Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c20.s6.t1: Erection of Buildings at Udaipur
Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c20.s6.t1
- Language
- English
Contents
- v1.c20.s6.t1.18 — 3 parts
Erection of Buildings at Udaipur
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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.² 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 light 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 tints have blended with and in part obscured 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;³ 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 the cool breezes of the lake, wafting delicious odours from myriads 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.
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² 'The minster of the world.' [According to Erskine (ii. A. 109) the Jagmandir was built by Jagat Singh I. (1628–52); the Jagniwās by Jagat Singh II. (1734–51).]
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³ [Wrightia tinctoria (Watt, Comm. Prod. 1131 f.).]
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Jagat Singh was a highly 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,¹ 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.
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¹ The Mala Burj, a ‘chaplet bastion’ blown up by Akbar, is a small fortress of itself.
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Rāna Rāj Singh, A.D. 1652–80.—Raj Singh (the royal lion) mounted 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,² the legitimate heir to the throne, as did nearly the whole Rajput race; but the battle of Fatehabad ³ 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.
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² I have copies of the original letters written by Dara, Suja, Murad, and Aurangzeb on this occasion, each soliciting the Rana’s aid.
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³ [Samūgarh, afterwards called Fatehābād, May 20, 1658 (Jadunath Sarkar, Life of Aurangzib, ii. 32 ff.; Manucci i. 270 ff.; Bernier 49 ff.).]
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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 powerful reasons for maintaining those ties which connected the Rajput princes with 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,¹ 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].
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¹ Kambakhsh (son of Jodhpuri, not Udaipuri), ‘the gift of Cupid.’ Of this the Greeks made Cambyses. [Kāmbakhsh was son of Udaipuri, the youngest and best-loved concubine of Aurangzeb (Jadunath Sarkar i. 64). Cambyses is Old Persian Kābuzīya or Kambuzīya (Maspero, Passing of the Empires, 655, note).]
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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,² in which the magnanimity of Dara,³ the impetuosity of Murad, and the activity of Suja met the same tragical end.
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² 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).]
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³ [The proper form is Dāra Shukoh or Shikoh, ‘equal in splendour to Darius.’]
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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, 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 indissoluble: 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,¹ Aurangzeb had 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-
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¹ We possess a most erroneous idea of the understanding of Asiatic princes, and the extent of its cultivation. Aurangzeb’s rebuke to his tutor Mulla Sale [Mulla Sālih, Bernier 154 ; Manucci ii. 30], who beset him with a sycophantic intrusion on his coming to the throne, may correct this, and, with the letter of Rana Raj Singh, give the European world juster notions of the powers 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 author’s possession, printed A.D. 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 little 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; telling me that the kings of Indostan were far above them all 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, China 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, religions, governments, and interests ; and, by the perusal of solid history, to observe their rise, progress, 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 life, and what course they took to make such great conquests. You had a mind to teach me the Arabian tongue, to read and to write. I am much obliged to you, forsooth, for having made me lose so much time upon a language that
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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 be 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 longsom and tedious, as is that of learning words.’
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“ 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 :
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“ ‘ 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 entertain’d me for many years with airy questions of things that afford no satisfaction at all 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 like yourself, that would make us believe that they know all, and that under those obscure and ambiguous words are hid great mysteries which they alone are capable to understand.
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If you had season’d me with that philosophy which formeth the mind to ratiocination, and insensibly accustoms it to be satisfied with nothing but solid 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 instilled into me this kind of philosophy, I should think myself incomparably more obliged to you than Alexander was to his Aristotle, and believe 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 destruction. “This hypocrisy,” says the eloquent Orme,¹ “enceased with his power, and in order to palliate to his Mahomedan subjects the crimes by which he had become their sovereign, 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. . . .
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Labour left the field and industry the loom, until the decrease of the revenues drew representations from the governors of the provinces; which induced Aurungzebe to substitute a capitation tax² 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 religion 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 only the divinity”—and that an offended divinity [378].³
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¹ Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire, ed. 1782, p. 101. The quotation in the text has been corrected.
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² The Jizya.
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³ I deem it right, in order further to illustrate the cultivated understand-
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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 considered, that one day I should be obliged with the sword to dispute my life and the 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 these 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 this speech see Bernier 154 ff., Manucci ii. 30 ff.]
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Rāna Rāj Singh defies Aurangzeb.—Raj Singh had signalized his accession by the revival of the warlike Tika-daur, and plundered
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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 knowledge of the right, what might he not have been had not fell ambition misguided him !
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“To Shaw Azim Shaw. [Shāh Āzam Shāh.]
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“Health to thee ! my heart is near thee. Old age is arrived : weakness subdues me, and strength has forsaken all 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 protector 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 bone. 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 Ooshaun), by the orders of God, is arrived near Hindostan. The camp and followers, helpless and alarmed, are like myself, full of affliction, restless as the quicksilver. Separated from their lord, they know not if they have a master or not.
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“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 reliance on the mercies and bounty of God, yet, regarding my actions, fear will not quit me ; but when I am gone, reflection will not remain. Come then what may, I have launched my vessel to the waves. Though Providence will protect the camp, yet, regarding appearances, the endeavours of my sons are indispensably incumbent. Give my last prayers to my grandson (Bedar Bukht), whom I cannot see, but the desire affects me. The Begum (his daughter) appears afflicted ; but God is the only judge of hearts. The foolish thoughts of women produce nothing but disappointment. Farewell ! farewell ! farewell !” [This letter is printed by H. Bilimoria, Letters of Aurangzeb, 71 f.]
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“To the Prince Kaum Buksh. [Kāmbakhsh.]
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“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 insignificance, what does it profit me ? I carry with me the fruits of my sins and imperfections. 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 followers 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 Malpura, which though on the Ajmer frontier, Shah Jahan, when advised to vengeance, replied “ it was only a folly of his nephew.” ¹ 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
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¹ The emperor was the adopted brother of Rana Karan.
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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 faithful and my sons. When I was alive, no care was taken; and now I am gone, the consequence may be guessed. The guardianship of a people is the trust by God committed to my sons. Azim Shaw is near. Be cautious that none of the faithful 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 upon 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.
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“ 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 complaints of the unpaid troops are as before. Dara Shekkoh, though of much judgment and good understanding, 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 was for you. Take it not amiss, nor remember 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 I 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 Bilimoria, 73 f.]
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∗ Orme [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 families of Shahpura or Banera (then acting independently 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 religion, 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 Muslim’s corpse is buried and not burnt. Evidently Udipuri meant that she would kill herself in passionate grief on the death of Aurangzib ” (Jadunath Sarkar i. 64, note).]
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as certain) a cortège 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 evinced 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 Rajput 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 incorporated 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 Rupnagar, 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.
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The Imposition of the Jizya or Capitation Tax.—The annalist 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 command of the tyrant, 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 imposition of the jizya or capitation tax on the whole Hindu race. But he miscalculated his measures, and the 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,¹ the compound treachery evinced that 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,¹ 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].
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¹ Two hundred and fifty Rajputs opposed five thousand of the Imperialists at a pass, till the family of Jaswant escaped.
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¹ The Rana received the young Rathor with the most princely hospitality, and among other gifts a diamond worth ten thousand dinars is enumerated.
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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 uncompromising 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.²
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² This letter, first made known to Europe by Orme [Fragments, Notes, xciii. ff.], 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 Singh, 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 ff.), 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 Rajah 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.
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“Letter from Rana Raj Singh to Aurangzeb.
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“All due praise be rendered to the glory of the Almighty, and the munificence of your majesty, which is conspicuous as the sun and moon. Although I, your well-wisher, have separated from your sublime presence, I am nevertheless zealous in the performance of every bounden act of obedience and loyalty. My ardent wishes and strenuous services are employed to promote the prosperity of the Kings, Nobles, Mirzas, Rajahs, and Roys of the provinces of Hindostan, and the chiefs of Æraun, Turaun, Room, and Shawm, In this are contained the true principles of Christianity, and to the illustrious Gentile, and such as acted as he did, was pointed
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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 solicit the royal attention to some circumstances, in which the public as well as private welfare is greatly interested.
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“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 ordered a tribute to be levied to satisfy the exigencies of your exhausted treasury.
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“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 firm 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 eternity 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, distinguished him by the appellation of Juggut Gooroo (Guardian of Mankind).
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“His majesty Mahomed Noor ul Deen Jehangheer, likewise, whose dwelling 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 fidelity to his allies, and a vigorous exertion of his arm in business.
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“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.
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“Such were the benevolent inclinations 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 alienated 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, wretched even to the want of their nightly meal, are beating their heads throughout the day in rage and desperation.
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“How can the dignity 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 that golden sentence of toleration, “ Those [381] who have not the law, yet do by nature the things contained in the law, shall be a law unto themselves.”
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Aurangzeb attacks Mewār.—This letter, the sanctuary afforded Ajit, and (what the historical parasite of the Mogul’s life dared not indite ¹) 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,² 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.
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¹ It is well known that Aurangzeb forbade the continuation of the history of his life, subsequent to that portion comprehending the first ten years [the Ālamgīrnāma; see Jadunath Sarkar ii. 302].
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² The epithet by which these Tatar sovereigns affected to call the indigenous (bhumia) princes.
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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, still He is the object of adoration. To vilify the religion 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.
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“ In fine, the tribute you demand from the Hindoos is repugnant to justice: it is equally foreign from good policy, as it must impoverish the country: moreover, it is an innovation and an infringement of the laws of Hindustan. But if zeal for your own religion hath induced you to determine 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 well-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 should have neglected to instruct your majesty in the rules of rectitude and honour.”
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With this formidable array ¹ the emperor entered Mewar, and soon reduced the low countries, which experience had taught them were indefensible, the inhabitants previously retiring with their effects to the hills.² 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 aris et focis*, around which rallied every Rajput with the most deadly determination. Even the primitive races of the western wilds, “ the Palindas ³ and Palipats ³ (*lord of the passes*), with thousands of bows, and hearts devoted in the cause of Hindupat,” ⁴ 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 Aravalli, ready to act on the invaders from either side of the mountains. Prince Bhim was to the west, to keep up the communications with the outlets to Gujarat ; while the Rana, with the main body, took post in the Nai defile, 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 which it was the gorge, he halted, and by the advice of Tahawwar Khan ⁵ 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 ⁶ of the topography of this intricate and 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 chord, 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.
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¹ 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.].
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² [For this campaign see the account in Jadunath Sarkar, *Life of Aurangzib*, iii. 365 ff.]
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³ *Pāl* is the local term for these long defiles, the residence of the mountaineers : their chiefs are called *Indras*, *Pati*, in Bhakha, *Pat*.
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⁴ Chief of the Hindus.
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⁵ [In the text “Tyber” Khān. His original name was Jān Beg, also known as Bādshāh Kuli Khān, one of Aurangzeb’s great nobles (Manucci ii. 239, note 3, 247, note). His tragical end is told later on.]
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⁶ The Saktawat leader, Gharibdas, has the merit of having prompted
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The Advance of 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 possibility 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 mountains, 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
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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.
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formed abbatis 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.¹
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¹ 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 high and gallant sentiments of the Rajput, which make him no match for a wily adversary.
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“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 intelligence, 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 felling the overhanging trees; and from their stations above prevented all endeavours 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 emperor 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 religion which might still be left in the plains; but Aurengzebe, who believed in no virtue but self-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 constitution, 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 army between his two sons, who each had brought a considerable body of troops from their respective
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Another body of the Imperialists, under the celebrated Dilir Khan,¹ who [384] entered by the Desuri Pass from Marwar (probably with a view of extricating Prince Akbar), were allowed to advance unopposed, and when in the long intricate gorge were assailed by Bikram Solanki ² and Gopinath Rathor ³ (both nobles of Mewar), and after a desperate conflict entirely destroyed. On each occasion a vast booty fell into the hands of the Rajputs.
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¹ [Dilir Khan, otherwise Jalāl Khān Dā’ūdzai, died at Aurangābād, 1682-83 (Manucci i. 243). Grant Duff speaks highly of his services in the Deccan (145 f.).]
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² Chief of Rupnagar.
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³ Chief of Ghānerāo, in Godwar, now alienated from Mewar.
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So ably concerted was this mountain warfare, that these defeats were the signal for a simultaneous attack by the Rana on Aurangzeb, 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 (*talwār Rāthorān*) 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 compelled 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].
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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 independence of Sivaji. Meanwhile the activity of Sawaldas (descended from the illustrious Jaimall) cut off the communication between Chitor and Ajmer, and alarmed the tyrant for his personal safety. Leaving, 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.].
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vengeance and personally disgraced, he abandoned Mewar, and at the head of his guards repaired to Ajmer. Thence he detached ¹ 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].
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¹ [Some name is wanting here.]
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Diversion made by the Rājputs.—While 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 Patan, the residence of the provincial satrap, which he plundered. Siddhpur, Modasa,² and other towns shared the same fate; and he was in full march to Surat, when the benevolence of the Rana, touched at the woes of the fugitives, who came to demand his forbearance, caused him to recall Bhim in the midst of his career.
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² [Siddhpur, a famous place of pilgrimage in Baroda State (IGI, xxii. 358 f.); Modāsa, fifty-two miles north-east of Ahmadābād (BG, vi. 346).]
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Contrary to the Rajput character, whose maxim is *parcere subjectis*, they were compelled by the utter faithlessness of Aurangzeb (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,³ were engaged, and obtained a glorious victory, 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 her rights, having resisted every aggression 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 hundred 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.
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³ Mokham and Ganga Saktawats, Ratan Chondawat of Salumbar,
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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 circumspection which characterized Aurangzeb, whose penetration defeated the scheme when on the eve of execution.¹ 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. Aurangzeb, 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
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¹ [For Akbar's rebellion see Jadunath Sarkar ii. 402 ff.; Elliot-Dowson vii. 298 ff.; Manucci ii. 243 ff.]
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Chandrasen Jhala of Sadri, Sabal Singh Chauhan of Bedla, Berisal Punwar of Bijolia. Four of the chiefs made speeches on the eve preceding the battle, which are recorded in the Chronicle.
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dropped in the tent of the Rajput leader Durgadas.¹ 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 country from Maldeo, and has more recently been put in practice, and with like success, in the war with Sivaji. It succeeded. The Rajputs detached themselves from the prince who had apparently betrayed them. Tahawwar Khan, in despair, lost his life in an attempt to assassinate the emperor,² 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 vigour of character, he deemed himself unsafe in his vicinage, and accepted the escort of five hundred Rajputs led by Durgadas [387], who cut their way through every 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.³
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