (mentioned in this treaty) to the last storm of Bharatpur, 
 they maintained the consequence thus assumed. 
 
 Death of Rana Amar Singh. — This treaty was the last act of 
 Rana Amra's life ; he died in a.d. 1716 [1710], leaving the reputa- 
 tion of an active and high-minded prince, who well upheld his 
 station and the prosperity of his country, notwithstanding the 
 anarchy of the period. His encouragement of agriculture and 
 protection of manufactures are displayed in the edicts engraved 
 on pillars, which will hand down his name to posterity. His 
 memory is held in high veneration ; nor do the Rajputs admit 
 the absolute degradation of ISIewar till the period of the second 
 prince in succession to Amra [405]. 
 
 ^ [Sahu, ' the honest, respectable man,' a title given by Aurangzeb 
 to Sivaji, son of Sambhaji (Grant Duff, 184).] 
 
 ^ [Des7nukhi from Sardesmukh, an officer exercising police and revenue 
 jurisdiction under the Marathas. These taxes were confirmed in favour of 
 Sivaji in 1665 {Ibid. 94).]
 
 472 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 CHAPTER 15 
 
 Rana Sangram Singh II., a.d. 1710-34. — Sangram Singh (the 
 lion of battle) succeeded ; a name renowned in the annals of 
 IMewar, being that of the opponent of the founder of the Moguls. 
 He ascended the throne about the same time with INIuhammad 
 Shah,^ the last of the race of Timur who deserved the name of 
 emperor of India. During the reign of Sangram, from a.d. 1716 
 to 1734, this mighty empire was dismembered ; when, in lieu of 
 one paramount authority, numerous independent governments 
 started up, which preserved their uncertain existence imtil the 
 last revolution, which has given a new combination to these 
 discordant materials — Muliammadan, Mahratta, and Rajput, in 
 the course of one century under the dominion of a handful of 
 Britons ! Like the Satraps of the ancient Persian, or the Lieu- 
 tenants of Alexander, each chief proclaimed himself master of the 
 province, the government of which was confided to his loyalty 
 and talents ; and it cannot fail to diininish any regret at the 
 successive prostration of Bengal, Oudh, Haidarabad, and other 
 less conspicuous States, to remember that they were founded in 
 rebelUon, and erected on ingratitude ; and that their rulers were 
 destitute of those sympathies, which could alone give stability 
 to their ephemeral greatness, by improving the condition of their 
 subjects. With the Mahrattas the case is different : their emer- 
 gence to power claims our admiration, when tyranny transformed 
 the industrious husbandman, and the minister of religion, into 
 a hardy and enterprising soldier, and a skilful functionary of 
 government. Had their ambition been restrained within legiti- 
 mate bounds, it would have been no less gratifying than pohtically 
 and morally just that the family of Sivaji should have retained 
 its [406] authority in countries which his active valour wrested 
 from Aurangzeb. But the genius of conquest changed their 
 natural habits ; they devastated instead of consolidating ; and 
 in lieu of that severe and frugal simplicity, and that energy of 
 enterprise, which were their peculiar characteristics, they became 
 distinguished for mean parsimony, low cunning, and dastardly 
 depredation. Had they, retaining their original character, been 
 content with their projaer sphere of action, the Deccan, they 
 
 1 [September 29, 1719.]
 
 DEPOSITION OF FARRUKHSlYAR 473 
 
 might yet have held the sovereignty of that vast region, where 
 their habits and language assimilated them with the people. 
 But as they spread over the north they encountered national 
 antipathies, and though professing the same creed, a wider 
 difference in sentiment divided the Mahratta from the Rajput, 
 than from the despots of Delhi, whose tyrannical intolerance was 
 more endurable, because less degrading, than the rapacious 
 meanness of the Southron. Rajasthan benefited by the demoli- 
 tion of the empire : to all but Mewar it yielded an extension of 
 power. Had the national mind been allowed to repose, and 
 its energies to recruit, after so many centuries of demoralization, 
 all would have recovered their strength, which lay in the opinions 
 and industry of the people, a devoted tenantry and brave vassal- 
 age, whom we have so often depicted as abandoning their habita-. 
 tions and pursuits to aid the patriotic views of their princes. 
 
 Deposition of Farrukhsiyar : Nizamu-1-mulk. — The short reign 
 of Farrukhsiyar was drawing to a close ; its end was accelerated 
 by the very means by which that monarch hoped to emancipate 
 himself from the thraldom of the Sayyids, against whose authority 
 the faction of Inayatu-lla was but a feeble counterpoise, and 
 whose arbitrary habits, in the re-establishment of the jizya, lost 
 him even the supjjort of the father of his queen. It was on this 
 occasion that the celebrated Nizamu-1-mulk,^ the founder of the 
 Haidarabad State, was brought upon the stage : he then held the 
 unimportant charge of the district of Moradabad ; but possessed 
 of high talents, he was bought over, by the promise of the govern- 
 ment of Malwa, to further the views of the Sayyids. Supported 
 by a body of ten thousand Mahrattas, these makers of kings soon 
 manifested their displeasure by the deposal of Farrukhsiyar, who 
 was left without any support but that of the princes of Amber 
 and Bundi. Yet they would never have abandoned him had he 
 hearkened to their counsel to take the field, and trust his cause 
 to them : but, cowardly and infatuated, he refused to quit the 
 walls of his palace, and threw [407] himself upon the mercy of 
 his enemies, who made him dismiss the faithful Rajputs and 
 " admit a guard of honour of their troops into the citadel." ^ 
 
 ^ [Nizamu-1-muIk, Asaf Jah, titles of Chin Qilich Khan, a Turkman 
 officer in the service of Aurangzcb, governor of the Deccan, died May 22, 
 1748.] 
 
 ^ Amongst the archives of the Rana to which 1 had access, I discovered
 
 474 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Murder of Farrukhsiyar, May 16, 1719. — Farrukhsiyar hoped 
 for security in the inviolabihty of the harem — but he found no 
 sanctuary even there : to use the words of the Mogul memoir, 
 " night advanced, and day, hke the fallen star of the emperor, 
 sunk in darkness. The gates of the citadel were closed upon his 
 friends : the Wazir and Ajit Singh remained within. This night 
 was dreadful to the inhabitants of the city ; no one knew what 
 was passing in the palace, and the troops under the Amiru-l-umara, 
 with ten thousand Mahrattas, remained under arms : morning 
 came, and all hope was extinguished by the royal band ( Naubat) 
 announcing the deposal of Farruldisiyar, in the proclamation of 
 Rafiu-d-darajat, his successor." The interval between the de- 
 posal and the death of an Asiatic prince is short, and even while 
 the heralds vociferated " long live the king ! " to the new puppet, 
 the bowstring was on the neck of the contemptible Farrukhsiyar. 
 
 an autograph letter of Raja Jai Singh, addressed at this important juncture 
 to the Rana's prime minister, Biharidas. 
 
 " The Amiru-l-umara has arrived, and engagements tlirough Balaji 
 Pandit have been agreed to : he said that he always had friendship for me, 
 but advised me to march, a measure aUke recommended by ICishan Singh 
 and Jiwa Lai. On this I presented an arzi to his Majesty, stated the advice, 
 but desired to have his Majesty's commands ; when the king sanctioning my 
 leave, such being the general desire, on Thursday the 9th of Phalgun I 
 moved, and pitched my tents at Sarbal Sarai. I told the Rao Raja (of 
 Bundi) to accompany me, but it did not reach his mind, and he joined 
 Kutbu-I-mulk, who gave him some horse, and made him encamp with Ajit 
 Singh. Bhim Singh's (of Kotah) army arrived, and an engagement took 
 place, in which Jeth Singh Hara was killed, and the Rao Raja fled to Allah- 
 wirdi Khan's sarai. I sent troops to his aid ; the king has made over the 
 baths and wardrobe to the Sayyids, who have everything their own way. 
 You know the Sayyids ; I am on my way back to my own country, and have 
 much to say viva voce to the Huzur : * come and meet me. Phalgun, S. 
 19, 1775 (A.D. 1719)." 
 
 " Siddh Sri Maharaja dhiraj Sri Sangram Singhji ; receive the mujra t 
 of Raja Sawai Jai Singh. Here all is well ; your welfare is desired ; you are 
 the chief, nor is there any separation of interests : my horses and Rajputs 
 are at your service ; command when I can be of use. It is long since I have 
 seen the royal mother (Sri Baiji Raj) ; if you come this way, I trust she will 
 accompany you. For news I refer you to Dip Chand Pancholi. Asoj 6, 
 S. 1777." 
 
 * Huzur signifies the Presence. Such was the respectful style of the 
 Amber prince to the Rana ; to illustrate which I shall add another letter 
 from the same prince, though merely comphmentary, to the Rana. 
 
 t Mujra is a salutation of respect used to a superior.
 
 ACCESSION OF ROSHAN-AKHTAR 475 
 
 Accession of Rafiu-d-darajat. — The first act of the new reign 
 (a.d. 1719) was one of conciliation towards Ajit Singh and the 
 Rajputs, namely, the abrogation of the jizya ; and the Sayyids 
 further showed their disposition to attach them by conferring the 
 important office of Diwan on one of their own faith : Raja Ratan 
 (hand was accordingly inducted into the ministry in lieu of 
 luayatu-lla. 
 
 Accession of Roshan-Akhtar Muhammad Shah, a.d. 1719-48.— 
 Three phantoms of royalty flitted across the scene in a few months, 
 till Roshan-Akhtar, the eldest son of Bahadur Shah, was [408] 
 enthroned with the title of Muhammad Shah (a.d. 1720), during 
 whose reign of nearly thirty years the empire was completely 
 dismembered,^ and Mahrattas from the south disputed its spoils 
 with the Afghan mountaineers. The haughty demeanour of the 
 Saj'yids dijSgusted all who acted witti them, especially their 
 coadjutor the Nizam,^ of whose talents, displayed in restoring 
 Malwa to prosperity, they entertained a dread. It was impossible 
 to cherish any abstract loyalty for the puppets they established, 
 and treason lost its name, when the Nizam declared for inde- 
 pendence, which the possession of the fortresses of Asir and 
 Burhanpur enabled him to secure. The brothers had just cause 
 for alarm. The Rajputs were called upon for their contingents,^ 
 
 ^ [For a sketch of the history of this period see Keene, Sketch of the 
 History of Hindustan, 304 ff.] 
 
 ^ Raja Jai Singh to Biharidas, the Rana's minister : — " You write that 
 your Lord despatches money for the troops — I have no accounts thereof ; 
 put the treasure on camels and send it without delay. The Nawab Nizamu-1- 
 mulli is marching rapidly from Ujjain, and Chhabile Ram is coming hither, 
 and according to accounts from Agra he has crossed at Kalpi. Let the 
 Diwan's army form a speedy junction. Make no delay ; in suppHes of cash 
 everything is included," Bhadon, 4th S. 1776 (a.d. 1720). 
 
 ^ Letter from Raja Bakhta Singh of Nagor to Biharidas, the Rana's 
 prime minister : — " Your letter was received, and its contents made me 
 happy. Sri Diwan's ruqa'' reached me and was understood. You tell me 
 both the Nawabs {Sayyids) had taken the field, that both the Maharajas 
 attended, and that your own army was about to be put in motion, for how 
 could ancient friendshij)s be severed ? All was comprehended. But 
 neither of the Nawabs will take the field, nor will either of the Maharajas 
 proceed to the Deccan : they will sit and enjoy themselves quietly in talking 
 at home. But should by some accident the Nawabs take the field, espouse 
 their cause ; if you chng to any other you are lost ; of this you will be con- 
 vinced ere long, so guard yourself — if you can wind up our own thread, don't 
 give it to another to break — you are wise, and can anticipate intentions. 
 Where there is such a servant as you, that house can be in no danger."
 
 476 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 and the princes of Kotah and Narwar gallantly interposed their 
 own retainers to cut off the Nizam from the Nerbudda, on which 
 occasion the Kotah prince was slain. The independence of the 
 Nizam led to that of Oudh. Saadat Khan was then but the 
 commandant of Bayana, but he entered into the conspiracy to 
 expel the, Sayyids, and was one of those who drew lots to assas- 
 sinate the Amiru-1-umara. The deed was put into execution on 
 the march to reduce the Nizam, when Haidar lOian buried his 
 poniard in the Amir's heart.^ The emperor then in camp, being 
 thus freed, returned against the Wazir, who instantly set up 
 Ibrahim and marched against his opponents. The Rajputs 
 wisely remained neutral, and both armies met. The decapitation 
 of Ratan Chand was the signal for the battle, which was obstinate 
 and bloody ; the Wazir was made prisons, and subjected to the 
 bowstring. P'or the part Saadat Khan acted in the conspiracy 
 he was honoured with the title of Bahadur Jang, and the govern- 
 ment of Oudh, The Rajput princes paid their respects to the 
 [409] conqueror, who confirmed the repeal of the jizya, and as the 
 reward of their neutraUty the Rajas of Amber and Jodhpur, Jai 
 Singh and Ajit, were gratified, the former with the government 
 of the province of Agra, the last with that of Gujarat and Ajmer, 
 of which latter fortress he took possession. Girdhardas ^ was 
 made governor of Malwa to oppose the Mahrattas, and the Nizam 
 was invited from his government of Haidarabad to accept the 
 oilice of wazir of the empire. 
 
 The Policy of Mewar. — The policy of Mewar was too isolated 
 for the times ; her rulers climg to forms and imsubstantial 
 homage, while their neighbours, with more active virtue, plunged 
 into the tortuous policy of the imperial court, and seized every 
 opportunity to enlarge the boundaries of their States : and while 
 Amber appropriated to herself the royal domains almost to the 
 Jumna ; while Marwar planted her banner on the battlements 
 of Ajmer, dismembered Gujarat, and pushed her clans far into 
 the desert, and even to ' the world's end ' ; * Mewar confined 
 her ambition to the control of her ancient feudatories of Abu, 
 
 ^ [Haidar Khan assassinated Husaiii Ali on September 18, 1720.] 
 
 2 Girdhardas was a Nagar Brahman, son of Chhabile Ram, the chief 
 
 secretary of Ratan Chand. 
 
 ^ Jagatkhunt, the Jagat point, of our ma^JS, at Dwarka, where the 
 
 Badhels, a branch of the Rathors, estabhshed themselves.
 
 THE POLICY OF MEWAR 477 
 
 Idar, and the petty States which grew out of her, Dungarpur and 
 Banswara. The motive for this pohcy was precisely the same 
 which had cost such sacrifices in former times ; she dreaded 
 amalgamating with the imperial court, and preferred political 
 inferiority to the sacrifice of principle. The internal feuds of her 
 two great clans also operated against her aggrandizement ; and 
 while the brave Saktawat, Jeth Singh, expelled the Rathor from 
 Idar, and subdued the wild mountaineers even to Koliwara, the 
 conquest was left incomplete by the jealousy of his rival, and he 
 was recalled in the midst of his success. From these and other 
 causes an important change took place in the internal poUcy of 
 Mewar, which tended greatly to impair her energies. To this 
 period none of the vassals had the power to erect places of strength 
 within their domains, which, as already stated, were not fixed, 
 but subject to triennial change ; their lands were given for 
 subsistence, their native hills were their fortresses, and the 
 frontier strongholds defended their families in time of invasion. 
 As the Mogul power waned, the general defensive system was 
 [410] abandoned, while the predatory warfare which succeeded 
 compelled them to stud their country with castles, in order to 
 shelter their effects from the Mahratta and Pathan, and in later 
 times to protect rebels. 
 
 Rana Sangram ruled eighteen [twenty-four] years ; under him 
 Mewar was respected, and the greater portion of her lost territory 
 was regained. His selection of Biharidas Pancholi evinced his 
 penetration, for never had Mewar a more able or faithful minister, 
 and numerous autograph letters of all the princes of his time 
 attest his talent and his worth as the oracle of the period. He 
 retained his office during three reigns : but his skill was unable 
 to stem the tide of Mahratta invasion, which commenced on the 
 death of Sangram. 
 
 Anecdotes o£ Rana Sangram Singh II. — Tradition has preserved 
 many anecdotes of Sangram, which aid our estimate of Rajput 
 character, whether in the capacity of legislators or the more 
 retired sphere of domestic manners. They uniformly represent 
 this Rana as a patriarchal ruler, wise, just, and inflexible,^ steady 
 in his application to business, regulating public and private 
 
 * In the dialect, chhari mazbut thi, his rod was strong — a familiar 
 phrase, which might be rendered ' sceptre ' — a long rod with an iron spike 
 on it, often placed before the gaddi, or throne.
 
 478 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 expenditure, and even the sumptuary laws, which were rigidly 
 adhered to, and on which the people still expatiate, giving homely 
 illustrations of the contrast between them and the existing 
 profusion. The Chauhan of Kotharia, one of the highest class 
 of chieftains, had recommended an addition to the folds of the 
 court robe, and as courtesy forbids all personal denial, his Avish 
 was assented to, and he retired to his estate pluming himself on 
 his sovereign's acquiescence. But the Rana, sending for the 
 minister, commanded the sequestration of two villages of Kotharia, 
 which speedily reaching the ears of the chief, he repaired to court, 
 and begged to know the fault which had drawn upon him this 
 mark of displeasure. " None, Raoji ; but on a minute calcula- 
 tion I find the revenue of these two villages will just cover the 
 expense of the superfluity of garment which obedience to your 
 wishes will occasion me, and as every iota of my own income is 
 ajipropriated, I had no other mode of innovating on our ancient 
 costume than by making you bear the charge attending a compli- 
 ance with your suggestion." It will readily be believed, that the 
 Chauhan prayed the [411] revocation of this edict, and that he 
 was careful for the future of violating the sumptuary laws of his 
 sovereign. 
 
 On another occasion, from lapse of memory or want of con- 
 sideration, he broke the laws he had established, and alienated a 
 village attached to the household. Each branch had its appro- 
 priate fund, whether for the kitchen, the wardrobe, the privy 
 purse, the queens ; these lands were called thiia, and each had 
 its officer, or thuadar, all of whom were made accountable for 
 their trust to the prime minister ; it was one of these he had 
 alienated. Seated with his chiefs in the rasora, or banqueting- 
 hall, there was no sugar forthcoming for the curds, which has a 
 place in the dinner carte of all Rajputs, and he chid the superin- 
 tendent for the omission. " Anndata " (giver of food), replied 
 the officer, " the minister says you have given away the village 
 set apart for sugar." — " Just," replied the Rana, and finished his 
 repast without further remark, and without sugar to his curds. 
 
 Another anecdote will show his inflexibility of character, and 
 his resistance to that species of interference in state affairs which 
 is the bane of Asiatic governments. Sangram had recently 
 emancipated himself from the trammels of a tedious minority, 
 during which his mother, according to custom, acted a con-
 
 ANECDOTES OF RANA SANGRAM SINGH II. 479 
 
 spicuotis part in the guardianship of her son and the State. The 
 chieftain of Dariawad had his estate confiscated : but as the 
 Rana never punished from passion or pardoned from weakness, 
 none dared to plead his cause, and he remained proscribed from 
 court during two years, when he ventured a petition to the queen- 
 mother through the Bhandarins,^ for the reversion of the decree, 
 accompanied -with a note for two lakhs of rupees,^ and a liberal 
 donation to the fair mediators. It was the daily habit of the 
 Rana to pay his respects to his mother before dinner, and on one 
 of these visits she introduced the Ranawat's request, and begged 
 the restoration of the estate. It was customary, on the issue of 
 every grant, that eight days should elapse from the mandate to 
 the promulgation of the edict, to which eight official seals * were 
 attached ; but on the present occasion the Rana commanded 
 the execution of the deed at once, and to have it ere he left the 
 Rawala. On its being brought, he [412] placed it respectfully in 
 his mother's hands, begging her to return the note to the Rana- 
 wat ; having made this sacrifice to duty, he bowed and retired. 
 The next day he commanded dinner an hour earlier, without the 
 usual visit to the Rawala : all were surprised, but none so much 
 as the queen-mother — the day passed — another came — still no 
 visit, -and to a confidential message, she received a ceremonious 
 reply. Alarmed for the loss of her son's affections, she pondered 
 on the cause, but could find none, except the grant — she entreated 
 the minister's interference ; he respectfully intimated that he 
 was interdicted from the discussion of State affairs but with his 
 sovereign — she had recourse to other expedients, which proving 
 alike fruitless, she became sullen, punished her damsels without 
 cause, and refused food : Sangram still remained obdurate. She 
 talked of a pilgrimage to the Ganges, and befitting equipage and 
 escort were commanded to attend her — the moment of departure 
 was at hand, and yet he would not see her. She repaired by 
 Amber on her route to M'athura, to worship the Apollo of Vraj,* 
 when the great Raja Jai Singh (married to the Rana's sister) * 
 
 ^ The dames attendant on the queens, — the Lady Mashams of every 
 female court in Rajasthan. ^ £25,000. 
 
 ^ There were eight ministers ; from this the Mahrattas had their aslit 
 pardJians, the number which formed the ministry of Rama. 
 
 * [Krishna.] 
 
 ® I discovered the following letter from one of the princesses of Amber to 
 Rana Sangram, written at this period ; it is not evident in what relation
 
 480 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 advanced, and conducted her to his new city of Jaipur, and to 
 evince his respect " put his shoulder to the travelhng htter or 
 palki," and promised to return with her and be a supphant to his 
 brother-in-law for the restoration of his regard. She made a 
 tour of the sacred places, and on return accepted the escort of 
 the Prince of Amber. The laws of hospitality amongst the 
 Rajputs are rigid : the Rana could not refuse to his guest the 
 request for which he had left his capital : but averse to owing 
 reconciliation to external intercession, and having done enough 
 for the suppression of intrigue, he advanced to meet the cortege 
 when within one march of Udaipur, as if to receive the Amber 
 prince ; but proceeding direct to his [413] mother's tents, he 
 asked her blessing, and having escorted her to the palace, returned 
 to greet and conduct his brother prince ; all the allusion he made 
 to the subject was in the simple but pithy expression, " family 
 quarrels should be kept in the family." 
 
 Another anecdote shows him as the vigilant shepherd watching 
 over the safety of his flock. As he sat down to dinner, tidings 
 arrived of an invasion of the Malwa Pathans, who had rifled several 
 villages at Mandasor, carrying the inhabitants into captivity. 
 Pushing the platter from him, he ordered his armour, and the 
 nakkara to beat the assemblage of his chieftains. With all speed 
 a gallant band formed on the terrace below, but they prevailed 
 on the Rana to leave the punishment of the desultory aggression 
 to them, as imworthy of his personal interference. They de- 
 she stood to hira, but I think she must have been his wife, and the sister of 
 Jai Singh : 
 
 " To Siddh Sri Sangrara Singh, happiness ! the Kachhwaha Rani (queen) 
 writes, read her asi^ * (blessing). Here all is well ; the welfare of the Sri 
 Diwanji is desired. You are very dear to me ; you are great, the sun of 
 Hindustan ; if you do not thus act, who else can ? the action is worthy of 
 you ; with your house is my entire friendship. From ancient times we are 
 the Rajputs of your house, from which both Rajas f have had their conse- 
 quence increased, and I belong to it of old, and expect always to be fostered 
 by it, nor will the Sri Diwanji disappoint us. My intention was to proceed 
 to the feet of the Sri Diwanji, but the wet weather has prevented me ; but 
 I shall soon make my appearance." S. 1778 (a.d. 1722). 
 
 * Asis is benediction, which only ladies and holy men employ in epistolary 
 writing or in verbal coraphment. 
 
 t Amber and Marwar ; this expression denotes the letter to have been 
 written on intermarriage with the Rana's house, and shows her sense of sucli 
 honour.
 
 ANECDOTES OF RANA SANGRAM SINGH II. 481 
 
 parted : several hours after, the chief of Kanor arrived, having 
 left a sick-bed, and with a tertian come in obedience to his sove- 
 reign's summons. Vain was his prince's dissuasion to keep him 
 back, and he joined the band as they came up with the invaders. 
 The foe was defeated and put to flight, but the sick chieftain fell 
 in the charge, and his son was severely wounded by his side. On 
 the young chief repairing to court he was honoured with a bira ^ 
 from the Rana's own hand, a distinction which he held to be an 
 ample reward for his wounds, and testimonial of the worth of his 
 father. The existence of such sentiments are the strongest tests 
 of character. 
 
 On another occasion, some parasite had insinuated suspicions 
 against the chief of the nobles, the Rawat of Salumbar, who had 
 just returned victorious in action with the royal forces at Malwa, 
 and had asked permission to visit his family on his way to court. 
 The Rana spurned the suspicion, and to show his reliance on the 
 chief, he dispatched a messenger for Salumbar to wait his arrival 
 and summon him to the presence. He had reached his domain, 
 given leave to his vassals as they passed their respective abodes, 
 dismounted, and reached the door of the Rawala, when the 
 herald called aloud, " The Rana salutes you, Rawatji, and 
 commands this letter." With his hand on the door where his 
 wife and children awaited him, he demanded his horse, and simply 
 leaving his ' duty for his mother,' he [414] mounted, with half 
 a dozen attendants, nor loosed the rein until he reached the 
 capital. It was midnight : his house empty ; no servants ; no 
 dinner ; but his sovereign had foreseen and provided, and when 
 his arrival was announced, provender for his cattle, and vessels 
 of provision prepared in the royal kitchen, were immediately sent 
 to his abode. Next morning Salumbar attended the court. The 
 Rana was unusually gracious, and not only presented him with 
 the usual tokens of regard, a horse and jewels, but moreover a 
 grant of land. With surprise he asked what service he had 
 performed to merit such distinction, and from a sentiment becom- 
 ing the descendant of Chonda solemnly refused to accept it ; 
 observing, that even if he had lost his head, the reward was 
 
 ^ The bira is the betel or pan-leaf folded up, containing aromatic spices, 
 and presented on taking leave. The Kanor chieftain, being of the second 
 grade of nobles, was not entitled to the distinction of having it from the 
 sovereign's own hand. 
 
 VOL. I 2 I
 
 482 ANNATES OF MEWAR 
 
 excessive ; but if his prince would admit of his preferring a 
 request, it would be, that in remembrance of his sovereign's 
 favour, when he, or his, in after times, should on the summons 
 come from their estate to the capital, the same number of dishes 
 from the royal kitchen should be sent to his abode : it was 
 granted, and to this day his descendants enjoy the distinction. 
 These anecdotes paint the character of Sangram far more forcibly 
 than any laboured effort. His reign was as honourable to himself 
 as it was beneficial to his country, in whose defence he had fought 
 eighteen actions ; but though his policy was too circumscribed, 
 and his country would have benefited more by a surrender of 
 some of those antique prejudices which kept her back in the 
 general scramble for portions of the dilapidated monarchy of the 
 Moguls, yet he was respected abroad, as he was beloved by his 
 subjects, of whose welfare he was ever watchful, and to whose 
 wants ever indulgent. Rana Sangram was the last prince who 
 upheld the dignity of the gaddi of Bappa Rawal ; with his death 
 commenced Mahratta ascendancy, and with this we shall open 
 the reign of his son and successor. 
 
 Rana Jagat Singh II., a.d. 1734-51. Difficulties of Rajput 
 Combination. — Jagat Singh II., the eldest of the four sons of 
 Sangram, succeeded S. 1790 (a.d. 1734). The commencement of 
 his reign was signalized by a revival of the triple alliance formed 
 by Rana Amra, and broken by Raja Ajit's connexion with the 
 Say y ids and the renewal of matrimonial ties with the empire, 
 the abjuration whereof was the basis of the treaty. The present 
 engagement, which included all the minor states, was formed at 
 Hurra, a town in Mewar on the Ajmer frontier, where the con- 
 federate princes met at the head of their vassals. To insure 
 unanimity, the Rana was invested with paramount control, and 
 headed the forces which were [415] to take the field after the 
 rains, already set in.^ Unity of interests was the chief character 
 
 1 Treaty. 
 
 Seal of Rana. 
 
 Sri Eklinga. (a) 
 
 Agreed. Agreed. 
 
 Sita Rama jayati. (c) Vraj Adhis. (6) Abhai Singh, (d) 
 
 (o) (6) (c). All these seals of Mewar, Marwar, and Amber bear respec- 
 tively the names of the tutelary divinity of each prince and his tribe
 
 ACCESSION OF RANA JAGAT SINGH II. 483 
 
 of the engagement, liad thej' adhered to which, not only the 
 independence, but the aggrandisement, of Rajasthan, was in 
 their power, and they might have ahke defied the expiring efforts 
 of Mogul tyranny, and the Parthian-like warfare of the Mahratta. 
 They were indeed the most formidable power in India at this 
 juncture ; but difficult as it had ever proved to coalesce the 
 Rajputs for mutual preservation, even when a paramount superi- 
 ority of power, both temporal and spiritual, belonged to the 
 Ranas, so now, since Amber and Marwar had attained an equality 
 with Mewar, it was found still less practicable to prevent the 
 operation of the principles of disunion. In fact, a moment's 
 reflection must discover that the component parts of a great 
 feudal federation, such as that described, must contain too many 
 discordant particles — too many rivalries and national antipathies 
 — ever cordially to amalgamate. Had it been otherwise, the 
 opportunities were many and splendid for the recovery of Rajput 
 freedom ; but though individually enamoured of liberty, the 
 universality of the sentiment prevented its realization : they 
 never would submit to the control required to work it out, and 
 this, the best opportunity which had ever occurred, was lost. 
 A glance at the disordered fragments of the throne of Akbar will 
 show the comparative strength of the Rajputs. 
 
 League of Nizamu-1-mulk with Rajputs and Marathas. — 
 
 Swasti Sri ! By the united chiefs the under-written has been agreed to, 
 
 from which no deviation can take place. Sawan sudi 13, S. 1791 (a.d. 
 
 1735), Camp Hurra. 
 
 ^ 1. All are united, in good and in evil, and none will withdraw therefrom, 
 
 on which oaths have been made, and faith pledged, which will be 
 
 lost by whoever acts contrary thereto. The honour and shame of 
 
 one is that of all, and in this everything is contained. 
 
 2. No one shall countenance the traitor of another. 
 
 3. After the rains the affair shall commence, and the chiefs of each 
 
 party assemble at Rampura ; and if from any cause the head 
 cannot come, he will send his Kunwar (heir), or some personage of 
 weight. 
 
 4. Should from inexperience such Kunwar commit error, the Rana 
 
 alone shall interfere to correct it. 
 
 5. In every enterprise aU shall unite to effect it. 
 
 (a) ilklinga, or Mahadeva of the Sesodias of Mewar ; (6) Vraj Adhis, the lord 
 of Vraj, the coimtry round Mathura ; the epithet of Krishna ; seal of the 
 Hara prince ; (c) Victory to Sita and Rama, the demi-god, ancestor of the 
 princes of Amber ; {d} Abhai Singh, prince of Marwar.
 
 484 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Nizamu-1-mulk had completely emancipated himself from his 
 allegiance, and signalized his independence, by sending the head 
 of the imperial general, who [416] ventured to oppose it, as that 
 of a traitor, to the emperor. He leagued with the Rajputs, and 
 instigated Bajirao to plant the Mahratta standard in Malwa and 
 Gujarat. In defending the former, Dayya Bahadur fell ; ^ and 
 Jai Singh of Amber, being nominated to the trust, delegated it 
 to the invader, and Malwa was lost. The extensive province of 
 Gujarat soon shared the same fate ; for in the vacillating policy 
 of the court, the promise of that government to the Rathors had 
 been broken, and Abhai Singh, son of Ajit, who had expelled 
 Sarbuland Khan ^ after a severe contest, following the example 
 of his brother prince of Amber, connived with the invaders, while 
 he added its most northern districts to Marwar. In Bengal, 
 Behar, and Orissa, Shujau-d-daula, and his deputy Allah wirdi 
 Khan,^ were supreme, and Safdar Jang * (son of Saadat Khan) 
 was established in Oudh. The basest disloyalty marked the rise 
 of this family, which owed everything to Muhammad Shah. It 
 was Saadat Khan who invited Nadir Shah, whose invasion gave 
 the final stab to the empire ; and it was his son, Safdar Jang, who, 
 when commandant of the artillery (mir-i-atish), turned it against 
 his sovereign's palace, and then conveyed it to Oudh. Of the 
 Diwans of Bengal we must speak only with reverence ; but, 
 whether they had any special dispensation, their loyalty to the 
 descendant of Farrukhsiyar has been very little more distinguished 
 than that of the satraps enumerated, though the original tenure 
 of Bengal is still apparent, and the feudal obligation to the 
 suzerain of Delhi manifested, in the homage of petite serjanterie, 
 in transmitting with the annual fine of relief (one hundred mohars) 
 the spices of the eastern archipelago. Yet of all those who 
 gloried in the title oifidwi padshah-i-ghazi, the only ' slave of the 
 victorious king,' who has been generous to hiin in the day of his 
 distress, is the Diwan of Bengal, better known as the English 
 
 ^ [Subahdar of Malwa, killed in battle at Tala near Dhar iu 1732 (Grant 
 Duff 227).] 
 
 2 [Sarbuland Khan was superseded by Abhai Singh {ibid. 226).] 
 
 ^ [Mahabat Jang, in 1740 usurped the Government of Bengal, over 
 which he reigned for sixteen years, died April 10, 1756 N.S., buried at 
 Murshidabad (Beale, sv.).] 
 
 * [Nephew and son-in-law of Burhanu-1-mulk, Saadat Khan, was 
 appointed Wazlr in 1748, died October 17, 1754.]
 
 MARATHA raids 485 
 
 East India Company. In the hour of triumph they rescued the 
 blind and aged descendants of the illustrious Babur from a state 
 of degradation and penury, and secured to him all the dignity 
 and comfort which his circumstances could lead him to hope ; 
 and the present state of his family, contrasted with the thraldom 
 and misery endured while fortune favoured the Mahratta, is 
 splendid. Yet perhaps the most acute stroke of fortune to this 
 fallen monarch was when the British governor of India lent his 
 aid to the descendant of the rebellious Safdar Jang to mount the 
 throne of Oudh, and to assume, in lieu of the title of wazir of the 
 empire, that of king. We can [417] appreciate and commiserate 
 the feeling ; for the days of power were yet too recent ^ for Akbar 
 Sani (the second) to receive such intelligence without a shoclc, 
 or without comparing his condition with him whose name he bore. 
 It is well to pause upon this page of eastern history, which is full 
 of instruction ; since by weighing the abuses of power, and its 
 inevitable loss through placing a large executive trust in the 
 hands of those who exercised it without sympathy towards the 
 governed, we may at least retard the day of our decline. 
 
 Maratha Raids. The Campaign of Nadir Shah. — The Mahratta 
 establishments in Malwa and Gujarat constituted a nucleus for 
 others to form upon, and like locusts, they crossed the Nerbudda 
 in swarms ; when the Holkars, the Sindhias, the Puars, and other 
 less familiar names, emerged from obscurity ; when the plough ^ 
 was deserted for the sword, and the goat-herd * made a lance of 
 his crook. They devastated, and at length settled upon, the 
 lands of the indigenous Rajputs. For a time the necessity of 
 imity made them act under one standard, and hence the vast 
 masses under the first Bajirao, which bore down all opposition, 
 and afterwards dispersed themselves over those long-oppressed 
 regions. It was in a.d. 1735 that he first crossed the Chambal * 
 and appeared before Delhi, which he blockaded, when his retreat 
 was purchased by the surrender of the chauth, or fourth of the 
 
 1 [Akbar Shah II., King of Delhi, reigned from 1806 to 1827.] I have 
 conversed with an aged Shaikh who recollected the splendour of Muhammad 
 Shah's reign before Nadir's invasion. He was darogah (superintendent) to 
 the Duab canal, and described to me the fete on its opening. 
 
 ^ Sindhia's family were husbandmen. 
 
 ' Holkar was a goat-herd. 
 
 * The ford near Dholpur stiU is called Bhaoghat. [Bajirao appeared at 
 Delhi in 1736 (Grant Duff 226).]
 
 486 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 gross revenues of the empire. The Nizam, dreading the influence 
 such pusillanimous concession might exert upon his rising power, 
 determined to drive the Mahrattas from Malwa, where, if once 
 fixed, they would cut off his communications with the north. 
 He accordingly invaded Malwa, defeated Bajirao in a pitched 
 battle, and was only prevented from following it up by Nadir 
 Shah's advance, facilitated by the Afghans, who, on becoming 
 independent in Kabul, laid open the frontiers of Hindustan.^ In 
 this emergency, " great hopes were placed on the valour of the 
 Rajputs " ; but the spirit of devotion in this brave race, by whose 
 aid the Mogul power was made and maintained, was irretrievably 
 alienated, and not one of those high families, who had throughout 
 been so lavish of their blood in its defence, would obey the sum- 
 mons to the royal standard, when the fate of India was decided 
 on the plains of Karnal.^ A sense [418] of individual danger 
 brought together the great home feudatories, when the Nizam 
 and Saadat Khan (now Wazir) united their forces vmder the 
 imperial commander ; but their demoralized levies were no 
 match for the Persian and the northern mountaineer. The 
 Amiru-l-umara was slain, the Wazir made prisoner, and Muham- 
 mad Shah and his kingdom were at Nadir's disposal. The 
 disloyalty of the Wazir filled the capital with blood, and subjected 
 his sovereign to the condition of a captive. Jealous of the 
 Nizam, whose diplomatic success had obtained him the office of 
 Amiru-1-imiara, he stimulated the avarice of the conqueror by 
 exaggerating the riches of Delhi, and declared that he alone could 
 furnish the ransom negotiated by the Nizam. Nadir's love of 
 gold overpowered his principle ; the treaty was broken, the keys 
 of Delhi were demanded, and its humiliated emperor was led in 
 triumph through the camp of the conqueror, who, on March 8, 
 A.D. 1739, took possession of the palace of Timur, and C9ined 
 money bearing this legend : 
 
 Iving over the kings of the world 
 
 Is Nadir, king of kings, and lord of the period. 
 
 Plunder and Massacre at Delhi. — The accumulated wealth of 
 India contained in the royal treasury, notwithstanding the lavish 
 expenditure during the civil wars, and the profuse rewards 
 
 ^ A.D. 1740. 
 2 [Near Panipat, February 13. 1739 (Elphinstone 717).]
 
 PLUNDER AND MASSACRE AT DELHI 487 
 
 scattered by each competitor for dominion, was yet sufficient to 
 gratify even avarice itself, amounting ii\ gold, jewels, and plate 
 to forty millions sterling, exclusive of equipages of every denomi- 
 nation. But this enormous spoil only kindled instead of satiating 
 the appetite of Nadir, and a fine of two millions and a half was 
 exacted, and levied with such unrelenting rigour and cruelty on 
 the inhabitants, that men of rank and character could find no 
 means of escape but by suicide. A rumour of this monster's 
 death excited an insurrection, in which several Persians were 
 killed. The provocation was not lost : the conqueror ascended 
 a mosque,^ and conmianded a general massacre, in which thou- 
 sands were slain. Pillage accompanied murder ; whilst the 
 streets streamed with blood, the city was fired, and the dead 
 were consumed in the conflagration of their late habitations. If 
 a single ray of satisfaction could be felt amidst such a scene of 
 horror, it must have been when Nadir commanded the minister 
 of the wretch who was the author of [419] this atrocity, the 
 infamous Saadat Khan, to send, on pain of death, an inventory 
 of his own and his master's wealth ; demanding meanwhile the 
 two millions and a half, the original composition settled by the 
 Nizam, from the Wazir alone. Wliether his ' coward conscience ' 
 was alarmed at the mischief he had occasioned, or mortification 
 at discovering that his ambition had ' o'erleaped itself,' and 
 recoiled with vengeance on his own head, tempted the act, it is 
 impossible to discover, but the guilty Saadat became his own 
 executioner. He swallowed poison ; '^ an example followed by 
 his diwan, Raja Majlis Rae, in order to escape the rage of the 
 offended Nadir. By the new *i*eaty, all the western provinces, 
 Kabul, Tatta, Sind, and Multan, were surrendered and united to 
 Persia, and on the vernal equinox, Nadir, gorged with spoil, 
 commenced his march from the desolated Delhi.* The pliilo- 
 
 ^ It is yet pointed out to the visitor of tliis famed city. [The Golden 
 Mosque of Roshanu-d-daula (Fanshawe, Delhi Past and Present, 50).] 
 
 ^ [This is not certain. Many officials committed suicide, and Sa'adat 
 Khan was beheved to have been among these : it is certain that he died the 
 night before the massacre (Keene, Sketch Hist. Hindustan, ,324).] 
 
 ^ As the hour of departure approached, the cruelties of the ruthless in- 
 vaders increased, to which the words of the narrator, an eye-witness, can 
 alone do justice : "A type of the last day afflicted the inhabitants of this 
 once happy city ; hitherto it was a general massacre, but now came the 
 murder of individuals. In every house was heard the cry of afHictiou.
 
 488 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 sophic comment of the native historian on these events is so 
 just, that we shall transcribe it verbatim. " The people of 
 Hindustan at this period thought only of personal safety and 
 gratification ; misery was disregarded by those who escaped it, 
 and man, centred wholly in self, felt not for his kind. This 
 selfishness, destructive of public and private virtue, was universal 
 in Hindustan at the invasion of Nadir Shah ; nor have the people 
 become more virtuous since, and consequently neither more 
 happy nor more independent." 
 
 Results to the Rajputs. — At this eventful era in the political 
 history of India, the Rajput nation had not only maintained 
 their ground amidst the con\nilsions of six centuries under the 
 paramount sway of the Islamite, but two of the three chief 
 States, Marwar and [420] Amber, had by policy and valour 
 created substantial States out of pettj^ principaUties, junior 
 branches ^ from which had established their independence, and 
 
 Basant Rae, agent for pensions, killed his family and himseK ; Khalik 
 Yar Khan stabbed himself ; many took poison. The venerable chief 
 magistrate was dishonoured by stripes ; sleep and rest forsook the city. 
 The officers of the court were beaten without mercy, and a fire broke out in 
 the imperial farash-khana, and destroyed effects to the amount of a crore 
 (a million sterling). There was a scarcity of grain, two seers of coarse rice 
 sold for a rupee, and from a pestilential disorder crowds died daily in every 
 street and lane. The inhabitants, hke the affrighted animals of the desert, 
 sought refuge in the most concealed corners. Yet four or five crores 
 (miUions) more were thus extracted." On the 5th April, Nadir's seals were 
 taken off the imperial repositories, and his farmans sent to aU the feudatories 
 of the empire to notify the place and to inculcate obedience ' to his dear 
 brother,' which, as a specimen of eastern diplomatic phraseology, is worth 
 insertion. It was addressed to the Rana, the Rajas of Marwar and Amber, 
 Nagor, Satara, the Peshwa Bajirao, etc " Between us and our dear brother, 
 Muhammad Shah, in consideration of the regard and aUiances of the two 
 sovereigns, the connexions of regard and friendship have been renewed, so 
 that we may be esteemed as one soul in two bodies. Now our dear brother 
 has been replaced on the tlirone of this extensive empire, and we are moving 
 to the conquest of other regions, it is incumbent that ye, like your fore- 
 fathers, walk in the path of submission and obedience to our dear brother, 
 as they did to former sovereigns of the house of Timur. God forbid it ; 
 but if accounts of your rebelling should reach our ears, we will blot you out 
 of the pages of the book of creation" ('Memoirs of Iradat Khan,' Scotfs 
 History of Dekhan, vol. ii. p. 213). 
 
 ^ Bikaner and Kishangarh arose out of Marwar, and Macheri from 
 Amber ; to which we might add Shaikhavati, which, though not separate, 
 is tributary to Amber (now Jaipur).
 
 THE COMING OF THE MARATHAS 489 
 
 still enjoy it under treaty with the British Government. Mewar 
 at this juncture was defined by nearly the same boundaries as 
 when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded her in the tenth century, 
 though her influence over many of her tributaries, as Bimdi, 
 Abu, Idar, and Deolia, was destroyed. To the west, the fertile 
 district of Godwar carried her beyond her natural barrier, the 
 AravaUi, into the desert ; while the Chambal was her limit to 
 the east. The Khari separated her from Ajmer, and to the 
 south she adjoined Malwa. These limits comprehended one 
 hundred and thirty miles of latitude and one hundred and forty 
 of longitude, containing 10,000 towns and villages, with upwards 
 of a million sterling of revenue, raised from a fertile soil by an 
 excellent agricultural population, a wealthy mercantile com- 
 munity, and defended by a devoted vassalage. Such was this little 
 patriarchal State after the protracted strife which has been related ; 
 we shall have to exliibit her, in less than half a century, on the 
 verge of annihilation from the predatory inroads of the Mahrattas. 
 
 The Coming of the Marathas. — In order to mark with exactitude 
 the introduction of the Mahrattas into Rajasthan, we must revert 
 to the period ^ when the dastardly intrigues of the advisers of 
 Muhammad Shah surrendered to them as tribute the chauth, or 
 fourth of his revenues. Whether in the full tide of successful 
 invasion, these spoilers deemed any other argument than force 
 to be requisite in order to justify their extortions, they had in 
 this surrender a concession of which the subtle Mahrattas were 
 well capable of availing themselves ; and as the Mogul claimed 
 sovereignty over the whole of Rajasthan, they might plausibly 
 urge their right of chauth, as applicable to all the territories 
 subordinate to the empire. 
 
 The Rajput Coalition.— The rapidity with which these desultory 
 bands flew from conquest to conquest appears to have alarmed 
 the Rajputs, and again brought about a coalition, which, with 
 the characteristic peculiarity of all such contracts, was com- 
 menced by matrimonial alliances. On this occasion, Bijai Singh, 
 the heir of Marwar, was affianced to the Rana's daughter, who 
 at the same time reconciled the princes [421] of Marwar and 
 Amber, whose positions at the court of the Mogul often brought 
 their national jealousies into conflict, as they alternately took 
 the lead in his councils : for it was rare to find both in the same 
 
 1 A.D. 1735.
 
 490 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 line of politics. These matters were arranged at Udaipur.^ But 
 as we have often had occasion to observe, no public [422] or 
 
 ^ These documents are interesting, if merely showing the high respect 
 paid by every Rajput prince to the Ranas of Mewar, and illustrating what 
 is recorded in the reign of Partap, who abjured all intercourse with them. 
 
 No. 1. 
 " From Kunwar Bijai Singh of Marwar to the Maharana Sri-Sri-Sri. 
 
 " Jagat Singh's Presence — let my mujra (obedience) be known. You 
 honoured me by sending Rawat Kesari Singh and Biharidas, and command- 
 ing a marriage connexion. Your orders are on your child's head. You have 
 made me a servant. To everything I am agreed, and now I am your child ; 
 while I live I am yours. If a true Rajput, my head is at your disposal. 
 You have made 20,000 Rathors your servants. If I fail in this, the Almighty 
 is between us. Whoever is of my blood wiU obey your commands, and the 
 fruit of this marriage shall be sovereign, and if a daughter, should I bestow 
 her on the Turkana, I am no true Rajput. She shall be married to a proper 
 connexion, and not without your advice ; and even should Sri Bavaji (an 
 epithet of respect to his father), or others of our elders, recommend such 
 proceeding, I swear by God I shall not agree. I am the Diwan's, let others 
 approve or disapprove. Asarh Sudi Punim, Full Moon, Thursday, S. 1791 
 (A.D. 1735-36)." 
 
 " N.B.— This deed was executed in the balcony of the Kishanbilas by 
 Rawat Kesari Singh and Pancholi Biharidas, and written by Pancholi 
 Lalji — namely, marriage-deed of Kunwar Bijai Singh, son of Bakht Singh." 
 
 No. 2. 
 " From Bijai Singh to Rana Jagat Singh. 
 " Here all is well. Preserve your friendship and favour for me, and give 
 me tidings of your weKare. That day I shall behold you wiU be without 
 price {amolah). You have made me a thorough Rajput — never shall I fail 
 in whatever service I can perform. You are the father of all the tribes, and 
 bestow gifts on each according to his worth — the support and preservation 
 of all around you — to your enemy destruction ; great in knowledge, and 
 wise like Brahma. May the Lord of the world keep the Rana happy. 
 Asarh 13." 
 
 No. 3. 
 " Raja Bakht Singh to the Rana. 
 " To Maharana Sri-Sri-Sri Jagat Singh, let Bakht Singh's respects [mujra) 
 be made known. You have made me a thorough Rajput, and by such your 
 favour is known to the world. What service I can perform, you will never 
 find me backward. The day I shall see you I shall be happy, my heart 
 yearns to be with you. Asarh 11." 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 " Sawai Jai Singh to the Rana. 
 
 " May the respects of Sawai Jai Singh be known to the Maharana. 
 
 According to the Sri Diwan's commands (hukm), I have entered into terms 
 
 of friendship with you (Abhai Singh of Marwar). For neither Hindu nor
 
 BAJIRAO visits MEWAR 491 
 
 general benefit ever resulted from these alliances, which were 
 obstructed by the multitude of petty jealousies inseparable from 
 clanship ; even while this treaty was in discussion, the fruit of 
 the triple league formed against the tyranny of Aurangzeb was 
 about to show its baneful influence, as will presently appear. 
 
 Bajirao visits Mewar. Negotiations with the Marathas. — When 
 Malwa was acquired by the Mahrattas, followed by the cession of 
 the chauth, their leader, Bajirao, repaired to Mewar, where his 
 visit created great alarm.^ The Rana desired to avoid a personal 
 
 Musalman shaU I swerve therefrom. To this engagement God is between 
 us, and the Sri Diwanji is witness. Asarh Sucli 7." 
 
 No. 5. 
 " Raja Bakht Singh to the Rana. 
 " Your Ehas ruqa" (note in the Rana's own hand) I received, read, and 
 was happy. Jai Singh's engagement you will have received, and mine also 
 will have reached you. At your commands I entered into friendship with 
 him, and as to my preserving it have no doubts, for havmg given you as 
 my guarantee, no deviation can occur ; do you secure his. Whether you 
 may be accounted my father, brother, or friend, I am yours ; besides you I 
 care for neither connexion nor kin. Asarh 6." 
 
 No. 6. • 
 
 " From Raja Abhai Singh to the Rana. 
 
 " To the Presence of Maharana Jagat Singh, Maharaja Abhai Singh 
 writes — read his respects (mujra). God is witness to our engagement, 
 whoever breaks it may he fai'e ill. In good and in evil we are joined ; with 
 one mind let us remain united, and let no selfishness disunite us. Your 
 chiefs are witnesses, and the true Rajput wiU not deviate from his engage- 
 ment. Asoj 3, Thursday." 
 
 Abhai Singh and Bakht Singh were brothers, sons of Raja Ajit of Marwar, 
 to whom the former succeeded, wliile Bakht Singh held Nagor independently. 
 His son was Bijai Singh, with whom this marriage was contracted. He 
 ultimately succeeded to the government of Marwar or Jodhpur. He wiU 
 add another example of pohtical expediency counteracting common grati- 
 tude, in seizing on domestic convulsions to deprive the Rana's grandson of 
 the province of Godwar. Zahm Singh was the fruit of this marriage, who 
 resided during his elder brother's (Fateh Singh) lifetime at Udaipur. He 
 was brave, amiable, and a distinguished poet. The Yati (priest), who 
 attended me during twelve years, my assistant in these researches, was 
 brought up under the eye of tiiis prince as liis amanuensis, and from him he 
 imbibed his love of history and poetry, in reading which he excelled aU the 
 bards of Rajwara. 
 
 ^ Letters from Rana Jagat Singh to Biharidas Panchoh. 
 
 No. 1. 
 " Swasti Sri, chief of ministers, PanchoUji, read my Juhar.*' The remem- 
 
 * A.comphment used from a suiierior to any inferior.
 
 492 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 interview, and sent as his ambassadors [423], the chief of Salumbar 
 and his prime minister, Biharidas. Long discussions followed as 
 
 brance of you never leaves me. The Deccani question you have settled 
 well, but if a meeting is to take place,* let it be beyond Deolia — nearer is not 
 advisable. Lessen the number of your troops, by God's blessing there will 
 be no want of funds. Settle for Rampura according to the preceding year, 
 and let Daulat Singh know the opportunity will not occur again. The 
 royal mother is unwell. Gararao and Gaj Manik fought nobly, and Sundar 
 Gaj played a thousand pranks, f I regretted your absence. How shall I 
 send Sobharam ? Asoj 6, S. 1791 (a.d. 1735)." 
 
 No. 2.— To tfie Same. 
 " I will not credit it, therefore send witnesses and a detail of their de- 
 mands. Bajirao is come, and he wiU derive reputation from having com- 
 pelled a contribution from me, besides his demand of land. Ho has com- 
 menced with my country, and wiU take twenty times more from me than 
 other Rajas — if a proportionate demand, it might be complied with. Malhar 
 came last year, but this was nothing — Bajirao this, and he is powerful. But 
 if God hears me he wiU not get my land. From Devichand learn particulars. 
 
 " Thursday. S. 1792, 
 
 " At the Holi aU was joy at the Jagmandir,J but what is food without 
 salt ? what Udaipur without Biharidas ? " 
 
 No. 3. — Same to the Same. 
 " With such a man as you in my house I have no fears for its stability ; 
 but why this appearance of poverty ? perhaps you will ask, what fault have 
 you committed, that you sit and move as I direct ? The matter is thus : 
 money is all in all, and the troubles on foot can only be settled by you, and 
 all other resolutions are useless. You may say, you have got nothing, and 
 how can you settle them — but already two or three difficulties have occurred, 
 in getting out of which, both your pinions and mine, as to veracity, have 
 been broken, so that neither scheming nor wisdom is any longer available. 
 Though you have been removed from me for some time, I have always 
 considered you at hand ; but now it will be well if you approach nearer to 
 me, that we may raise supplies, for in the act of hiding you are celebrated, 
 and the son || {beta) hides none : therefore your hoarding is useless, and 
 begets suspicions. Therefore, unless you have a mind to efface all regard 
 for your master and your own importance at my court, you will get ready 
 some jewels and bonds under good security and bring them to me. There 
 
 * To the Peshwa is the allusion. 
 
 if As the Rana never expected his confidential notes to be translated 
 into Enghsh, perhaps it is iUiberal to be severe on them ; or we might say, 
 his elephants are mentioned more con amore than his sick mother or state 
 affairs. I obtained many hundreds of these autograph notes of this prince 
 to his prime minister. 
 
 X The Hindu saturnaha held in the island, ' The Minster of the world.' 
 
 II The Rana always styled him ' father.'
 
 NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE MARATHAS 493 
 
 to the mode of Bajirao's reception, which was settled to be on the 
 same footing as the Raja of Banera/ and that he should be seated 
 in front of the throne. A treaty followed, stipulating an annual 
 
 is no way but this to allay these troubles : but should you think you have 
 got ever so much time, and that I will send for you at all events, then have I 
 thrown away mine in writing you this letter. You are wise — look to the 
 future, and be assured I shall write no second letter. S. 1792." 
 
 This letter will show that the office of prime minister is not a bed of roses. 
 The immediate descendants of Biharidas are in poverty like their prince, 
 though some distant branches of the family are in situations of trust ; his 
 ambassador to Delhi, and who subsequently remained with me as medium 
 of communication with the Rana, was a worthy and able man — Kishandas 
 Pancholi. 
 
 I shall subjoin another letter from the Satara prince to Rana Jagat 
 Singh, though being without date it is doubtful whether it is not addressed to 
 Jagat Singh the First ; this is, however, unimportant, as it is merely one of 
 comphment, but showing the high respect paid bj'^ the sovereign of the 
 Peshwas to the house whence they originally sprung. 
 
 " Swasti Sri, worthy of all praise (opma), from whose actions credit 
 results ; the worshipper of the remover of troubles ; the ambrosia of the 
 ocean of the Rajput race * (amrita ratnalcara kshatriya kula) ; resplendent 
 as the sun ; who has made a river of tears from the eyes of the wives of your 
 warhke foes ; in deeds munificent. Sriman Maharaja dhiraj Maharana 
 Sri Jagat Singhji, of all the princes chief, Sriman Sahu Chatarpati Raja 
 writes, read his Ram, Ram ! Here all is well ; honour me by good accounts, 
 which I am always expecting, as the source of happiness. 
 
 " Your favour was received by the Pandit Pardhan) ■\ with great respect ; 
 and from the period of the arrival of Raj Sri Rawat Udai Singh to this time 
 my goodwill has been increasing towards him : let your favour between us 
 be enlarged : what more can I write ? " 
 
 ^ The descendant of Bhim, son of Rana Raj Singh. The seat assigned 
 to Bajirao was made the precedent for the position of the representative 
 of the British Government. [The Rawat of Ban era, on succession, has the 
 right of receiving a sword, on the arrival of which he goes to Udaipur to be 
 installed (Erskine ii. A.- 92).] 
 
 * The ocean has the poetical appellation of ratnakara, or ' house of 
 gems ' [' mine of jewels '] ; the fable of the churning of the ocean is well 
 known, when were yielded many bounties, of which the amrita or ' immortal 
 food ' of the gods was one, to which the Rana, as head of all the Rajput 
 tribes, is hkened. 
 
 f This expression induces the behef that the letter is written by the 
 Peshwa in his sovereign's name, as they had at this time commenced their 
 usurpation of his power. It was to the second Jagat Singh that an offer 
 was made to fill the Satara throne by a branch of his family, then occupied 
 by an imbecile. A younger brother of the Rana, the ancestor of the present 
 heir presumptive, Sheodan Singh, was chosen, but intrigues prevented it, 
 the Rana dreading a superior from his own family.
 
 494 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 tribute, which remained in force during ten years/ when grasping 
 at the whole they despised a part, and tlie treaty became a 
 nulHty.^ The dissensions which arose soon after, in consequence 
 of the Rajput engagements, afforded the opportunity sought for 
 to mix in tlieir internal concerns. 
 
 Right of Primogeniture. — It may be recollected that in the 
 family engagements formed by Rana Amra there was an obliga- 
 tion to invest the issue of such marriage with the rights of primo- 
 geniture ; and the death of Sawai Jai Singh ^ of Amber, two 
 years after Nadir's invasion, brought that stipulation into effect. 
 His eldest son, Isari Singh, was proclaimed Raja, but a strong 
 party supported Madho Singh, the Rana's nephew, and the 
 stipulated, against the natural order of succession. We are 
 [424] left in doubt as to the real designs of Jai Singh in maintaining 
 his guarantee, which was doubtless inconvenient ; but that 
 Madho Singh was not brought up to- the expectation is evident, 
 from his holding a fief of the Rana Sangram, who appropriated 
 the domain of Rampura for his support, subject to the service 
 of one thousand horse and two thousand foot, formally sanctioned 
 by his father, who allowed the transfer of his services. On the 
 other hand, the letter of permission entitles him Kshema, ' pros- 
 perous,' an epithet only applied to the heir-apparent of Jaipur. 
 Five years, however, elapsed before any extraordinary exertions 
 were made to annul the rights of Isari Singh, who led his vassals 
 to the Sutlej in order to oppose the first invasion of the Duranis.* 
 It would be tedious to give even an epitome of the intrigues for 
 the development of this object, which properly belong to the 
 annals of Amber, and whence resulted many of the troubles of 
 Rajputana. The Rana took the field with his nephew, and was 
 met by Isari Singh, ^ supported by the Mahrattas ; but the 
 Sesodias did not evince in the battle of Rajmahall that gallantry 
 which must have its source in moral strength : they were defeated 
 and fled. The Rana vented his indignation in a galling sarcasm ; 
 
 ^ The amount was 160,000 rupees, divided into three shares of 53,333 4J 
 assigned to Holkar, Sindhia, and the Puar. The management was entrusted 
 to Holkar ; subsequently Sindhia acted as receiver-general. This was the 
 only regular tributary engagement Mewar entered into. 
 
 2 See letter No. 2, in note, p. 492. 
 
 s A.D. 1743. * A.D. 1747. 
 
 ^ The great Jai Singh built a city which he called after himself, and 
 henceforth Jaipur will supersede the ancient appellation. Amber.
 
 DEATH OF RANA JAGAT SINGH II. 495 
 
 he gave the sword of state to a common courtesan to carry in 
 procession, observing " it was a woman's weapon in these de- 
 generate times " : a remark the degrading severity of which 
 made a lasting impression in the dechne of ?.Iewar. Elated with 
 this success, Isari Singh carried his resentments and his auxiliaries, 
 under Sindhia, against the Haras of Kotah and Bundi, who 
 supported the cause oWiis antagonist. Kotah stood a siege and 
 was gallantly defended, and Sindhia (Apaji) lost an arm : ^ on 
 this occasion both the States suffered a diminution of territory, 
 and were subjected to tribute. The Rana, following the example 
 of the Kachhwahas, called in as auxiliary Malhar Rao Holkar, 
 and engaged to pay sixty-four lakhs of rupees (£800,000) on the 
 deposal of Isari Singh. To avoid degradation this unfortunate 
 prince resolved on suicide, and a dose of poison gave Madho Singh 
 the gaddi, Holkar his bribe, and the Mahrattas a firm hold upon 
 Rajasthan. Such Avas the cause of Rajput abasement ; the 
 moral force of the vassals was lost in a contest unjust in all its 
 associations, and froin this period we have only the degrading 
 spectacle of civil strife and predatory spoliation till the existing 
 treaty of a.d. 1817 [425]. 
 
 Death of Rana Jagat Singh II., a.d. 1751.— In S. 1808 (a.d. 
 1752) Rana Jagat Singh died. Addicted to pleasure, his habits 
 of levity and profusion totally unfitted him for the task of govern- 
 ing his country at such a juncture ; he considered his elephant 
 fights ^ of more importance than keeping down the Mahrattas. 
 Like all his family, he patronized the arts, greatly enlarged the 
 palace, and expended £250,000 in embellishing the islets of the 
 Pichola. The villas scattered over the valley were all erected 
 by him, and many of those festivals devoted to idleness and 
 dissipation, and now firmly rooted at Udaipur, were instituted by 
 Jagat Singh II. 
 
 ^ [Apaji was one of Sindhia's best ofificers. Suffering from a painful 
 disease, he committed suicide in 1797 by drowning himseK in the Jumna 
 (Compton, European Military Adventurers, 132).] 
 
 2 See letters from Rana Jagat Singh to Biharidas, p 492.
 
 496 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 CHAPTER 16 
 
 Bana Partap Singh II., a.d. 1751-54.— Partap II. succeeded in 
 A.D. 1752. Of the history of this prince, who renewed the most 
 ilhistrious name in the annals of Mewar, tliere is nothing to record 
 beyond the fact, that the three years he occupied the throne were 
 marked by so many Mahratta invasions ^ and war contributions. 
 By a daughter of Raja Jai Singh of Amber he had a son, who 
 succeeded him. 
 
 Rana Raj Singh II., a.d, 1754-61. — Rana Raj Singh II. was 
 as Httle entitled to the name he bore as his predecessor. During 
 the seven years he held the dignity at least seven shoals of the 
 Southrons overran Mewar,^ and so exhausted this country, that 
 the Rana was compelled to ask pecuniary aid from the Brahman 
 collector of the tribute, to enable him to marry the Rathor 
 chieftain's daughter. On his death the order of succession retro- 
 graded, devolving on his uncle [426], 
 
 Rana Ari Singh II., a.d. 1761-73.— Rana Arsi, in S. 1818, 
 A.D. 1762. The levity of Jagat Singh, the inexperience of his 
 successors Partap and Raj Singh, with the ungovernable temper 
 of Rana Arsi, and the circumstances under which he succeeded 
 to power, introduced a train. of disorders which proved fatal to 
 Mewar. Until this period not a foot of territory had been alien- 
 ated. The wisdom of the Pancholi ministers, and the high 
 respect paid by the organ of the Satara government, for a while 
 preserved its integrity ; but when the country was divided by 
 factions, and the Mahrattas, ceasing to be a federate body, 
 prowled in search of prey under leaders, each having an interest 
 of his own, they formed political combinations to suit the ephe- 
 meral purposes of the former, but from which they alone reaped 
 advantage. An attempt to depose Partap and set up his uncle 
 Nathji introduced a series of rebellions, and constituted Malhar 
 Rao Holkar, who had already become master of a considerable 
 
 ^ The leaders of these invasions were Satwaji, Jankoji, and Raghunath 
 Bao. 
 
 2 In S. 1812, Raja Bahadur; in 1813, Malhar Rao Holkar and Vitthal 
 Rao; in 1814, Ranaji Burtia : in 1813 three war contributions were levied, 
 namely, by Sudasheo Rao, Govind Rao, and Kanaji Jadon.
 
 MALHAR RAO HOLKAR invades MEWAR 497 
 
 portion of the domain of Mewar, the umpire in their family- 
 disputes. 
 
 Malhar Rao Holkar invades Mewar. Famine, a.d. 1764. — The 
 ties of blood or of princely gratitude are feeble bonds if political 
 expediency demands their dissolution ; and'Madho Singh, when 
 firmly established on the throne of Amber, repaid the immense 
 sacrifices by which the Rana had effected it by assigning his jftef 
 of Rampura, which he had not a shadow of right to alienate, to 
 Holkar : this was the first limb severed from Mewar.^ Holkar 
 had also become the assignee of the tribute imposed by Bajirao, 
 but from which the Rana justly deemed himself exempt, when 
 the terms of all further encroachment in Mewar were set at nought. 
 On the plea of recovering these arrears, and the rent of some 
 districts ^ on the Chambal, Malhar, after many threatening 
 letters, invaded Mewar, and his threats of occupying the capital 
 were only checked by draining their exliausted resources of six 
 hundred thousand pounds.^ In the same year * a famine afflicted 
 them, when flour and tamarinds were equal in value, and were 
 sold at the rate of a rupee for one pound and a half. Four years 
 subsequent to this, civil war broke out and continued to influence 
 all posterior proceedings, rendering [427] the inhabitants of this 
 unhappy country a prey to every invader until 1817, when they 
 tasted repose under British protection. 
 
 Civil War in Mewar. Revolt of Ratan Singh. — The real cause 
 of this rebellion must ever remain a secret : for while some 
 regard it as a patriotic effort on the part of the people to redeem 
 themselves from foreign domination, others discover its motive 
 in the selfishness of the hostile clans, who supported or opposed 
 the succession of Rana Arsi. This prince is accused of having 
 unfairly acquired the crown, by the removal of his nephew Raj 
 Singh ; but though the traditional anecdotes of the period furnish 
 
 ^ This was in S. 1808 (a.d. 1752) ; portions, however, remained attached 
 to the fisc of Mewar for several years, besides a considerable part of the feudal 
 lands of the Chandarawat chief of Am ad. Of the former, the Rana retained 
 Hinglajgarh and the Tappas of Jarda Kinjera, and Budsu. These were 
 surrendered by Raj Singh, who rented Budsu under its new appellation of 
 Malhargarh. 
 
 ^ Budsu, etc. 
 
 ^ Holkar advanced as far as Untala, where Arjun Singh of Kurabar and 
 the Rana's foster-brothers met him, and negotiated the payment of fifty-one 
 lakhs of rupees. * S. 1820, a.d. 1764. 
 
 VOL. I 2 K
 
 498 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 strong grounds of suspicion, there is nothing which affords a 
 direct confirmation of the crime. It is, however, a public mis- 
 fortune when the Hne of succession retrogrades in Mewar : Arsi 
 had no right to expect the inheritance he obtained, having long 
 held a seat below the sixteen chief nobles ; and as one of the 
 ' infants ' (babas) he was incorporated with the second class of 
 nobles with an appanage of only £3000 per annum. His defects 
 of character had been too closely contemplated by his compeers, 
 and had kindled too many enmities, to justify expectation that 
 the adventitious dignity he had attained would succeed in obliter- 
 ating the memory of them ; and past familiarity alone destroyed 
 the respect which was exacted by sudden greatness. His insolent 
 demeanour estranged the first of the home nobility, the Sadri 
 chieftain,^ whose ancestor at Haldighat acquired a claim to the 
 perpetual gratitude of the Sesodias, while to an unfeeling pun on 
 a personal defect of Jaswant Singh of Deogarh is attributed the 
 hatred and revenge of this powerful branch of the Chondawats. 
 These chiefs formed a party which eventually entrained many of 
 lesser note to depose their sovereign, and immediately set up a 
 youth called Ratna Singh, declared to be the posthumous son of 
 the last Rana by the daughter of the chief of Gogunda, though 
 to this hour disputes run high as to whether he was really the son 
 of Raj Singh, or merely the puppet [428] of a faction. Be the 
 fact as it may, he was made a rallying point for the disaffected, 
 who soon comprehended the greater portion of the nobles, while 
 out of the ' sixteen ' greater chiefs five ' only withstood the 
 
 ^ An autograph letter of this chief's to the minister of the day I obtained, 
 with other pubhc documents, from the descendant of the PanchoH : 
 
 " To Jaswant Rao Pancholi, Raj Rana Raghudeo writes. After compli- 
 ments. I received your letter — from old times you have been my friend, 
 and have ever maintained faith towards me, for I am of the loyal to the 
 Rana's house. I conceal nothing from you, therefore I write that my heart 
 is averse to longer service, and it is my purpose in Asarh to go to Gaya.* 
 When I mentioned this to the Rana, he sarcastically told me I might go to 
 Dwarka.")* If I stay, the Rana will restore the villages in my fief, as during 
 the time of Jethji. My ancestors have performed good service, and I have 
 served since I was fourteen. If the Darbar intends me any favour, this is 
 the time." 
 
 ^ Salumbar (Chondawat), Bijolia, Amet, Ghanerao, and Radnor. 
 
 * Gaya is esteemed the proper pilgrimage for the Rajputs. 
 ■]■ Dwarka, the resort for religious and unwarlike tribes.
 
 REVOLT OF RATAN SINGH 499 
 
 defection : of these, Salumbar, the hereditary premier, at first 
 espoused, but soon abandoned, the cause of the Pretender ; not 
 from the principle of loyalty which his descendants take credit 
 for, but from finding the superiority of intellect of the heads of 
 the rebellion ^ (which now counted the rival Saktawats) too 
 powerful for the supremacy he desired. Rasant Pal, of the 
 Depra tribe, was invested with the office of Pardhan to the 
 Pretender. The ancestor of this man accompanied Samarsi in 
 the twelfth century from Delhi, where he held a high office in the 
 household of Prithiraj, the last emperor of the Hindus, and it is a 
 distinguished proof pf the hereditary quality of official dignity 
 to find his descendant, after the lapse of centuries, still holding 
 office with the nominal title of Pardhan. The Futuri ^ (by which 
 name the court still designates the Pretender) took post with his 
 faction in Kumbhalmer ; where he was formally installed, and 
 whence he promulgated his decrees as Rana of Mewar. With 
 that heedlessness of consequences and the political debasement 
 which are invariable concomitants of civil dissension, they had 
 the meanness to invite Sindhia to their aid, with a promise of a 
 reward of more than one million sterling ' on the dethronement 
 of Arsi. 
 
 Zalim Singh of Kotah. — This contest first brought into notice 
 one of the most celebrated Rajput chiefs of India, Zalim Singh 
 of Kotah, who was destined to fill a distinguished part in the 
 annals of Rajasthan, but more especially in Mewar, where his 
 political sagacity first developed itself. Though this is not the 
 proper place to delineate his history, which will occupy a subse- 
 quent portion of the work, it is impossible to trace the events 
 with which he was so closely connected without adverting slightly 
 to the part he acted in these scenes. The attack on Kotah, of 
 which his father was military governor (during the struggle to 
 place Madho Singh on the throne of Amber), by Isari Singh, in 
 conjunction with Sindhia, was the first avenue to his distinguished 
 career, leading to an acquaintance with the Mahratta chiefs, 
 which linked him with their policy for more than half a century 
 [429]. Zalim having lost his prince's favour, whose path in love 
 
 1 Bhindir (Saktawat), Deogarh, Sadri, Gogunda, Delwara, Bedla, Koth- 
 aria, and Kanor. 
 
 ^ Agitator, or disturber. 
 
 ^ One crore and twenty-five lakhs.
 
 500 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 he had dared to cross, repaired, on his banishment from Kotah, 
 to the Rana, who, observing his talents, enrolled him amongst 
 his chiefs, and conferred on him, with the title of Raj Rana, the 
 lands of Chitarkhera for his support. By his advice the Mahratta 
 leaders, Raghu Paigawala and Daula Miyan, with their bands, 
 were called in by the Rana, who, setting aside the ancient Pan- 
 choli ministry, gave the seals of office to Agarji Mehta. At this 
 period (S. 1824, a.i>. 1768), Mahadaji Sindhia was at Ujjain, 
 whither the conflicting parties hastened, each desirous of obtaining 
 the chieftain's support. But the Pretender's proposals had been 
 already entertained, and he was then encamped with Sindhia on 
 the banks of the Sipra.^ 
 
 Battle at the Sipra, and Siege o£ Udaipur, a.d. 1769. — The 
 Rana's force, conducted by the chief of Salumbar, the Rajas of 
 Shahpura and Banera, with Zalim Singh and the Mahratta 
 auxiliaries, did not hesitate to attack the combined camp, and 
 for a moment they were victorious, driving Mahadaji and the 
 Pretender from the field, with great loss, to the gates of Ujjain. 
 Here, however, they rallied, and being joined by a fresh body of 
 troops, the battle was renewed with great disadvantage to the 
 Rajputs, who, deeming the day theirs, had broken and dispersed 
 to plunder. The chiefs of Salumbar, Shahpura, and Banera 
 were slain, and the auxiliary Daula Miyan, Raja Man (ex-prince 
 of Narwar), and Raj Kalyan, the heir of Sadri, severely wounded . 
 Zalim Singh had his horse killed under him, and being left wounded 
 on the field, was made prisoner, but hospitably treated by Trimbak 
 Rao, father to the celebrated Ambaji. The discomfited troops 
 retreated to Udaipur while the Pretender's party remained with 
 Sindhia, inciting him to invest that capital and place Ratna on 
 the throne. Some time, however, elapsed before he could carry 
 this design into execution ; when at the head of a large force the 
 Mahratta chief gained the passes and besieged the city. The 
 Rana's cause now appeared hopeless. Bhim Singh of Salumbar, 
 uncle and successor to the chief slain at Ujjain, with the Rathor 
 chief of Radnor (descendant of Jaimall), were the only nobles of 
 high rank who defended their prince and capital in this emergency ; 
 but the energies of an individual saved both. 
 
 Amar Chand, Minister oJ Mewar. — Amra Chand Barwa, of the 
 
 ^ [The Sipra iliver in Malwa, passes Ujjain, and finally joins the Chambal 
 {IGl, xxiii. U f.).]
 
 AMAR CHAND, MINISTER OF MEWAR 501 
 
 mercantile class, had held office in the preceding reigns, when his 
 influence retarded the progress of evils which no human means 
 could avert. He was now displaced, and little solicitous of 
 recovering his [430] transient power, amidst hourly increasing 
 difficulties, with a stubborn and unpopular prince, a divided 
 aristocracy, and an impoverished country. He was aware also 
 of his own imperious temper, which was as imgovernable as his 
 sovereign's, and which experienced no check from the minor 
 Partap, wiio regarded him as his father. During the ten years 
 he had been out of office, inercenaries of Sind had been entertained 
 and established on the forfeited lands of the clans, perpetuating 
 discontent and stifling every latent spark of patriotism. Even 
 those who did not join the Pretender remained sullenly at their 
 castles, and thus all confidence was annihilated. A casual 
 incident brought Amra forward at this critical juncture. Udaipur 
 had neither ditch nor walls equal to its defence. Arsi was 
 engaged in fortifying Eklinggarh, a lofty hill south of the city,^ 
 which it commanded, and attempting to place thereon an enor- 
 mous piece of ordnance, but it baffled their mechanical skill to 
 get it over the scraggy ascent. Amra happened to be present 
 when the Rana arrived to inspect the proceedings. Excuses 
 were made to avert his displeasure, when turning to the ex- 
 minister, he inquired what time and expense ought to attend the 
 completion of such an undertaking. The reply was, " A few 
 rations of grain and some days " : and he offered to accomplish 
 the task, on condition that his orders should be supreme in the 
 vaUey during its performance. He collected the whole working 
 population, cut a road, and in a few days gave the Rana a salute 
 from Eklinggarh. The foster-brother of the Rana had succeeded 
 the Jhala chieftain, Raghu Deo, in the ministerial functions. The 
 city was now closely invested on every side but the west, where 
 conununications were still kept open by the lake, across which 
 the faithful mountaineers of the Aravalli, who in similar dangers 
 never failed, supplied them with provisions. All defence rested 
 on the fidelity of the mercenary Sindis, and they were at this 
 very moment insolent in their clamours for aiTcars of pay. Nor 
 were the indecisive measures daily passing before their eyes 
 calculated to augment their respect, or stimulate their courage. 
 Not satisfied with demands, .they had the audacity to seize the 
 ^ [Eklinggarh, two miles south of Udaipur city ; 2469 feet above sea-level.]
 
 502 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Rana by the skirt of his robe as he entered the palace, which was 
 torn in the effort to detain him. The haughtiness of his temper 
 gave way to this humihating proof of the hopelessness of his 
 condition ; and while the Dhabhai (foster-brother) counselled 
 escape by water to the mountains, whence he might gain Mandal- 
 garh, the Salumbar chief confessed his inability to offer any 
 advice [431] save that of recourse to Amra Chand, He was 
 summoned, and the uncontrolled charge of their desperate affairs 
 offered to his guidance. He replied that it was a task of which 
 no man could be covetous, more especially himself, whose ad- 
 ministration had formerly been marked by the banishment of 
 corruption and disorder, for that he must now call in the aid of 
 these vices, and assimilate the means to the times. "You know 
 also," he added, " my defect of temper, which admits of no 
 control. Wherever I am, I must be absolute — no secret advisers, 
 no counteraction of measures. With finances ruined, troops 
 mutinous, provisions expended, if you desire me to act, swear 
 that no order, whatever its purport, shall be countermanded, 
 and I may try what can be done : but recollect, Amra ' the just ' 
 will be the unjust, and reverse his former character." The Rana 
 pledged himself by the patron deity to comply with all his de- 
 mands, adding this forcible expression : " Should you even send 
 to the queen's apartment and demand her necklace or nathna,^ 
 it shall be granted." The advice of the Dhabhai encountered the 
 full flood of Amra's wrath. " The counsel is such as might be 
 expected from your condition. Wliat will preserve your prince 
 at Mandalgarh if he flies from Udaipur, and what hidden resources 
 have you there for your support ? The project would suit you, 
 who might resume your original occupation of tending buffaloes 
 and selling milk, more adapted to your birth and understanding 
 than state affairs ; but these pursuits your prince has yet to 
 learn." The Rana and his chiefs bent their heads at the bold 
 bearing of Amra. Descending to the terrace, where the Sindi 
 leaders and their bands were assembled, he commanded them to 
 follow him, exclaiming, " Look to me for your arrears, and as for 
 your services, it will be my fault if you fail." The mutineers, 
 who had just insulted their sovereign, rose without reply, and in 
 a body left the palace with Amra, who calculated their arrears 
 
 ^ The nose-jewel, which even to mention is considered a breach of 
 delicacy.
 
 THE SIEGE OF UDAIPUR 503 
 
 and promised payment the next day. Meanwhile he commanded 
 the bhandars (repositories) to be broken open, as the keeper of 
 each fled when the keys of their trust were demanded. All the 
 gold and silver, whether in bullion or in vessels, were converted 
 into money — ^jewels were pledged — ^the troops paid and satisfied, 
 ammunition and provisions laid in — a fresh stimulus supplied, 
 the enemy held at defiance, and the siege prolonged during six 
 months [432]. 
 
 The Pretender's party had extended their influence over a 
 great part of the crown domain, even to the valley of Udaipur ; 
 but unable to fulfil the stipulation to Suidhia, the baffled Mah- 
 ratta, to whom time was treasure, negotiated with Amra to raise 
 the siege, and abandon the Pretender on the payment of seventy 
 lakhs. But scarcely was the treaty signed, when the reported 
 disposition of the auxiliaries, and the plunder expected on a 
 successful assault, excited his avarice and made him break his 
 faith, and twenty lakhs additional were imposed. Amra tore 
 up the treaty, and sent back the fragments to the faitliless Mah- 
 ratta with defiance. His spirit increased with his difficulties, and 
 he infused his gallantry into the hearts of the most despairing. 
 Assembling the Sindis and the home-clans who were yet true to 
 their prince, he explained to them the transaction, and addressed 
 them in that language which speaks to the souls of all mankind, 
 and to give due weight to his exliortation, he distributed amongst 
 the most deserving, many articles of cumbrous ornament lying 
 useless in the treasury. The stores of grain in the city and 
 neighbourhood, whether pubhc or private, were collected and 
 sent to the market, and it was proclaimed by beat of drum that 
 every fighting man should have six months' provision on applica- 
 tion. Hitherto grain had been selling at httle more than a pound 
 for the rupee, and these unexpected resources were matter of 
 universal surprise, more especially to the besiegers.^ The Sindis, 
 having no longer cause for discontent, caught the spirit of the 
 brave Amra, and went in a body to the palace to swear in public 
 never to abandon the Rana, whom their leader, Adil Beg,^ thus 
 
 ^ To Amra's credit it is related, that his own brother-in-law was the first 
 and principal sufferer, and that to his remonstrance and hope that family 
 ties would save his grain pits, he was told, that it was a source of great 
 satisfaction that he was enabled through him to evince his disinterestedness. 
 
 ^ See grant to this chief's son, p. 233.
 
 504 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 addressed : " We have long eaten your salt and received numerous 
 favours from your house, and we now come to swear never to 
 abandon you. Udaipur is our home, and we will fall with it. 
 We demand no further pay, and when our grain is exhausted, we 
 will feed on the beasts, and when these fail we will thin the ranks 
 of the Southrons and die sword in hand." Sucli were the senti- 
 ments that Amra had inspired, the expression of which extorted 
 tears from the Rana — a sight so unusual with this stern prince, 
 as to raise frantic shouts from the Sindis and his Rajputs. The 
 enthusiasm spread and was announced to Sindhia with all its 
 circumstances by a general discharge of cannon on his advanced 
 [433] posts. Apprehensive of some desperate display of Rajput 
 valour, the wary Mahratta made overtures for a renewal of the 
 negotiation. It was now Amra's turn to triumph, and he replied 
 that he must deduct from the original terms the expense they 
 had incurred in sustaining another six months' siege. Thus 
 outwitted, Sindhia was compelled to accept sixty lakhs, and 
 three-and-a-half for official expenses.^ 
 
 Cessions made to Sindhia. — Thirty-three lakhs in jewels and 
 specie, gold and silver plate, and assignments on the chiefs, were 
 immediately made over to Sindhia, and lands mortgaged for the 
 liquidation of the remainder. For this object the districts of 
 Jawad, Jiran, Nimach, and Morwan were set aside to be superin- 
 tended by joint officers of both governments, with an annual 
 investigation of accounts. From S. 1825 to S. 1831 [a.d. 1768-74) 
 no infringement took place of this arrangement ; but in the latter 
 year Sindhia dismissed the Rana's officers from the management, 
 and refused all further settlement ; and with the exception of a 
 temporary occupation on Sindhia's reverse of fortune in S. 1851 
 [a.d. 1794], these rich districts have remained severed from 
 Mewar. In S. 1831 [a.d. 1774] the great officers of the Mahratta 
 federation began to shake off the trammels of the Peshwa's 
 authority ; and Sindhia retained for the State of which he was 
 the founder, all these lands except Morwan, which was made 
 over to Holkar, who the year after the transaction demanded of 
 the Rana the surrender of the district of Nimbahera, threatening, 
 in the event of non-compliance, to repeat the part his predatory 
 
 ^ Mutasadi kharch [rmitasadi, ' a clerk, accountant ' ; kharch, ' expenses '] 
 or douceur to the officers of government, was an authorized article of every 
 Mahratta miCamala, or war contribution.
 
 RATAN SINGH DEFEATED 505 
 
 coadjutor Sindliia had just performed. The cession was un- 
 avoidable. 
 
 Thus terminated, in S. 1826 [a.d. 1769], the siege of Udaipur, 
 with the dislocation of these fine districts from Mewar. But let 
 it be remembered that they were only mortgaged : ^ and although 
 the continued degradation of the country from the same causes 
 has prevented their redemption, the claim to them has never 
 been abandoned. Their recovery was stipulated by the am- 
 bassadors of the Rana in the treaty of a.d. 1817 with the British 
 Government ; but our total ignorance of the past transactions 
 of these countries, added to our amicable relations with Sindhia 
 [434], prevented any pledge of the reunion of these districts ; and 
 it must ever be deeply lamented that, when the treacherous and 
 hostile conduct of Sindhia gave a noble opportunity for their 
 restoration, it was lost, from policy difficult to imderstand, and 
 which must be subject to the animadversions of future historians 
 of that important period in the history of India. It yet remains 
 for the wisdom of the British Government to decide whether half 
 a century's abeyance, and the inability to redeem them by the 
 sword, render the claim a dead letter. At all events, the facts 
 here recorded from a multiplicity of public documents, and 
 corroborated by living actors ^ in the scene, may be useful at 
 some future day, when expedience may admit of their being 
 reannexed to Mewar. 
 
 Ratan Singh defeated. — Amra's defence of the capital, and 
 the retreat of the Mahrattas, was a deathblow to the hopes of 
 the Pretender, who had obtained not only many of the strong- 
 holds, but a footing in the valley of the capital. Rajnagar, 
 Raepur, and Untala were rapidly recovered ; many of the nobles 
 returned to the Rana and to their allegiance ; and Ratna was 
 left in Kumbhalmer with the Depra minister, and but three of the 
 sixteen principal nobles, namely Deogarh, Bhindir, and Amet. 
 These contentions lasted till S. 1831 [a.d. 1774], when the chiefs 
 above named also abandoned him, but not until their rebellion 
 had cost the feather in the crown of Mewar. The rich province 
 of Godwar, the most fruitful of all her possessions, and containing 
 
 ^ Little Maloni, now Gangapur, with its lands, was the only place de- 
 cidedly alienated, being a voluntary gift to Sindhia, to endow the establish- 
 . ment of his wife, Ganga Bai, who died there. 
 
 ^ Zalim Singh of Kotah, and Lalaji Belal, both now dead.
 
 506 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 the most loyal of her vassalage, the Ranawats, Rathors, and 
 Solankis, was nearly all held on tenure of feudal service, and 
 furnished three thousand horse besides foot, a greater number 
 than the aggregate of the Choudawats. This district, which 
 was won with the title of Rana from the Parihara prince of 
 Mandor, before Jodhpur was built, and whose northern boundary 
 was confirmed by the blood of the Chondawat chief in the reign 
 of Jodha, was confided by the Rana to the care of Raja Bijai 
 Singh of Jodhpur, to prevent its resources being available to 
 the Pretender, whose residence, Kumbhalmer, commanded the 
 approach to it : and the original treaty yet exists in which the 
 prince of Marwar binds himself to provide and support a body 
 of three thousand men for the Rana's service, from its revenues. 
 Assassination oS Rana Ari Singh, a.d. 1773. — This province 
 might have been recovered ; but the evil genius of Arsi Rana at 
 this time led him to Bundi to [435] hunt at the spring festival (the 
 Alieria), with the Hara prince, in spite of the prophetic warning 
 of the suttee, who from the funeral pile denoimced a practice 
 which had already thrice proved fatal to the princes of Mewar.^ 
 Rana Arsi fell by the hand of the Bundi prince, and Godwar, 
 withheld from his minor successor, has since remained severed. 
 The Bundi heir, who perpetrated this atrocious assassination, was 
 said to be prompted by the Mewar nobles, who detested their 
 sovereign, and with whom, since the late events, it was impossible 
 they could ever unite in confidence. Implacable in his disposition, 
 he brooded over injuries, calmly awaiting the moment to avenge 
 them. A single instance will suffice to evince this, as well as the 
 infatuation of Rajput devotion. The Salumbar chief, whose 
 predecessor had fallen in support of the Rana's cause at the battle 
 of Ujjain, having incurred his suspicions, the Rana commanded 
 him to eat the pan (betel leaf) presented on taking leave. Startled 
 at so unusual an order, he remonstrated, but in vam ; and with 
 the conviction that it contained his death-warrant he obeyed, 
 observing to the tyrant, " My compliance will cost you and your 
 family dear " : words fulfilled with fearful accuracy, for to this 
 and similar acts is ascribed the murder of Arsi, and the completion 
 
 ^ [In 1382 Rana Kliet Singh was murdered by Lai Singh of Banbaoda, 
 brother of Bar Singh, Rao of Biindi. Rana Ratan Singh II. and Rao Siirajmall 
 killed each other while shooting at Bundi in 1531. The feud between the 
 two houses is not yet forgotten (Erskine ii. A. 25).]
 
 RANA HAMIR SINGH II. 507 
 
 of the ruin of the country. A colour of pretext was afforded to 
 the Bundi chief m a boundary dispute regarding a patch of land 
 yielding only a few good mangoes ; but, even admitting this as a 
 paUiative, it could not justify the inhospitable act, which in the 
 mode of execution added cowardice to barbarity : for while both 
 were pursuing the boar, the Bundi heir drove his lance through 
 the heart of the Rana. The assassin fell a victim to remorse, the 
 deed being not only disclaimed, but severely reprobated by his 
 father, and all the Hara tribe. A cenotaph stUl stands on the 
 site of the murder, where the body of Arsi was consumed, and 
 the feud between the houses remains unappeased. 
 
 Bana Hamir Singh II., a.d. 1773-78. — Rana Arsi left two sons, 
 Hamir and Bhim Singh. The former, a name of celebrity in their 
 annals, succeeded in S. 1828 (a.d. 1772) to the little en\dable title 
 of Rana. With an ambitious mother, determined to control 
 affairs during his minority, a state pronomiced by the bard 
 l^eculiarly dangerous to a Rajput dynasty, — and the vengeful 
 competition of the Salumbar chief (successor to the murdered 
 noble), who was equally resolved to take the lead, combined with 
 an unextinguishable enmity to the Saktawats, who supported 
 the policy of the queen-mother [436], the demoralization of Mewar 
 was complete : her fields were deluged with blood, and her soil 
 was the prey of every paltry marauder. 
 
 Outbreak of the Sindis. — The mercenary Sindis, who, won by 
 the enthusiasm of Amra, had for a moment assumed the garb of 
 fideUty, threw it off at their prince's death, taking possession of 
 the capital, which it will be remembered had been committed to 
 the charge of the Salumbar chief, whom they confined and were 
 about to subject to the torture of the hot iron ^ to extort their 
 arrears of pay, when he was rescued from the indignity by the 
 unlooked-for return of Amra from Bimdi. This faithful minister 
 determined to establish the rights of the infant prince against all 
 other claimants for power. But he knew mankind, and had 
 attained, what is still more difficult, the knowledge of liimself. 
 Aware that his resolution to maintain his post at all hazards, 
 and against every competitor, would incur the imputation of 
 self-interest, he, like our own Wolsey, though from far different 
 motives, made an inventory of his wealth, in gold, jewels, and 
 plate, even to his wardrobe, and sent the whole in trays to the 
 ^ A heated platter used for baking bread, on which they place the culprit.
 
 508 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 queen-mothef . Suspicion was shamed and resentment disarmed 
 by this proceeding ; and to repeated entreaties that he would 
 receive it back he was inflexible, with the exception of articles of 
 apparel that had already been in use. This imperious woman 
 was a daughter of Gogunda. She possessed considerable talents, 
 but was ruled by an artful intrigante, who, in her turn, was 
 governed by a yomig homme d'affaires, then holding an inferior 
 office, but who subsequently acted a conspicuous part ; slew and 
 was slain, like ahnost all who entered into the politics of this 
 tempestuous period. The queen-mother, now supported by the 
 Chondawats, opposed the minister, who maintained himself by 
 aid of the Sindis, kept the Mahrattas from the capital, and iDro- 
 tected the crown land ; but the ungrateful return made to his 
 long-tried fidelity rendered his temper ungovernable. Ram- 
 piyari ^ (such the name of the intrigante) repaired on one occasion 
 to the office of the minister, and in the name of the regent queen 
 reviled him for some supposed omission. Amra, losing all temper 
 at this intrusion, applied to the fair abigail the coarsest epithets 
 used to her sex, bidding her begone as a Kothi ki Rand (a phrase 
 we shall not translate), which was reported with exaggeration to 
 the queen, who threw herself into a litter and set off to the Salum- 
 bar chief. Amra, anticipating [437] an explosion, met the 
 cavalcade in the street, and enjoined her instant return to the 
 palace. Who dared disobey ? Arrived at the door of the 
 Rawala, he made his obeisance, and told her it was a disgrace to 
 the memory of her lord that she should quit the palace under 
 any pretext ; that even the potter's wife did not go abroad for 
 six months after her husband's death, while she, setting decorum 
 at defiance, had scarcely permitted the period of mourning to 
 elapse. He concluded by saying he had a duty to perform, and 
 that he would perform it in spite of all obstacles, in which, as it 
 involved her own and her children's welfare, she ought to co- 
 operate, instead of thwarting him. But Baiji Raj (the royal 
 mother) was young, artful, and ambitious, and persevered in her 
 hostility till the demise of this uncompromising minister shortly 
 after, surmised to be caused by poison. His death yielded a 
 flattering comment on his life : he left not funds sufficient to 
 cover the funeral expenses, and is, and will probably contmue, 
 the sole instance on record in Indian history of a minister 
 ^ ' Tlio beloved of Rama.'
 
 REVOLT OF THE CHIEF OF BEGDN 509 
 
 having his obsequies defrayed by subscription among his fellow- 
 citizens. 
 
 The man who thus lived and thus died would have done honour 
 to any, even the most civilized, country, where the highest in- 
 centives to public virtue exist. \Miat, therefore, does not his 
 memory merit, when amongst a people who, through long oppres- 
 sion, were likely to hold such feelings in little estimation, he 
 pursued its dictates from principle alone, his sole reward that 
 which the world could not bestow, the applause of the monitor 
 within ? But they greatly err who, in the application of their 
 own overweening standard of merit, imagine there is no public 
 opinion in these countries ; for recollections of actions like this (of 
 which but a small portion is related) they yet love to descant 
 upon, and an act of vigour and integrity is still designated Amra- 
 chanda ; ^ evincing that if virtue has few imitators in this country, 
 she is not without ardent admirers. 
 
 Revolt of the Chief of Begiin.— In S. 1831 (a.d. 1775) the 
 rebellion of the Begun chief, head of a grand di^dsion of the 
 Chondawats, the Meghawat, obliged the queen-mother to call 
 upon Sindhia for his reduction, who recovered the crown lands 
 he had usurped, and imposed on this refractor}^ noble a fine of 
 twelve lakhs of rupees, or £100,000 [438] sterling.^ But instead 
 of confining himself to punishing the guilty, and restoring the 
 lands to the young Rana, he inducted his own son-in-law Berji 
 Tap into the districts of Ratangarh Kheri and Singoli ; and at 
 the same time made over those of Imia, Jath, Bichor, and Nadwai 
 to Holkar, the aggregate revenue of which amounted to six lakhs 
 annually. Besides these alienations of territory, the Mahrattas 
 levied no less than four grand war contributions in S. 1830-31,* 
 while in S. 1836 * their rapacity exacted three more. Inability 
 
 ^ Amra Chand, it will be recollected, was the name of the minister. 
 
 - The treaty by which Sindhia holds these districts yet exists, which 
 stipulates their surrender on the Hquidation of the contribution, The Rana 
 still holds this as a responsible engagement, and pleaded his rights in the 
 treaty with the British Government in a.d. 1817-18. But half a century's 
 possession is a strong bond, which we dare not break ; though the claim now 
 registered may hereafter prove of service to the family. 
 
 ^ 1830, Mahadaji Sindhia's contribution (mu'dmala) on account of 
 Begun ; 1831, Berji Tap's mu'amala through Govind and Ganpat Rao ; 
 1831, Ambaji Inglia, Bapu Holkar, and Daduji Pandit's joint mu'dmala. 
 
 * 1. Apaji and Makaji Getia, on Holkar's account; 2. Tukuji Holkar's, 
 through Somji ; 3. Ah Bahadur's, through Somji.
 
 510 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 to liquidate these exorbitant demands was invariably a signal 
 for further sequestration of land. Amidst such scenes of civil 
 strife and external spoliation, one Mahratta following another 
 in the same track of rapine, Hamir died before he had attained 
 even Rajput majority,^ in S. 1834 (a.d. 1778). 
 
 Recapitulation. — We may here briefly recapitulate the diminu- 
 tion of territory and wealth in Mewar from the period of the first 
 Mahratta visitation in a.d. 1736, to the death of Hamir. It were 
 a waste of time to enumerate the rapacious individuals who 
 shared in the spoils of this devoted country. We may be content 
 to say their name was ' legion.' These forty years were sur- 
 charged with evil. The Mogul princes observed at least the forms 
 of government and justice, which occasionally tempered their 
 aggressions ; the Mahrattas were associations of vampires, who 
 drained the very life-blood wherever the scent of spoil attracted 
 them. In three payments we have seen the enormous sum of one 
 crore and eighty-one lakhs,^ upwards of two millions English 
 money, exacted from Mewar, exclusive of individual contributions 
 levied on chiefs, ministers, and the Pretender's party : and a 
 schedule drawn up by the reigning prince of contributions levied 
 up to his own time, amounts to £5,000,000 sterling. Yet the 
 land would eventually have reimbursed [439] these sums, but the 
 penalty inflicted for deficiencies of payment renders the evil 
 irremediable ; for the alienated territory which then produced 
 an annual revenue of twenty-eight lalchs,^ or £323,000 sterling, 
 exceeds in amount the sum-total now left, whether fiscal or feudal, 
 in the present impoverished state of the country. 
 
 ^ The age of eighteen. 
 
 ^ Namely, S. 1808, by Rana Jagat Singh to Holkar . . Lakhs 66 
 
 1820, Partap and Arsi Rana to Holkar . 51 
 
 1826, Arsi Rana to Mahadaji Sindhia . . 64 
 
 Total . 181 
 
 3 S. 1808, Ranipura, Bhanpura ..... Lakhs 9 
 1826, Jawad, Jiran, Nimach, Nimbahera . . 4^ 
 
 1831, Rataugarh Kheri, Singoli, Irnia, Jath, Nadwai, etc. etc. 6 
 
 1831, Godwar 9 
 
 Total • 28J.
 
 RAN A BHiM SINGH 511 
 
 CHAPTER 17 
 
 Rana Bhim Singh, a.d. 1778-1828.— Rana Bhim Singh (the 
 reigning prince), who succeeded his brother in S. 1834 (a.d. 1778), 
 was the fourth minor in the space of forty years who inherited 
 Mewar ; and the half century during which he has occupied the 
 tlirone has been as fruitful in disaster as any period of her history 
 already recorded. He was but eight years of age on his accession, 
 and remained under his mother's tutelage long after his minority 
 had expired. This subjection fixed his character ; naturally de- 
 fective in energy, and impaired by long misfortune, he continued 
 to be swayed by faction and intrigue. The cause of the Pretender, 
 though weakened, was yet kept alive ; but his insignificance 
 eventually left him so unsupported, that his death is not even 
 recorded [440]. 
 
 Feud of Chondawats and Saktawats.— In S. 1840 (a.d. 1784) 
 the Chondawats reaped the harvest of their allegiance and made 
 the power thus acquired subservient to the indulgence of ancient 
 animosities against the rival clan of Saktawat. Salumbar with 
 his relatives Arjun Singh ^ of Kurabar and Partap Singh - of 
 Amet, now ruled the councils, having the Sindi mercenaries under 
 their leaders Chandan and Sadik at their command. Mustering 
 therefore all the strength of their kin and clans, they resolved on 
 the prosecution of the feud, and invested Bhindar, the castle of 
 Mohkam the chief of the Saktawats, against which they placed 
 their batteries. 
 
 Sangram Singh, a junior branch of the Saktawats, destined to 
 play a conspicuous part in the future events of Mewar, was then 
 rising into notice, and had just completed a feud with his rival 
 the Purawat, whose abode, Lawa,* he had carried by escalade ; 
 and now, determined to make a diversion in favour of his chief, 
 he invaded the estate of Kurabar, engaged against Bliindar, and 
 
 ^ Brother of A jit, the negotiator of the treaty with the British. 
 
 ^ Chief of the Jagawat clan, also a branch of the Chondawats ; he was 
 killed hi a battle with the Mahrattas. 
 
 ^ It is yet held by the successor of Sangram, whose faithful services 
 merited the grant he obtained from his prince, and it was in consequence 
 left unmolested in the arrangement of 1817, from the knowledge of his 
 merits.
 
 512 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 was driving off the cattle, when Sahm Singh the heir of Kurabar 
 intercepted his retreat, and an action ensued in which Salim^ 
 was slain by the lance of Sangrani. The afflicted father, on 
 hearing the fate of his son, ' threw the turban off his head,' 
 swearing never to replace it till he had tasted revenge. Feigning 
 a misunderstanding with his own party he withdrew from the 
 siege, taking the road to his estate, but suddenly abandoned it 
 for Sheogarh, the residence of Lalji the father of Sangram. The 
 castle of Sheogarh, placed amidst the mountains and deep forests 
 of Chappan, was from its difficulty of access deemed secure 
 against surprise ; and here Sangram had placed the females and 
 children of his family. To this point Arjun directed his revenge, 
 and found Sheogarh destitute of defenders save the aged chief ; 
 but though seventy summers had whitened his head, he bravely 
 met the storm, and fell in opposing the foe ; when the children 
 of Sangram were dragged [441] out and inhumanly butchered, 
 and the widow ^ of Lalji ascended the pyre. This barbarity 
 aggravated the hostility which separated the clans, and together 
 with the minority of their prince and the yearly aggressions of 
 the Mahrattas, accelerated the ruin of the coiuitry. But Bhim 
 Singh, the Chondawat leader, was governed by insufferable 
 vanity, and not only failed in respect to his prince, but offended 
 the queen regent. He parcelled out the crown domain from 
 Chitor to Udaipur amongst the Sindi bands, and whilst his 
 sovereign was obliged to borrow money to defray his marriage at 
 Idar, this ungrateful noble had the audacity to disburse upwards 
 of £100,000 on the marriage of his own daughter. Such conduct 
 determined the royal mother to supplant the Chondawats, and 
 calling in the Saktawats to her aid, she invested with power the 
 chiefs of Bhindar and Lawa. Aware, however, that their isolated 
 authority was insufficient to withstand their rivals, they looked 
 abroad for support, and made an overture to Zalim Singh of 
 Kotah, whose political and personal resentments to the Chonda- 
 
 ^ The father of Rawat Jawan Singh, whom I found at Udaipur as mihtary 
 minister, acting for his grand-uncle Ajit the organ of the Chondawats, whose 
 head, Padam Singh, was just emerging from his minority. It was absolutely 
 necessary to get to the very root of all these feuds, when as envoy and 
 mediator I had to settle the disputes of half a century, and make each useful 
 to detect thoir joint usurpations of the crown domain. 
 
 ^ She was the graudmother of Man Singh, a fine specimen of a Saktawat 
 cavalier.
 
 
 
 MAHARAJA BHIM SINGH, PRINCE OF UDAIPUR. 
 
 To face page 512.
 
 BATTLE OF LALSOT 513 
 
 wats, as well as his connexion by marriage with their opponents, 
 made him readily listen to it. With his friend the Mahratta, 
 Lalaji Belal, he joined the Saktawats with a body of 10,000 men. 
 It was determined to sacrifice the Salumbar chief, who took post 
 in the ancient capital of Chitor, where the garrison was composed 
 chiefly of Sindis, thus effacing his claim to his prince's gratitude, 
 whom he defied, while the pretender still had a party in the other 
 principal fortress, Kumbhalmer. 
 
 Battle of Lalsot, May 1787. — Such was the state of things, 
 when the ascendancy of Mahadaji Sindhia received a signal check 
 from the combined forces of Marwar and Jaipur ; and the battle 
 of Lalsot, in which the Mahratta chief was completely defeated, 
 was tlie signal for the Rajputs to resume their alienated territory.^ 
 Nor was the Rana backward on the occasion, when there appeared 
 a momentary gleam of the active virtue of past days. Maldas 
 Mehta was civil minister, with Mauji Ram as his deputy, both 
 men of talent and energy. They first effected the reduction of 
 Nimbahera and the smaller garrisons of Mahrattas in its vicinity, 
 who from a sense of common danger assembled their detachments 
 in Jawad, which was also invested. Sivaji Nana, the governor, 
 capitulated, and was allowed to march out with his [442] effects. 
 At the same time, the ' sons of the black cloud ' ^ assembling, 
 drove the Mahrattas from Begun, Singoli, etc., and the districts 
 on the plateau ; while the Chondawats redeemed their ancient 
 fief of Rampura, and thus for a while the whole territory was 
 recovered. Elated by success, the united chiefs advanced to 
 Chardu on the banks of the Rarkia, a streamlet dividing Mewar 
 from Malwa, preparatory to further operations. Had these been 
 confined to the maintenance of the places they had taken, and 
 which had been withheld in violation of treaties, complete success 
 might have crowned their efforts ; but in including Nimbahera 
 in their capture they drew upon them the energetic Ahalya Bai, 
 the regent-queen of the Holkar State, who unluckily for them 
 was at hand and who coalesced with Sindhia's partisans to check 
 
 ^ [Lalsot, about 40 miles south of Jaipur city. For an account of the 
 battle see Compton, European Military Adventurers, 346 f.] 
 
 ^ Megh Singh was the chief of Begun, and founder of that subdivision 
 of the Chondawats called after him Meghawat, and his complexion being 
 very dark {kola), he was called ' Kala Megh,' the ' black cloud.' His 
 •descendants were very numerous and very refractory. 
 
 vol.. I 2 L
 
 514 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 this reaction of the Rajputs. Tulaji Sindhia and Sri Bhai, with 
 five thousand horse, were ordered to support the discomfited 
 Siva Nana, who had taken refuge in Mandasor, where he ralUed 
 all the garrisons whom the Rajputs had unwisely permitted to 
 capitulate. 
 
 Defeat oJ the Rajputs. Murder o$ Somji. — On Tuesday, the 
 4th of Magh S. 1844,^ the Rana's troops were surprised and 
 defeated with great slaughter, the minister slain, the chiefs of 
 Kanor and Sadri with many others severely wounded, and the 
 latter made prisoner.^ The newly made conquests were all 
 rapidly lost, with the exception of Jawad, which was gallantly 
 maintained for a month by Dip Chand, who, with his guns and 
 rockets, effected a passage through the Mahrattas, and retired 
 with his garrison to Mandalgarh. Thus terminated an enterprise 
 which might have yielded far different results but for a misplaced 
 security. All the chiefs and clans were united in this patriotic 
 struggle except the Chondawats, against whom the queen-mother 
 and the new minister, Somji, had much difficulty to contend for 
 the establishment of the ininor's authority. At length overtures 
 were made to Salumbar, when the fair Rampiyari was employed 
 to conciliate the obdurate chief, who condescended to make his 
 appearance at Udaipur and to pay his respects to the prince. 
 He pretended to enter into the views of the minister and to 
 coalesce in his plans ; but this was only a web to ensnare his 
 victim, whose talent had diminished his authority, and was a 
 bar to the prosecution of [443] his ambitious views. Somji was 
 seated in his bureau when Arjun Singh of Kurabar and Sardar 
 Singh ' of Badesar entered, and the latter, as he demanded how 
 he dared to resume his fief, plunged his dagger into the minister's 
 breast. The Rana was passing the day at one of the villas in 
 the valley called the Sahelia Bari, ' the garden of nymphs,' 
 attended by Jeth Singh of Badnor, when the brothers * of the 
 
 ^ A.D. 1788. 
 
 * He did not recover his liberty for two years, nor till he had surrendered 
 four of the best towns in his fief. 
 
 ^ Father of the present Hamir Singh, the only chief with whom I was 
 compelled to use severity ; but he was incorrigible. He was celebrated 
 for his raids in the troubles, and from his red whiskers bore with us the name 
 of the ' Red Riever ' of Badesar — more of him by and by. 
 
 * Sheodas and Satidas, with their cousin Jaichand. They revenged 
 their brother's death by that of his murderer, and were both in turn slain.
 
 DEFEAT OF THE RAJPUTS 515 
 
 minister suddenly rushed into the presence to claim protection 
 against the murderers. They were followed by Arjun of Kurabar, 
 who had the audacity to present himself before his sovereign with 
 his hands yet stained with the blood of Somji. The Rana, unable 
 to pimish the insolent chief, branding him as a traitor, bade him 
 begone ; when the whole of the actors in this nefarious scene, 
 with their leader Salumbar, returned to Chitor. Sheodas and 
 Satidas, brothers to the murdered minister, were appointed to 
 succeed him, and with the Snktawats fought several actions 
 against the rebels, and gained one decisive battle at Akola, in 
 which Arjun of Kurabar commanded. This was soon balanced 
 by the defeat of the Saktawats at Kheroda. Every triumph was 
 attended with ruin to the country. The agriculturist, never 
 certain of the fruits of his labour, abandoned his fields, and at 
 length his country ; mechanical industry found no recompense, 
 and commerce was at the mercy of unlicensed spoliation. In a 
 very few years Mewar lost half her population, her lands lay 
 waste, her mines were unworked, and her looms, which formerly 
 supplied all around, forsaken. The prince partook of the general 
 penury ; instead of protecting, he required protection ; the 
 bonds which united him with his subjects were snapped, and each 
 individual or petty community provided for itself that defence 
 which he could not give. Hence arose a train of evils : every 
 cultivator, whether fiscal or feudal, sought out a patron, and 
 [444] entered into engagements as the price of protection. Hence 
 every Rajput who had a horse and lance, had his clients ; and 
 not a camel-load of merchandise could pass the abode of one of 
 tliese cavaliers without paying fees. The effects of such disorder 
 
 Such were these times ! The author more than once, when resuming the 
 Chondawat lands, and amongst them Badesar, the fief of the son of Sardar, 
 was told to recollect the fate of Somji ; the advice, however, excited only a 
 smile ; he was deemed more of a Saktawat than a Chondawat, and there 
 was some truth in it, for he found the good actions of the former far out- 
 weigh the other, who made a boast and monopoly of their patriotism. It 
 was a curious period in his hfe ; the stimulus to action was too high, too 
 constant, to think of self ; and having no personal views, being influenced 
 solely by one feeling, the prosperity of all, he despised the very idea of 
 danger, though it was said to exist in various shapes, even in the hospitable 
 plate put before him ! But he deemed none capable of such treachery, 
 though once he was within a few minutes' march to the other world ; but 
 the cause, if the right one, came from his own cuuinier, or rather boulanger, 
 whom he discharged.
 
 516 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 were felt long after the cause ceased to exist, and claims difficult 
 to adjust arose out of these licentious times, for the having 
 prescriptive right was deemed sufficient to authorize their con- 
 tinuance.^ Here were displayed the effects of a feudal association, 
 where the powers of government were enfeebled. These feuds 
 alone were sufficient to ruin the country ; but when to such 
 internal ills shoals of Mahratta plunderers were added, no art is 
 required to describe the consequences. 
 
 Aid sought from Sindhia. — The Rana and his advisers at 
 length determined to call in Sindhia to expel the rebellious 
 Chondawats from the ancient capital ; a step mainly prompted 
 by Zalim Singh (now Regent of Kotah), who with the Rana's 
 ministers was deputed to the Mahratta chieftain, then enjoying 
 himself at the sacred lake of Pushkar.^ Since the overthrow of 
 Lalsot he had reorganized his brigades under the celebrated De 
 Boigne,^ through whose conduct he had redeemed his lost influence 
 in Rajputana by the battles of Merta and Patau, in which the 
 brave Rathors, after acts of the most devoted gallantry, were 
 completely overthrown. Sindhia' s plans coincided entirely with 
 the object of the deputation, and he readily acquiesced in the 
 Rana's desire. This event introduced on the political stage 
 some of the most celebrated men of that day, whose actions offer 
 a fair picture of manners, and may justify our entering a little 
 into details.* 
 
 Negotiations by Zalim Singh. — Zalim Singh had for some years 
 become regent of Kotah, and though to maintain himself in 
 power, and the State he controlled in an attitude to compel the 
 respect of surrounding foes, was no slight task, yet he found the 
 field too contracted for his ambition, and his secret views had 
 long been directed to permanent influence in Mewar. His skill 
 in reading character convinced him that the Rana would be no 
 
 ^ See the Essay on a Feudal System. 
 
 2 S. 1847 (a.d. 1791). 
 
 3 [Count Benoit de Boigne, a Savoyard, born at Chambery, 1751 : 
 served under Mahadaji Sindhia, and won for him his battles of Patan and 
 Merta in 1790 : defeated Holkar at Lakheri in 1793 : resigned his command 
 in 1795, and left India in the next year : died June 21, 1830 (Compton, 
 European Military Adventurers, 15 ff. ; Buckland, Diet, of Indian Biography, 
 
 8.V.).] 
 
 * Acquired from the actors in those scenes : the prince, his ministers, 
 Zahm Singh and the rival chiefs have all contributed.
 
 ZALIM SINGH NEGOTIATES WITH MARATHAS 517 
 
 bar to his wishes, the attainment of which, by giving him the 
 combined resources of Haraoti and Mewar, would bestow the 
 lead in Rajasthan. The Jaipur court he disregarded, whose 
 effeminate army he had himself defeated single-handed [445] 
 with the Kotah troops, and the influence he established amongst 
 the leading chiefs of Marwar held out no fear of counteraction 
 from that quarter. The stake was high, the game sure, and 
 success would have opened a field to his genius which might have 
 entirely altered the fate of Hindustan ; but one false move was 
 irretrievable, and instead of becoming the arbitrator of India, 
 he left only the reputation of being the Nestor of Rajputana. 
 
 The restriction of the Rana's power was the cloak under which 
 he disguised all his operations, and it might have been well for 
 the country had his plans succeeded to their full extent. To 
 re-establish the Rana's authority, and to pay the charges of the 
 reduction of Chitor, he determined that the rebels chiefly should 
 furnish the means, and that from them and the fiscal lands, 
 mostly in their hands, sixty-four lakhs should be levied, of which 
 three-fifths should be appropriated to Sindhia, and the remainder 
 to replenish the Rana's treasury. Preliminaries being thus 
 arranged, Zalim was furnished with a strong corps under Ambaji 
 Inglia ; while Sindhia followed, hanging on the iNIarwar frontier, 
 to realize the contributions of that State. Zalim Singh and 
 Ambaji moved towards Chitor, levying from the estates of those 
 obnoxious to Zalim's views. Hamirgarh, whose chief, Dhiraj 
 Singh, a man of talent and courage, was the principal adviser of 
 Bhim Singh, the Salumbar chief, was besieged, and stood several 
 assaults during six weeks' vigorous operations, when the destruc- 
 tion of the springs of the wells from the concussion of the guns 
 compelled its surrender, and the estate was sequestrated. The 
 force continued their progress, and after a trifling altercation at 
 Basai, a Chondawat fief, also taken, they took up a position at 
 Chitor, and were soon after joined by the main body under 
 Sindhia. 
 
 Zalim Singh and Sindhia at Udaipur. — Zalim, to gratify 
 Mahadaji's vanity, who was desirous of a visit from the Rana, 
 which even the Peshwa considered an honour, proceeded to 
 Udaipur to effect this object ; when the Rana, placing himself 
 imder his guidance, marched for this purpose, and was met at 
 the Tiger Momit, within a few miles of his capital, by Sindhia,
 
 518 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 who received the Rana, and escorted him to the besieging army. 
 But in this short interval, Ambaji, who remained with the army 
 at Chitor, intrigued with the rebel Chondawat to supplant the 
 predominant influence of his friend Zalim Singh, and seized the 
 opportunity of his absence to counteract him, by [446] communi- 
 cating his plans to Salvmibar ; aware that, unless he broke with 
 Zalim, he could only hope to play a secondary part under him. 
 Though the ulterior views of Zalim were kept to his own breast, 
 they could not escape the penetration of the crafty Mahratta ; 
 his very anxiety to hide them furnished Ambaji with the means 
 of detection. Had Zalim possessed an equal share of meanness 
 with his political antagonist, he might have extricated himself 
 from the snare ; but once overreached, he preferred sinking to 
 grasping at an unworthy support. Bhim Singh (Salumbar) 
 privately negotiated with Ambaji the surrender of Chitor, engaging 
 to himible himself before the Rana, and to pay a contribution of 
 twenty lakhs, levied on the clans, provided Zalim Singh was 
 ordered to retire. This suggestion, apparently founded on the 
 rebellious chief's antipathy to Zalim, but in reality prompted by 
 Ambaji, ensured the approbation, as it suited the views, of all 
 parties, but especially Sindhia, who was desirous of repairing to 
 Poona. Zahm, the sole obstacle to this arrangement, furnished 
 to his enemies the means of escape from the dilemma, and lost 
 the opportiuiity of realizing his long-cherished scheme of wielding 
 the united resources of Mewar and Haraoti. Zalim had always 
 preserved a strict amity with Ambaji wherever their interests did 
 not clash, and his regard had the cement of gratitude to the 
 Mahratta, whose father Trimbakji had saved Zalim's life and 
 procured his liberty, when left woimded and a prisoner at the 
 battle of Ujjain. On Zalim's return with the Rana, Ambaji 
 touched on the terms of Bhim Suigh's surrender, hinting that 
 Zalim's presence was the sole obstacle to tliis desirable result ; 
 who, the more to mask his views, wliich any expressed reluctance 
 to the measure might expose, went beyond probability in assevera- 
 tions of readiness to be no bar to such arrangement, even so far 
 as to affirm that, besides being tired of the business from the 
 heavy expense it entailed on liim, he had his prince's wish for 
 his return to Kotah. There is one ingredient in Zalim's char- 
 acter, which has never been totally merged in the vices acquired 
 from the tortuous policy of a long life, and which in the vigour
 
 ZAlIM SINGH NEGOTIATES WITH IMARATHAS 519 
 
 of youth had full sway — namely, pride, one of the few virtues 
 left to the Rajput, defrauded of many others by long oppression. 
 But Zalim's pride was legitimate, being allied to honour, and it 
 has retained him an evident superiority through all the mazes of 
 ambition. Ambaji skilfully availed himself of this defect in his 
 friend's political character. " A pretty [447] story, indeed ! — 
 you tell this to me ! it might find credit with those who did not 
 know you." The sarcasm only plunged him deeper into assevera- 
 tion. " Is it then really your wish to retire ? " " Assuredly." 
 " Then," retorted the crafty Ambaji, " your wish shall be gratified 
 in a few minutes." Giving him no time to retract, he called for 
 his horse and galloped to Sindliia's tent. Zalim relied on Sindhia 
 not acceding to the proposition ; or if he did, that the Rana, over 
 whom he imagined he had complete influence, would oppose it. 
 His hopes of Sindhia rested on a promise privately made to leave 
 troops under his authority for the restoration of order in Mewar ; 
 and a yet stronger claim, the knowledge that without Zalim he 
 could not realize the stipulated sums for the expulsion of the 
 Chondawat from Chitor. Ambaji had foreseen and prepared a 
 remedy for these difficulties, and upon their being urged offered 
 hunself to advance the amount by bills on the Deccan. This 
 argument was irresistible ; money, and the consequent prosecu- 
 tion of his journey to Poona, being attained, Sindhia's engage- 
 ments with Zalim and the Rana ceased to be a matter of import- 
 ance. He nominated Ambaji his lieutenant, with the command 
 of a large force, by whose aid he would reimburse himself for the 
 sums thus advanced. Having carried his object with Sindhia, 
 Ambaji proceeded direct from his tent to that of the Rana's 
 ministers, Sheodas and Satidas, with whom, by the promise of 
 co-operation in their views, and perfect subserviency to the 
 Rana's interests, he was alike successfvd. Ambaji, with the 
 rapidity necessarj^ to ensure success, having in a few hours accom- 
 plished his purpose, hastened back to Zalun, to acquamt him 
 that his wish to retire had met with general acquiescence ; and 
 so well did he manage, that the Rana's mace-bearer arrived at 
 the same moment to announce that the khilat of leave awaited 
 his acceptance. Zalim being thus outwitted, the Salumbar chief 
 •descended from Chitor, and touched the Rana's feet. Sindhia 
 pursued his march to the Deccan, and Ambaji was left sole 
 arbiter of Mewar. The Saktawats maintained the lead at court,
 
 520 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 and were not backward in consigning the estates of their rivals 
 to the incubus now settled on the country : while the mortified 
 Zalim, on his retreat, recorded his expenses, to be produced on 
 some fitting occasion. 
 
 Sindhia's Instructions to Ambaji. — Ambaji remained eight 
 years in Mewar, reaping its revenues and amassing those hoards 
 of wealth which subsequently gave him the lead in Hindustan, 
 and enabled him nearly to assert his independence. Yet, although 
 he accumulated [448] £2,000,000 sterling from her soil,^ exacting 
 one-half of the produce of agricultural industry, the suppression 
 of feuds and exterior aggressions gave to Mewar a degree of 
 tranquillity and happiness to which she had long been a stranger. 
 The instructions delivered to Ambaji were — 
 
 1. The entire restoration of the Rana's authority and resump- 
 
 tion of the crown-lands from rebellious chiefs and mer- 
 cenary Sindis. 
 
 2. The expulsion of the pretender from Kumbhalmer. 
 
 3. The recovery of Godwar from the Raja of Marwar. 
 
 4. To settle the Bundi feud for the murder of Rana Arsi. 
 
 A schedule (pandhri) ^ for the twenty lakhs stipulated was 
 made and levied ; twelve from the Chondawat estates and eight 
 from the Saktawats ; and the sum of sixty lakhs was awarded, 
 besides the expense of Ambaji's army, when the other specified 
 objects should be attained. Within two years the pretender 
 was expelled Kumbhalmer, Jahazpur was recovered from a 
 rebellious Ranawat, and the crown-lands ^ were redeemed from 
 
 ^ It was levied as follows : 
 
 Saluuibar 
 
 Lakhs 3 
 
 Deogarh 
 
 „ 3 
 
 Singingir Gosain, their adviser 
 
 „ 2 
 
 Kosital 
 
 „ 1 
 
 Amet 
 
 „ 2 
 
 Kurabar 
 
 „ 1 
 
 Lakhs . 12 
 
 ^ [Pandhri, Pandharapatti, a tax on shops, artisans, traders, and persons 
 not engaged in agriculture, levied on their persons, implements, places of 
 work, or traffic ; the same as the Mahtarafa (Wilson, Glossary, s.v.).] 
 
 ^ Raepur Rajnagar from the Sindis ; Guria and Gadarraala from the 
 Purawats ; Hamirgarh from Sardar Singh, and Kur j Kawaria from Salunibar.
 
 ANARCHY IN MEWAR 521 
 
 the nobles ; the personal domain of the Rana, agricultural and 
 commercial, still realized nearly fifty lakhs of rupees. After 
 these services, though Godwar was still unredeemed, the Bundi 
 feud unappeased, and the lands mortgaged to the Mahrattas 
 were not restored, Ambaji assumed the title of Subahdar of 
 Mewar, and identified himself with the parties of the day. Yet 
 so long as he personally upheld the interests of the Rana, his 
 memorj^ is done justice to, notwithstanding he never conformed 
 to the strict letter of his engagements. The Rana's ministers, 
 fearing lest their brother's fate should be theirs in the event of the 
 Chondawats again attaining power, and deeming their own and 
 their sovereign's security dependent on Ambaji's presence, made 
 a subsidiary engagement with him, and lands to the amount of 
 75,000 rupees monthly, or eight lakhs annually, were appropriated 
 for his force ; but so completely were the resources of the [449] 
 country diverted from their honest use, that when, in S. 1851, a 
 marriage was negotiated between the Rana's sister and the prince 
 of Jaipur, the Rana was obliged to borrow £50,000 from the 
 Mahratta commander to purchase the nuptial presents. The 
 following year was marked by a triple event^the death of the 
 queen-mother, the birth of a son and heir to the Rana, and the 
 bursting of the embankment of the lake, which swept away a 
 third of the city and a third of its inhabitants. Superstition 
 attributed this catastrophe to the Rana's impiety, in establishing 
 a new festival ^ to Gauri, the Isis of Rajasthan. 
 
 Anarchy in Mewar. — Ambaji, who was this year nominated 
 by Sindhia his viceroy in Hindustan, left Ganesh Pant as his 
 lieutenant in Mewar, with whom acted the Rana's officers, Sawai 
 and Shirji Mehta ; ^ who applied themselves to make the most of 
 their ephemeral power with so rapacious a spirit, that Ambaji 
 was compelled to displace Ganesh Pant and appoint the celebrated 
 Rae Chand. To him they would not yield, and each party formed 
 a nucleus for disorder and misrule. It would be iminteresting 
 
 ^ In Bhadon, the third month of the rainy season. An account of this 
 festival will hereafter be given. 
 
 * The first of these is now the manager of Prince Jawan Singh's estates, 
 a man of no talent ; and the latter, his brother, was one of the ministers on 
 my arrival at Udaipur. He was of invincible good humour, yet full of the 
 spirit of intrigue, and one of the bars to returning prosperity. The cholera 
 carried off this Falstaff of the court, not much to mj' sorrow.
 
 522 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 and nauseating to the reader to carry him through all the scenes 
 of villainy which gradually desolated this country ; for whose 
 spoil pilfering Mahrattas, savage Rohillas, and adventurous 
 Franks were all let loose. The now humbled Chondawats, many 
 of whose fiefs were confiscated, took to horse, and in conjunction 
 with lawless Sindis scoured the coiuitiy. Their estates were 
 attacked, Kurabar was taken, and batteries were placed against 
 Salumbar, whence the Sindis fled and found refuge in Deogarh. 
 In this exigence, the Chondawats determined to send an envoy 
 to Ambaji, who was then engaged in the siege of Datia ; and 
 Ajit Singh, since prominent in the intrigues of Mewar, was the 
 organ of liis clan on this occasion. For the sum of ten lakhs the 
 avaricious Mahratta agreed to recall his deputy from Mewar,^ 
 to renounce Sheodas and the Saktawats, and lend his support to 
 the Chondawats. The Salumbar chief again took the lead at 
 court, and with Agarji Mehta ^ as minister, the Saktawats [450] 
 
 1 S. 1853, A.D. 1797. 
 
 ^ This person was nominated the chief civil minister on the author's 
 arrival at Udaipur, an office to which he was every way unequal. The 
 affairs of Mewar had never prospered since the faithful Panchohs were 
 deprived of power. Several productions of the descendants of Biharidas 
 have fallen into my hands ; their quaint mode of conveying advice may 
 authorize their insertion here. 
 
 The Panchohs, who had performed so many services to the country, had 
 been for some time deprived of the office of prime minister, which was dis- 
 posed of as it suited the views of the factious nobles who held power for the 
 time being ; and who bestowed it on the Mehtas, Depras, or Dhabhais. 
 Amongst the papers of the Panchohs, several addressed to the Rana and to 
 Agarji Mehta, the minister of the day, are valuable for the patriotic senti- 
 ments they contain, as well as for the general Ught they throw upon the 
 period. In S. 1853 (a.d. 1797) Amrit Rao devised a plan to remedy the 
 evils that oppressed the country. He inculcated the necessity of dispensing 
 with the interference of the Saktawats and Chondawats in the affairs of 
 government, and strengthening the hands of the civil administration by 
 admitting the foreign chieftains to the power he proposed to deprive the 
 former of. He proceeds in the following quaint style : 
 
 " Disease fastened on the country from the following causes, envy and 
 party spirit. With the Turks disease was introduced ; but then the prince, 
 his ministers, and chiefs, were of one mind, and medicine was ministered 
 and a cure effected. During Rana Jai Singh's time the disorder returned, 
 which his son Amra put down. He recovered the affairs of government 
 from confusion, gave to every one his proper rank and dignity, and rendered 
 all prosperous. But Maharana Sangram Singh put from under his wing the 
 Chandarawat of Rampura, and thus a pinion of Mewar was broken. The 
 calamity of Biharidas, whose son committed suicide, increased the diffi-
 
 ANARCHY IN MEWAR 523 
 
 were attacked, the stipulated ten lakhs raised from their estates, 
 and two fiefs of note, Hintha and Semari, confiscated [451]. 
 
 culties. The arrival of the Deccanis under Bajirao, the Jaipur affair * and 
 the defeat at Rajmahall, with the heavy expenditure thereby occasioned, 
 augmented the disorder. Add to this in Jagat Singh's time the enmity of 
 the Dhabhais towards the Panchohs, which lowered their dignities at home 
 and abroad, and siiice which time every man has thought himself equal to 
 the task of government. Jagat Singh was also afflicted by the rebellious 
 conduct of his son Partap, when Shyama Solanki and several other chiefs 
 were treacherously cut off. Since which time the minds of the nobles have 
 never been loyal, but black and not to be trusted. Again, on the accession 
 of Partap, Maharaja Nathji allowed his thoughts to aspire, from which all 
 Ills kin suffered. Hence animosities, doubts, and deceits, arose on all sides. 
 Add to this the haughty proceeding of Amra Chand now in office ; and 
 besides the strife of the Pancholis with each other, their enmity to the 
 Depras. Hence parties were formed which completely destroyed the credit 
 of aU. Yet, notwithstanding, they abated none of their strife, which was 
 the acme to the disease. The feud between Kuman Singh and the Sak- 
 tawats for the possession of Hintha, aggravated the distresses . The treacher- 
 ous murder of Maharaja Nathji, and the consequent disgust and retreat of 
 Jaswant Singh of Deogarh ; the setting up the impostor Ratna Singh and 
 Jhala Raghiideo's struggle for office, with Amra Chand's entertaining the 
 mercenaries of Sind, brought it to a crisis. The neghgence arising out of 
 luxury, and the intrigues of the Dhabhais of Rana Arsi, made it spread so 
 as to defeat all attempt at cure. In S. 1829, on the treacherous murder 
 of the Rana by the Bundi prince, and the accession of the minor Hamir, 
 every one set up his own authority, so that there was not even the semblance 
 of government. And now you (to the Rana), hstening to the advice of 
 Bhim Singh (Salumbar), and his brother, Arjun, have taken foreigners "j" 
 into pay, and thus riveted all the former errors. You and Sri Baiji Raj 
 (the royal mother), putting confidence in foreigners and Deccanis, have 
 rendered the disease contagious ; besides, your mind is gone. What can 
 be done ? Medicine may yet be had. Let us unite and struggle to restore 
 the duties of the minister and we may conquer, or at least check its progress. 
 If now neglected, it will hereafter be beyond human power. The Deccanis 
 are the great sore. Let us settle their accounts, and at all events get rid 
 of them, or we lose the land for ever. At this time there are treaties and 
 engagements in every corner. I have touched on every subject. Forgive 
 whatever is improper. Let us look the future in the face, and let chiefs, 
 ministers, and all unite. With the welfare of the country all will be well. 
 But this is a disease which, if not now conquered, wiU conquer us." 
 
 A second paper as follows : 
 
 " The disease of the country is to be considered and treated as a remittent. 
 
 * The struggle to place the Rana's nephew. Mad ho Singh, on the throne 
 of Jaipur. 
 
 f The Panchoh must allude to the Mahratta subsidiary force under 
 Ambaji.
 
 524 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Death o! Mahadaji Sindhia, January 12, 1794. — The death of 
 Mahadaji Sindhia,^ and the accession of his nephew Daulatrao, 
 his murder of the Shenvi Brahmans, and his quarrels with the 
 Bais (' princesses,' wives of the deceased Sindhia), all occurred at 
 this time, and materially influenced the events in Mewar. The 
 power of Ainbaji as Subahdar of Hindustan was strengthened by 
 the minority of Sindhia, although contested by Lakwa and the 
 Bais, supported by the Khichi prince, Durjan Sal, and the Datia 
 Raja, who fought and died for the princesses. Lakwa wrote to 
 the Rana to throw off Ambaji's yoke and expel his lieutenant ; 
 while Ambaji commanded his deputy to eject the Shenvi ^ Brah- 
 
 " Amra Singh cured it and laid a complete system of government and 
 justice. 
 
 " In Sangram's time it once more gained ground. 
 
 " In Jagat Singh's time the seed was thrown into the ground thus obtained. 
 
 " In Partap's time it sprung up. 
 
 " In Raj Singh's time it bore fruit. 
 
 " In Rana Arsi's time it was ripe. 
 
 " In Hamir's time it was distributed, and all have had a share. 
 
 " And you, Bhini Singh (the present Rana), have eaten jjlentifully 
 thereof. Its virtues and flavour you are acquainted with, and so likewise is 
 the country ; and if you take no medicine you will assuredly suffer much 
 pain, and both at home and abroad you will be lightly thought of. Be not 
 therefore negligent, or faith and land will depart from you." 
 
 A tliird paper to Agarji Mehta (then minister) : 
 
 " If the milk is curdled it does not signify. Where there is sense butter 
 may yet be extracted ; and if the butter-milk {chhackh) is thrown away it 
 matters not. But if the milk be curdled and black it will require wisdom 
 to restore its purity. This wisdom is now wanted. The foreigners are the 
 black in the curdled milk of Mewar. At all hazards remove them. Trust 
 to them and the land is lost. 
 
 " In moonhght what occasion for a blue hght ? (Chandra jot).* 
 
 " Who looks to the false coin of the juggler ? 
 
 " Do not credit him who tells you he will make a pigeon out of a feather. 
 
 ■' Abroad it is said there is no wisdom left in Mewar, which is a disgrace 
 to her reputation." 
 
 ^ [Mahadaji Sindhia, commonly and erroneously called Madhava Rao, 
 died near Poona, January 12, 1794. See his life by H. G. Keene, 
 ' Rulers of India ' series ; Grant Duff, Hist, of Mahrattas, 343 ff. ; W. 
 Franklin, Hist, of Shah-Aulum, 119 ff.] 
 
 * There are three classes of Mahratta Brahmans : Shenvi, Prabhu, 
 and Mahratta. Of the first was Lakwa, Balabha Tantia, Jiwa Dada, Sivaji 
 Nana, Lalaji Pandit, and Jaswant Rao Bhao, men who held the mortgaged 
 
 * Literally, a 'moonlight.' The particular kind of firework which we 
 call a ' blue hght.'
 
 DEFEAT OF THE CHONDAWATS 525 
 
 mans, supporters of Lakwa, from all the lands in Mewar. To 
 this end Ganesh Pant called on the Rana's ministers and chiefs, 
 who, consulting thereon, determined to play a deep game ; and 
 while they apparently acquiesced in the schemes of Ganesh, they 
 wrote the Shenvis to advance from Jawad and attack him, 
 promising them support. They met at Sawa ; Nana was defeated 
 Avith the loss of his guns, and retired on Chitor. With a feint of 
 support, the Chondawats made him again call in his garrison and 
 try another battle, which he also lost and fled to Hamirgarh ; 
 then, uniting with his enemies^ they invested the place with 
 15,000 men. Nana bravely maintained himself, making many 
 sallies, in one of which both the sons of Dhiraj Singh, the chief 
 of Hamirgarh, Avere slain. Shortly after. Nana was relieved by 
 some battalions of the new raised regulars sent by Ambaji under 
 Gulab Rao Kadam, upon which he commenced his retreat on 
 Ajmer. At Musamusi he was forced to action, and success had 
 nearly crowned the efforts of the clans, when a horseman, en- 
 deavouring to secure a mare, calling out [452], " Bhagi ! bhagi ! " 
 " She flies ! she flies ! " the word spread, while those who caught 
 her, exclaiming " Milgayi ! milgayi ! " " She is taken ! '' but 
 equally significant with ' going over ' to the enemy, caused a 
 general panic, and the Chondawats, on the verge of victory, 
 disgraced themselves, broke and fled. Several were slain, among 
 whom was the Sindi leader Chandan. Shahpura opened its gates 
 to the fugitives led by the Goliath of the host, the chief of Deo- 
 garh.^ It was an occasion not to be lost by the bards of the 
 rival clan, and many a ribald stanza records this day's disgrace. 
 Ambaji' s lieutenant, however, was so roughly handled that 
 several chiefs redeemed their estates, and the Rana much of the 
 fisc, from Mahratta control. 
 
 Contest of Ambaji and Lakwa. — Mewar now became the arena 
 on which the rival satraps Ambaji and Lakwa contested the 
 
 lands of Mewar. [There are four groups of Maratlia Brahmans : Konkan- 
 asthas, Deshasthas, Karhadas, and Kanvas. The Prabhus are not Brahmans, 
 but the writer caste, like the Kayasths of Hindustan (J. Wilson, Indian 
 Caste, 1877, ii. 17 flf.). The word Shenvi is a corruption of chhhjanave, 
 ' ninety-six,' from the supposed number of their sections.] 
 
 ^ I knew him well. He stood six feet six inches, and was. bulky in pro- 
 portion. His limbs rivalled those of the Hercules Farnese. His father 
 was nearly seven feet, and died at the early age of twenty-two, in a vain 
 attempt to keep down, by regimen and medicine, his enormous bulk.
 
 526 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 exalted office of Sindhia's lieutenancy in Hindustan. Lakwa was 
 joined by all the chiefs of Mewar, his cause being their own ; and 
 Hamirgarh, still held by Nana's party, Was reinvested. Two 
 thousand shot had made a practicable breach, when Bala Rao 
 Inglia, Bapu Sindhia, Jaswant Rao Sindhia, a brigade under the 
 European ' Mutta field,' ^ with the auxiliary battalions of Zalim 
 Singh of Kotah, the whole under the command of Ambaji's son, 
 arrived to relieve the lieutenant. Lakwa raised the siege, and 
 took post with his allies under the walls of Chi tor ; whilst the 
 besieged left the untenable Hamirgarh, and joined the relief at 
 Gosunda. The rival armies were separated only by the Berach 
 river, on whose banks they raised batteries and cannonaded each 
 other, when a dispute arose in the victor camp regarding the pay 
 of the troops, between Bala Rao (brother of Ambaji) and Nana, 
 and the latter withdrew and retreated to Sanganer, Thus 
 disunited, it might have been expected that these congregated 
 masses would have dissolved, or fallen upon each other, when 
 the Rajputs might have given the coup de grdce to the survivors ; 
 but they were Mahrattas, and their politics were too complicated 
 to end in simple strife : almost all the actors in these scenes lived 
 to contest with, and be humiliated by, the British. 
 
 George Thomas. — The defection of Nana equalized the parties ; 
 but Bala Rao, never partial to fighting, opportunely recollected 
 a debt of gratitude to Lakwa, to whose clemency he owed his 
 life when taken by storm in Gugal Chapra. He also wanted 
 money [453] to pay his force, which a private overture to Lakwa 
 secured. They met, and Bala Rao retired boasting of his grati- 
 tude, to which, and the defection of Nana, soon followed by that 
 of Bapu Sindhia, the salvation of Lakwa was attributed. Suther- 
 land ^ with a brigade was detached by Ambaji to aid Nana : but 
 a dispute depriving him of this reinforcement, he called in a 
 partisan of more celebrity, the brave George Thomas.' Ambaji's 
 
 ^ [This is perhaps Captain Butterfield, who served in Sindhia's force under 
 Colonel Sutherland. He behaved gallantly in action against Lakwa Dada, 
 for which he received a flattering letter from Perron : no further mention of 
 him has been traced (Compton, Military Adventurers, 344).] 
 
 " [For Colonel Robert Sutherland, known to natives as ' Sutlej Sahib,' 
 see Compton, 410 ff.] 
 
 ' [For the remarkable career of George Thomas, who nearly' succeeded 
 in forming a kingdom of his own on the ruins of the Empire in N. India, see 
 Compton, 109 f. ; W. Franklin,. Military Memoirs of Mr. G. Thomas, 1803.]
 
 PILLAGE IN MEWAR 527 
 
 lieutenant and Lakwa were once more equal foes, and the Rana, 
 liis chiefs and subjects being distracted between these conflicting 
 bands, whose leaders alternately paid their respects to him, were 
 glad to obtain a little repose by espousing the cause of either 
 combatant, whose armies during the monsoon encamped for six 
 weeks within sight of each other. ^ 
 
 Pillage in Mewar. — ^Durjan Sal (Khichi), with the nobles of 
 Mewar, hovered round Nana's camp with five thousand horse 
 to cut off his supplies ; but Thomas escorted the convoys from 
 Shahpura with his regulars, and defied all their efforts. Thomas 
 at length advanced his batteries against Lakwa, on whose position 
 a general assault was about taking place, when a tremendous 
 storm, with torrents of rain which filled the stream, cut off his 
 batteries from the main body, burst the gates of Shahpura, his 
 point d'appui, and laid the town in ruins.^ Lakwa seized the 
 moment, and with the Mewar chiefs stormed and carried the 
 isolated batteries, capturing fifteen pieces of cannon ; and the 
 Shahpura Raja, threatened at once by his brother-nobles and 
 the vengeance of heaven, refused further provision to Nana, who 
 was compelled to abandon his position and retreat to Sanganer. 
 The discomfited lieutenant vowed vengeance against the estates 
 of the Mewar chieftains, and after the rains, being reinforced by 
 Ambaji, again took the field. Then commenced a scene of 
 carnage, pillage, and individual defence. The whole of the 
 Chondawat estates under the Aravalli range were laid waste, 
 their castles assaulted, some taken and destroyed, and heavy 
 sums levied on all. Thomas besieged Deogarh and Amet, and 
 both fought and paid. Kasital and Lasani were captured, and 
 the latter razed for its gallant resistance. Thus they were pro- 
 ceeding in the work of destruction, when Ambaji [454] was 
 dispossessed of the government of Hindustan, to which liakwa 
 was nominated,' and Nana was compelled to surrender all the 
 fortresses and towns he held in Mewar. 
 
 ^ Both camps were on the right bank of the Banas : Lakwa's at Amh, about 
 ten miles south of Shahpura, and Nana's at Kadera, between these towns. 
 
 * Lakwa at this time [S. 1856, a.d. 1799] put the Shahpura Raja in pos- 
 session of the important fortress and district of Jahazpur, which, although 
 the Rana consented to it, covertly receiving from the Raja two lakhs of 
 rupees, disgusted the nobles with Lakwa. 
 
 * Balabha Tantia and Bakhshu Narayan Rao were Sindhia's ministers at 
 this period, of the same tribe (the Shenvi) as Lakwa.
 
 528 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Daulat Rao Sindhia reduces Mewar. — From this period must 
 be dated the pretensions of Sindhia to consider Mewar as tributary 
 to him. We have traced the rise of the Mahrattas, and the 
 progress of their baneful influence in Mewar. The abstractions 
 of territory from S. 1826 to 1831 [a.d. 1769-74], as pledges for 
 contributions, satisfied their avarice till 1848 [a.d. 1791], when 
 the Salumbar rebellion brought the great Sindhia to Chitor, 
 leaving Ambaji as his lieutenant, with a subsidiary force, to 
 recover the Rana's lost possessions. We have related how these 
 conditions were fulfilled ; how Ambaji, inflated with the wealth 
 of Mewar, assumed almost regal dignity in Hindustan, assigning 
 the devoted land to be governed by his deputies, whose contest 
 with other aspirants made this unhappy region the stage for 
 constant struggles for supremacy ; and while the secret policy 
 of Zalim Singh stimulated the Saktawats to cling to Ambaji, the 
 Chondawats gave their influence and interest to his rival Lakwa. 
 The unhappy Rana and the peasantry paid for this rivalry ; while 
 Sindhia, whose power was now in its zenith, fastened one of his 
 desultory armies on Mewar, in contravention of former treaties, 
 without any definite views, or even instructions to its commander. 
 It was enough that a large body should supply itself without 
 assailing him for prey, and whose services were available when 
 required. 
 
 Lakwa Dada Maratha Viceroy. — Lakwa, the new viceroy, 
 marched to Mewar : Agarji Mehta was appointed minister to 
 the Rana, and the Chondawats again came into power. For the 
 sum of six lakhs Lakwa dispossessed the Shahpura of Jahazpur, 
 for the liquidation of which thirty-six of its towns were mortgaged. 
 Zalim Singh, who had long been manoeuvring to obtain Jahazpur, 
 administered to the necessities of the Mahratta, paid the note of 
 hand, and took possession of the city and its villages. A contri- 
 bution of twenty-four lakhs was imposed throughout the country, 
 and levied by force of arms, after which first act of the new 
 viceroy he quitted Mewar for Jaipur, leaving Jaswant Rao Bhao 
 as his deputy. Mauji Ram, the deputy of Agarji (the Rana's 
 minister), determined to adopt the European mode of discipline, 
 now become general amongst all the native powers of India. But 
 when the chiefs were [455] called upon to contribute to the 
 support of mercenary regulars and a field-artillery, they evinced 
 their patriotism by confining this zealous minister. Satidas was
 
 THE BATTLE OF INDORE 529 
 
 once more placed in power, and his brother Sheodas recalled 
 from Kotah, whither he had fled from the Chondawats, who now 
 appropriated to themselves the most valuable portions of the 
 Rana's personal doinain. 
 
 Holkar defeated at Indore. Plunder of Nathdwara : image 
 removed. — The battle of Indore,^ in a.d. 1802, where at least 
 150,000 men assembled to dispute the claim to predatory empire, 
 wrested the ascendancy from Holkar, who lost his guns, equipage, 
 and capital, from which he fled to Mewar, pursued by Sindhia's 
 victorious army led by Sadasheo and Bala Rao. In his flight he 
 plundered Ratlam, and passing Bhindar, the castle of the Sakta- 
 wat chief, he demanded a contribution, from which and his 
 meditated visit to Udaipur, the Rana and his vassal were saved 
 by the activity of the purstiit. Failing in these objects, Holkar 
 retreated on Nathdwara, the celebrated shrine of the Hindu 
 Apollo.^ It was here this active soldier first showed symptoms 
 of mental derangement. He upbraided Krishna, while prostrate 
 before his image, for the loss of his victory ; and levied three 
 lakhs of rupees on the priests and inhabitants, several of whom 
 he carried to his camp as hostages for the payment. The portal 
 (dwara) of the god (Nath) proving no bar either to Turk or equally 
 impious Mahratta, Damodarji, the high priest, removed the god 
 of Vraj from his pedestal and sent him with his establishment to 
 Udaipur for protection. The Chauhan chief of Kotharia (one of 
 the sixteen nobles), in whose estate was the sacred fane, undertook 
 the duty, and with twenty horsemen, his vassals, escorted the 
 shepherd god by intricate passes to the capital. On his return 
 he was intercepted by a band of Holkar's troops, who insultingly 
 desired the surrender of their horses. But the descendant of the 
 illustrious Prithiraj preferred death to dishonour : dismounting, 
 he hamstrung his steed, commanding his vassals to follow his 
 example ; and sword in hand courted his fate in the unequal 
 conflict, in which he fell, with most of his gallant retainers. 
 There are many such isolated exploits in the records of this 
 eventful period, of which the Chauhans of Kotharia had their full 
 share. Spoil, from whatever source, being welcome to these depre- 
 dators, Nathdwara ^ remained long abandoned ; and Apollo, after 
 
 1 [October U, 1801 (Grant Duff 555).] ^ [Krishna.] 
 
 * Five-and-twenty [about thirty] miles north of Udaipur. On this sub- 
 ject we shall have much to say hereafter. 
 
 VOL. I 2 M
 
 530 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 six months' residence at Udaipur, finding [456] insufiRcient protec- 
 tion, took another flight to the mountains of Ghasyar, where the 
 high priest threw up fortifications for his defence ; and spiritual 
 thunders being disregarded, the pontiff henceforth buckled on 
 the armour of flesh, and at the head of four hundred cavaliers 
 with lance and shield, visited the minor shrines in his extensive 
 diocese. 
 
 The Inroad o£ Holkar. — To return to Holkar. He pursued his 
 route by Banera and Shahpura, levying from both, to Ajmer, 
 where he distributed a portion of the offerings of the followers of 
 Krishna amongst the priests of Muham.mad at the mosque of 
 Khwaja Pir. Thence he proceeded towards Jaipur, Sindhia's 
 leaders on reaching Mewar renounced the pursuit, and Udaipur 
 was cursed with their presence, when three lakhs of rupees were 
 extorted from the unfortunate Rana, raised by the sale of house- 
 hold effects and the jewels of the females of his family. Jaswant 
 Rao Bhao, the Subahdar of Mewar, had prepared another schedule 
 (pandhri), which he left with Tantia, his deputy, to realize. Then 
 followed the usual scene of conflict — the attack of the chieftain's 
 estates, distraining of the husbandman, seizure of his cattle, and 
 his captivity for ransom, or his exile. 
 
 Mewar Quarrels. — -The celebrated Lakwa, disgraced by his 
 prince, died at this time ^ in sanctuary at Salumbar ; and Bala 
 Rao, brother to Ambaji, returned, and was joined by the Sakta- 
 wats and the minister Satidas, who expelled the Chondawats for 
 their control over the prince. Zalim Singh, in furtherance of his 
 schemes and through hatred of the Chondawats, united himself 
 to this faction, and Devi Chand, minister to the Rana, set up 
 by the Chondawats, was made prisoner. Bala Rao levied and 
 destroyed their estates with unexampled ferocity, which produced 
 a bold attempt at deliverance. The Chondawat leaders assembled 
 at the Chaugan (the Champ de Mars) to consult on their safety. 
 The insolent Mahratta had preceded them to the palace, demand- 
 ing the surrender of the minister's deputy, Mauji Ram. The 
 Rana indignantly refused them — the Mahratta importuned, 
 threatened, and at length commanded his troops to advance to 
 the palace, when the intrepid minister pinioned the audacious 
 plunderers, and secured his adherents (including their old enemy. 
 Nana Ganesh), Janialkar, and Uda Kunwar. The latter, a 
 1 S. 1859 (a.d. 1803).
 
 HOLKAR PLUNDERS UDAIPUR 531 
 
 notorious villain, had an elephant's chain put round his neck, 
 while Bala Rao was confined in a bath. The [457] leaders thus 
 arrested, the Chondawats sallied forth and attacked their camp 
 in the valley, which surrendered ; though the regulars under 
 Hearsey ^ retreated in a hollow square, and reached Gadarmala in 
 safety. Zalim Singh determined to liberate his friend Bala Rao 
 from peril ; and aided by the Saktawats under the chiefs of 
 Bhindar and Lawa, advanced to the Chaija Pass, one of the 
 defiles leading to the capital. Had the Rana put these chiefs to 
 instant death, he would have been justified, although he would 
 have incurred the resentment of the whole Mahratta nation. 
 Instead of this, he put himself at the head of a motley le\y of 
 six thousand Sindis, Arabs, and Gosains, with the brave Jai 
 Singh and a band of his gallant Khichis, ever ready to poise the 
 lance against a Mahratta. They defended the pass for five days 
 against a powerful artillery. At length the Rana was compelled 
 to liberate Bala Rao, and Zalim Singh obtained by this inter- 
 ference possession of the fortress and entire district of Jahazpur. 
 A schedule of war contribution, the usual finale to these events, 
 followed Bala's liberation, and no means were left untried to 
 realize the exaction, before Holkar, then approaching, could 
 contest the spoil. 
 
 Eolkar plunders Udaipur. — This chief, having recruited his 
 shattered forces, again left the south.^ Bhindar felt his resent- 
 ment for non-compliance with his demands on his retreat after the 
 battle of Indore ; the town was nearly destroyed, but spared for two 
 lakhs of rupees, for the payment of which villages were assigned. 
 Thence he repaired to Udaipur, being met by Ajit Singh, the 
 Rana's ambassador, when the enormous sum of forty lakhs, or 
 £500,000, was demanded from the country, of which one-third 
 was commanded to be instantly forthcoming. The palace was 
 denuded of everything which could be converted into gold ; the 
 females were deprived of every article of luxury and comfort : by 
 which, with contributions levied on the city, twelve lakhs were 
 
 ^ [Hyder Young Hearsey (1782-3-1840), son of Captain Harry Thomas 
 Hearsey by a Jat lady, served Sindhia under Perron, and also George Thomas, 
 joined Lord Lake at Dig in 1804 : taken prisoner in the Nepal war of 1815 : . 
 present at the siege of Bharatpur : died near Budaun (Buckland, Diet. 
 Indian Biography, s.v.).] 
 
 2 In S. 1860 (A.D. 1804).
 
 532 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 obtained ; while hostages from the household of the Rana and 
 chief citizens were delivered as security for the remainder, and 
 immured in the Mahratta camp. Holkar then visited the Rana. 
 Lawa and Radnor were attacked, taken, and restored on large 
 payments. Deogarh alone was mulcted four and a half lakhs. 
 Having devastated Mewar during eight months, Holkar [458] 
 marched to Hindustan,^ Ajit Singh accompanying him as the 
 Rana's representative ; while Bala Ram Seth was left to levy 
 the balance of the forty lakhs. Holkar had reached Shahpura 
 when Sindhia entered Mewar, and their camps formed a junction 
 to allow the leaders to organize their mutual plans of hostility 
 to the British Government. These chieftains, in their efforts to 
 cope with the British power, had been completely humiliated, 
 and their resources broken. But Rajasthan was made to pay 
 the penalty of British success, which riveted her chains, and it 
 would be but honest, now we have the power, to diminish that 
 penalty. 
 
 Sindhia and Holkar in Mewar. — The rainy season of a.d. 1805 
 found Sindhia and Holkar encamped in the plains of Badnor, 
 desirous, but afraid, to seek revenge in the renewal of war. De- 
 prived of all power in Hindustan, and of the choicest territory 
 north and south of the Nerbudda, with numerous discontented 
 armies now let loose on these devoted countries, their passions 
 inflamed by defeat, and blind to every sentiment of humanity, 
 they had no alternative to pacify the soldiery and replenish their 
 own ruined resources but indiscriminate pillage. It would 
 require a pen powerful as the pencil of Salvator Rosa to paint 
 the horrors which filled up the succeeding ten years, to 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 desola- 
 
 ^ At this juncture an officer of Holkar's, Harnatli Chela, on passing 
 through Bansain, had some camels carried off by the Bliils of the Satola 
 estate. Harnath summoned Gulab Singh Chondawat, who came with eight 
 of his relatives, when he was told he should be detained till the cattle were 
 restored ; and in the morning, as the Mahratta momted his elephant, he 
 commanded the Raghaut chieftain to be seized. Gulab drew his sword 
 and made at Harnath, but his sword broke in the howda, when he plunged 
 his dagger into the elephant ; but at length he and all his relations, who 
 nobly pUed their swords on the Mahrattas, were cut to pieces. 
 
 * [For a graphic account of these camps see T. D. Broughton, Letters 
 written in a Mahratta Camp during the year 1809, ed. 1892.]
 
 HOLKAR SAVES MEWAR FROM SINDHIA 533 
 
 tion and political anniliilation of all the central States of India/ 
 several of which aided the British in their early struggle for 
 dominion, but were now allowed to fall without a helping hand, 
 the scapegoats of our successes. Peace between the Mahrattas 
 and British was, however, doubtful, as Sindhia made the restora- 
 tion of the rich provinces of Gohad and Gwalior a sine qua non : 
 and unhappily for their legitimate ruler, who [459] had been 
 inducted into the seat of his forefathers, a Governor- General 
 (Lord Cornwallis) of ancient renown, but in the decline of life, 
 with views totally unsuited to the times, abandoned our allies, 
 and renounced all for peace, sending an ambassador "^ to Sindhia 
 to reunite the bonds of ' perpetual friendship.' 
 
 Holkar saves Mewar from Sindhia. — The Mahratta leaders 
 were anxious, if the war should be renewed, to shelter their 
 families and valuables in the strongholds of Mewar, and their 
 respective camps became the rendezvous of the rival factions. 
 Sardar Singh, the organ of the Chondawats, represented the 
 Rana at Sindhia's court, at the head of whose councils Ambaji 
 had just been placed.^ His rancour to the Rana was implacable, 
 from the support given in self-defence to his political antagonist, 
 Lakwa, and he agitated the partition of Mewar amongst the great 
 Mahratta leaders. But whilst his baneful influence was pre- 
 paring this result, the credit of Sangram Saktawat with Holkar 
 counteracted it. It would be unfair and ungallant not to record 
 that a fair suitor, the Baiza Bai,* Sindhia's wife, powerfully 
 
 ^ The Rana of Gohad and GwaUor, the Khichi chiefs of Raghugarh and 
 Bahadurgarh, and the Nawab of Bhopal, made common cause with us in 
 Warren Hastings' time. The first throe possess not a shadow of independ- 
 ence ; the last fortunately formed a Unk in our own pohcy, and Lord 
 Hastings, in 1818, repaid with liberal interest the services rendered to the 
 government of Warren Hastings in 1782. It was in his power, with equal 
 facihty, to have rescued all the other States, and to have claimed the same 
 measure of gratitude which Bhopal is proud to avow. But there was a 
 fatahty in the desire to maintain terms with Sindhia, whose treachery to 
 our power was overlooked. 
 
 ^ The author, then a subaltern, was attached to the suite of the ambas- 
 sador, Mr. Graeme Mercer. He left the subsidiary force at Gwahor in 
 December 1805, and the embassy reached Sindhia's court in the spring of 
 1800, then encamped amidst the ruins of Mewar. 
 
 ' The ministers of Sindhia Avere Ambaji, Bapu Chitnavis, Madhuba 
 Huzuria, ancfAnaji Bhaskar. 
 
 * [Baiza Bai, widow of Daulat Rao Sindhia, who died in 1827, was an
 
 534 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 contributed to the Rana's preservation on this occasion. This 
 lady, the daughter of the notorious Sarji Rao, had unboxuided 
 power over Sindhia. Her sympathies were awakened on behalf 
 of the supreme head of the Rajput nation, of which blood she 
 had to boast, though she was now connected with the Mahrattas. 
 Even the hostile clans stifled their animosities on this occasion, 
 and Sardar Singh Chondawat left Sindhia's camp to join his rival 
 Sangram with Holkar, and aided by the upright Kishandas 
 Pancholi, united in their remonstrances, asking Holkar if he had 
 given his consent to sell Mewar to Ambaji. Touched by the 
 picture of the Rana's and their country's distresses, Holkar swore 
 it should not be ; advised unity amongst themselves, and caused 
 the representatives of the rival clans ' to eat opiiun together.' 
 Nor did he stop here, but with the envoys repaired to Sindhia's 
 tents, descanted on the Rana's high descent, ' the master of their 
 master's master,' ^ urging that it did not become them to over- 
 whelm him, and that they should even renounce the mortgaged 
 lands which their fathers had too long unjustly held, himself 
 setting the example by the restitution of [460] Nimbahera. To 
 strengthen his argument, he expatiated with Sindhia on the 
 policy of conciliating the Rana, whose strongholds might be 
 available in the event of a renewal of hostilities with the British. 
 Sindliia appeared a convert to his views, and retained the envoys 
 in his camp. The Mahratta camps were twenty miles apart, 
 and incessant torrents of rain had for some days prevented all 
 intercourse. In this interim, Holkar received intelligence that 
 Bhairon Bakhsh, as envoy from the Rana, was in Lord Lake's 
 camp negotiating for the aid of British troops, then at Touk, to 
 drive the Mahrattas from Mewar. The incensed Holkar sent 
 for the Rana's ambassadors, and assailed them with a torrent of 
 reproach ; accusing them of treachery, he threw the newspaper 
 containing the information at Kishandas, asking if that were 
 the way in which the Mewaris kept faith with him ? "I cared 
 not to break with Sindhia in support of your master, and while 
 combating the Farangis (Franks), when all the Hindus should be 
 
 unscrupulous, designing woman, whose intrigues at Gwalior forced her to 
 take refuge in British territory. She returned after an interval and lived 
 at Gwahor until her death in 1862 {IGI, xii. 424).] 
 
 ^ That is, chief of the race from which issued the Satara sovereigns, 
 whose minister, the Peshwa, accounted Sindhia and Holkar his feudatories.
 
 HOLKAR PROTECTS MEWAR INTERESTS 535 
 
 as brothers, your sovereign the Rana, who boasts of not acknow- 
 ledging the supremacy of Delhi, is the first to enter into arms 
 with them. ^Vas it for this I prevented Ambaji being fastened 
 on you ? " Kishandas here interrupted and attempted to 
 pacify him, when Alikar Tantia, Holkar's minister, stopped hina 
 short, observing to his prince, " You see the faith of these Ran- 
 gras ; ^ they would disimite you and Smdhia, and ruin both. 
 Shake them off : be reconciled to Sindhia, dismiss Sarji Rao, and 
 let Ambaji be Subahdar of Mewar, or I will leave you and take 
 Sindhia into Malwa." The other councillors, with the exception 
 of Bhao Bhaskar, seconded this advice : Sarji Rao was dismissed ; 
 and Holkar proceeded northward, where he was encoiuitered and 
 pursued to the Panjab by the British under the intrepid and 
 enterprising Lake, who dictated terms to the Mahratta at the 
 altars of Alexander.^ 
 
 Holkar protects Mewar Interests. — Holkar had the generosity 
 to stipulate, before his departure from Mewar, for the security of 
 the Rana and his country, telling Sindhia he should hold him 
 personally amenable to him if Ambaji were permitted to violate 
 his guarantee. But in his misfortunes this threat was disregarded, 
 and a contribution of sixteen lakhs was levied immediately on 
 Mewar ; Sadasheo Rao, with Baptiste's ' brigade, was detached 
 from the camp in June 1806, for the double purpose of levying it, 
 and driving from [461] Udaipur a detachment of the Jaipur 
 prince's troops, bringing proposals and preliminary presents for 
 this prince's marriage with the Rana's daughter. 
 
 The Tragedy of Krishna Kunwari. — It would be imagined that 
 the miseries of Rana Bhim were not susceptible of aggravation, 
 and that fortvme had done her worst to humble him ; but his 
 
 ^ Rangra is an epithet appKed to the Rajputs, implying turbulent, from 
 rana, ' strife.' [Rangar is the title of a body of turbulent, predatory Muham- 
 madans, who claim Rajput descent, occupying parts of the E. Panjab and 
 W. districts of the Ganges-Jumna Duab. The derivation suggested is very 
 doubtful (Crooke, Tribes and Castes, N.W.P. and Oudh, v. 227 £f.).] 
 
 2 [In October 1805 (Grant Duff 601).] 
 
 ^ [Jean Baptiste de la Fontaine Filoze (1775-1840) assisted in the cam- 
 paign against Thomas in 1801. In the war with the Enghsh, part of his 
 brigade under Dupont was defeated at Assaye. He was afterwards ill- 
 treated by Sindhia, but was reinstated. Some of his descendants are still 
 in Sindhia's service (Compton, European Military Adveriturers, 352 ff. ; 
 Sleeman, Rambles, 115, note). He is frequently mentioned in Broughton, 
 Letters written in a Mahratta Camp.]
 
 536 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 pride as a sovereign and his feelings as a parent were destined to 
 be yet more deeply wounded. The Jaipur cortege had encamped 
 near the capital, to the number of three thousand men, while the 
 Rana's acknowledgments of acceptance were dispatched, and 
 had reached Shahpura. But Raja Man of Marwar also advanced 
 pretensions, founded on the princess having been actually be- 
 trothed to his predecessor ; and urging that the throne of Marwar, 
 and not the individual occupant, was the object, he vowed 
 resentment and opposition if his claims were disregarded. These 
 were suggested, it is said, by his nobles to cloak their own views ; 
 and promoted by the Chondawats (then ift favour with the Rana), 
 whose organ, Ajit, was bribed to further them, contrary to the 
 decided wishes of their prince. 
 
 Krislma Kimwari (the Virgin Krisluia) was the name of the 
 lovely object, the rivalry for whose hand assembled under the 
 banners of her suitors (Jagat Singh of Jaipur and Raja Man of 
 Marwar), not only their native chivalry, but all the predatory 
 powers of India ; and who, like Helen of old, involved in destruc- 
 tion her own and the rival houses. Sindhia having been denied 
 a pecuniary demand by Jaipur, not only opposed the nuptials, 
 but aided the claims of Raja Man, by demanding of the Rana the 
 dismissal of the Jaipur embassy : which being refused, he ad- 
 vanced his brigades and batteries, and after a fruitless resistance, 
 in which the Jaipur troops joined, forced the pass, threw a corps 
 of eight thousand men into the valley, and following in person, 
 encamped within cannon-range of the city. The Rana had now 
 no alternative but to dismiss the nuptial cortege, and agree to 
 whatever was demanded. Sindliia remained a month in the 
 valley, during which an interview took place between him and 
 the Rana at the shrine of Eklinga [462].^ 
 
 1 To increase his importance, Sindhia invited the British envoy and suite 
 to be present on the occasion, when the princely demeanour of the Rana 
 and his sons was advantageously contrasted with that of the Mahratta and 
 his suite. It was in this visit that the regal abode of this ancient race, its 
 isles and palaces, acted with irresistible force on the cupidity of this scion 
 of the plough, who aspired to, yet dared not seat himself in, ' the halls of the 
 Caesars.' It was even surmised that his hostihty to Jaipur was not so 
 much from the refused war-contribution, as from a mortifying negative to 
 an audacious desire to obtain the hand of this princess himself. The impres- 
 sion made on the author upon this occasion by the miseries and noble appear- 
 ance of ' this descendant of a hundred kings,' was never allowed to weaken.
 
 BATTLE OF PARBATSAR 537 
 
 Battle of Parbatsar. Defeat of the Marwar Forces.— The heralds 
 of Hymen bemg thus rudely repulsed and its symbols intercepted, 
 the Jaipur prince prepared to avenge his insulted pride and 
 disappointed hopes, and accordingly arrayed a force such as had " 
 not assembled since the empire was in its glory. Raja Man 
 eagerly took up the gauntlet of his rival, and headed ' the swords 
 of Maru.' But dissension prevailed in Marwar, where rival 
 claimants for the throne had divided the loyalty of the clans, 
 introducing there also the influence of the Mahrattas. Raja 
 Man, who had acquired the sceptre by party aid; was obliged to 
 maintain himself by it, and to pursue the demoralizing policy of 
 the period by ranging his vassals against each other. These 
 nuptials gave the malcontents an opportunity to display their 
 long-curbed resentments, and following the example of Mewar, 
 they set up a pretender, whose interests were eagerly espoused, 
 and whose standard was erected in the array of Jaipur ; the 
 prince at the head of 120,000 men advancing against his rival, 
 who with less than half the number met him at Parbatsar, on 
 their mutual frontier. The action was short, for while a heavy 
 cannonade opened on either side, the majority of the Marwar 
 nobles went over to the pretender. Raja Man turned his poniard 
 against himself : but some chiefs yet faithful to him wrested the 
 weapon from his hand, and conveyed him from the field. He 
 was pursued to his capital, which was invested, besieged, and 
 gallantly defended during six months. The town was at length 
 taken and plundered, but the castle of Jodha ' laughed a siege 
 to scorn ' ; in time with the aid of finesse, the mighty host of 
 Jaipur, which had consumed the forage of these arid plains for 
 twenty miles around, began to crumble away ; intrigue spread 
 through every rank, and the siege ended in pusillanimity and 
 flight. The Xerxes of Rajwara, the effeminate Kachhwaha, 
 alarmed at length for his personal safety, sent on the spoUs of 
 
 but kindled an enthusiastic desire for the restoration of his fallen condition, 
 which stimulated his perseverance to obtain that knowledge by which alone 
 he might be enabled to benefit him. Then a young Sub., his hopes of success 
 were more sanguiiae than wise ; but he trusted to the rapid march of events, 
 and the discordant elements by which he was surrounded, to elfect the 
 redemption of the prince from thraldom. It was a long dream — but after 
 ten years of anxious hope, at length reaUzed — and he had the gratification 
 of being instrumental in snatching the family from destruction, aiad subse- 
 ■ quently of raising the country to comparative prosperity.
 
 538 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 Parbatsar and Jodhpur to his capital ; but the brave nobles of 
 Marwar, drawing the line between loyalty and patriotism, and 
 determined that no trophy of Rathor degradation should be 
 conveyed by the Kachhwahas from Marwar, attacked the cortege 
 and redeemed the symbols of their disgrace. The colossal array 
 of the invader was soon dismeinbered, and the ' lion of the 
 world ' (Jagat Singh), humbled and crestfallen [463], skulked 
 from the desert retreat of his rival, indebted to a partisan corps 
 for safety and convoy to his capital, around whose walls the 
 wretched remnants of this ill-starred confederacy long lagged 
 in expectation of their pay, while the bones of their horses and 
 the ashes of their riders whitened the plain, and rendered it a 
 Golgotha.^ 
 
 Nawab Amir Khan. — By the aid of one of the most notorious 
 villains India ever produced, the Nawab Amir lOian,^ the pre- 
 tender's party was treacherously anniliilated. This man with 
 his brigade of artUlery and horse was amongst the most efficient 
 of the foes of Raja Man ; but the auri sacra fames not only made 
 him desert the side on which he came for that of the Raja, but 
 for a specific sum offer to rid him of the pretender and all his 
 associates. Like Judas, he kissed whom he betrayed, took 
 service with the pretender, and at the shrine of a saint of his own 
 faith exchanged turbans with their leaders ; and while the too 
 credulous Rajput chieftains celebrated this acquisition to their 
 party in the very sanctuary of hospitality, crowned by the dance 
 and the song, the tents were cut down, and the victims thus 
 enveloped, slaughtered in the midst of festivity by showers of 
 grape. 
 
 Thus finished the under-plot ; but another and more noble 
 victim was demanded before discomfited ambition could repose, 
 or the curtain drop on this eventful drama. Neither party 
 
 ^ I witnessed the commencement and the end of this drama, and have 
 conversed with actors in all the intermediate scenes. In June 1806 the 
 passes of Udaipur were forced ; and in January 1808, when I passed through 
 Jaipur in a solitary ramble, the fragments of this contest were scattered over 
 its sandy plabas. 
 
 " [Amir Khan, ally of the Pindaris and ancestor of the present Nawabs 
 of Tonk. A treaty between him and the British was signed on December 
 19, 1817, by which his State was recognized. He died in 1834. See his 
 Life by Basawan Lai, translated by Thoby Prinsep ; Malcolm, Memoirs of 
 Central India, 2nd ed. ii. 325 ff.J
 
 THE TRAGEDY OF KRISHNA KUNWARI 539 
 
 would relinquish his claim to the fair object of the war ; and the 
 torch of discord could be extinguished only in her blood. To 
 the same ferocious Klian is attributed the tmhallowed suggestion, 
 as well as its compulsory execution. The scene was now changed 
 from the desert castle of Jodha to the smiling valley of Udaipur, 
 soon to be filled with funereal lamentation. 
 
 The Tragedy of Krishna Kunwari. — Krishna Kimwari Bai, the 
 ' Virgin Princess Krishna,' was in her sixteenth year : her 
 mother was of the Chawara race, the ancient kings of Anliilwara. 
 Sprung froin the noblest blood of Hind, she added beauty of face 
 and person to an engaging demeanour, and was justly proclaimed 
 the ' flower of Rajasthan.' When the Roman father pierced 
 the bosom of the dishonoured Virginia, appeased virtue applauded 
 the deed. When Iphigenia was led to the sacrificial altar, the 
 salvation of her coimtry yielded a noble consolation. The votive 
 victim of Jephthah's success had [464] the triumph of a father's 
 fame to sustain her resignation, and in the meeloiess of her 
 sufferings we have the best parallel to the sacrifice of the lovely 
 Krislma : though years have passed since the barbarous inunola- 
 tion, it is never related but with a faltering tongue and moistened 
 eyes, ' albeit imused to the melting mood.' 
 
 The rapacious and bloodthirsty Pathan, covered with infamy, 
 repaired to Udaipur, where he was joined by the phant and subtle 
 Ajit. Meek in his demeanour, unostentatious in his habits ; 
 despismg honours, yet covetous of power, — religion, wliich he 
 followed with the zeal of an ascetic, if it did not serve as a cloak, 
 was at least no liindrance to an immeasurable ambition, in the 
 attamment of which he woiUd have sacrificed all but himself. 
 When the Pathan revealed his design, that either the princess 
 should wed Raja Man, or by her death seal the peace of Rajwara, 
 whatever arguments were used to point the alternative, the Rana 
 was made to see no choice between consigning his beloved child 
 to the Rathor prince, or witnessing the effects of a m.ore extended 
 dishonour from the vengeance of the Pathan, and the storm of 
 his palace by his licentious adherents— the fiat passed that 
 Krishna Kunwari should die. 
 
 But the deed was left for women to accomplish — the hand of 
 man refused it. The Rawala^ of an Eastern prince is a world 
 witliin itself ; it is the labyrinth containing the strmgs that move 
 
 ^ Harem.
 
 540 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 the puppets which alarm mankind. Here intrigue sits entlironed, 
 and hence its influence radiates to the world, always at a loss to 
 trace effects to their causes. Maharaja Daulat Singh,"^ descended 
 four generations ago from one common ancestor with the Rana, 
 was first sounded ' to save the honour of Udaipur ' ; but, 
 horror-struck, he exclaimed, " Accursed the tongue that com- 
 mands it ! Dust on my allegiance, if thus to be preserved ! " 
 The Maharaja Jawandas, a natural brother, was then called 
 upon ; the dire necessity was explained, and it was urged that no 
 common hand could be armed for the purpose. He accepted the 
 poniard, but when in youthful loveliness Krislina appeared 
 before him, the dagger fell from his hand, and he returned more 
 wretched than the victim. The fatal purpose thus revealed, 
 the shrieks of the frantic inother reverberated through the palace, 
 as she implored mercy, or execrated the murderers of her child, 
 who alone was resigned to her fate. But death was arrested, not 
 averted [465]. To use the phrase of the narrator, " she was 
 excused the steel — the cup was prepared," — and prepared by 
 female hands ! As the messenger presented it in the name of 
 her father, she bowed and drank it, sending up a prayer for his 
 life and prosperity. The raving mother poured imprecations on 
 his head, while the lovely victim, who shed not a tear, thus 
 endeavoured to console her : " Why afllict yourself, my mother, 
 at this shortening of the sorrows of life ? I fear not to die ! Am 
 I not your daughter ? Wliy should I fear death ? We are 
 marked out for sacrifice ^ from our birth ; we scarcely enter the 
 world but to be sent out again ; let me thank my father that I 
 have lived so long ! " * Thus she conversed till the nauseating 
 
 ^ I knew him well — a plain honest man. 
 
 2 Alluding to the custom of infanticide — here, very rare ; indeed, almost- 
 unknown. * 
 
 * With my mind engrossed with the scenes in which I had passed the 
 better part of my life, I went two months after my return from Rajputana, 
 in 1823, to York Cathedral, to attend the memorable festival of that year. 
 The sublime recitations of Handel in ' Jephtha's Vow,' the sonorous woe of 
 Sapio's ' Deeper and deeper still,' powei-fully recalled the sad exit of the 
 Rajputni ; and the representation shortly after of Racine's tragedy of 
 ' Iphigcnie,' with Talma as Achille, Duchesnois as Clytemnestre, and a 
 very interesting personation of the victim daughter of Agamemnon, again 
 served to waken the remembrance of this sacrifice. The following passage, 
 embodying not only the sentiments, but couched in the precise language in 
 which the ' Virgin Krishna ' addressed her father — proving that human
 
 DEATH OF KRISHNA KUNWARI 541 
 
 draught refused to assimilate with her blood. Again the bitter 
 potion was prepared. She drained it off, and again it was re- 
 jected ; but, as if to try the extreme of human fortitude, a third 
 was administered ; and, for the third time, Nature refused to 
 aid the horrid purpose. It seemed as if the fabled charm, which 
 guarded the life of the founder of her race,^ was inherited by the 
 Virgin Krishna. But the blood-hounds, the Pathan and Ajit, 
 were impatient till their victim was at rest ; and cruelty, as if 
 gathering strength from defeat, made another and a fatal attempt. 
 A powerful opiate was presented — the kusumbha draught.''^ She 
 received it with a smile, wished the scene over, and drank it. The 
 desires [466] of barbarity were accomplished. ' She slept ! ' * a 
 sleep from which she never awoke. 
 
 The wretched mother did not long survive her child ; nature 
 was exhausted in the ravings of despair ; she refused food ; and 
 her remains in a few days followed those of her daughter to the 
 funeral pyre. 
 
 Even the ferocious Ivlian, when the instrument of his infamy, 
 Ajit, reported the issue, received him with contempt, and spurned 
 him from his presence, tauntingly asking " if this were the boasted 
 Rajput valour ? " But the wily traitor had to encounter lan- 
 guage far more bitter from his political adversary, whom he 
 detested. Sangram Saktawat reached the capital only four days 
 after Ae catastrophe— a man in every respect the reverse of 
 Ajit ; audaciously brave, he neither feared the frown of his 
 
 nature was but one mode of expression for the same feelings — I am tempted 
 
 to transcribe : 
 
 ..." Mon pere, 
 Cessez de vous troubler, vous n'etes point trahi. 
 Quand vous commanderez, vous serez obei : 
 Ma vie est votre bien. Vous voulez le reprendre, 
 Vos ordres, sans detour, pouvaient se faire entendre ; 
 D'un oeil aussi content, d'un coeur aussi soumis, 
 Que j'acceptais I'epoux que vous m'aviez promis, 
 Je saurai, s'il le faut, victinie obeissante 
 Tendi-e au fer de Cakhas une tete innocente ; 
 Et respectant le coup par vous-menie ordonne, 
 Vous rendre tout le sang que vous m'avez donne." 
 
 ^ Bappa Rawal. 
 
 ^ The kusumbha draught is made of flowers and herbs of a cooling quality ; 
 into this an opiate was introduced. 
 
 ^ The simxjle but powerful expression of the narrator.
 
 542 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 sovereign nor the sword of his enemy. Without introduction he 
 rushed into the presence, where he found seated the traitor Ajit. 
 " Oh dastard ! who hast thrown dust on the Sesodia race, whose 
 blood which has flowed in purity through a hundred ages has now 
 been defiled ! this sin will check its course for ever ; a blot so 
 foul in our annals that no Sesodia ^ will ever again hold up his 
 head ! A sin to which no punishment were equal. But the end 
 of our race is approaching ! The line of Bappa Rawal is at an 
 end ! Heaven has ordained this, a signal of our destruction." 
 The Rana hid his face with his hands, when turning to Ajit, he 
 exclaimed, " Thou stain on the Sesodia race, thou impure of 
 Rajput blood, dust be on thy head as thou hast covered us all 
 with shame. May you die childless, and your name die with 
 you ! ^ Why this indecent haste ? Had the Pathan stormed 
 the city ? Had he attempted to violate the sanctity of the 
 Rawala ? And though he had, could you not die as Rajputs, 
 like your ancestors ? Was it thus they gained a name ? Was 
 it thus our race became renowned — ^thus they opposed the might 
 of kings ? Have you forgotten the Sakhas of Chitor ? But 
 whom do I address — not Rajputs ? Had the honour of your 
 females been endangered, had you sacrificed them all and rushed 
 sword in hand on the enemy, your name would have lived, and 
 the Almighty would have secured the seed of Bappa Rawal. But 
 to owe preservation [467] to this unhallowed deed ! Tou did 
 not even await the threatened danger. Fear seems to have 
 deprived you of every faculty, or you might have spared the 
 blood of Sriji,^ and if you did not scorn to owe your safety to 
 deception, might have substituted some less noble victim ! But 
 the end of our race approaches 1 " 
 
 Fate of the Murderers. — The traitor to manhood, his sovereign, 
 and lunuanity, durst not reply. The brave Sangram is now dead, 
 but the prophetic anathema has been fulfilled. Of ninety-five 
 children, sons and daughters, but one son (the brother of Krishna) * 
 is left to the Rana ; and though his two remaining daughters 
 have been recently married to the princes of Jaisalmer and 
 Bikaner, the Salic law, which is in full force in these States, 
 
 ^ The tribe of the Rana. 
 
 2 That is, without adoption even to perpetuate it. 
 
 ' A respectful epithet to the prince — sire. 
 
 * By the same mother.
 
 AMiR KHAN REWARDED BY THE BRITISH 543 
 
 precludes all honour through female descent. His hopes rest 
 solely on the prince, Javana Singh/ and though in the flower of 
 yoxith and health, the marriage bed (albeit boasting no less than 
 four yoimg princesses) has been blessed with no progeny.^ 
 
 The elder brother of Javana * died two years ago. Had he 
 lived he would have been Amra the Third. With regard to A jit, 
 the curse has been fully accomplished. Scarcely a month after, 
 his wife and two sons were numbered with the dead ; and the 
 hoary traitor has since been wandering from shrine to shrine, 
 performing penance and alms in expiation of his sins, yet unable 
 to fling from him ambition ; and with his beads in one hand, 
 Rama ! Rama ! ever on his tongue, and subdued passion in his 
 looks, his heart is deceitful as ever. Enough of him : let us 
 exclaim with Sangram, " Dust on his head," * which all the waters 
 of the Ganges could not purify from the blood of the virgin 
 Krishna, but 
 
 rather would tlic multitudinous sea incarnadine [468]. 
 
 Amir Khan rewarded by the British. — His coadjutor. Amir 
 Khan, is now linked by treaties " in amity and unity of interests " 
 
 ^ He was nearly carried off by that awful scourge, the cholera, and, 
 singular to remark, was the first person attacked at Udaipur. I remained 
 by his bedside during the progress of this terrible visitation, and never shall 
 I forget his grateful exclamation of surprise, when after a salutary sleep he 
 opened his eyes to health. Shirji Mehta, his chief adviser and manager of 
 his estates, merry as ever, though the heir of Mewar was given over, was 
 seized with the complaint as his master recovered — was dead and his ashes 
 blanching on the sands of the streandet of Ar within twelve hours ! Jovial 
 and good-humoured as he was, " we could have better spared a better man." 
 He was an adept in intrigue ; of Ambaji's school ; and till death shall ex- 
 tinguish the whole of this, and better morals are born, the country will but 
 slowly improve. [Maharana Jawan Singh (1828-38) succeeded on the death 
 of his father, Bhim Singh, on March 31, 1828. He gave himself up to de- 
 bauchery, and died without issue on August 30, 1838, being succeeded by 
 his adopted son, Sardar Singh.] 
 
 ^ Since this work has gone to press, the author has been rejoiced to find 
 that an heir has been born from the last marriage by a princess of Riwa of 
 the Baghela tribe. 
 
 * See genealogical descendants of Rana Jagat Singh. Appendix, No. 
 VIII. 
 
 * This was written at Udaipur in 1820. This old intriguer then attempted 
 to renew the past, as the organ of the Chondawats, but his scheme ended in 
 exile to the sacred city of Benares ; and there he may now be seen with his 
 rosary on the consecrated ghat of the Ganges.
 
 544 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 with the sovereigns of India ; and though he has carried mourning 
 into every house of Rajasthan, yet charity might hope forgiveness 
 would be extended to him, could he cleanse himself from this 
 deed of horror — ' throwing this pearl away, richer than all his 
 tribe ! ' His career of rapine has terminated with the caresses of 
 the blind goddess, and placed him on a pinnacle to which his 
 sword would never have traced the path. Enjoying the most 
 distinguished post amongst the foreign chieftians of Holkar's 
 State, having the regulars and park under his control, with large 
 estates for their support, he added the epithet of traitor to his 
 other titles, when the British Government, adopting the leading 
 maxim of Asiatic policy, divide et inipera, guaranteed to him the 
 sovereignty of these districts on his abandoning the Mahrattas, 
 disbanding his legions, and surrendering the park. But though 
 he personally fulfilled not, nor could fulfil, one single stipulation, 
 this man, whose services were not worth the pay of a single 
 sepoy — who fled from his camp ^ unattended, and sought personal 
 protection in that of the British commander — claimed and 
 obtained the full price of our pledge, the sovereignty of about 
 one-third of his master's dominions ; and the districts of Sironj , 
 Tonk, Rampura, and Nimbahera, form the domain of the Nawab 
 Amir Khan, etc., etc., etc. ! ! This was in the fitful fever of 
 success, when our arms were everywhere triumphant. But were 
 the viceroy of Hind to summon the forty tributaries ^ now covered 
 by the aegis of British protection to a meeting, the murderer of 
 Krishna would still occupy a place (though low) in this illustrious 
 divan. Let us hope that his character being known, he would 
 feel himself ill at ease ; and let us dismiss him likewise in the 
 words of Sangram, " Dust on his head ! " 
 
 The mind sickens at the contemplation of these unvarying 
 scenes of atrocity ; but this unhappy State had yet to pass 
 through two more lustres of aggravated sufferings (to which the 
 author of these annals was an eye-witness) before their [469] 
 termination, upon the alliance of Mewar with Britain. From the 
 
 ^ Brigadier-General Alexander Knox had the honour of dissolving these 
 bands in the only way worthy of us. He marched his troops to take their 
 guns and disperse their legions ; and, when in order of battle, the gallant 
 General taking out his watch, gave them half an hour to reflect, their com- 
 mander Jamshid, second only in villainy to his master, deeming ' dis- 
 cretion the better part of valour,' surrendered. 
 
 2 There are full this number of princes holding under the British.
 
 RUIN OF MEWAR by THE MARATHAS 545 
 
 period of the forcing of the passes, the dismissal of the Jaipur 
 embassy by Sindhia, and the murder of Krishna Kunwari, the 
 embassy of Britain was in the train of the Mahratta leader, a 
 witness of the e%als described — a most painful predicament — 
 when the hand was stretched out for succour in vain, and 
 the British flag waved in the centre of desolation, unable 
 to afford protection. But this day of humiliation is past, 
 thanks to the predatory hordes who goaded us on to their des- 
 truction ; although the work was incomplete, a nucleus being 
 imprudently left in Sindhia for the scattered particles again 
 to form. 
 
 Ruin of Mewar by the Marathas. — In the spring of 1806, when 
 the embassy entered the once-fertile Mewar, from whose native 
 wealth the monuments the pencil will portray were erected, 
 nothing bvit ruin met the eye — deserted towns, roofless houses, 
 and uncultured plains. Wlierever the Mahratta encamped, 
 annihilation was ensured ; it was a habit ; and 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 after- 
 wards by burning villages and destroyed cultivation. Some 
 satisfaction may result from the fact, that there was scarcely an 
 actor in these unhallowed scenes whose end was not fitted to his 
 career. Ambaji was compelled to disgorge the spoils of Mewar, 
 and his personal sufferings made some atonement for the ills he 
 had inflicted upon her. This satrap, who had almost established 
 his independence in the fortress and territory of Gwalior, suffered 
 every indignity from Sindhia, whose authority he had almost 
 thrown off. He was confined in a mean tent, manacled, suffered 
 the torture of small lighted torches applied to his fingers, and even 
 attempted suicide to avoid the surrender of his riches ; but the 
 instrument (an English penknife) was inefficient : the surgeon to 
 the British embassy sewed up the wounds, and his coffers were 
 eased of fifty-five lakhs of rupees ! Mewar was, however, once 
 more delivered over to him ; he died shortly after. If report be 
 correct, the residue of his treasures was possessed by his ancient 
 ally, ZaUm Smgh. In this case, the old politician derived the 
 chief advantage of the intrigues of S. 1848, without the crimes 
 attendant on the acquisition. 
 
 Sindhia's father-in-law, when expelled that chief's camp, 
 according to the treaty, enjoyed the ephemeral dignity of minister 
 
 VOL. I 2 N
 
 546 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 to the Rana, when he abstracted the most vahiable records, 
 especially those of the revenue [470]. 
 
 Kumbhalmer was obtained by the minister Satidas from 
 Jaswant Rao Bhao for seventy thousand rupees, for which 
 assignments were given on this district, of which he retained 
 possession. Amir Khan in a.d. 1809 led his myrmidons to the 
 capital, threatening the demolition of the temple of Eklinga if 
 refused a contribution of eleven lakhs of rupees. Nine were 
 agreed to, but which by no effort could be raised, upon which 
 the R ana's envoys were treated with indignity, and Kishandas ^ 
 wounded. The passes were forced. Amir Khan entering by 
 Debari, and his coadjutor and son-in-law, the notorious Jamshid, 
 by the Chirwa, which made but a feeble resistance. The ruffian 
 Pathans were billeted on the city, subjecting the Rana to personal 
 humiliation, and Jamshid ^ left with his licentious Rohillas in the 
 capital. The traces of their barbarity are to be seen in its ruins. 
 No woman could safely venture abroad, and a decent garment or 
 turban was sufficient to attract their cupidity. 
 
 Bapu Sindhia Siibahdar of Mewar.— In S. 1867 (a.d. 1811) 
 Bapu Sindhia arrived with the title of Subahdar, and encamped 
 in the valley, and from this to 1814 these vampires, representing 
 Sindhia and Amir Khan, possessed themselves of the entire fiscal 
 domain, with many of the fiefs, occasionally disputing for the 
 spoils ; to prevent which they came to a conference at the Dhaula 
 Magra (the white hill), attended by a deputation ^ from the 
 Rana, when the line of demarcation was drawn between the 
 spoilers. A schedule was formed of the towns and villages yet 
 inhabited, the amount to be levied from each specified, and three 
 and a half lakhs adjudged to Jamshid, with the same sum to 
 Sindhia ; but this treaty was not better kept than the former 
 ones. Mewar was rapidly approaching dissolution, and every 
 
 ^ This veteran attended me during all these troubles, as the medium of 
 communication with the Rana. Though leagued with the Chondawats, he 
 was a loyal subject and good servant. I saw him expire, and was of opinion, 
 as well as the doctor who accompanied me, that his death was caused by 
 poison. The general burst of sorrow from hundreds collected around his 
 house, when the event was announced, is the best encomium on his public 
 character. 
 
 ^ This monstrous villain (for he was a Goliath) died soon after Mewar was 
 rescued, from a cancer in his back. 
 
 ^ Satidas, Kishandas, and Rup Ram.
 
 DEGRADED CONDITION OF THE RAJPUTS 547 
 
 sign of civilization fast disappearing ; fields laid waste, cities in 
 ruins, inhabitants exiled, chieftains demoralized, the prince and 
 his family destitute of common comforts. Yet had Sindhia the 
 audacity to demand compensation for the loss of his tribute 
 stipulated to Bapu Sindhia [471],^ who rendered Mewar a desert, 
 carrying her chiefs, her merchants, her farmers, into captivity 
 and fetters in the dungeons of Ajmer, where many died for want 
 of ransom, and others languished till the treaty with the British, 
 in A.D. 1817, set them free. 
 
 CHAPTER 18 
 
 Degraded Condition of the Rajputs. — The history of the Rana's 
 family has now been traced through all the vicissitudes of its 
 fortunes, fi-om the second to the nineteenth century, whilst 
 contendmg for existence, alternately with Parthians, Bhils, 
 Tartars, and Mahrattas, till at length it has become tributary 
 to Britain. The last chapter portrays the degraded condition 
 of their princes, and the utter desolation of their country, in a 
 picture which embodied the entire Rajput race. An era of repose 
 at length dawned upon them. The destruction of that vast 
 predatory system, under the weight of which the prosperity of 
 these regions had so long been repressed, was effected by one 
 short campaign in 1817 ; which if less brilliant than that of 1803, 
 is inferior to none in political results. The tardy policy of the 
 last-named period, at length accomplished, placed the power of 
 Britain in the East on an expugnable position, and rescued the 
 Rajputs from a progressing destruction. 
 
 Alliances with the British. — To prevent the recurrence of this 
 predatory system it was deemed politic to unite all these settled 
 States, alike interested with ourselves in its overthrow, in one 
 grand confederation. Accordingly the Rajput States were 
 
 ^ Bapu Sindhia shortly outhved his expulsion from Ajmer, and as he had 
 to pass through Mewar in his passage to his future residence, he was hooted 
 by the population he had plundered. While I was attending the Rana's 
 court, some one reporting Bapu Sindhia's arrival at his destination, men- 
 tioned that some pieces of ordnance formerl)^ taken from Udaipur had, after 
 saluting him, exuded a quantity of water, which was received with the utmost 
 gravity by the court, until I remarked they were crying because they should 
 never again be employed in plunder : an idea which caused a little mirth.
 
 548 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 invited to shelter [472] imder our protecting alliance ; and with 
 one exception (Jaipur), they eagerly embraced the invitation. 
 The ambassadors of the various governments followed each other 
 in quick succession to Delhi, where the treaties were to be negoti- 
 ated, and in a few weeks all Rajputana was united to Britain by 
 compacts of one uniform character ; ^ insuring to them external 
 protection with internal independence, as the price of acknow- 
 ledged supremacy, and a portion of revenue to the protecting 
 government. By this comprehensive arrangement, we placed a 
 most powerful barrier between our territories and the strong 
 natural frontier of India ; and so long as we shall respect their 
 established usages, and by contributing to the prosperity of the 
 people preserve our motives from distrust, it will be a barrier 
 impenetrable to invasion. 
 
 Treaty with Mewar. — Of all the princes who obtained succour 
 at this momentous crisis in the political history of India, none 
 stood more in need of it than the Rana of Udaipur. On January 
 16, 1818, the treaty was signed, and in February an envoy was 
 nominated ; who immediately proceeded to the Rana's court, 
 to superintend and maintain the newly formed relations.^ The 
 right wing of the grand army ^ had already preceded him to 
 compel the surrender of such territory as was unjustly held by 
 the lawless partisans of Sindhia, and to reduce to obedience the 
 refractory nobles, to whom anarchy was endeared from long 
 familiarity. The strongholds in the plains as Raepur, Rajnagar, 
 etc., soon surrendered ; and the payment of the arrears of the 
 garrison of Kumbhalmer put this important fortress in our 
 possession. 
 
 In his passage from Jahazpur, which guards the range on the 
 east to Kumbhalmer on the Aravalli west, a space of 140 miles, 
 the limits of Mewar, only two thinly peopled towns were seen 
 
 ^ See Appendix, No. VIII., for treaty with the Rana. 
 
 2 Commanded by Major-General Sir R. Donkin, K.C.B. 
 
 ^ The author had the honour to be selected by the Marquess of Hastings to 
 represent him at the Rana's court, with the title of ' Pohtical Agent to the 
 Western Rajput States.' During the campaign of 1817-18 he was placed 
 as the point of communication to the various divisions of jthe ^northern 
 army ; at the same time being intrusted with the negotiations with Holkar 
 (previous to the rupture), and with those of Kotah and Bundi. He con- 
 cUided the treaty with the latter State en route to Udaipur, where, as at the 
 latter, there were only the benefits of moral and political existence to confer.
 
 CESSION OF KUMBHALMER 549 
 
 which acknowledged the Rana's authority. All was desolate ; 
 even the traces of the footsteps of man were effaced. The babul 
 {mimosa [acacia] Arabica), and gigantic reed, which harboured 
 the boar and the tiger, grew upon the highways ; and every 
 rising ground displayed a mass of ruin. Bhilwara, the commercial 
 entrepot of Rajputana, which ten years before contained six 
 thousand [473 J famihes, showed not a vestige of existence. All 
 was silent in her streets — no living thing was seen except a 
 sohtary dog, that fled in dismay from his lurking-place in the 
 temple, scared at the imaccustomed sight of man.^ 
 
 Cession of Kumbhalmer. — ^An envoy was dispatched by the 
 Rana to congratulate the Agent, who joined him in the British 
 camp at Nathdwara ; and while he returned to arrange the 
 formalities of reception, the Agent obtained the cession of Kum- 
 bhalmer ; wliicii, with the acquisitions before mentioned, paved 
 the way for a joyful reception. The prmce, Javan Singh, with 
 all the State insignia, and a munerous cortege, advanced to 
 receive the mission, and conduct it to the capital. A spot was 
 fixed on in a grove of palmyras, about two miles from the city, 
 where carpets were spread, and where the prince received the 
 Agent and suite in a manner at once courteous and dignified.^ 
 Of him it might iiave been said, in the language applied by 
 Jahangir to the son of Rana Amra — " His countenance carried 
 the impression of his illustrious extraction." 
 
 Arrival o£ the Author as Agent. — We entered the city * by the 
 gate of the sun ; and through a vista of ruin the mission was 
 inducted into its future residence, once the abode of the fair 
 Ramijiyari.* Like all the mansions of Rajputana, it was a 
 quadrangular pile, with an opefi paved area, the suites of apart- 
 ments carried round the sides, with latticed or open corridors 
 
 ^ The author had passed through Bhilwara in May 1806, when it was 
 comparatively flourishing. On this occasion (Feb. 1818) it was entirely 
 deserted. It excited a smUe, in the midst of regrets, to observe the practical 
 wit of some of the soldiers, who had supphed the naked representative of 
 Adinath with an apron— not of leaves, but scarlet cloth. 
 
 ^ The Agent had seen him when a boy, at a meeting already described ; 
 but he could scarcely have hoped to find in one, to the formation of whose 
 character the times had been so unfavourable, such a specimen as this 
 descendant of Partap. 
 
 ^ A description of the city and valley will be more appropriate elsewhere. 
 
 * See p. 508.
 
 550 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 extending parallel to each suite. Another deputation with the 
 mehmani, consisting of a hundred trays of sweetmeats, dried 
 fruits, and a purse of one thousand rupees for distribution amongst 
 the domestics, brought the Rana's welcome upon our arrival in 
 his capital, and fixed the next day for our introduction at court. 
 
 At four in the afternoon, a deputation, consisting of the 
 officiating prime minister, the representative of the Chondawats, 
 with mace-bearers and a numerous escort, came to announce the 
 Rana's readiness to receive the mission ; which, with all the 
 ' pomp and circumstance ' peculiar to these countries, was 
 marshalled in front of the residency, thronged by crowds of 
 well-dressed [474] inhabitants, silently gazing at the unusual 
 sight.* The grand Nakkaras having announced the Rana in 
 court, the mission proceeded through streets which everywhere 
 presented marks of rapine, hailed by the most enthusiastic 
 greetings. " Jai ! jai ! Farangi ka Raj ! " " Victory, victory 
 to the English Government ! " resounded from every tongue. The 
 bards were not idle ; and the unpoetic name of the Agent was 
 hitched into rhyme. Groups of musicians were posted here and 
 there, who gave a passing specimen of the tappas ^ of Mewar ; 
 and not a few of the fair, with brazen ewers of water on their 
 heads, welcomed us with the suhelia, or songs of joy. Into each 
 of these vessels the purse-bearer dropped a piece of sUver ; for 
 neither the songs of the suhelia, the tappas of the minstrel, nor 
 encomiastic stave of the bard, are to be received without some 
 acknowledgement that you appreciate their merit and talents, 
 however you may doubt the value they put upon your own. As 
 we ascended the main street leading to the Tripolia, or triple 
 portal, which guards the sacred eficlosure, dense masses of people 
 obstructed our progress, and even the walls of the temple of 
 Jagannath were crowded. According to etiquette, we dismoimted 
 at the Porte, and proceeded on foot across the ample terrace ; on 
 which were drawn up a few elephants and horse, exercising for 
 the Rana's amusement. 
 
 The Palace at Udaipur. — The palace is a most imposing pile, 
 
 ^ The escort consisted of two companies of foot, each of one hundred men, 
 with half a troop of cavalry. The gentlemen attached to the mission were 
 Captain Waugh (who was secretary and commandant of the escort), with 
 Lieutenant Carey as his subaltern. Dr. Duncan was the medical officer. 
 
 * [Modes in music]
 
 THE PALACE AT UDAIPUR S51 
 
 of a regular form, built of oranite and marble, rising at least a 
 hundred feet from the ground, and flanked with octagonal towers, 
 crowned with cupolas. Although built at various periods, 
 uniformity of design has been very well preserved ; nor is there 
 in the East a more striking or majestic structure. It stands upon 
 the very crest of a ridge running parallel to, but considerably 
 elevated above, the margin of the lake. The terrace, which is 
 at the east and chief front of the palace, extends throughout its 
 length, and is supported by a triple row of arches from the de- 
 clivity of the ridge. The height of this arcaded wall is fully 
 fifty feet ; and although all is hollow beneath, yet so admirably 
 is it constructed, that an entire range of stables is built on the 
 extreme verge of the terrace, on which the whole personal force 
 of the Rana, elephants, horse, and foot, are often assembled. 
 From this terrace the city and the valley lay before the spectator, 
 whose vision is bounded only by the [475] hills shutting out the 
 plains ; while from the summit of the palace nothing obstructs 
 its range over lake and mountain. 
 
 A band of Sindis guarded the first entrance to the palace ; 
 and being Saturday, the Saktawats were on duty in the great hall 
 of assembly. Through lines of Rajputs we proceeded till we 
 came to the marble staircase, the steps of which had taken the 
 form of the segment of an ellipse, from the constant friction of 
 the foot ; an image of Ganesha guarded the ascent to the interior 
 of the palace, and the apartment, or landing, is called Ganesha 
 deori, from the Rajput Janus. After proceeding through a 
 suite of saloons, each filled with spectators, the herald's voice 
 amiounced to ' the lord of the world ' that the English envoy 
 was in his presence ; on which he arose, and advanced a few paces 
 in front of the throne, the chieftains standing to receive the 
 mission. Everything being ruled by precedent, the seat allotted 
 for the envoy was immediately in front and touching the royal 
 cushion (gaddi) : being that assigned to the Peshwa in the height 
 of Mahratta prosperity, the arrangement, which was a subject 
 of regular negotiation, could not be objected to. The apartment 
 chosen for the initiatory visit was the Surya mahall, or ' hall of 
 the sun,' so called from a medaUion of the orb in basso-rilievo 
 which decorates the wall. Close thereto is placed the Rana's 
 throne, above which, supported by slender silver columns, rises 
 a velvet canopy. The Gaddl or throne, in the East is but a huge
 
 552 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 cushion, over which is thrown an embroidered velvet mantle. 
 The chiefs of the higher grade, or ' the Sixteen,' were seated, 
 according to their rank, on the right and left of the Rana ; next 
 and below these were the princes Amra and Javan Singh ; and at 
 right angles (by which the court formed three sides of a square), 
 the chiefs of the second rank. The civil officers oi the State were 
 near the Rana in front, and the seneschal, butler, keeper of the 
 wardrobe, and other confidential officers and inferior chieftains, 
 formed a group standing on the extreme edge of the carpet. 
 
 The Rana's congratulations were hearty and sincere : in a few 
 powerful expressions he depicted the miseries he had experienced, 
 the fallen condition of his State, and the gratitude he felt to the 
 British Government which had interposed between him and 
 destruction ; and which for the first moment of his existence 
 allowed him to sleep in peace. There was an intense earnestness 
 in every word he uttered, which, delivered with great fluency of 
 speech and dignity of manner, inspired deep respect and sympathy. 
 The Agent said that the Governor- General was no stranger to 
 the [476] history of his illustrious family, or to his own immediate 
 sufferings ; and that it was his earnest desire to promote, by 
 every means in his power, the Rana's personal dignity and the 
 prosperity of his dominions. After conversing a few minutes, 
 the interview was closed with presents to the Agent and suite : 
 to the former a caparisoned elephant and horse, jewelled aigrette, 
 and pearl necklace, with shawls and brocades ; and with the 
 customary presentation of essence of rose and the pan leaf the 
 Rana and court rising, the envoy made his salaam and retired. 
 In a short time the Rana, attended by his second son, ministers, 
 and a select number of the chiefs, honoured the envoy with a 
 visit. The latter advanced beyond his residence to meet the 
 prince, who was received with presented arms by the guard, the 
 officers saluting, and conducted to his throne, which had been 
 previously arranged. Conversation was now imrestrained, and 
 questions were demanded regarding everything which appeared 
 unusual. After sitting half an hour, the Agent presented the 
 Rana with an elephant and two horses, caparisoned with silver 
 and gilt ornaments and velvet embroidered housings, with twenty- 
 one shields ^ of shawls, brocades, muslins, and jewels ; to prince 
 Amra, finable from sickness to attend his father, a horse and 
 ^ The buckler is the tray in which gifts are presented by the Rajputs.
 
 POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF IVIEWAR 553 
 
 eleven shields ; and to his brother, the second prmce, Javan 
 Singh, a horse and nine shields ; to the ministers and chiefs 
 according to rank : the whole entertainment costing about 20,000 
 rupees, or £2000. Amidst these ceremonials, receiving and 
 retiuning visits of the Rana, his chiefs, his ministers, and men 
 of influence and information commercial and agricultural, some 
 weeks passed in silent observation, and in the acquisition of 
 materials for action.^ 
 
 Political Divisions of Mewar. — For the better comprehension 
 of the internal relations, past and present, of Mewar [477], a 
 sketch is presented, showing the political divisions of the tribes 
 and the fiscal domain, from which a better idea may be formed 
 of Rajput feudal economy than from a chapter of dissertation. 
 The princes of Mewar skUfully availed themselves of their natural 
 advantages in the partition of the country. The mountain- 
 barriers east and west were allotted to the chiefs to keep the 
 mountaineers and foresters in subjection, whose leading passes 
 
 ^ If we dare compare the moral economy of an entire people to the 
 physical economy of the individual, we should liken this period in the history 
 of Mewar to intermittent pulsation of the heart — a pause in moral as in 
 physical existence ; a consciousness thereof, inertly awaiting the propelling 
 power to restore healthful action to a state of langxiid repose ; or what 
 the Rajput would better comprehend, his own condition when the opiate 
 stimulant begins to dissipate, and mind and body are alike abandoned to 
 helpless imbecihty. Who has hved out of the circle of mere vegetation, and 
 not experienced this temporary deprivation of moral vitality ? for no other 
 simile would suit the painful pause in the sympathies of the inhabitants of 
 this once fertile region, where experience could point out but one page in 
 their annals, one period in their history, when the clangour of the war 
 trumpet was suspended, or the sword shut up in its scabbard. The portals 
 of Janus at Rome were closed but twice in a period of seven hundred years ; 
 and in exactly the same time from the conquest by Shihabu-d-din to the 
 great pacification, but twice can we record peace in Mewar — the reign of 
 Numa has its type in Shah Jahan, while the more appropriate reign of 
 Augustus belongs to Britain. Are we to wonder then that a chilling void now 
 occupied (if the solecism is admissible) the place of interminable action ? 
 when the mind was released from the anxiety of daily, hourly, devising 
 schemes of preservation, to one of perfect security — that enervating calm, in 
 which, to use their own homely phrase, Bher aur bakri ekhi thali se x>iy^> ' The 
 wolf and the goat drank from the same vessel.' [Another, and more usual 
 form is — Aj kal, sher bakri ek ghat pani pile liain, ' Nowadays the tiger and 
 the goat drink from the same stream.'] But this unruflBed torpidity had its 
 limit : the Agrarian laws of Mewar were but mentioned, and the national 
 pulse instantly rose.
 
 554 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 were held by a lord -marcher, and the quotas of his quarter ; and 
 while strong forts guarded the exposed northern and southern 
 entrances, the crown-land lay in the centre, the safest and the 
 richest. The exterior, thus guarded by a cordon of feudal levies 
 composed of the quotas of the greater fiefs ; the minor and most 
 numerous class of vassals, termed gol, literally ' the mass,' and 
 consisting of ten thousand horse, each holding directly of the 
 crown independent of the greater chiefs, formed its best security 
 against both external aggression and internal commotions. 
 
 Desolation of Mewar. — Such is a picture of the feudal economy 
 of Mewar in the days of her renown ; but so much had it been 
 defaced through time and accident, that with difficulty could the 
 lineaments be traced with a view to their restoration : her in- 
 stitutions a dead letter, the prince's authority despised, the nobles 
 demoralized and rebellious, internal commerce abandoned, and 
 the peasantry destroyed by the combined operation of war, 
 pestilence, and exile. Expression might be racked for phrases 
 which could adequately delineate the miseries all classes had 
 endured. It is impossible to give more than a sketch of the state 
 of the das sahas Mewar, ' the ten thousand townships ' which 
 once acknowledged her princes, and of which above three thousand 
 still exist. All that remained to them was the valley of the 
 capital ; and though Chitor and Mandalgarh were maintained 
 by the fidelity of the Rana's servants; their precarious revenues 
 scarcely sufficed to maintain their garrisons. The Rana was 
 mainly indebted to Zalim Singh of Kotah for the means of sub- 
 sistence ; for in the struggle for existence his chiefs thought only 
 of themselves, of defending their own estates, or buying off their 
 foes ; while those who had succumbed took to horse, scoured the 
 country, and plundered without distinction. Inferior clanships 
 declared themselves independent of their superiors, who in their 
 turn usurped the crown domain, or by bribing the necessities of 
 their prince, obtained his patent for lands, to which, as they 
 yielded him nothing, he became indifferent. The crown-tenants 
 purchased of these chiefs the protection (rakhwali) which the 
 [478] Rana could not grant, and made alienations of the crown 
 taxes, besides private rights of the community, which were often 
 extorted at the point of the lance. Feuds multiplied, and the 
 name of each clan became the watchword of alarm or defiance 
 to its neighbour : castles were assaulted, and their inmates, as
 
 THE CONDITION OF UDAIPUR 555 
 
 at Sheogarh and I^awa, put to the sword ; the Meras and Bhils 
 descended from their hills, or emerged from their forests, and 
 planted ambuscades for the traveller or merchant, whom they 
 robbed or carried to their retreats, where they languished in 
 durance till ransomed. Marriage processions were thus inter- 
 cepted, and the honeymoon was passed on a cliff of the Aravalli, 
 or in the forests on the Mahi. The Rajput, whose moral energies 
 were blunted, scrupled not to associate and to divide the spoil 
 with these lawless tribes, of whom it might be said, as of the 
 children of Ishmael, '' Their hands were against every man, and 
 every man's hand against them." Yet notwithstanding such 
 entire disorganization of society, external commerce was not 
 stagnant ; and in the midst of this rapine, the produce of Europe 
 and Kashmir would pass each other in transit through Mewar, 
 loaded it is true by a multiplicity of exactions, but guarded by 
 those who scorned all law but the point of honour, which they were 
 paid for preserving. 
 
 The Condition of Udaipur. — The capital will serve as a specimen 
 of the country. Udaipur, which formerly reckoned fifty thousand 
 houses within the walls, had not now three thousand occupied, 
 the rest were in ruin, the rafters being taken for firewood. The 
 realization of the spring harvest of 1S18, from the entire fiscal 
 land, was about £4000 ! Grain sold for seven sers the rupee, 
 though thrice the quantity was procurable within the distance 
 of eighty miles. Insurance from tiie capital to Nathdwara 
 (twenty-five miles) was eight per cent. The Kotharia chief, 
 whose ancestors are immortalized for fidelity, had not a horse 
 to conduct him to his prince's presence, though his estates were 
 of fifty thousand rupees annual value. All were in ruins ; and 
 the Rana, the descendant of those patriot Rajputs who opposed 
 Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb, in the days of Mogul splendour, 
 had not fifty horse to attend him, and was indebted for all the 
 comforts he possessed to the liberality of Kotah. 
 
 Reorganization o£ the State.— Such 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 
 engraved in the national mind, became available to reanimate 
 their moral and physical existence. To call these forth demanded 
 only the exertion of moral [479] interference, and every other was 
 rejected. The lawless freebooter, and even the savage Bhil, felt
 
 656 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 awed at the agency of a power never seen. To him moral opinion 
 (compared with which the strength of armies is nought) was 
 inexphcable, and he substituted in its stead another invisible 
 power — that of magic : and the belief was ciurent throughout 
 the intricate region of the West, that a single individual could 
 carry an army in his pocket, and that our power could animate 
 slips of paper cut into the figures of armed men, from which no 
 precaution could guard their retreats. Accordingly, at the mere 
 name of the British power, rapine ceased, and the inhabitants of 
 the wilds of the West, the ' forest lords,' who had hitherto 
 laughed at subjection, to the number of seven hundred vUlages, 
 put each the sign of the dagger to a treaty, promising abstinence 
 from plunder and a return to industrious life — a single individual 
 of no rank the negotiator. Moreover, the treaty was religiously 
 kept for twelve months ; when the peace was broken, not by 
 them, but against them. 
 
 To the Rajput, the moral spectacle of a Peshwa marched into 
 exile with all the quietude of a pilgrimage, effected more than 
 twenty thousand bayonets, and no other auxiliary was required 
 than the judicious use of the impressions from this and other 
 passing events, to relay the foundations of order and prosperity — 
 by never doubting the issue, success was insured. The British 
 force, therefore, after the reduction of the plans enumerated, was 
 marched to cantonments ; the rest was left for time and reason 
 to accomplish. 
 
 Form of Civil Government. — Before proceeding further, it 
 may be convenient to sketch the form of civil government in 
 Mewar, and the characters^ of its most conspicuous members : 
 the former we shall describe as it was when the machine was in 
 regular action ; it will be found simple, and i^erfectly suited to 
 its object. 
 
 There are four grand officers of the government : 
 
 1. The Pardhan, or prime minister. 
 
 2. Bakhshi, commander of the forces. 
 
 3. Suratnama, keeper of the records. 
 
 4. Sahai, keeper of the signet.^ 
 
 The first, the Pardhan, or civil premier, must be of the non- 
 
 ^ Or rather, who makes the monogrammatic signet Sahi ('correct') to 
 all deeds, grants, etc.
 
 FORM OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 557 
 
 militant tribe. The whole of the territorial and financial arrange- 
 ments are vested in him. He [480] nominates the civil governors 
 of districts, and the collectors of the revenue and custom ; and 
 has fourteen thuas, or departments, under him, which embrace 
 all that relates to expenditure. 
 
 2. The Bakhshi must also be of a non-militant tribe, and one 
 different from the Pardhan. His duties are mixed civil and 
 military. He takes the musters, and pays mercenaries, or rations, 
 to the feudal tenants when on extra service, and he appoints a 
 deputy to accompany all expeditions, or to head frontier-posts, 
 with the title of Faujdar, or commander. The royal insignia, 
 the standard, and kettle-drums accompany him, and the highest 
 nobles assemble under the general control of this civil officer, 
 never under one of their own body. From the Bakhshi's bureau 
 all patents are issued, as also all letters of sequestration of feudal 
 land. 
 
 The Bakhshi has four secretaries : 
 
 1. Draws out deeds. 
 
 2. Accountant. 
 
 3. Recorder of all patents or grants. 
 
 4. Keeps duplicates. 
 
 3. The Suratnama ^ is the auditor and recorder of all the 
 household expenditure and establishments, which are paid by 
 his cheques. He has four assistants also, who make a daily report, 
 and give a daily balance of accounts. 
 
 4. The Sahai. He is secretary both for home and foreign 
 correspondence. He draws out the royal grants or patents of 
 estates, and superintends the deeds of grant on copper-plate to 
 religious establishments. Since the privilege appertaining to 
 Salumbar, of confirming all royal grants with his signet the lance, 
 has fallen into desuetude, the Sahai executes this military auto- 
 graph.^ 
 
 To all decrees, from the daily stipend to the patta, or patent of 
 an estate, each minister must append his seal, so that there is a 
 complete system of check. Besides these, the higher officers of 
 government, there are thirty-six karkhanas, or inferior officers, 
 
 ^ [Properly Suratnavls, ' statement-writer.'] 
 
 * The Salumbar chief had his deputy, who resided at court for this sole 
 duty, for which he held a village. See p. 235.
 
 558 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 appointed directly by the Rana, the most conspicuous of which 
 are the justiciary,^ the keepers of the register-office, of the mint, 
 of the armoury, of the regaha, of the jewels, of the wardrobe, 
 of the stables, of the kitchen, of the band, of the seneschalsy, 
 and of the seraglio. 
 
 There was no want of aspirants to office, here hereditary ; but 
 it was vain to look [481] amongst the descendants of the virtuous 
 Pancholi, or the severe Amrachand, and the prediction of the 
 former, " Dust will cover the head of Me war when virtue wanders 
 in rags," was strictly fulfilled. There appeared no talent, no 
 influence, no honesty ; yet the deficiency was calculated to excite 
 sorrow rather than surprise ; to stimulate exertion on their 
 behalf, rather than damp the hope of improvement ; though all 
 scope for action, save in the field of intrigue, was lost, and talent 
 was dormant for want of exercise. 
 
 Incapacity of the Rana. — The Rana's character was little cal- 
 culated to supply his minister's deficiencies. Though perfectly 
 versed in the past history of his country, its resources, and their 
 management ; though able, wise, and amiable, his talents were 
 nullified by numerous weak points. Vain shows, frivolous 
 amusements, and an ill-regulated liberality alone occupied him ; 
 and so long as he could gi'atify these propensities, he trusted 
 complacently to the exertions of others for the restoration of 
 order and his proper authority. He had little steadiness of 
 purpose, and was particularly obnoxious to female influence. It 
 is scarcely to be wondered that he coveted repose, and was little 
 desirous to disturb the only moment his existence had presented 
 of enjoying it, by inviting the turmoils of business. No man, 
 however, was more capable of advising : his judgment was good, 
 but he seldom followed its dictates ; in short, he was an adept 
 in theory, and a novice in practice. The only man about the 
 court at once of integrity and efficiency was Kishandas, who had 
 long acted as ambassador, and to whose assiduity the sovereign 
 and the country owed much ; but his services were soon cut off 
 by death. 
 
 Such were the materials with which the work of reform com- 
 menced. The aim was to bring back matters to a correspondence 
 with an era of their history, when the rights of the prince, the 
 
 ^ Niyao, Daftar, Taksala, Silah, Gaddi, Gahna, Kapra-bandar, Ghora, 
 Rasora, Nakkar-khana, JalelD, Rawala.
 
 RELATIONS OF THE RANA WITH HIS NOBLES 559 
 
 vassal, and the cultivator, were alike well defined — that of Anira 
 Singh. 
 
 Relations o£ the Rana with his Nobles.^ — The fust point to effect 
 was the recognition of the prince's authority by his nobles ; the 
 surest sign of which was their presence at the capital, where some 
 had never been, and others only when it suited their convenience 
 or their views. In a few weeks the Rana saw himself surrounded 
 by a court such as had not been known for half a century. It 
 created no small curiosity to learn by what secret power they were 
 brought into each other's presence. Even the lawless Hamira, 
 who but a short while before had plundered the marriage dower 
 of the Hari queen [482] coming from Kotah, and the chief of the 
 Sangawat clan, who had sworn " he might bend his head to woman, 
 but never to his sovereign," left their castles of Badesar and 
 Deogarh, and " placing the royal rescript on their heads," hastened 
 to his presence ; and in a few weeks tlie whole feudal association 
 of Mewar was embodied m the capital. 
 
 Return of the Exiles. — To recall the exiled population was a 
 measure simultaneous with the assembling of the nobles ; but 
 this was a work requiring time : they had formed ties, and in- 
 curred obligations to the societies which had sheltered them, 
 which could not at once be disengaged or annulled. But wherever 
 a subject of Mewar existed, proclamations penetrated, and satis- 
 factory assurances were obtained, and realized to an extent which 
 belied in the strongest manner the assertion that patriotism is 
 unknown to the natives of Hindustan. The most enthusiastic 
 and cheering proofs were afforded that neither oppression from 
 without, nor tyranny within, could expel the feeling for the 
 bapota, the land of their fathers. Even now, though time has 
 chastened the impressions, we should fear to pen but a tithe of 
 the proofs of devotion of the husbandman of Mewar to the solum 
 natale : it would be deemed romance by those who never con- 
 templated humanity in its reflux from misery and despair to the 
 ' sweet influences ' of hope ; he alone who had witnessed the day 
 of trouble, and beheld the progress of desolation — the standing 
 corn grazed by Mahratta horse — the rifled towns devoted to the 
 flaines — the cattle driven to the camp, and the chief men seized 
 as hostages for money never to be realized— could appreciate 
 their deliverance. To be permitted to see these evils banished, to 
 behold the survivors of oppression congregated from the most
 
 560 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 distant provinces, many of them strangers to each other, and 
 the aged and the helpless awaiting the lucky day to take possession 
 of their ruined abodes, was a sight which memory will not part 
 with. Thus on the 3rd of Sawan (July)/ a favourite day with 
 the husbandman, three hundred of all conditions, with their 
 waggons and implements of labour, and preceded by banners and 
 music, marched into Kapasan ; ^ and Ganesha was once again 
 invoked as they reconsecrated their dwellings, and placed his 
 portrait as the Janus of the portals. On the san\e day, and within 
 eight months subsequent to the signature of the treaty, above 
 three hundred towns and villages were simultaneously reinhabited ; 
 and the land, which for many years had been a stranger to the 
 plough-share, was broken up. Well might [483] the superstitious 
 fancy that miracles were abroad ; for even to those who beheld 
 the work in progression it had a magical result, to see the waste 
 covered with habitations, and the verdant corn growing in the 
 fields where lately they had roused the boar from his retreat ! 
 It was a day of pride for Britain ! By such exertions of her power 
 in these distant lands her sway is hallowed. By Britain alone 
 can this fair picture be defaced ; the tranquillity and independ- 
 ence she has conferred, by her alone may be disturbed ! 
 
 Attraction of Capital. — • To these important preliminary 
 measures, the assembly of the nobles and recall of the population, 
 was added a third, without which the former would have been 
 nugatory. There was no wealth, no capital, to aid their patriotism 
 and industry. Foreign merchants and bankers had abandoned 
 the devoted land ; and those who belonged to it partook of her 
 poverty and her shame. Money was scarce, and want of faith and 
 credit had increased the usury on loans to a ruinous extent. The 
 Rana borrowed at thirty-six per cent ; besides twenty-five to 
 forty per cent discount for his barats, or patents empowering 
 collection on the land ; a system pursued for some time even 
 after his restoration to authority. His profusion exceeded even 
 the rapidity of renovation ; and the husbandman had scarcely 
 broken up his long-waste fields, when a call was made by the 
 harpies of the State for an advance on their produce, while he 
 himself had been compelled to borrow at a like ruinous rate for 
 
 ^ [Sawan sudi tij, third of the bright half of the month Sawan (July 
 to August), a festival celebrated throughout North India.] 
 ^ [About 45 miles north of Udaipur city.]
 
 FINANCIAL REORGANIZATION 561 
 
 seed and the means of support, to be paid by expectations. To 
 have hoped for the revival of prosperity amidst such destitution, 
 moral and pecuniary, would have been visionary. It was as 
 necessary to improve the one as to find the other ; for poverty 
 and virtue do not long associate, and certainly not in Mewar. 
 Proclamations were therefore prepared by the Rana, inviting 
 foreign merchants and bankers to establish connexions in the 
 chief towns throughout the country ; but as in the days of 
 demoralization little faith was placed in the words of princes, 
 similar ones were prepared by the Agent, guaranteeing the stipula- 
 tions, and both were distributed to everj'^ commercial city in India. 
 The result was as had been foreseen : branch banks were every- 
 where formed, and mercantile agents fixed in every town in the 
 country, whose operations were only limited by the slow growth 
 of moral improvement. The shackles which bound external 
 commerce were at once removed, and the multifarious posts for 
 the collections of transit duties abolished ; in lieu of which chain 
 of stations, all levies on goods in transit were confined to the 
 frontiers. The scale of duties [484] was revised ; and by the 
 abolition of intermediate posts, they underwent a reduction of 
 from thirty to fifty per cent. By this system, which could not 
 for some time be comprehended, the transit and custom duties 
 of Mewar made the most certain part of the revenue, and in a 
 few years exceeded in amount what had ever been known. 
 
 Trade at Bhilwara. — The chief commercial mart, Bhilwara, 
 which showed not a vestige of humanity, rapidly rose from ruin, 
 and in a few months contained twelve hundred houses, half of 
 which were occupied by foreign merchants. Bales of goods, the 
 produce of the most distant lands, were piled up in the streets 
 lately overgrown with grass, and a weekly fair was established 
 for the home manufactures. A charter of privileges and im- 
 munities was issued, exempting them from all taxation for the 
 first year, and graduating the scale for the future ; calculated 
 with the same regard to improvement, by giving the mind the full 
 range of enjoying the reward of its exertions. The right of 
 electing their own chief magistrates and the assessors of justice, 
 was above all things indispensable, so as to render them as in- 
 dependent as possible of the needy servants of the court. A 
 guard was provided by the government for their protection, and 
 a competent authority nominated to see that the full extent of 
 VOL. I . 2 o
 
 562 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 their privileges, and the utmost freedom of action, were religiously 
 maintained. The entire success of this plan may at once be 
 recorded to prevent repetition. In 1822, Bhilwara contained 
 nearly three thousand dwellings, which were chiefly inliabited by 
 merchants, bankers, or artisans. An entire new street had been 
 constructed in the centre of the town, from the duties levied, 
 and the shops and houses were rented at a moderate rate ; while 
 many were given up to the proprietors of their sites, returning 
 from exile, on their paying the price of construction. But as 
 there is no happiness without alloy, so even this pleasing picture 
 had its dark shades to chasten the too sanguine expectation of 
 imparting happiness to all. Instead of a generous emulation, a 
 jealous competition checked the prosperity of Bhilwara : the base 
 spirit of exclusive monopoly desired a distinction between the 
 native and the stranger-merchant, for which they had a precedent 
 in the latter paying an addition to the town-duty of metage 
 {mapa). The unreasonableness of this was discussed, and it was 
 shown to be more consonant to justice that he who came from 
 Jaisalmer, Surat, Benares, or Delhi, should pay less than the 
 merchant whose domicile was on the spot. When at length the 
 parties acquiesced in this opinion, and were intreated and promised 
 to know [485] none other distinction than that of ' inhabitant of 
 Bhilwara,' sectarian differences, which there was less hope of 
 reconciling, became the cause of disunion. All the Hindu mer- 
 chants belong either to the Vaishnava or Jain sects ; consequently 
 each had a representative head, and ' the Five ' for the adjudica- 
 tion of their internal arrangements ; and these, the wise men of 
 both parties, formed the general council for the affairs of Bhilwara. 
 But they carried their religious differences to the judgement-seat, 
 where each desired pre-eminence. Whether the point in dispute 
 hinged on the interpretation of law, which with all these sects is 
 of divine origin, or whether the mammon of unrighteousness was 
 the lurking cause of their bickerings, they assuredly did much 
 harm, for their appeals brought into play what of all things was 
 least desired, the intrigues of the profligate dependents of the 
 court. It will be seen hereafter,^ in visits to Bhilwara, how these 
 disputes were in some degree calmed. The leaders on both sides 
 were distinctly given to understand they would be made to leave 
 the place. Self-interest prevented this extremity ; but from the 
 ^ In the Personal Narrative.
 
 REFORM OF THE NOBILITY 563 
 
 withdrawing of that active interference (which the state of the 
 aUiance did not indeed warrant, but which humanity interposed 
 for their benefit) together with the effect of appeals to the court, 
 it is to be apprehended that Bhilwara may fail to become what 
 it was intended to be, the chief commercial mart of Central India.^ 
 Reform of the Nobility. — Of the three measures simultaneously 
 projected and pursued for the restoration of prosperity, the 
 industrious portion has been described. The feudal interest 
 remains, which was found the most difficult to arrange. The 
 agricultural and commercial classes required only protection and 
 stimulus, and we could repay the benefits their industry conferred 
 by the lowest scale of taxation, which, though in fact equally 
 beneficial to the government, was constructed as a boon. But 
 with the feudal lords there was no such equivalent to offer in 
 return for the sacrifices many had to make for the re-establishment 
 of society. Those who were well inclined, like Kotharia, had 
 everything to gain, and nothing left to surrender ; while those 
 who, like Deogarh, Salumbar, or Badnor, had preserved their 
 power by foreign aid, intrigue, or j)rowess, dreaded the high price 
 they might be called upon to pay [486] for the benefit of security 
 which the new alliance conferred. All dreaded the word ' restitu- 
 tion,' and the audit of half a century's political accounts ; yet the 
 adjustment of these was the corner-stone of the edifice, which 
 anarchy and oppression had dismantled. Feuds were to be 
 appeased, a difficult and hazardous task ; and usurpations, both 
 on the crown and each other, to be redeemed. ' To bring the 
 wolf and the goat to drink from the same vessel,' was a task of 
 less difficulty than to make the Chondawat and Saktawat labour 
 in concert for the welfare of the prince and the country. In fine, 
 a better idea cannot be afforded of what was deemed the hopeless- 
 
 ^ Although Bhilwara has not attained that high prosperity my enthusiasm 
 anticipated, yet the philanthropic Heber records that in 1825 (three years 
 after I had left the country) it exhibited " a greater appearance of trade, 
 industry, and moderate but widely diffused wealth and comfort, than he 
 had witnessed since he left DehU" [Diary, ed. 1861, ii. 56 f.]. The record 
 of the sentiments of the inhabitants towards me, as conveyed by the bishop, 
 was gratifying, though their expression could excite no surprise in any 
 one acquainted with the characters and sensibilities of these people. [The 
 author's anticipation of the prosperity of this town have not been com- 
 pletely realized ; but it is still an important centre of trade, noted for the 
 manufacture of cooking utensils, and possessing a ginning factory and a 
 cotton-press (Erskine ii. A. 97 f.)-l
 
 564 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 ness of success than the opinion of Zorawar Singh, the chief of 
 the latter clan, who had much to relinquish : " Were Parameswara 
 (the Almighty) to descend, he could not reform Mewar." We 
 judged better of them than they did of each other. 
 
 Negotiations with the Chiefs. — It were superfluous to detail all 
 the preparatory measures for the accomplishment of this grand 
 object ; the meetings and adjournments, which only served to 
 keep alive discontent. On the 27th of April, the treaty with the 
 British Government was read, and the consequent change in their 
 relations explained. MeanwhilC; a charter, defining the respective 
 rights of the crown and of the chiefs, with their duties to the 
 community, was prepared, and a day named for a general assembly 
 of the chieftains to sanction and ratify this engagement. The 
 1st of May was fixed : the chiefs assembled ; the articles, ten in 
 number, were read and warmly discussed ; when with unmeaning 
 expressions of duty, and objections to the least prominent, they 
 obtained through their speaker, Gokuldas of Deogarh, permission 
 to reassemble at his house to consider them, and broke up with 
 the promise to attend next day. The delay, as apprehended, only 
 generated opposition, and the 2nd and 3rd passed in inter-com- 
 munications of individual hope and fear. It was important to 
 put an end to speculation. At noon, on the 4th of May, the grand 
 hall was again filled, when the Rana, with his sons and ministers, 
 took their seats. Once more the articles were read, objections 
 raised and combated, and midnight had arrived without the 
 object of the meeting being advanced, when an adjournment, 
 proposed by Gokuldas, till the arrival of the Rana's plenipotentiary 
 from Delhi, met with a firm denial ; and the Rana gave him liberty 
 to retire, if he refused his testimony of loyalty. The Begun 
 chief, who had much to gain, at length set the example, followed 
 by the chiefs of Amet and Deogarh, and in succession by all the 
 sixteen nobles, who also signed as the proxies of their [487] 
 relatives, unable from sickness to attend. The most powerful 
 of the second grade also signed for themselves and the absent of 
 their clans, each, as he gave in his adhesion, retiring ; and it was 
 three in the morning of the 5th of May ere the ceremony was over. 
 The chief of the Saktawats, determined to be conspicuous, was 
 the last of his own class to sign. During this lengthened and 
 painful discussion of fifteen hours' continuance, the Rana con- 
 ducted himself with such judgment and firmness, as to give
 
 ENFORCEMENT OF THE TREATY 565 
 
 sanguine hopes of his taking the lead in the settlement of his 
 affairs. 
 
 Enforcement of the Treaty. — This prehminary adjusted, it was 
 important that the stipulations of the treaty ^ should be rigidly 
 if not rapidly effected. It will not be a matter of surprise, that 
 some months passed away before the complicated arrangements 
 arising out of this settlement were completed ; but it may afford 
 just grounds for gratulation, that they were finally accomplished 
 without a shot being fired, or the exhibition of a single British 
 soldier in the country, nor, indeed, within one hundred miles of 
 Udaipur. ' Opinion ' was the sole and all-sufficient ally effecting 
 this political reform. The Rajputs, in fact, did not require the 
 demonstration of our physical strength ; its influence had reached 
 far beyond Mewar. When the few firelocks defeated hundreds of 
 the foes of public tranquillity, they attributed it to ' the strength 
 of the Company's salt,' ^ the inoral agency of which was pro- 
 claimed the true basis of our power. ' Sachha Raj ' was the 
 proud epithet applied by our new allies to the British Government 
 in the East ; a title which distinguished the immortal Alfred, 
 ' the upright.' 
 
 It will readily be imagined that a reform, which went to touch 
 
 ^ A literal translation of this curious piece of Hindu legislation wiU be 
 found at the end of the Appendix. If not drawn up with all the dignity 
 of the legal enactments of the great governments of the West, it has an 
 important advantage in conciseness ; the articles cannot be mismterpreted, 
 and require no lawyer to expound them. 
 
 ^ " Kampani Sahib ke namak ke zor se " is a common phrase of our 
 native soldiery ; and " Dohai ! Kampani ki ! " is an invocation or appeal 
 against injustice ; but I never heard this watchword so powerfully apphed 
 as when a Sub. with the Resident's escort in 1812. One of our men, a noble 
 young Rajput about nineteen years of age, and six feet high, had been sent 
 with an elephant to forage in the wilds of Narwar. A band of at least 
 fifty predatory horsemen assailed him, and demanded the surrender of the 
 elephant, which he met by pointing his musket and givuig them defiance. 
 Beset on aU sides, he fired, was cut down, and left for dead, in which state 
 he was found, and brought to camp upon a litter. One sabre-cut had opened 
 the back entirely across, exposing the action of the viscera, and his arms and 
 wrists were barbarously hacked : yet he was firm; collected, and even cheer- 
 ful ; and to a kmd reproach for his rashness, ho said, " What would you 
 have said, Captam Sahib, had I surrendered the Company's musket {Kam- 
 pani ki banduq) without fightmg ? " From their temperate habits, the 
 wound in the back did well ; but the severed nerves of the wrists brought 
 on a lockjaw of which he died. The Company have thousands who would 
 alike die for their banduq. It were wise to cherish such feelings.
 
 566 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 the entire feudal association, could not be accomplished without 
 harassing and painful discussions [488], when the object was the 
 renunciation of lands, to wliich in some cases the right of inherit- 
 ance could be pleaded, in others, the cognisance of successful 
 revenge, while to many prescriptive possession could be asserted. 
 It was the more painful, because although the shades which 
 marked the acquisition of such lands were varied, no distinction 
 could be made in the mode of settlement, namely, unconditional 
 surrender. In some cases, the Rana had to revoke his own grants, 
 wrung either from his necessities or his weakness ; but in neither 
 predicament could arguments be adduced to soften renunciation, 
 or to meet the powerful and pathetic and often angry appeals to 
 justice or to prejudice. Counter-appeals to their loyalty, and 
 the necessity for the re-establishment of their sovereign's just 
 weight and influence in the social body, without which their own 
 welfare could not be secured, were adduced ; but individual views 
 and passions were too absorbing to bend to the general interest. 
 Weeks thus passed in interchange of visits, in soothing pride, and 
 in flattering vanity by the revival of past recollections, which 
 gradually familiarized the subject to the mind of the chiefs, and 
 brought them to compliance. Time, conciliation, and impartial 
 justice, confirmed the victory thus obtained ; and when they were 
 made to see that no interest was overlooked, that party views 
 were miknown, and that the system included every class of society 
 in its beneficial operation, cordiality followed concession. Some 
 of these cessions were alienations from the crown of half a century's 
 duration. Individual cases of hardship were unavoidable without 
 incurring the imputation of favouritism, and the dreaded revival 
 of ancient feuds, to abolish which was indispensable, but required 
 much circiunspection. Castles and lands in this predicament 
 could therefore neither be retained by the possessor nor returned 
 to the ancient proprietor without rekindling the torch of ci\al war. 
 The sole alternative was for the crown to take the object of con- 
 tention, and make compensation from its own domain. It would 
 be alike tedious and tminteresting to enter into the details of these 
 arrangements, where one chief had to relinquish the levy of 
 transit duties in the most important outlet of the country, asserted 
 to have been held during seven generations, as in the case of the 
 chief of Deogarh. Of another (the Bhindar chief) who held forty- 
 three towns and villages, in addition to his grant ; of Amet, of
 
 NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CHIEFS 567 
 
 Badesar, of Dabla, of Lawa, and many others who held important 
 fortresses of the crown independent of its will ; and other claims, 
 embracing every right [489] and privilege appertaining to feudal 
 society ; suffice it, that in six months the whole arrangements 
 were effected. 
 
 The Case of Arja. — In the painful and protracted discussions 
 attendant on these arrangements, powerful traits of national 
 character were developed. The castle and domain of Arja half 
 a century agd belonged to the crown, but had been usurped by 
 the Purawats, from whom it was wrested by storm about fifteen 
 years back by the Saktawats, and a patent sanctioning possession 
 was obtained, on the payment of a fine of £1000 to the Rana. 
 Its surrender was now required from Fateh Singh, the second 
 brother of Bhindar, the head of this clan ; but being regarded as 
 the victorious completion of a feud, it was not easy to silence their 
 prejudices and objections. The renunciation of the forty-three 
 towns and villages by the chief of the clan caused not half the 
 excitation, and every Saktawat seemed to forgo his individual 
 losses in the common sentiment expressed by their head : " Arja 
 is the price of blood, and with its cession our honour is surrendered." 
 To preserve the point of honour, it was stipulated that it should 
 not revert to the Purawats, but be incorporated with the fisc, 
 which granted an equivalent ; when letters of surrender were 
 signed by both brothers, whose conduct throughout was manly 
 and confiding. 
 
 Badnor and Amet. — The Badnor and Amet chiefs, both of the 
 superior grade of nobles, were the most formidable obstacles to 
 the operation of the treaty of the 4th of May. The first of these, 
 by name Jeth Singh {the victoriowi [chief] lion), was of the Mertia 
 clan, the bravest of the brave race of Rathor, whose ancestors 
 had left their native abodes on the plains of Marwar, and accom- 
 panied the celebrated Mira Bai on her marriage with Rana 
 Kmnbha. His descendants, amongst whom was Jaimall, of 
 immortal memory, enjoyed honour in Mewar equal to their birth 
 and high deserts. It was the more difficult to treat with men 
 like these, whose conduct had been a contrast to the general 
 license of the times, and who had reason to feel offended, when 
 no distinction was observed between them and those who had 
 disgraced the name of Rajput. Instead of the submission ex- 
 pected from the Rathor, so overwhelmed was he from the magni-
 
 568 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 tude of the claims, which amounted to a virtual extinction of his 
 power, that he begged leave to resign his estates and quit the 
 country. In prosecution of this design, he took post in the chief 
 hall of the palace, from which no entreaties could make him 
 move ; ^ until the Rana, to [490] escape his importimities, and 
 even restraint, obtained his promise to abide by the decision of the 
 Agent. The forms of the Rana's court, from time immemorial, 
 prohibit all personal communication between the sovereign and 
 his chiefs in matters of individual interest, by which indecorous 
 altercation is avoided. But the ministers, whose office it was to 
 obtain every information, did not make a rigid scrutiny into the 
 title-deeds of the various estates previous to advancing the claims 
 of the crown. This brave man had enemies, and he was too 
 proud to have recourse to the common arts either of adulation or 
 bribery to aid his cause. It was a satisfaction to find that the 
 two principal towns demanded of him were embodied in a grant 
 of Sangram Singh's reign ; and the absolute rights of the fisc, 
 of which he had become possessed, were cut down to about 
 fifteen thousand rupees of annual revenue. But there were other 
 points on which he was even more tenacious than the sm-render 
 of these. Being the chief noble of the fine district of Badnor, 
 which consisted of three hundred and sixty towns and villages, 
 chiefly of feudal allotments (many of them of his own clan), he 
 had taken advantage of the times to establish his influence over 
 them, to assume the right of wardship of minors, and secure those 
 services which were due to the prince, but which he wanted the 
 power to enforce. The holders of these estates were of the third 
 class of vassals or gol (the mass), whose services it was important 
 to reclaim, and who constituted in past times the most efficient 
 force of the Ranas, and were the preponderating balance of their 
 authority when mercenaries were unknown in these patriarchal 
 states. Abundant means towards a just investigation had been 
 previously prociu'ed ; and after some discussion, in which all 
 admissible claims were recognized, and argument was silenced by 
 incontrovertible facts, this chieftain relinquished all that was 
 demanded, and sent in, as from himself, his written renunciation 
 to his sovereign. However convincing the data by which his 
 proper rights and those of his prince were defined; it was to feeling 
 
 ^ [An instance of the practice of ' sitting dharna ' to enforce a claim 
 (Yule-Bumell, Hobaon-Jobson, 2nd ed. 315 f.).]
 
 HAMiRA OF BADESAR 569 
 
 and prejudice that we were mainly indebted for so satisfactory 
 an adjustment. An appeal to the name of Jaimall, who fell 
 defending Chitor against Akbar,^ and the contrast of his ancestor's 
 loyalty and devotion with his own contumacy, acted as a talisman, 
 and wrung tears from his eyes and the deed from his hand. It 
 will afford some idea of the difficulties encountered, as well as the 
 invidiousness of the task of arbitrating such matters, to give his 
 own comment verbatim : "I remained faithful when his own 
 kin deserted him, and was [491] one of four chiefs who alone of 
 all Mewar fought for him in the rebellion ; but the son of Jaimall 
 is forgotten, while the ' plunderer ' is his boon companion, and 
 though of inferior rank, receives an estate which elevates him 
 above me " ; alluding to the chief of Badesar, who plundered 
 the queen's dower. But while the brave descendant of Jaimall 
 returned to Badnor with the marks of his sovereign's favour, and 
 the applause of those he esteemed, the ' runner ' went back to 
 Badesar in disgrace, to which his prince's injudicious favour 
 further contributed. 
 
 Hamira of Badesar. — Hamira of Badesar was of the second 
 class of nobles, a Chondawat by birth. He succeeded to his 
 father Sardar Singh, the assassin of the prime minister even in 
 the palace of his sovereign ; ^ into whose presence he had the 
 audacity to pursue the surviving brother, destined to avenge 
 him.' Hamira inherited all the turbulence and disaffection, with 
 the estates, of his father ; and this most conspicuous of the many 
 lawless chieftains of the times was known throughout Rajasthan 
 as Hamira ' the runner ' (daurayat). Though not entitled to hold 
 
 ^ See p. 380. ^ See p. 514 and note. 
 
 ' It win fill up the picture of the times to relate the revenge. When 
 Jauishid, the infamous lieutenant of the infamous Amir Khan, established 
 ' his headquarters at Udaipur, which he daily devastated, Sardar Singh, 
 then in power, was seized and confined as a hostage for the payment of 
 thirty thousand rupees demanded of the Rana. The surviving brothers 
 of the murdered minister Somji ' purchased their foe ' with the sum 
 demanded, and anticipated his clansmen, who were on the point of efi^ecting 
 his liberation. The same sun shone on the head of Sardar, which was 
 placed as a signal of revenge over the gateway of Ranipiyari's palace. I 
 had the anecdotes from the minister Siyahal, one of the actors in these 
 tragedies, and a relative of the brothers, who were all swept away by the 
 dagger. A similar fate often seemed to him, though a brave man, inevitable 
 during these resumptions ; which impression, added to the Rana's known 
 inconstancy of favour, robbed him of half his energies.
 
 570 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 lands beyond thirty thousand annually, he had become possessed 
 to the amount of eighty thousand, chiefly of the fisc or khalisa, 
 and nearly all obtained by violence, though since confirmed by 
 the prince's patent. With the chieftain of Lawa (precisely in the 
 same predicament), who held the fortress of Kheroda and other 
 valuable lands, Hamira resided entirely at the palace, and obtain- 
 ing the Rana's ear by professions of obedience, kept possession, 
 while chiefs in eveiy respect his superiors had been compelled to 
 surrender ; and when at length the Saktawat of Lawa was forbid 
 the court until Kheroda and all his usurpations were yielded up, 
 the son of Sardar displayed his usual turbulence, ' curled his 
 moustache ' at the minister, and hinted at the fate of his pre- 
 decessor. Although none dared to imitate him, his stubbornness 
 was not without admirers, especially among his own clan ; and 
 as it was too evident that fear or favour swayed the Rana, it was 
 a case for the Agent's interference, the opportunity for which 
 was soon afforded. When [492] forced to give letters of surrender, 
 the Rana's functionaries, who went to take possession, were 
 insulted, refused admittance, and compelled to return. Not a 
 moment could be lost in punishing this contempt of authority ; 
 and as the Rana was holding a court when the report arrived, the 
 Agent requested an audience. He found the Rana and his chiefs 
 assembled in ' the balcony of the sun,' and amongst them the 
 notorious Hamira. After the usual compliments, the Agent asked 
 the minister if his master had been put in possession of Syana. 
 It was evident from the general constraint, that all were acquainted 
 with the result of the deputation ; but to remove responsibility 
 from the minister, the Agent, addressing the Rana as if he were 
 in ignorance of the insult, related the transaction, and observed 
 that his government would hold him culpable if he remained at 
 Udaipur while his highness's commands were disregarded. Thus 
 supported, the Rana resumed his dignity, and in forcible language 
 signified to all present his anxious desire to do nothing which was 
 harsh or ungracious ; but that, thus compelled, he would not 
 recede from what became him as their sovereign. Calling for a 
 bira, he looked sternly at Hamira, and commanded him to quit 
 his presence instantly, and the capital in an hour ; and, but for 
 the Agent's interposition, he would have been banished the 
 country. Confiscation of his whole estate was commanded, until 
 renunciation was completed. He departed that night ; and,
 
 THE CASE OF AMLI 5T1 
 
 contrary to expectation, not only were all the usurpations sur- 
 rendered, but, what was scarcely contemplated by the Agent, 
 the Rana's flag of sequestration was quietly admitted into the 
 fortress of Badesar/ 
 
 The Case of Amli. — One more anecdote may suffice. The 
 lands and fortress of Amli had been in the family of Amet since 
 the year 27, only five years posterior to the date to which these 
 arrangements extended ; their possession verged on half a century. 
 The lords of Amet were of the Sixteen, and were chiefs of the clan 
 Jagawat. The present representative enjoyed a fair character : 
 he could, with the chief of Radnor, claim the succession of the 
 loyal ; for Partap and Jaimall, their respective ancestors, were 
 rivals and martyrs on that memorable day when the genius of 
 Chitor abandoned the Sesodias. But the heir of Amet had not 
 this alone [493] to support his claims ; for his predecessor Partap 
 had lost his life in defending his country against the Mahrattas, 
 and Amli had been his acquisition. Fateh Singh (such was his 
 name) was put forward by the more artful of his immediate kin, 
 the Chondawat interest ; but his disposition, blunt and impetuous, 
 was Uttle calculated to promote their views : he was an honest 
 Rajput, who neither could nor cared to conceal his anger, and at 
 a ceremonious visit paid him by the Agent, he had hardly sufficient 
 control over himself to be courteous, and though he said nothing, 
 his eyes, inflamed with opium and disdain, spoke his feelings. 
 He maintained a dogged indifference, and was inaccessible to 
 argument, till at length, following the example of Badnor, he was 
 induced to abide by the Agent's mediation. He came attended 
 by his vassals, who anxiously awaited the result, which an un- 
 premeditated* incident facilitated. After a long and fruitless 
 expostulation, he had taken refuge in an obstinate silence ; and 
 seated in a chair opposUe to the envoy, with his shield in front, 
 placed perpendicularly »n his knees, and his arms and head 
 
 ^ Nearly twelve months after this, my pubhc duty called me to Nimbahera 
 en route to Kotah. The castle of Haraira was within an hour's ride, and 
 at night he was reported as having arrived to visit me, when I appointed 
 the next day to receive him. Early next morning, according to custom, 
 I took my ride, with four of Skinner's Horse, and galloped past him, stretched 
 with his followers on the ground not far from my camp, towards his fort. 
 He came to me after breakfast, called me his greatest friend, " swore by 
 his dagger he was my Rajput," and that he would be in future obedient 
 and loyal ; but this, I fear, can never be.
 
 572 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 reclined thereon, he continued vacantly looking on the ground. 
 To interrupt this uncourteous silence in his own house, the envoy 
 took a picture, which with several others was at hand, and placing 
 it before him, remarked, " That chief did not gain his reputation 
 for swamidharma ^ (loyalty) by conduct such as yours." His 
 eyes suddenly recovered their animation and his countenance 
 was lighted with a smile, as he rapidly uttered, " How did you 
 come by this — why does this interest you ? " A tear started in 
 his eye as he added, " This is my father ! " — " Yes," said the 
 Agent, " it is the loyal Partap on the day he went forth to meet 
 his death ; but his name yet lives, and a stranger does homage to 
 his fame." — " Take Amli, take Amli," he hurriedly repeated, 
 with a suppressed tone of exultation and sorrow, " but forget not 
 the extent of the sacrifice." To prolong the visit would have 
 been painful to both, but as it might have been trusting too much 
 to humanity to delay the resumption, the Agent availed himself 
 of the moment to indite the chhorchitthi ^ of surrender for the 
 lands. 
 
 With these instances, characteristic of individuals and the 
 times, this sketch of the introductory measures for improving the 
 condition of Mewar may be closed. To enter more largely in 
 detail is foreign to the purpose of the work ; nor is it requisite 
 for the comprehension of the unity of the object, that a more 
 minute dissection of the parts should be afforded. Before, how- 
 ever, we exhibit the [494] general results of these arrangements, 
 we shall revert to the condition of the more humble, but a most 
 important part of the community, the peasantry of Mewar ; and 
 embody, in a few remarks, the fruits of observation or inquiry, 
 as to their past and present state, their rights, the establishment 
 of them, their infringement, and restitution. On this subject 
 much has been necessarily introduced in the sketch of the feudal 
 system, where landed tenures were discussed ; but it is one on 
 which such a contrariety of opinion exists, that it may be desirable 
 to show the exact state of landed tenures in a country, where 
 Hindu manners should exist in greater purity than in any other 
 jjart of the vast continent of India. 
 
 The Landed System. — ^The ryot (cultivator) is the proprietor of 
 the soil in Mewar. He compares his right therein to the akshay 
 
 ^ Literally faith (dharma) to his lord {swami). 
 ^ Paper of relinquishment.
 
 FACSIMILE OF NATIVE DRAWING OF PARTAB SINGH AND RAEMALL. 
 
 To J'aci page 572.
 
 THE LANDED SYSTEM 573 
 
 duha,^ which no vicissitudes can destroy. IJe calls the land his 
 bapota, the most emphatic, the most ancient, the most cherished, 
 and the most significant phrase his language commands for 
 patrimonial^ inheritance. He has nature and Manu in support 
 of his claim, and can quote the text, alike compulsory on prince 
 and peasant, " cultivated land is the property of him who cut 
 away the wood, or who cleared and tilled it," * an ordinance 
 binding on the whole Hindu race, and which no international 
 wars, or conquest, could overturn. In accordance with this 
 principle is the ancient adage, not of Mewar only but all Rajpu- 
 tana, Bhog ra dhanni Raj ho : bhum ra dhanni ma cho : ' the 
 government is owner of the rent, but I am the master of the 
 land.' With the toleration and benevolence of the race the 
 conqueror is conunanded " to respect the deities adored by the 
 conquered, also their virtuous priests, and to establish the laws 
 of the conquered nation as declared in their books." * If it were 
 deemed desirable to recede to the system of pure Hindu agrarian 
 law, there is no deficiency of materials. The customary laws 
 contained in the various reports of able men, superadded to the 
 general ordinances of Manu, would form a code at once simple 
 and efficient : for though innovation from foreign conquest has 
 placed niany principles in abeyance, and modified others, yet he 
 has observed to little purpose [495] who does not trace a uni- 
 formity of design, which at one time had ramified wherever the 
 
 ^ The dub grass Cynodon dactylon] flourishes in all seasons, and most in 
 the intense heats ; it is not only amara or ' immortal,' but akshay, ' not to 
 be eradicated ' ; and its tenacity to the soil deserves the distinction. 
 
 2 From bap, ' father,' and the termination of, or belonging to, and by 
 which clans are distinguished ; as Karansot, ' descended of Karan ' ; 
 Mansinghgot, ' descended of Mansingh.' It is curious enough that the 
 mountain clans of Albania, and other Greeks, have the same distinguishing 
 termination, and the Mainote of Greece and the Mairot of Rajputana aUke 
 signify mountaineer, or ' of the mountain,' maina in Albanian ; mairu or 
 7)ierii in Sanskrit. [The words have no connexion.] 
 
 ^ Laws, ix. 44. 
 
 ^ [" When he [the king] has gained victory, let him duly worship the 
 gods and honour righteous Brahmanas, let him grant exemptions, and 
 let him cause promises of safety to be proclaimed. But having fully ascer- 
 tained the wishes of all the (conquered), let him place then a relation of 
 (the vanquished ruler on the throne), and let him impose his conditions. 
 Let him make authoritative the lawful customs of the inhabitants, just 
 as they are stated to be " (Manu, Laws, vii. 201 f., trans. Biihler, Sacred 
 Books of the East, xxv. 248 f.).]
 
 674 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 name of Hindu prevailed : language has been modified, and 
 terms have been corrupted or changed, but the primary pervading 
 principle is yet perceptible ; and whether we examine the systems 
 of Khandesh, the Carnatic, or Rajasthan, we shall discover the 
 elements to be the same. 
 
 If we consider the system from the period described by Arrian, 
 Curtius, and Diodorus, we shall see in the government of town- 
 ships each commune an ' imperium in imperio ' ; a little republic, 
 maintaining its municipal legislation independent of the monarchy, 
 on which it relies for general support, and to which it pays the 
 bhog, or tax in kind, as the price of this protection ; for though 
 the prescribed duties of kings are as well defined by Manu ^ as 
 by any jurisconsult in Europe, nothing can be more lax than the 
 mutual relations of the governed and governing in Hindu mon- 
 archies, which are resolved into unbounded liberty of action. To 
 the artificial regulation of society, which leaves all who depend 
 on manual exertion to an immutable degradation, must be 
 ascribed these multitudinous governments, unknown to the rest 
 of mankind, which, in spite of such dislocation, maintain the 
 bonds of mutual sympathies. Strictly speaking, every State 
 presents the picture of so many hundred or thousand minute 
 republics, without any connexion with each other, giving allegi- 
 ance {an) and rent (bhog) to a prince, who neither legislates for 
 them, nor even forms a police for their internal protection. It 
 is consequent on this want of paramount interference that, in 
 matters of police, of justice, and of law, the communes act for 
 themselves ; and from this want of paternal interference only 
 have arisen those courts of equity, or arbitration, the panchayats. 
 
 But to return to the freehold ryot of Mewar, whose hapota is 
 the ivatan and the miras of the peninsula — words of foreign 
 growth, introduced by the Muhammadan conquerors ; the first 
 (Persian) is of more general use in Khandesh ; the other (Arabic) 
 
 ^ [" Let him [the king] cause his annual revenue in his kingdom to be 
 collected by trusty (officials), let him obey the sacred law (in his trans- 
 actions with) the people, and behave as a father to all men " (Manu, Laws, 
 vii. 80). " Not to turn back in battle, to protect the people, to honour 
 the Brahmanas, is the best means for a king to secure happmess " {ib. 
 vii. 88). " From the people let him (the king) learn (the theory) of the 
 (various) trades and professions " {ib. vii. 43). " But (he who is given) 
 to these vices (loses) even his life " {ib. vii. 46), trans. Biihler, Sacred 
 Books of the East, xxv.]
 
 THE LANDED SYSTEM 575 
 
 in the Carnatic. Thus the great Persian moralist Saadi exempli- 
 fies its application : " If you desire to succeed to your father's 
 inheritance (miras), first obtain his wisdom " [496]. 
 
 While the term bapota thus implies the inheritance or patri- 
 mony, its holder, if a military vassal, is called Bhumia, a term 
 equally powerful, meaning one actually identified with the soil 
 (bhum), and for which the Muhammad an has no equivalent but 
 in the possessive compound watandar, or mirasdar. The Cani- 
 atchi ^ of Malabar is the Bhumia of Rajasthan. 
 
 The emperors of Delhi, in the zenith of their power, bestowed 
 the epithet zamindar upon the Hindu tributary sovereigns : not 
 out of disrespect, but in the true application of their own term 
 Bhumia Raj, expressive of their tenacity to the soil ; and this 
 fact affords additional evidence of the proprietary right being in 
 the cultivator {ri/ot), namely, that he alone can confer the freehold 
 land, which gives the title of Bhumia, and of which both past 
 history and present usage will furnish us with examples. When 
 the tenure of land obtained from the cultivator is held more valid 
 than the grant of the sovereign, it will be deemed a conclusive 
 argument of the proprietary right being vested in the ryot. What 
 should induce a chieftain, when inducted into a perpetual fief, to 
 establish through the ryot a right to a few acres in bhum, but 
 the knowledge that although the vicissitudes of fortune or of 
 favour may deprive him of his aggregate signiorial* rights, his 
 claims, derived from the spontaneous favour of the commime, 
 can never be set aside ; and when he ceases to be the lord, he 
 becomes a member of the commonwealth, merging his title of 
 Thakur, or Signior, into the more humble one of Bhumia, the 
 allodial tenant of the Rajput feudal system, elsewhere discussed.^ 
 Thus we have touched on the method by which he acquires this 
 distinction, for protecting the conmiunity from violence ; and if 
 left destitute by the negligence or inability of the government, he 
 is vested with the rights of the crown, in its share of the bhog or 
 rent. But when their own land is in the predicament caUed 
 galita, or reversions from lapses to the commune, he is ' seised ' in 
 
 ^ Cani, ' land,' and atchi, ' heritage ' : Report, p. 289. — I should be in- 
 clined to imagine the atchi, Uke the ot and awat, Rajput terminations, 
 implymg clanship. [Tamil kdniydtchi, ' that which is held in free and 
 hereditary property ' ; kdni, ' land,' atchi, ' inheritance ' (Wilson, Glossary, 
 s.v. ; Madras Manual of Administration, iii. 58).] 
 
 2 See p. 195.
 
 576 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 all the rights of the former proprietor ; or, by internal arrange- 
 ments, they can convey such right by cession of the commune. 
 
 The Bhumia. — The privilege attached to the hhum,^ and 
 acquired from tlie community by the protection afforded to it, 
 is the most powerful argument for the recognition of its original 
 rights. The Bhumia, thus vested, may at pleasure drive his own 
 plough [497], the right to the soil. His hhum is exempt from the 
 jarib (measuring rod) ; it is never assessed, and his only sign of 
 allegiance is a quit-rent, in most cases triennial, and the tax of 
 kharlakar,^ a war imposition, now commuted for money. The 
 State, however, indirectly receives the services of these allodial 
 tenants, the yeomen of Rajasthan, who constitute, as in the 
 districts of Kumbhalmer and Mandalgarh, the landwehr, or local 
 militia. In fact, since the days of universal repose set in, and 
 the townships required no protection, an arrangement was made 
 with the Bhumias of Mewar, in which the crown, foregoing its 
 claim of quit-rent, has obtained their services in the garrisons 
 and frontier stations of j^lice at a very slight pecuniary sacrifice. 
 
 Such are the rights and privileges derived from the ryot 
 cultivator alone. The Rana may dispossess the chiefs of Radnor, 
 or Salumbar, of their estates, the grant of the crown — he could 
 not touch the rights emanating from the community ; and thus 
 the descendants of a chieftain, who a few years before might have 
 followed his sovereign at the hpad of one hundred cavaliers, 
 would descend into the humble foot militia of a district. Thou- 
 sands are in this predicament : the Kanawats, Lunawats, Kum- 
 bhawats, and other clans, who, like the Celt, forget not their 
 claims of birth in the distinctions of fortune, but assert their 
 propinquity as " brothers in the nineteenth or thirtieth degree 
 to the prince " on the throne. So sacred was the tenure derived 
 from the ryot, that even monarchs held lands in hhum from their 
 subjects, for an instance of which we are indebted to the great 
 poetic historian of the last Hindu king. Chand relates, that 
 when his sovereign, the Chauhan, had subjugated the kingdom of 
 Anhilwara ^ from the Solanki, he returned to the nephew of the 
 
 1 See p. 195. 
 
 2 See Sketch of Feudal System, p. 170. 
 
 ^ Nahrwala of D'Anville ; the Balhara sovereignty of the Arabian 
 travellers of the eighth and ninth centuries. I visited the remains of this 
 city on my last journey, and from original authorities shall give an account 
 of this ancient emporium of commerce and literature.
 
 OCCUPIERS' RIGHTS IN THE LAND 577 
 
 conquered prince several districts and seaports, and all the bhum 
 held by the family. In short, the Rajput vaunts his aristocratic 
 distinction derived from the land ; and opposes the title of 
 ' Bhumia Raj,' or government of the soil, to the ' Bania Raj,' or 
 commercial government, which he affixes as an epithet of con- 
 tempt to Jaipur : where " wealth accumulates and men decay." 
 
 In the great ' register of patents ' (jmtta bald) of Mewar we 
 find a species of [498] bhum held by the greater vassals on par- 
 ticular crown lands ; whether this originated from inability of 
 ceding entire townships to complete the estate to the rank of the 
 incumbent, or whether it was merely in confirmation of the grant 
 of the commune, could not be ascertained. The benefit from 
 this bhum is only pecuniary, and the title is ' bhum, rakhwali ' ^ 
 or land [in return for] ' preservation.' Strange to say, the crown 
 itself holds ' bhum, rakhwali ' on its own fiscal demesnes consisting 
 of small portions in each village, to the amount of ten thousand 
 rupees in a district of thirty or forty townships. This species, 
 however, is so incongruous that we can only state it does exist : 
 we should vainly seek the cause for such apparent absurdity, for 
 since society has been, unhinged, the oracles are mute to much 
 of antiquated custom. 
 
 Occupiers' Rights in the Land. — We shall close these remarks 
 with some illustrative traditions and yet existing customs, to 
 substantiate the ryot's right in the soil of Mewar, After one of 
 those convulsions described in the annals, the prince had gone 
 to espouse the daughter of the Raja of Mandor, the (then) capital 
 of Marwar. It is customary at the moment of hathleva, or the 
 junction of hands, that any request preferred by the bridegroom 
 to the father of the bride should meet compliance, a usage which 
 has yielded many fatal results ; and the Rana had been prompted 
 on this occasion to demand a body of ten thousand Jat cultivators 
 to repeople the deserted fisc of Mewar. An assent was given to 
 the unprecedented demand, but when the inhabitants were thus 
 despotically called on to migrate, they denied the power and 
 refused. " Shall we," said they, '• abandon the lands of our 
 inheritance (bapota), the property of our children, to accompany 
 a stranger into a foreign land, there to labour for him ? Kill us 
 you may, but never shall we relinquish our inalienable rights." 
 The Mandor prince, who had trusted to this reply, deemed himself 
 1 Salvamenta of fche European system. 
 
 VOL. I 2 P
 
 578 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 exonerated from his promise, and secured from the loss of so 
 many subjects : but he was deceived. The Rana held out to 
 them the enjoyment of the proprietary rights escheated to the 
 crown in his country, with the lands left without occupants by 
 the sword, and to all, increase of property. When equal and 
 absolute power was thus conferred, they no longer hesitated to 
 exchange the arid soil of Marwar for the garden of Rajwara ; and 
 the descendants of these Jats still occupy the fiats watered by 
 the Berach and Banas [499]. 
 
 In those districts which afforded protection from innovation, 
 the proprietary right of the ryot will be found in full force ; of this 
 the populous and extensive district of Jahazpur, consisting of one 
 hundred and six townships, affords a good specimen. There are 
 but two pieces of land throughout the whole of this tract the 
 property of the crown, and these were obtained by force during 
 the occupancy of Zalim Singh of Kotah. The right thus unjustly 
 acquired was, from the conscientiousness of the Rana's civil 
 governor, on the point of being annulled by sale and reversion, 
 when the court interfered to maintain its proprietary right to 
 the tanks of Loharia and Itaunda, and the lands which they 
 irrigate, now the bhum of the Rana.^ This will serve as an 
 illustration how bhum may be acquired, and the annals of Kotah 
 will exhibit, unhappily for the ryots of that country, the almost 
 total annihilation of their rights, by the same summary process 
 which originally attached liOharia to the fisc. 
 
 The power of alienation being thus proved, it would be super- 
 fluous to insist further on the proprietary right of the cultivator 
 of the soil. 
 
 Proprietary Rights in Land. — Besides the ability to alienate as 
 demonstrated, all the overt symbols which mark the proprietary 
 right in other countries are to be found in Mewar ; that of entire 
 conveyance by sale, or temporary by mortgage ; and numerous 
 instances could be adduced, especially of the latter. The fertile 
 lands of Horla, along the banks of the Khari, are almost all 
 mortgaged, and the registers of these transactions form two 
 
 ^ The author has to acknowledge with regret that he was the cause of 
 the Mina proprietors not re-obtaining theii" bapota : this arose, partly from 
 ignorance at the time, partly from the individual claimants being dead, 
 and more than all, from the representation that the intended sale originated 
 in a bribe to Sadaram the governor, which, however, was not the case.
 
 PROPRIETARY RIGHTS IN LAND 57U 
 
 considerable volumes, in which great variety of deeds may be 
 discovered : one extended for one hundred and one years ; ^ 
 when redemption was to follow, without regard to interest on the 
 one hand, or the benefits from the land on the other, but merely 
 by repayment of the sum borrowed. To maintain the interest 
 during abeyance, it is generally stipulated that a certain portion 
 of the harvest shall be reserved for the mortgagee — a fourth, a 
 fifth, or gtigri — a share so small as to be valued only as a mark of 
 proprietary recognition.^ The mortgagees were chiefly of the 
 commercial classes of the large frontier towns ; in [500] many 
 cases the proprietor continues to cultivate for another the lands 
 Ms ancestor mortgaged four or five generations ago, nor does he 
 deem his right at all impaired. A plan had been sketched to 
 raise money to redeem these mortgages, from whose complex 
 operation the revenue was sure to suffer. No length of time or 
 absence can affect the claim to the bapota, and so sacred is the 
 right of absentees, that land will lay sterile and unproductive 
 from the penalty which Manu denounces on all who interfere 
 with their neighbour's rights : " for unless there be an especial 
 agreement between the owner of the land and the seed, the fruits 
 belong clearly to the land-owner " ; even " if seed conveyed by 
 water or by wind should germinate, the plant belongs to the land- 
 owner, the mere sower takes not the fruit." ^ Even crime and the 
 extreme sentence of the law will not alter succession to property, 
 either to the military or cultivating vassal ; and the old Kentish 
 adage, probably introduced by the Jats from Scandinavia, who 
 under Hengist established that kingdom of the heptarchy, 
 namely : 
 
 The father to the bough, 
 
 And the son to the plough 
 
 ^ Claims to the bapota appear to be maintainable if not alienated longer 
 than one hundred and one years ; and undisturbed possession (no matter 
 how obtained) for the same period appears to confer this right. The miras 
 of Khandesh appears to have been on the same footing. See Mr. Elphin- 
 stone's Report, October 25, 1819, ed. 1872, p. 17 f., quoted in BG, xii. 266. 
 [The word mirds means " inherited estate,' the right of disposal of which 
 rests with the holder. The Jats certainly did not bring the custom to Kent.] 
 
 ^ The sawmy begum of the peninsula in Fifth Report, pp. 356-57 ; correctly 
 sivami bhoga, ' lord's rent,' in Sanskrit. 
 
 ^ Manu, Laws, ix. 52-54, on the Servile Classes. [Biihler's version 
 differs, but the meaning is practically the same as that of the text.] 
 VOL. I 2 p2
 
 580 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 is practically understood by the Jats and Bhumias ^ of Mewar, 
 whose treason is not deemed hereditary, nor a chain of noble acts 
 destroyed because a false link was thrown out. We speak of the 
 military vassals — the cultivator cannot aspire to so dignified a 
 crime as treason. 
 
 Village Officials : the Patel. — The officers of the townships are 
 the same as have been so often described, and are already too 
 familiar to those interested in the subject to require illustration. 
 From the Patel, the Cromwell of each township, to the village 
 gossip, the ascetic Sannyasi, each deems his office, and the land 
 he holds in virtue thereof in perpetuitj^ free of rent to the State, 
 except a small triennial quit-rent,^ and the liability, like every 
 other branch of the State, to two war taxes.^ 
 
 Opinions are various as to the origin and attributes of the 
 Patel, the most important personage in village sway, whose 
 office is by many deemed foreign to the pure Hindu system, and 
 to which language even his title is deemed alien. But there is 
 no doubt that both office and title are of ancient growth, and even 
 etymological rule proves the Patel to be head (pati) of the com- 
 munity.* The office of Patel [.501] of Mewar was originally 
 elective ; he was ' primus inter pares,' the constituted attorney 
 or representative of the commune, and as the medium between 
 the cultivator and the government, enjoyed benefits from both. 
 Besides his bapota, and the serano, or one-fortieth of all produce 
 from the ryot, he had a remission of a third or fourth of the rent 
 from such extra lands as he might cultivate in addition to his 
 patrimony. Such was the Patel, the link connecting the peasant 
 with the government, ere predatory war subverted all order : 
 
 ^ Patel. ^ Patel barar. 
 
 * The Gharginti barar, and Kharlakar, or wood and forage, explained 
 in the Feudal System. 
 
 * In copper-plate grants dug from the ruins of the ancient Ujjain (pre- 
 sented to the Royal Asiatic Society), the prince's patents (patta) conferring 
 gifts are addressed to the Patta-silas and Ryots. I never heard an etymo- 
 logy of this word, but imagine it to be from patta, ' grant,' or ' patent,' 
 and sila, which means a nail, or sharp instrument; [? sila, the stone on 
 which the grant is engraved] ; metaphorically, that which bmds or unites 
 these patents ; all, however, having pati, or chief, as the basis (see Trans- 
 actions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 237). {Pati, ' chief,' has no 
 connexion with patta, ' a grant,' the latter being the origin of patel. For 
 the position of the Patel see Baden-Powell, The Indian Village Community, 
 10 ff. ; Malcolm, Memoir of Central India, 2nd ed. ii. 14 ff.]
 
 VILLAGE OFFICIALS : THE PATEL 581 
 
 but as rapine increased, so did his authority. He became the 
 plenipotentiary of the community, the security for the contribu- 
 tion imposed, and often the hostage for its payment, remaining 
 in the camp of the predatory hordes till they were paid off. He 
 gladly undertook the liquidation of such contributions as these 
 perpetual invaders imposed. To indemnify himself, a schedule 
 was formed of the share of each ryot, and mortgage of land, and 
 sequestration of personal effects followed till his avarice was 
 satisfied. Who dared complain against a Patel, the intimate of 
 Pathan and Mahratta commanders, his adopted patrons ? He 
 thus became the master of his fellow-citizens ; and, as power 
 corrupts all men, their tyrant instead of their mediator. It was 
 a system necessarily involving its own decay ; for a while glutted 
 with plenty, but failing with the supply, and ending in desolation, 
 exile, and death. Nothing was left to prey on but the despoiled 
 carcase ; yet when peace returned, and in its train the exile ryot 
 to reclaim the bapota, the vampire Patel was resuscitated, and 
 evinced the same ardour for supremacy, and the same cupidity 
 which had so materially aided to convert the fertile Mewar to a 
 desert. The Patel accordingly proved one of the chief obstacles 
 to returning prosperity ; and the attempt to reduce this corrupted 
 middle-man to his original station in society was both difficult 
 and hazardous, from the support they met in the corrupt officers 
 at court, and other influences ' behind the curtain.' A system 
 of renting the crown lands deemed the most expedient to advance 
 prosperity, it was incumbent to find a remedy for this evil. The 
 mere name of some of these petty tyrants inspired such terror 
 as to check all desire of return to the country ; but the origin of 
 the institution of the office and its abuses being ascertained, it 
 was imperative, though difficult, to restore the one and banish 
 the other. The original elective right in many townships was 
 therefore returned to the ryot, who nominated new Patels [502], 
 his choice being confirmed by the Rana, in whose presence in- 
 vestiture was performed by binding a turban on the elected, for 
 which he presented his nazar. Traces of the sale of these offices 
 in past times were observable ; and it was deemed of primary 
 importance to avoid all such channels for corruption, in order 
 that the ryot's election should meet with no obstacle. That the 
 plan was beneficial there could be no doubt ; that the benefit 
 would be permanent, depended, unfortunately, on circumstances
 
 582 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 which those most anxious had not the means to control : for it 
 must be recollected, that although " personal aid and advice 
 might be given when asked," all internal interference was by 
 treaty strictly, and most justly, prohibited. 
 
 After a few remarks on the mode of levying the crown-rents, 
 we shall conclude the subject of village economy in Mewar, and 
 proceed to close this too extended chapter with the results of 
 four years of peace and the consequent improved prosperity. 
 
 Modes of Collecting Rents. — There are two methods of levying 
 the revenues of the crown on every description of corn — kankut 
 and batai, for on sugar-cane, poppy, oil, hemp, tobacco, cotton, 
 indigo, and garden stuffs, a money payment is fixed, varying 
 from two to six rupees per bigha. The kankut ^ is a conjectural 
 assessment of the standing crop, by the united judgement of the 
 officers of government, the Patel, the Patwari, or registrar, and 
 the owner of the field. The accuracy with which an accustomed 
 eye will determine the quantity of grain on a given surface is 
 surprising : but should the owner deem the estimate overrated, 
 he can insist on batai, or division of the corn after it is threshed ; 
 the most ancient and only infallible mode by which the dues 
 either of the government or the husbandman can be ascertained. 
 In the batai system the share of the government varies from 
 one-third to two-fifths of the spring harvest, as wheat and barley ; 
 and sometimes even half, which is the invariable proportion of the 
 autumnal crops. In either case, kankut or batai, when the shares 
 are appropriated, those of the crown may be commuted to a 
 money payment at the average rate of the market. The kut is 
 the most liable to corruption. The ryot bribes the collector, 
 who will underrate the crop ; and when he betrays his duty, the 
 shahnah, or watchman, is not likely to be honest : and as the 
 makai, or Indian corn, the grand autumnal crop of Mewar, is 
 eaten green, the crown may be defrauded of half its dues. The 
 system is one of uncertainty, from which eventually the ryot 
 derives no advantage, though it [.503] fosters the cupidity of 
 patels and collectors ; but there was a barar, or tax, introduced 
 to make up for this deficiency, which was in proportion to the 
 quantity cultivated, and its amount at the mercy of the officers. 
 Thus the ryot went to work with a mill-stone round his neck ; 
 instead of the exhilarating reflection that every hour's additional 
 ^ [Kan, ' grain,' kut, ' valuation,' batai from batand, ' to divide.']
 
 IMPROVEMENT IN CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE 583 
 
 labour was his own, he saw merely the advantage of these harpies, 
 and contented himself with raising a scanty subsistence in a 
 slovenly and indolent manner, by which he forfeited the ancient 
 reputation of the Jat cultivator of Mewar. 
 
 Improvement in the Condition of the People. — Notwithstanding 
 these and various other drawbacks to the prosperity of the country, 
 in an impoverished court, avaricious and corrupt officers, dis- 
 contented Patels, and bad seasons, yet the final report in May 
 1822 could not but be gratifying when contrasted with that of 
 February 1818. In order to ascertain the progressive improve- 
 ment, a census had been made at the end of 1821, of the three 
 central fiscal districts ^ watered by the Berach and Banas. As 
 a specimen of the whole, we may take the lappa or subdivision of 
 Sahara. Of its twenty-seven villages, six were inhabited in 1818, 
 the number of families being three hundred and sixty-nine, three- 
 fourths of whom belonged to the resumed town of Amli. In 1821 
 nine hundred and twenty-six families were reported, and every 
 village of the twenty-seven was occupied, so that population had 
 almost trebled. The number of ploughs was more than trebled, 
 and cultivation quadrupled ; and though this, from the causes 
 described, was not above one-third of what real industry might 
 have effected, the contrast was abundantly cheering. The same 
 ratio of prosperity applied to the entire crown demesne of Mewar. 
 By the recovery of Kumbhalmer, Raepur, Rajnagar, and Sadri- 
 Kanera from the Mahrattas ; of Jahazpur from Kotah ; of the 
 usurpations of the nobles ; together with the resumption of all 
 the estates of the females of his family, a task at once difficult and 
 delicate ; ^ and by the subjugation of the mountain districts of 
 Merwara, a thousand towns and villages were united to form the 
 fiscal demesne of the Rana, composing twenty-four districts of 
 various magnitudes, di\aded, as in ancient timeS; and with the 
 primitive [504] appellations, into portions tantamount to the 
 
 ^ Mui, Barak, and Kapasan. 
 
 2 To effect this, indispensable alike for unity of government and the 
 establishment of a police, the individual statements of their holders were 
 taken for the revenues they had derived from them, and money payments 
 three times the amount were adjudged to them. They were gainers by 
 this arrangement, and were soon loaded with jewels and ornaments, but 
 the numerous train of harpies who cheated them and abused the poor 
 ryot were eternally at work to defeat all such beneficial schemes ; and 
 the counteraction of the intrigues was painful and disgusting.
 
 584 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 tithings and hundreds of England, the division from time im- 
 memorial amongst the Hindus.^ From these and the commercial 
 duties 2 a revenue was derived sufficient for the comforts, and even 
 the dignities of the prince and his court, and promising an annual 
 increase in the ratio of good government : but profusion scattered 
 all that industry and ingenuity could collect ; the artificial wants 
 of the prince perpetuated the real necessities of the peasant, and 
 this, it is to be feared, will continue till the present generation 
 shall sleep with their forefathers. 
 
 Abstract of the Fiscal Revenues of Mewar in the years 
 1818-19-20-21-22. 
 
 Spring harvest of 1818 . Rs. 40,000 
 
 1819 . 451,281 
 
 1820 . 659,100 
 
 1821 . 1,018,478 
 
 ( The active superintendence 
 „ 1822 . 936,640 of the British Agent being 
 
 [ almost entirely withdrawn. 
 
 Abstract of Commercial Duties included in the above. 
 In 1818 . . . Nominal 
 
 1819 
 1820 
 1821 
 1822 
 
 . Rs. 96,683 
 165,108 
 
 220 000 ( Farmed for three years, 
 ' from 1822, for750,000rupees, 
 
 217,000 -' wliich was assigned by the 
 I Rana for the liquidation of 
 I tribute fallen La arrear. 
 
 Mines and Minerals. — There are sources of wealth in Mewar 
 yet untouched, and to which her princes owe much of their 
 power. The tin mines of Jawara and Dariba alone, little more 
 than half a century ago, yielded above three lakhs annually ; ^ 
 
 ^ Manu [Larvs, vii. 119] ordains the division into tens, hundreds, and 
 thousands. 
 
 ^ Farmed for the ensuing three years, from 1822, for seven lakhs of 
 rupees. 
 
 3 In S. 1816, Jawara yielded Rs. 222,000 and Dariba Rs. 80,000. The 
 tin of these mines contains a portion of silver. [What the Author calls 
 the tin mines are probably the lead and zinc mines at Jawar, 16 miles 
 south of Udaipur city. They seem now to be exhausted, and search might be 
 made for other untouched pockets of ore. Those at Dariba, which formerly 
 yielded a considerable revenue, have long been closed (Erskine ii. A. 53).]
 
 THE FEUDAL LANDS 
 
 585 
 
 besides rich copper mines in various parts. From such f beyond 
 a doubt, much of the wealth of Mewar was extracted, but the 
 miners are now dead, and the mines filled with water. An 
 attempt was made to work them, but it was so unprofitable that 
 the design was soon abandoned. 
 
 Nothing will better exemplify the progress of prosperity than 
 the comparative population of some of the chief towns before, 
 and after, four years of peace : 
 
 
 No. of houses in 1818. 
 
 jNo. of houses in 1822. 
 
 Udaipur 
 
 . 3,500 . 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 Bhilwara . 
 
 . not one . 
 
 2,700 
 
 Pur . 
 
 200 . 
 
 1,200 
 
 Mandal 
 
 80 . 
 
 400 
 
 Gosunda . 
 
 i-_ in j_i T 
 
 60 . 
 
 j_ rriu„ a ]„i i i„ r. 
 
 350 [505] 
 
 The Feudal Lands. — The feudal lands, which were then double 
 the fiscal, did not exhibit the like improvement, the merchant 
 and cultivator residing thereon not ha\ang the same certainty 
 of reaping the fruits of their industry ; still great amelioration 
 took place, and few were so blind as not to see their account in 
 it.^ The earnestness with which many requested the Agent to 
 back their expressed intentions with his guarantee to their 
 communities of the same measure of justice and protection as the 
 fiscal tenants enjoyed was proof that they well understood the 
 benefits of reciprocal confidence ; but this could not be tendered 
 without danger. Before the Agent left the country he greatly 
 withdrew from active interference, it being his constant, as it 
 was his last impressive lesson, that they should rely upon them- 
 selves if they desired to retain a shadow of independence. To 
 give an idea of the improved police, insurance which has been 
 described as amounting to eight per cent in a space of twenty-five 
 miles became almost nominal, or one-fourth of a rupee per cent 
 from one frontier to the other. It would, however, have been 
 quite Utopian to have expected that the lawless tribes would 
 remain in that stupid subordination which the unexampled state 
 
 ^ There are between two and three thousand towns, villages, and hamlets, 
 besides the fiscal land of Mewar ; but the tribiite of the British Government 
 is derived only from the fiscal ; it would have been impossible to collect 
 from the feudal lands, which are burthened with service, and form the 
 army of the State.
 
 586 ANNALS OF MEWAR 
 
 of society imposed for a time (as described in the opening of these 
 transactions), when they found that real restraints did not follow 
 imaginary terrors. Had the wild tribes been under the sole 
 influence of British power, nothing would have been so simple as 
 effectually, not only to control, but to conciliate and improve 
 them ; for it is a mortifying truth, that the more remote from 
 civilization, the more tractable and easy was the object to manage, 
 more especially the Bhil.^ But these children of nature were 
 incorporated in the demesnes of the feudal chiefs, who when they 
 found our system did not extend to perpetual control, returned to 
 their old habits of oppression : this provoked retaliation, which 
 to subdue requires more power than the Rana yet possesses, and, 
 in the anomalous state of our alliances, will always be an em- 
 barrassing task to whosoever may exercise political control. 
 
 In conclusion, it is to be hoped that the years of oppression 
 that have swept the land will be held in remembrance by the 
 protecting power, and that neither petulance nor indolence will 
 lessen the benevolence which restored life to Mewar. or mar the 
 picture of comparative happiness it created. 
 
 ^ Sir John Malcolm's wise and philanthropic measures for the reclama- 
 tion of this race in Malwa wiU sup2:)ort my assertions [Memoir of Central 
 India, 2nd ed. i. 516 ff., ii. 179 ff.]-
 
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