Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c47.s2.1

v4.c47.s2.1

During the second half of the eighteenth century the kingdom of Mārwār was in as unhappy a condition as that of Udaipur, or rather worse. In both the countries the royal government was paralyzed and the sovereign became powerless to control his nobles and enforce his authority. And yet these two rajahs were not cruel or licentious, their only vice was that they were too soft, almost imbecile in a stormy world that called for strong and decisive leadership in the head of the State. Each of them had come to the throne when very young,—the Udaipur Mahārānā in 1778 at the age of eight, and the Jodhpur Maharajah in 1752 when 22 years old; and each was burdened by the load of a disputed succession which called in the mercenary aid of the Marāthas and by destroying the royal power enabled their vassals to become independent. Each of these two kings had a long reign,—Bhim Singh of Udaipur for 50 years and Bijay Singh of Jodhpur for 41 years, but it only meant the prolongation of their people's misery.