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Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c20.s3: Chapter 7

Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c20.s3

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English

Contents

Chapter 7

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If devotion to the fair sex be admitted as a criterion of civilization, 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 of Rajput 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.

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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 Mewar. When 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, provided Chonda would swear to renounce his birthright in the event of his having a son, and be to the child but the ‘first of his Rajputs.’ He swore by Eklinga to fulfil his father’s wishes.

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Rāna 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,¹ exempted from the troubles of ‘second birth';¹ and borne from the scene of probation in celestial cars by the Apsaras,² was introduced at once into the ‘realm of the sun.’³ 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 ceremony of installation should be performed previous to Lakha’s departure. Chonda was the first to pay homage and swear obedience and fidelity to his future sovereign: reserving, as the recompense 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 Salumbar⁴ still precedes the monogram of the Rana.⁵

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¹ Mukti.

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¹ 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.’

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² The fair messengers of heaven.

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³ Suraj Mandal.

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⁴ The abode of the chief of the various clans of Chondawat.

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⁵ Vide p. 235.

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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 power; 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 proceedings; 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, and advising a vigilant care to the rights of Sesodias, he retired to the court of Mandu, then rising into notice, where he was received with the highest distinctions, and the district of Halar ¹ was assigned to him by the king.

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¹ [Hālār in W. Kāthiāwār (BG, viii. 4.)]

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Rāthor Influence in Mewār.—His departure was the signal for an influx of the kindred of the queen from Mandor. 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.

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Raghudeva, the Mewār 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 ² (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 assassination 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 honours, 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.³

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² The Dhāi. The Dhābhāis, or ‘foster-brothers,’ often hold lands in perpetuity, and are employed in the most confidential places; on embassies, marriages, etc.

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³ On the 8th day of the Dasahra, or ‘military festival,’ when the levies

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The Expulsion of the Rāthor Party.—In this extremity the queen-mother turned her 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 lamps’¹ to hold the feast (got) at Gosunda.²

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¹ The Diwali, from diwa, ‘a lamp.’ This festival is in honour of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth.

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² Seven miles south of Chitor, on the road to Malwa.

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These injunctions 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 Purohit,³ and those in the secret moved homeward, and had reached the eminence 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

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³ The family priest and instructor of youth.

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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 Kulisputra was gradually abolished. Nor is this custom confined to Mewar: there is a deified Putra in every Rajput family—one who has met a violent death. Besides Eklinga, the descendants of Bappa have adopted numerous household divinities: the 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.

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brother and sovereign. Chonda and [280] his band had reached the Rampol,¹ or upper gate, unchecked. Here, when challenged, they said they were neighbouring 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 unable 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.

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¹ Rampol, ‘the gate of Ram.’

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Death of Rão Ranmall.—The end of Rão Ranmall was more ludicrous than tragical. Smitten with the charms of a Sesodia handmaid of the queen, who was compelled to his embrace, the old chief was in her arms, intoxicated with love, wine, and opium, and heard nothing 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:² 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 pallet 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 mered reward of their usurpation and treachery.

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² Often sixty cubits in length.

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The Revenge of 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. This 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 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.¹

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¹ [Godwār, including the Bāli and Desuri districts in S.E. Mārwār, is now known as the Desuri Hukūmat : see Erskine iii. A. 180 f.]

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“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*).

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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.

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Harbuji Sānkhla.—Harbuji Sankhla, at once a soldier and a devotee, was one of those Rajput cavaliers ‘*sans peur et sans reproche*,’ whose 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 subscriptions 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 simultaneous. Hospitality is a virtue pronounced to belong more peculiarly to a semi-barbarous condition. Alas! for refinement 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 mujd,¹ 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 his 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 metamorphosed into the tint of morn² and hope, so would their fortunes become young, and Mandor again be theirs.”

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¹ The wood of Solomon’s temple is called almug; the prefix al is merely the article [?]. This is the wood also mentioned in the annals of Gujarat, of which the temple to Adinath was constructed. It is said to be indestructible 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 Encyclopædia 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 (Santalum album) nor the red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus) is found in Rājputāna. He identifies the mujd of the text with Moringa concanensis, a small tree found wild in Sind and the Konkan, which yields a gum of considerable value, and its congener Moringa pterygosperma (Comm. Prod. 784), the horse-radish tree of India, is used as a dye in Jamaica, and probably could be so used in India.]

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² This wood has a brownish-red tint.

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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 independent 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 elder³ son of Chonda with 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 centuries withstood every contention, till the internal dissensions of the last half century, which grew out of the cause by which [283] it was obtained, and the change of succession in Mewar severed this most valuable acquisition.¹

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³ This is related with some variation in other annals of the period.

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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 otherwise, 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 Rathor.

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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 ‘his turban and his bed’ till he had revenged the assassination of the prince of Chitor, and restored his infant heir to his rights? The annals 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 Mahratta depredator is muzzled and enchained. To return.

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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 qualities worthy of heading the Sesodias. He ascended the throne in S. 1454 (A.D. 1398), at an important 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 invasion 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 unlikely 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 his success, he took possession of Sambhar and its salt lakes, and otherwise extended and strengthened his territory, which the distracted state of the empire consequent to Timur’s invasion rendered a matter of little difficulty. Mokal finished the palace commenced by Lakha, now a mass of ruins; and erected the shrine of Chaturbhuja, ‘the four-armed deity,’¹ in the western hills.

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¹ [The four-armed Vishnu, the favourite deity of the Mertia Rāthors (Census Report, Rajputana, 1891, ii. 26).]

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Lāl Bāi.—Besides three sons, Rana Mokal had a daughter, celebrated for her beauty, called Lal Bai, or ‘the ruby.’ She was betrothed to the Khichi chieftain of Gagraun, who at the Hathleva² demanded the pledge of succour on foreign invasion. Dhiraj, the son of the Khichi, had come to solicit the stipulated aid against Hoshang of Malwa, who had invested their capital. The Rana’s headquarters were then at Madri, and he was employed 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 assassinated by his uncles, the natural brothers of his father, from an unintentional offence, which tradition has handed down in all its details.

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² The ceremony of joining hands.

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Assassination of Rāna 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 employments, 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.

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Rāna Kūmbha, A.D. 1433-68.—Though the murder of Mokal is related to have no other cause than the sarcasm alluded to, the precautions taken by the young prince Kumbha,¹ his successor, 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 which encircles Udaipur, visible from the surrounding country, as are the remains of this stronghold of the assassins. It would appear that their lives were dissolute, for they had carried off the virgin daughter of a Chauhan, which led to their eventual detection and punishment. Her father, Suja, had traced the route of the ravishers, and, mixing with the workmen, found 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.

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¹ [His mother was a Pramār, Subhāgya Devi, daughter of Rāja Jaitmall, Sānkhla.]

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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 perceiving 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 its feet, and the spoils of Ratakot were divided among the assailants.

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Rāna Kūmbha, A.D. 1433-68.—Kumbha succeeded his father in S. 1475 (A.D. 1419) ;¹ nor did any symptom of dissatisfaction appear to usher in his reign, which was one of great success amidst no common difficulties. The bardic historians¹ 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.’

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¹ [The dates given in the margin are based on recently found inscriptions (Har Bilas Sarda, *Maharana Kumbha : Sovereign, Soldier, Scholar*, Ajmer, 1917, p. 2.)]

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¹ The *Raj Ratana*, by Ranchhor Bhat, says: “The Mandor Rao was pardhan, or premier to Mokal, and conquered Nawa and Didwana for Mewar.”

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It has rarely occurred in any country to have possessed successively 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. Let us contrast the patriarchal Hindu governments of this period with the despotism of the Tatar invader.

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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.

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It was towards the close of the Khilji dynasty that the satraps of Delhi shook off its authority and established 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.

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Abu-l Fazl relates this victory, and dilates on Kumbha’s greatness of soul in setting his enemy at liberty, not only without ransom but with gifts.¹ 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.

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¹ [It is the generosity of Rāna Sanga to Muzaffar Shāh of which Abu-l Fazl speaks (Āīn, ii. 221).]

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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 Malwa, 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.²

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² [The Musalmān historians give a different account. Ferishta says that Mahmūd stormed the lower part of Chitor, and that the Rāna fled (iv. 209). At any rate, Mahmūd erected a tower of victory at Māndu (IGI, xvii. 173). The result was probably indecisive. For Kūmbha’s pillar see Fergusson, Hist. Indian Architecture, ii. 59; Smith, HFA. 202 f.]

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It would appear that the Malwa king afterwards united his arms with Kumbha, as, in a victory gained over the imperial forces at Jhunjhunu, 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 Khutba was read in the mosques in the name of Timur, and the Malwa king had defeated, single-handed, the last Ghorian sultan of Delhi.

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The Fortresses of Mewār.—Of eighty-four fortresses for the defence of Mewar, thirty-two were erected by Kumbha. Inferior only to Chitor is that stupendous work called after him Kumbhalmer,¹ ‘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 mountaineers long held possession. Tradition ascribes it to Samprati Raja, a Jain prince in the second century, and a descendant of Chandragupta ;² 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.³ 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 Shéro Nala and Deogarh against the Mers of Aravalli. He re-established Ahor and other smaller [289] forts to overawe the Bhumia⁴ Bhil of Jharol and Panarwa, and defined the boundaries of Marwar and Mewar.

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¹ Pronounced Kumalmer.

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² [Grandson of Asoka (Smith, EHI, 192 f.).]

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³ [For the Ābu temples see Tod, Western India, 75 ff. ; Erskine iii. A. 295.]

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⁴ A powerful phrase, indicating ‘possessor of the soil.’

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Temples.—Besides these monuments of his genius, two consecrated 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 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.¹ 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,’² 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.

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¹ 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.

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² Gita Govinda.

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Mīra Bāi.—Kumbha married a daughter of the Rathor of Merta, the first of the clans of Marwar. Mira Bai³ 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 whether from her he caught the sympathy which produced the ‘ sequel to the songs of Govinda,’ we cannot 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,’¹ 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 atmosphere 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,² 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*.”

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³ [She was daughter of Ratiya Rāna, and was married to Kūmbha in 1413. Her great work is the Rāg Gobind (Grierson, Modern Literature of Hindustan, 12 ; Macaulayffe, The Sikh Religion, vi. 342 ff. ; IA, xxv. 19, xxxii. 329 ff. ; ASR, xxiii. 106). As an illustration of the uncertainty of early Mewār history, according to Har Bilas Sarda, author of the monograph on Rāna Kūmbha, Mīra Bāi was not wife of Kūmbha, but of Bhojrāj, son of Rāna Sanga. She was daughter of Ratan Singh of Merta, fourth son of Rāo Duda (A.D. 1461-62). She was married to Bhojrāj A.D. 1516, and died in 1546.]

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¹ Jagat Khunt, or Dwarka.

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² The darkest of the rainy months.

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The Assassination of Rāna Kūmbha, 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, embellished 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 !

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Rāna Uda, 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 on the throne polluted 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 Jodhpur¹ as the price of his friendship. But, a prey to remorse, he felt that he [291] could neither claim regard from, nor place any dependence upon, these princes, though he bribed them with 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.² The bards pass over this period cursorily, as one of their race was the instrument of Uda’s crime.

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¹ Jodha laid the foundation of his new capital in S. 1515 [A.D. 1459], ten years anterior to the event we are recording.

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² [See p. 268 above.]

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Banishment of the Chārans.—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,³ 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.⁴

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³ 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.

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⁴ 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

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Rāna Rāemall, 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 fled 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, encamping 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.

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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 reputation 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 pretensions he had formerly urged.¹ The dynasty of Lodi next enjoyed the imperial bauble, and with it Mewar had to contest her northern boundary.

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¹ [Ferishta does not mention these campaigns (iv. 236 ff.), and Ghiyāsu-d-dīn (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.).]

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The Sons of Rāna Rāemall.—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 administering 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, smiling, 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 likely to ransack the pharmacopoeia for such poisonous ingredients; his ordinary prescription being the ‘amrit.’

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in the annals of Rajasthan: Sanga, the competitor of Babur, 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.

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Sanga¹ 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,² 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,³ 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-hide⁴ as the decisive omen of sovereignty to Sanga, with a portion to his uncle. They received 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 exhausted with wounds, and Sanga fled with five sword-cuts and an arrow in his 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 Jaimall galloped up in pursuit. The Rathor guarded the sanctuary, and gave up his life in defence of his guest, who meanwhile escaped.

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¹ His name classically is Sangram Singh, 'the lion of war.'

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² [Infusion of opium.]

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³ About ten miles east of Udaipur.

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⁴ Singhasan is the ancient term for the Hindu throne, signifying 'the

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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 reproached 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,¹ 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,² prepared his repast, 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 :³ a bird of omen⁴ had perched itself

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¹ Nearly ten miles south-east of Ajmer.

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² Jai Singh Baleo and Jaimu Sindhal.

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³ [A common folk-tale, told of Malhar Rāo 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.).]

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⁴ Called the devi, about the size of the wagtail, and like it, black and white.

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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.

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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.’¹ 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.

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