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Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2: Volume 2

Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2

Language
English

Contents

Volume 2

Front matter

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ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF RAJASTHAN

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KRAUS AND ANTIQUITIES. OF KRAUS AND ANTIQUITIES.

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[Figure: COLONEL JAMES TOD. (By permission of Lt.-Col. C. D. Blunt-Mackenzie, R.A.)

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ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF RAJASTHAN OR THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN RAJPUT STATES OF INDIA

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BY LIEUT.-COL. JAMES TOD LATE POLITICAL AGENT TO THE WESTERN RAJPUT STATES

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EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY WILLIAM CROOKE, C.I.E. HON. D.SC. OXON., B.A., F.R.A.I. LATE OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE

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IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. II

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HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY

Chapter 21

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Importance of mythological history—Aboriginal tribes of India—The Rajputs are conquerors—Solar year of the Hindus—Opened at the winter solstice—The Vasant, or spring festival—Birth of the Sun—Common origin of the Rajputs and Getic tribe of Scandinavia—Surya, the sun-god of all nations, Thor, Syrus, Sol—Sun-worship—The Aheria, or spring-hunt, described—Boar-feast—Phalgun festival—The Rajput Saturnalia—Games on horseback—Rites to the Manes—Festival of Sitala as guardian of children—Rana’s birthday—Phuladola, the Rajput Floralia—Festival of Gauri—Compared with the Diana of Egypt—The Isis or Ertha of the Suevi—And the Phrygian Cybele—Anniversary of Rama—Fête of Kamdeva or Cupid—Little Ganggor—Inundation of the capital—Festival of Rambha or Venus—Rajput and Druidic rites—Their analogy—Serpent worship—Rakhi, or Festival of the bracelet . . . . . . 650

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Festivals continued—Adoration of the sword : its Scythic origin—The Dasahra, or military festival : its Scythic origin—Torans or triumphal arcs—Ganesa of the Rajputs and Janus of the Romans—Worship of arms : of the magic brand of Mewar, compared with the enchanted sword, Tyrfing, of the Edda—Birth of Kumara, the Rajput Mars, compared with the Roman divinity—Birth of Ganga : her analogy to Pallas—Adoration of the moon—Worship of Lakshmi, or Fortune ; of Yama, or Pluto—Diwali, or festival of lamps, in Arabia, in China, in Egypt, and in India—Annakuta and Jaljatra—Festivals sacred to the Ceres and Neptune of the Hindus—Festival of the autumnal equinox—Reflections on the universal worship of the elements, Fire, Light, Water—Festival sacred to Mithras or Vishnu, as the sun—The Phallus : its etymology—Rajput doctrine of the Triad—Symbols Vishnu, as the sun-god : his messenger Garuda, the eagle : his charioteer Aruna, or the dawn—Sons of Aruna—Fable analogous to that of Icarus—Rites of Vishnu on the vernal equinox and summer solstice—Dolayatra, or festival of the ark, compared with the ark of Osiris, and Argonautic expedition of the Greeks—Etymology of Argonaut—Ethiopia the Lanka of the Hindus—Their sea-king, Sagara—Rama, or Ramesa, chief of the Cushite races of India—Ramesa of the Rajputs and Rameses of Egypt compared—Reflections . . . . . . 679

Chapter 23

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The nicer shades of character difficult to catch—Morals more obvious and less changeable than manners—Dissimilarity of manners in the various races of Rajasthan—Rajputs have deteriorated in manners as they declined in power—Regard and deference paid to women in Rajasthan—Seclusion of the Females no mark of their degradation—High spirit of the Rajput princesses—Their unbounded devotion to their husbands—Examples from the chronicles and bardic histories—Anecdotes in more recent times—Their magnanimity—Delicacy—Courage and presence of mind—Anecdote of Sadhu of Pugal and Karamdevi, daughter of the Mohil chief—The seclusion of the females increases their influence—Historical evidences of its extent . . . . . . 707

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Origin of female immolation—The sacrifice of Sati, the wife of Iswara—The motive to it considered—Infanticide—Its causes among the Rajputs, the Rajkumars, and the Jarejas—The rite of Johar—Female captives in war enslaved—Summary of the Rajput character—Their familiar habits—The use of opium—Hunting—The use of weapons—Jethis, or wrestlers—Armouries—Music—Feats of dexterity—Maharaja Sheodan Singh—Literary qualifications of the princes—Household economy—Furniture—Dress, etc. . . 737

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PERSONAL NARRATIVE

Chapter 25

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Valley of Udaipur—Departure for Marwar—Encamp on the heights of Tus—Resume the march—Distant view of Udaipur—Deopur—Zalim Singh—Reach Pallana—Ram Singh Mehta—Manikchand—Ex-raja of Narsinghgarh—False policy pursued by the British Government in 1817-18—Departure from Pallana—Aspect and geological character of the country—Nathdwara ridge—Arrival at the city of Nathdwara—Visit from the Mukhya of the temple—Departure for the village of Usarwas—Benighted—Elephant in a bog—Usarwas—A Sannyasi—March to Samecha—The Shera Nala—Locusts—Coolness of the air—Samecha—March to Kelwara, the capital—Elephant’s pool—Murcha—Kherli—Maharaja Daulat Singh—Kumbhalmer—Its architecture, remains, and history—March to the ‘Region of Death,’ or Marwar—The difficult nature of the country—A party of native horsemen—Bivouac in the glen . . . . . . 760

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The Mers or Meras : their history and manners—The Barwatia of Gokulgarh—Forms of outlawry—Ajit Singh, the chief of Ghanerao—Plains of Marwar—Chief of Rupangarh—Anecdote respecting Desuri—Contrast between the Sesodias of Mewar and the Rathors of Marwar—Traditional history of the Rajputs—Ghanerao—Kishandas, the Rana’s envoy—Local discrimination between Mewar and Marwar—Ancient feuds—The aonla and the bawal—Aspect of Marwar—Nadol—Superiority of the Chauhan race—Guga of Bhatinda—Lakha of Ajmer : his ancient fortress at Nadol—Jain relic there—The Hindu ancient arch or vault—Inscriptions—Antiquities at Nadol—Indara—Its villages—Pali, a commercial mart—Articles of commerce—The bards and genealogists the chief carriers—The ‘Hill of Virtue’—Khankhani—Affray between two caravans—Barbarous self-sacrifices of the Bhats—Jhalamand—March to Jodhpur—Reception en route by the Chiefs of Pokaran and Nimaj—Biography of these nobles—Sacrifice of Surthan of Nimaj—Encamp at the capital—Negotiation for the ceremonies of reception at the Court of Jodhpur . . . 789

Chapter 27

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Jodhpur : town and castle—Reception by the Raja—Person and character of Raja Man Singh—Visits to the Raja—Events in his history—Death of Raja Bhim—Deonath, the high-priest of Marwar—His assassination—The acts which succeeded it—Intrigues against the Raja—Dhonkal Singh, a pretender to the gaddi—Real or affected derangement of the Raja—Associates his son in the government—Recalled to the direction of affairs—His deep and artful policy—Visit to Mandor, the ancient capital—Cenotaphs of the Rathors—Cyclopean architecture of Mandor—Nail-headed characters—The walls—Remains of the palace—Toran, or triumphal arch—Than of Thana Pir—Glen of Panchkunda—Statues carved from the rock—Gardens at Mandor—An ascetic—Entertainment at the palace—The Raja visits the envoy—Departure from Jodhpur . . . 820

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Nandla—Bisalpur—Remains of the ancient city—Pachkalia, or Bichkalia—Inscription—Pipar—Inscription confirming the ancient chronicles of Mewar—Geological details—Legend of Lake Sampu—Lakha Phulani—Madreo—Bharunda—Badan Singh—His chivalrous fate—Altar to Partap—Indawar—Jat cultivators—Stratification of Indawar—Merta—Memory of Aurangzeb—Dhonkal Singh—Jaimall, the hero of the Rathors—Tributes to his bravery—Description of the city and plain of Merta—Cenotaphs—Raja Ajit—His assassination by his sons—The consequences of this deed the seeds of the Civil Wars of Marwar—Family of Ajit—Curious fact in the law of adoption amongst the Rathors—Ram Singh—His discourtesy towards his chiefs—Civil War—Defection of the Jarejas from Ram Singh—Battle between Ram Singh and Bakhta Singh—Defeat of the former, and the extirpation of the clan of the Mertias—The Mertia vassal of Mihtri—The field of battle described—Ram Singh invites the Mahrattas into his territory—Bakhta Singh becomes Raja of Marwar—His murder by the Prince of Jaipur—His son, Bijai Singh, succeeds—Jai Apa Sindhia and Ram Singh invade Marwar—They are opposed by Bijai Singh, who is defeated—He flies to Nagor, where he is invested—He cuts through the enemy’s camp—Solicits succour at Bikaner and Jaipur—Treachery of the Raja of Jaipur—Defeated by the chieftain of Rian—Assassination of Apa Sindhia . . . . . . 850

Chapter 29

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Mahadaji Sindhia succeeds Jai Apa—Union of the Rathors and Kachhwahas, joined by Ismail Beg and Hamdani, against the Mahrattas—Battle of Tonga—Sindhia defeated—Ajmer retaken, and tributary engagement annulled—Mahadaji Sindhia recruits his army, with the aid of De Boigne—The Rajputs meet him on the frontier of Jaipur—Jealousies of the allies—The Kachhwahas alienated by a scurrilous stanza—Battle of Patan—Effects of the Jaipureans’ treachery, in the defeat of the Rathors—Stanza of the Kachhwaha bard—Suggestion of Bijai Singh : his chiefs reject it, and the prince prepares for war—Treason of the Rathor chief of Kishangarh—The Mahrattas invade Marwar—Resolution of the chiefs of Awa and Asop to conquer or perish—Rathors encamp on the plains of Merta—Golden opportunity lost of destroying the Mahratta army—Fatal compliance of the chiefs with the orders of the civil minister—Rout of the camp—Heroism of the Rathor clans : their destruction—Treachery of the Singwi faction—The chief minister takes poison—Reflections on the Rajput character, with reference to the protective alliance of the British Government—Resumption of journey—Jarau—Cross the field of battle—Siyakot, or Mirage, compared with the Sarrab of Scripture—Desert of Sogdiana—Hissar—At sea—Description of Jarau—Cenotaph of Harakarna Das—Alniawas—Rian—The Mountain Mers—Their descent upon Rian—Slay its chief—Govindgarh—Chase of a hyaena—Lake of Pushkar : geological details—Description of the lake—Its legend—Ajaipal, the founder of Ajmer—Bisaldeva, the Chauhan king of Ajmer—Places of devotion on the ‘Serpent-rock’—Ajmer—View of Daru-l-Khair—Geological details—City of Ajmer—Its rising prosperity . . . 875

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Ajmer—Ancient Jain Temple—Its architecture analysed—Resemblances between it and the Gothic and Saracenic—Fortress of Ajmer—Its lakes—Source of the Luni River—Relics of the Chauhan kings—Quit Ajmer—Bhinai : its the desert to the Indus at that epoch—Siahji offers his services to the chief of Kulumad—They are accepted—He attacks Lakha Phulani, the famed freebooter of Phulra, who is defeated—Setram killed—Siahji marries the Solanki’s daughter—Proceeds by Anhilwara on his route to Dwarka—Again encounters Lakha Phulani, whom he slays in single combat—Massacres the Dabhis of Mewa, and the Gohils of Kherdhar—Siahji establishes himself in ‘the land of Kher’—The Brahman community of Pali invoke the aid of Siahji against the mountaineers—Offer him lands—Accepted—Birth of a son—Siahji massacres the Brahmans, and usurps their lands—Death of Siahji—Leaves three sons—The elder, Asvathama, succeeds—The second, Soning, obtains Idar—Ajmall, the third, conquers Okhamandala, originates the Vadhel tribe of that region—Asvathama leaves eight sons, heads of clans—Duhar succeeds—Attempts to recover Kanauj—Failure—Attempts Mandor—Slain—Leaves seven sons—Raepal succeeds—Revenges his father’s death—His thirteen sons—Their issue spread over Maru—Rao Kanhal succeeds—Rao Jalhan—Rao Chhada—Rao Thida—Carry on wars with the Bhattis and other tribes—Conquest of Bhinmal—Rao Salkha—Rao Biramdeo, killed in battle with the Johyas—Clans, their issue—Rao Chhonda—Conquers Mandor from the Parihar—Assaults and obtains Nagor from the Imperialists—Captures Nadol, capital of Godwar—Marries the Princess of Mandor—Fourteen sons and one daughter, who married Lakha Rana of Mewar—Result of this marriage—Feud between Aranyakanwal, fourth son of Chhonda, and the Bhatti chieftain of Pugal—Chhonda slain at Nagor—Rao Ranmall succeeds—Resides at Chitor—Conquers Ajmer for the Rana—Equalizes the weights and measures of Marwar, which he divides into departments—Rao Ranmall slain—Leaves twenty-four sons, whose issue constitute the present frerage of Marwar—Table of clans . . . . . . 940

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Accession of Rao Jodha—Transfers the seat of government from Mandor to the new capital Jodhpur—The cause—The Vanaprastha, or Druids of India—Their penances—The fourteen sons of Jodha—New settlements of Satalmer, Merta, Bikaner—Jodha dies—Anecdotes regarding him—His personal appearance—Rapid increase of the Rathor race—Names of tribes displaced thereby—Accession of Rao Suja—First conflict of the Rathors with the Imperialists—Rape of the Rathor virgins at Pipar—Gallantry of Suja—His death—Issue—Succeeded by his grandson Rao Ganga—His uncle Saga contests the throne—Obtains the aid of the Lodi Pathans—Civil War—Saga slain—Babur’s invasion of India—Rana Sanga generalissimo of the Rajputs—Rao Ganga sends his contingent under his grandson Raemall—Slain at Bayana—Death of Ganga—Accession of Rao Maldeo—

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of Gujarat—Battle of Dhanduka gained by the Raja—Wealth and honours acquired—Gifts to the bards—Commanded against Amra Balecha—Battle of the Rewa—Slays the Chauhan—Fresh honours—Raja Sur and his son Gaj Singh attend the court of Jahangir—The heir of Marwar invested with the sword by the Emperor’s own hands—Escalade of Jalor—Raja Gaj attends Prince Khurram against the Rana of Mewar—Death of Raja Sur—Maledictory pillar erected on the Nerbudda—The Rathor chiefs’ dissatisfaction at their long detention from their native land—Raja Sur embellishes Jodhpur—His issue—Accession of Raja Gaj—Invested with the Raj of Burhanpur—Made Viceroy of the Deccan—The compliment paid to his contingent—His various actions—Receives the title of Dalthaman, or ‘barrier of the host’—Causes of Rajput influence on the Imperial succession—The Sultans Parvez and Khurram, sons of Rajput Princesses—Intrigues of the Queens to secure the succession to their immediate offspring—Prince Khurram plots against his brother—Endeavours to gain Raja Gaj, but fails—The Prince causes the chief adviser of Raja Gaj to be assassinated—Raja Gaj quits the royal army—Prince Khurram assassinates his brother Parvez—Proceeds to depose his father Jahangir, who appeals to the fidelity of the Rajput Princes—They rally round the throne, and encounter the rebel army near Benares—The Emperor slights the Rathor Prince, which proves nearly fatal to his cause—The rebels defeated—Flight of Prince Khurram—Raja Gaj slain on the Gujarat frontier—His second son, Raja Jaswant, succeeds—Reasons for occasional departure from the rules of primogeniture amongst the Rajputs—Amra, the elder, excluded the succession—Sentence of banishment pronounced against him—Ceremony of Desvata, or ‘exile,’ described—Amra repairs to the Mogul court—Honours conferred upon him—His tragical death . 969

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Raja Jaswant mounts the gaddi of Marwar—His mother a princess of Mewar—He is a patron of science—His first service in Gondwana—Prince Dara appointed regent of the empire by his father, Shah Jahan—Appoints Jaswant viceroy in Malwa—Rebellion of Aurangzeb, who aspires to the crown—Jaswant appointed generalissimo of the army sent to oppose him—Battle of Fatehabad, a drawn battle—Jaswant retreats—Heroism of Rao Ratna of Ratlam—Aurangzeb proceeds towards Agra—Battle of Jajau—Rajputs overpowered—Shah Jahan deposed—Aurangzeb, now emperor, pardons Jaswant, and summons him to the presence—Commands him to join the army formed against Shuja—Battle of Kajwa—Conduct of Jaswant—Betrays Aurangzeb and plunders his camp—Forms a junction with Dara—This prince’s inactivity—Aurangzeb invades Marwar—Detaches Jaswant from Dara—Appointed viceroy of Gujarat—Sent to serve in the Deccan —Enters into Sivaji’s designs—Plans the death of Shaista Khan, the king’s lieutenant—Obtains this office—Superseded by the prince of Amber—Reappointed to the army of the Deccan—Stimulates Prince Muazzam to rebellion—Superseded by Dalir Khan—Jaswant tries to cut him off—Removed from the Deccan to Gujarat—Outwitted by the king—Ordered against the rebellious Afghans of Kabul—Jaswant leaves his son, Prithi Singh, in charge of Jodhpur—Prithi Singh commanded to court by Aurangzeb, who gives him a poisoned robe—His death—Character—The tidings reach Jaswant at Kabul, and cause his death—Character of Jaswant—Anecdotes illustrative of Rathor character—Nahar Khan—His exploits with the tiger, and against Surthan of Sirohi . 979

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The pregnant queen of Jaswant prevented from becoming Sati—Seven concubines and one Rani burn with him—The Chandravati Rani mounts the pyre at Mandor—General grief for the loss of Jaswant—Posthumous birth of Ajit—Jaswant’s family and contingent return from Kabul to Marwar—Intercepted by Aurangzeb, who demands the surrender of the infant Ajit—The chiefs destroy the females and defend themselves—Preservation of the infant prince—The Indhas take Mandor—Expelled—Aurangzeb invades Marwar, takes and plunders Jodhpur, and sacks all the large towns—Destroys the Hindu temples, and commands the conversion of the Rathor race—Impolicy of the measure—Establishes the Jizya, or tax on infidels—The Rathors and Sesodias unite against the king—Events of the war from the Chronicle—The Mertia clan oppose the entire royal army, but are cut to pieces—The combined Rajputs fight the Imperialists at Nadol—Bhim, the son of the Rana, slain—Prince Akbar disapproves the war against the Rajputs—Makes overtures—Coalition—The Rajputs declare Akbar emperor—Treachery and death of Tahawwur Khan—Akbar escapes, and claims protection from the Rajputs—Durga conducts Prince Akbar to the Deccan—Soning, brother of Durga, leads the Rathors—Conflict at Jodhpur—Affair at Sojat—The cholera morbus appears—Aurangzeb offers peace—The conditions accepted by Soning—Soning’s death—Aurangzeb annuls the treaty—Prince Azam left to carry on the war—Muslim garrisons throughout Marwar—The Rathors take post in the Aravalli hills—Numerous encounters—Affairs of Sojat—Charai—Jaitaran—Renpur—Pali—Immense sacrifice of lives—The Bhattis join the Rathors—The Mertia chief assassinated during a truce—Further encounters—Siwana assaulted—The Muslim garrison put to the sword—Nur Ali abducts the Asani damsels—Is pursued and killed—Muslim garrison of Sambhar destroyed—Jalor capitulates to the Rajputs . 990

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Retaliated—The king's army invades Marwar—Jodhpur invested—Terms—Abhai Singh sent to court—Ajit proceeds to Delhi—Coalesces with the Sayyid ministry of the king—Gives a daughter in marriage to the emperor—Returns to Jodhpur—Repeal of the Jizya—Ajit proceeds to his viceroyalty of Gujarat—Settles the province—Worships at Dwarka—Returns to Jodhpur—The Sayyids summon him to court—The splendour of his train—Leagues with the Sayyids—The emperor visits Ajit—Portents—Husain Ali arrives from the Deccan—Consternation of the opponents of the Sayyids and Ajit—Ajit blockades the palace with his Rathors—The emperor put to death—Successors—Muhammad Shah—He marches against Amber—Its Raja claims sanctuary with Ajit—Obtains the grant of Ahmadabad—Returns to Jodhpur—Ajit unites his daughter to the prince of Amber—The Sayyids assassinated—Ajit warned of his danger—Seizes on Ajmer—Slays the governor—Destroys the mosques, and re-establishes the Hindu rites—Ajit declares his independence—Coins in his own name—Establishes weights and measures, and his own courts of justice—Fixes the gradations of rank amongst his chiefs—The Imperialists invade Marwar—Abhai Singh heads thirty thousand Rathors to oppose them—The king's forces decline battle—The Rathors ravage the Imperial provinces—Abhai Singh obtains the surname of Dhonkal, or exterminator—Returns to Jodhpur—Battle of Sambhar—Ajit gives sanctuary to Churaman Jat, founder of Bharatpur—The emperor puts himself at the head of all his forces to avenge the defeat of Sambhar—Ajmer invested—Its defence—Ajit agrees to surrender Ajmer—Abhai Singh proceeds to the Imperial camp—His reception—His arrogant bearing—Murder of Ajit by his son—Infidelity of the bard—Blank leaf of the Raj Rupaka, indicative of this event—Extract from that chronicle—Funereal rites—Six queens and fifty-eight concubines determine to become Satis—Expostulations of the Nazir, bards, and purohits—They fail—Procession—Rite concluded—Reflections on Ajit's life and history . . . . . 1020

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The parricidal murder of Ajit, the cause of the destruction of Marwar—The parricide, Abhai Singh, invested as Raja by the emperor's own hand—He returns from court to Jodhpur—His reception—He distributes gifts to the bards and priests—The bards of Rajputana—Karna, the poetic historian of Marwar—Studies requisite to form a Bardai—Abhai Singh reduces Nagor—Bestows it in appanage upon his brother Bakhta—Reduces the turbulent allodialists—Commanded to court—Makes a tour of his domain—Seized by the smallpox—Reaches the court—Rebellion of the viceroy of Gujarat, and of Prince Jangali in the Deccan—Picture of the Mogul court at this time—The bira of foreign service against the rebels described—Refused by the assembled nobles—Accepted by the Rathor prince—He visits Ajmer, which he garrisons—Meeting at Pushkar with the Raja of Amber—Plan the destruction of the empire—At Merta is joined by his brother Bakhta Singh—Reaches Jodhpur—The Kher, or feudal levies of Marwar, assemble—Consecration of the guns—The Minas carry off the cattle of the train—Rajput contingents enumerated—Abhai reduces the Mina strongholds in Sirohi—The Sirohi prince submits, and gives a daughter in marriage as a peace-offering—The Sirohi contingent joins Abhai Singh—Proceeds against Ahmadabad—Summons the viceroy to surrender—Rajput council of war—Bakhta claims to lead the van—The Rathor prince sprinkles his chiefs with saffron water—Sarbuland’s plan of defence—His guns manned by Europeans—His bodyguard of European musketeers—The storm—Victory gained by the Rajputs—Surrender of Sarbuland—He is sent prisoner to the emperor—Abhai Singh governs Gujarat—Rajput contingents enumerated—Conclusion of the chronicles, the Raj Rupaka and Surya Prakas—Abhai Singh returns to Jodhpur—The spoils conveyed from Gujarat . . . . . 1035

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Mutual jealousies of the brothers—Abhai Singh dreads the military fame of Bakhta—His policy—Prompted by the bard Karna, who deserts Jodhpur for Nagor—Scheme laid by Bakhta to thwart his brother—Attack on Bikaner by Abhai Singh—Singular conduct of his chiefs, who afford supplies to the besieged—Bakhta’s scheme to embroil the Amber prince with his brother—His overture and advice to attack Jodhpur in the absence of his brother—Jai Singh of Amber—His reception of this advice, which is discussed and rejected in a full council of the nobles of Amber—The envoy of Bakhta obtains an audience of the prince of Amber—Attains his object—His insulting letter to Raja Abhai Singh—The latter’s laconic reply—Jai Singh calls out the Kher, or feudal army of Amber—Obtains foreign allies—One hundred thousand men muster under the walls of his capital—March to the Marwar frontier—Abhai Singh raises the siege of Bikaner—Bakhta’s strange conduct—Swears his vassals—Marches with his personal retainers only to combat the host of Amber—Battle of Gangwana—Desperate onset of Bakhta Singh—Destruction of his band—With sixty men charges the Amber prince, who avoids him—Eulogy of Bakhta by the Amber bards—Karna the bard prevents a third charge—Bakhta’s distress at the loss of his men—The Rana mediates a peace—Bakhta loses his tutelary divinity—Restored by the Amber prince—Death of Abhai Singh—Anecdotes illustrating his character . 1047

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Extent and population of Marwar—Classification of inhabitants—Jats—Rajputs, sacerdotal, commercial, and servile tribes—Soil—Agricultural products—Natural productions—Salt lakes—Marble and limestone quarries—Tin, lead, and iron mines—Alum—Manufactures—Commercial marts—Transit trade—Pali, the emporium of Western India—Mercantile classes—Khadataras and Oswals—Kitars, or caravans—Imports and exports enumerated—Charans, the guardians of the caravans—Commercial decline—Causes—Opium monopoly—Fairs of Mundwa and Balotra—Administration of justice—Punishments—Raja Bijai Singh’s clemency to prisoners, who are maintained by private charity—Gaol deliveries on eclipses, births, and accession of princes—Sagun, or ordeals : fire, water, burning oil—Panchayats—Fiscal revenues and regulations—Batai; or corn-rent—Shahnahs and Kanwaris—Taxes—Anga, or capitation tax—Ghaswali, or pasturage—Kewari, or door tax; how originated—Sair, or imposts; their amount—Dhanis, or collectors—Revenues from the salt-lakes—Tandas, or caravans engaged in this trade—Aggregate revenues—Military resources—Mercenaries—Feudal quotas—Schedule of feoffs—Qualification of a cavalier . . . 1104

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BOOK VI

v2.c26.13

ANNALS OF BIKANER

Chapter 1

v2.c27.1

Origin of the State of Bikaner—Bika, the founder—Condition of the aboriginal Jats or Getes—The number and extensive diffusion of this Scythic race, still a majority of the peasantry in Western Rajputana, and perhaps in Northern India—Their pursuits pastoral, their government patriarchal, their religion of a mixed kind—List of the Jat cantons of Bikaner at the irruption of Bika—Causes of the success of Bika—Voluntary surrender of the supremacy of the Jat elders to Bika—Conditions—Characteristic of the Getic people throughout India—Proofs—Invasion of the Johyas by Bika and his Jat subjects—Account of the Johyas—Conquered by Bika—He wrests Bagor from the Bhattis, and founds Bikaner, the capital, A.D. 1489—His uncle Kandhal makes conquests to the north—Death of Bika—His son Nunkaran succeeds—Makes conquests from the Bhattis—His son Jeth succeeds—Enlarges the power of Bikaner—Rae Singh succeeds—The Jats of Bikaner lose their liberties—The State rises to importance—Rae Singh’s connexion with Akbar—His honours and power—The Johyas revolt and are exterminated—Traditions of Alexander the Great amongst the ruins of the Johyas—Examined—The Punia Jats vanquished by Ram Singh the Raja’s brother—Their subjection imperfect—Rae Singh’s daughter weds Prince Salim, afterwards Jahangir—Rae Singh succeeded by his son Karan—The three eldest sons of Karan fall in the imperial service—Anup Singh, the youngest, succeeds—Quells a rebellion in Kabul—His death uncertain—Sarup Singh succeeds—He is killed—Shujawan Singh, Zorawar Singh, Gaj Singh, and Raj Singh succeed—The latter poisoned by his brother by another mother, who usurps the throne, though opposed by the chiefs—He murders the rightful heir, his nephew—Civil war—Muster-roll of the chiefs—The usurper attacks Jodhpur—Present state of Bikaner—Account of Bidavati . 1123

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Actual condition and capabilities of Bikaner—Causes of its deterioration—Extent—Population—Jats—Sarasvati Brahmans—Charans—Malis and Nais—Chuhras and Thoris—Rajputs—Face of the country—Grain and vegetable productions—Implements of husbandry—Water—Salt lakes—Local physiography—Mineral productions—Unctuous clay—Animal productions—Commerce and manufactures—Fairs—Government and revenues—The fisc—Dhuan, or hearth-tax—Anga, or capitation-tax—Sair, or imposts—Paseti, or plough-tax—Malba, or ancient land-tax—Extraordinary and irregular resources—Feudal levies—Household troops . 1145

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Bhatner, its origin and denomination—Historical celebrity of the Jats of Bhatner—Emigration of Bersi—Succeeded by Bhairon—Embraces Islamism—Rao Dalich—Husain Khan, Husain Mahmud, Imam Mahmud, and Bahadur Khan—Zabita Khan, the present ruler—Condition of the country—Changes in its physical aspect—Ruins of ancient buildings—Promising scene for archaeological inquiries—Zoological and botanical curiosities—List of the ancient towns—Relics of the arrow-head character found in the desert . 1163

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Bijal commits suicide—Kailan recalled and placed on the gaddi—His issue form clans—Khizr Khan Baloch again invades Khadal—Kailan attacks him, and avenges his father's death—Death of Kailan—Succeeded by Chachak Deo—He expels the Chana Rajputs—Defeats the Sodhas of Umarkot—The Rathors lately arrived in the desert become troublesome—Important synchronisms—Death of Chachak—He is succeeded by his grandson Karan, to the prejudice of the elder, Jethsi, who leaves Jaisalmer—Redresses the wrongs of a Baraha Rajput—Karan dies—Succeeded by Lakhansen—His imbecile character—Replaced by his son Punpal, who is dethroned and banished—His grandson, Raningdeo, establishes himself at Marot and Pugal—On the deposal of Punpal, Jethsi is recalled and placed on the gaddi—He affords a refuge to the Parihar prince of Mandor, when attacked by Alau-d-din—The sons of Jethsi carry off the imperial tribute of Tatta and Multan—The king determines to invade Jaisalmer—Jethsi and his sons prepare for the storm—Jaisalmer invested—First assault repulsed—The Bhattis keep an army in the field—Rawal Jethsi dies—The siege continues—Singular friendship between his son Ratan and one of the besieging generals—Mulraj succeeds—General assault—Again defeated—Garrison reduced to great extremity—Council of war—Determination to perform the sakha—Generous conduct of the Muhammadan friend of Ratan to his sons—Final assault—Rawal Mulraj and Ratan and their chief kin fall in battle—Jaisalmer taken, dismantled, and abandoned . . . 1206

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The Rathors of Mewa settle amidst the ruins of Jaisalmer—Driven out by the Bhatti chieftain Dudu, who is elected Rawal—He carries off the stud of Firoz Shah—Second storm and sakha of Jaisalmer—Dudu slain—Moghul invasion of India—The Bhatti princes obtain their liberty—Rawal Gharsi re-establishes Jaisalmer—Kehar, son of Deoraj—Disclosure of his destiny by a prodigy—Is adopted by the wife of Rawal Gharsi, who is assassinated by the tribe of Jaisar—Kehar proclaimed—Bimaladevi becomes sati—The succession entailed on the sons of Hamir—Matrimonial overture to Jetha from Mewar—Engagement broken off—The brothers slain—Penitential act of Rao Raning—Offspring of Kehar—Soma the elder departs with his basai and settles at Girab—Sons of Rao Raning become Muslims to avenge their father's death—Consequent forfeiture of their inheritance—They mix with the Aboharia Bhattis—Kailan, the third son of Kehar, settles in the forfeited lands—Drives the Dahyas from Khadal—Kailan erects the fortress of Kara on the Bias or Gara—Assailed by the Johyas and Langahas under Amir Khan Korai, who is defeated—Subdues the Chahils and Mohils—Extends his authority to the Panjnad—Rao Kailan marries into the Samma family—Account of the Samma race—He seizes on the Samma dominions—Makes the river Indus his boundary —Kailan dies—Succeeded by Chachak—Makes Marot his headquarters—League headed by the chief of Multan against Chachak, who invades that territory, and returns with a rich booty to Marot—A second victory—Leaves a garrison in the Panjab—Defeats Maipal, chief of the Dhundis—Asini-, or Aswini-Kot—Its supposed position—Anecdote—Feud with Satalmer—Its consequences—Alliance with Haibat Khan—Rao Chachak invades Pilibanga—The Khokhars or Ghakkars described—The Langahas drive his garrison from Dhuniapur—Rao Chachak falls sick—Challenges the prince of Multan—Reaches Dhuniapur—Rites preparatory to the combat—Worship of the sword—Chachak is slain with all his bands—Kumbha, hitherto insane, avenges his father's feud—Birsal re-establishes Dhuniapur—Repairs to Kahror—Assailed by the Langahas and Baloch—Defeats them—Chronicle of Jaisalmer resumed—Rawal Bersi meets Rao Birsal on his return from his expedition in the Panjab—Conquest of Multan by Babur—Probable conversion of the Battis of the Panjab—Rawal Bersi, Jeth, Nunkaran, Bhim, Manohardas, and Sabal Singh, six generations . . . . . . 1215

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Jaisalmer becomes a fief of the empire—Changes in the succession—Sabal Singh serves with the Bhatti contingent—His services obtain him the gaddi of Jaisalmer—Boundaries of Jaisalmer at the period of Babur's invasion—Sabal succeeded by his son, Amra Singh, who leads the tika-daur into the Baloch territory—Crowned on the field of victory—Demands a relief from his subjects to portion his daughter—Puts a chief to death who refuses—Revolt of the Chana Rajputs—The Bhatti chiefs retaliate the inroads of the Rathors of Bikaner—Origin of frontier-feuds—Bhattis gain a victory—The princes of Jaisalmer and Bikaner are involved in the feuds of their vassals—Raja Anup Singh calls on all his chiefs to revenge the disgrace—Invasion of Jaisalmer—The invaders defeated—The Rawal recovers Pugal—Makes Barmer tributary—Amra dies—Succeeded by Jaswant—The chronicle closes—Decline of Jaisalmer—Pugal—Barmer—Phalodi wrested from her by the Rathors—Importance of these transactions to the British Government—Khadal to the Gara seized by the Daudputras—Akhai Singh succeeds—His uncle, Tej Singh, usurps the government—The usurper assassinated during the ceremony of Las—Akhai Singh recovers the gaddi—Reigns forty years—Bahawal Khan seizes on Khadal—Rawal Mulraj—Sarup Singh Mehta made minister—His hatred of the Bhatti nobles—Conspiracy against him by the heir-apparent, Rae Singh—Deposal and confinement of the Rawal—The prince proclaimed—Refuses to occupy the gaddi—Mulraj emancipated by a Rajputni—Resumption of the gaddi—The prince Rae Singh receives the black khilat of banishment—Retires to Jodhpur—Outlawry of the Bhatti nobles—Their lands sequestrated and castles destroyed—After twelve years restored to their lands—Rae Singh decapitates a merchant—Returns to Jaisalmer—Sent to the fortress of Dewa—Salim Singh becomes minister—His character—Falls into the hands of his enemies, but is saved by the magnanimity of Zorawar Singh—Plans his destruction, through his own brother’s wife—Zorawar is poisoned—The Mehta then assassinates her and her husband—Fires the castle of Dewa—Rae Singh burnt to death—Murder of his sons—The minister proclaims Gaj Singh—Younger sons of Mulraj fly to Bikaner—The longest reigns in the Rajput annals are during ministerial usurpation—Retrospective view of the Bhatti history—Reflections . 1225

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Rawal Mulraj enters into treaty with the English—The Raja dies—His grandson, Gaj Singh, proclaimed—He becomes a mere puppet in the minister’s hands—Third article of the treaty—Inequality of the alliance—Its importance to Jaisalmer—Consequences to be apprehended by the British Government—Dangers attending the enlarging the circle of our political connexions—Importance of Jaisalmer in the event of Russian invasion—British occupation of the valley of the Indus considered—Salim Singh’s administration resumed—His rapacity and tyranny increase—Wishes his office to be hereditary—Report of the British Agent to his Government—Paliwals self-exiled—Bankers’ families kept as hostages—Revenues arising from confiscation—Wealth of the minister—Border feud detailed to exemplify the interference of the paramount power—The Maldots of Baru—Their history—Nearly exterminated by the Rathors of Bikaner—Stimulated by the minister Salim Singh—Cause of this treachery—He calls for British interference—Granted—Result—Rawal Gaj Singh arrives at Udaipur—Marries the Rana’s daughter—Influence of this lady . . . . . 1235

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Geographical position of Jaisalmer—Its superficial area—List of its chief towns—Population—Jaisalmer chiefly desert—Magra, a rocky ridge, traced from Cutch—Sars, or salt-marshes—Kanod Sar—Soil—Productions—Husbandry—Manufactures—Commerce—Kitars, or caravans—Articles of trade—Revenues—Land and transit taxes—Dani, or Collector—Amount of land-tax exacted from the cultivator—Dhuan, or hearth-tax—Thali, or tax on food—Dand, or forced contribution—Citizens refuse to pay—Enormous wealth accumulated by the minister by extortion—Establishments—Expenditure—Tribes—Bhattis—Their moral estimation—Personal appearance and dress—Their predilection for opium and tobacco—Paliwals, their history—Numbers, wealth, employment—Curious rite or worship—Pali coins—Pokharna Brahmans—Title—Numbers—Singular typical worship—Race of Jat—Castle of Jaisalmer . . . . 1244

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ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF RAJASTHAN

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BOOK IV—Continued

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RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS, FESTIVALS, AND CUSTOMS OF MEWĀR

Chapter 19

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Influence of the Priesthood.—In all ages the ascendancy of the hierarchy is observable; it is a tribute paid to religion through her organs. Could the lavish endowments and extensive immunities of the various religious establishments in Rajasthan be assumed as criteria of the morality of the inhabitants, we should be authorized to assign them a high station in the scale of excellence. But they more frequently prove the reverse of their position; especially the territorial endowments, often the fruits of a death-bed repentance,¹ which, prompted by superstition or fear, compounds for past crimes by posthumous profusion, although vanity not rarely lends her powerful aid. There is scarcely a State in Rajputana in which one-fifth of the soil is not assigned for the support of the temples, their ministers, the secular Brahmans, bards, and [508] genealogists. But the evil was not always so extensive; the abuse is of modern growth.

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¹ Manu commands, "Should the king be near his end through some incurable disease, he must bestow on the priests all his riches accumulated from legal fines: and having duly committed his kingdom to his son, let him seek death in battle, or, if there be no war, by abstaining from food" (Laws, ix. 323). The annals of all the Rajput States afford instances of obedience to this text of their divine legislator. [The injunction to seek death by starvation is an addition by the commentator, and is not included in the original text.]

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Weighing of Princes against Gold.—An anecdote related of the Rajas of Marwar and Amber, always rivals in war, love, and folly, will illustrate the motives of these dismemberments. During the annual pilgrimage to the sacred lake of Pushkar, it is the custom for these lords of the earth to weigh their persons against all that is rare, in gold, gems, and precious cloths; which are afterwards distributed to the priests.¹ The Amber chief had the advantage of a full treasury and a fertile soil, to which his rival could oppose a more extended sway over a braver race; but his country was proverbially poor, and at Pushkar, the weight of the purse ranks above the deeds of the sword. As these princes were suspended in the scale, the Amber Raja, who was balanced against the more costly material, indirectly taunted his brother-in-law on the poverty of his offerings, who would gladly, like the Roman, have made up the deficiency with his sword. But the Marwar prince had a minister of tact, at whose suggestion he challenged his rival (of Amber) to equal him in the magnitude of his gift to the Brahmans. On the gage being accepted, the Rathor exclaimed, “Perpetual charity (*sasan*)² of all the lands held by the Brahmans in Marwar!” His unreflecting rival had commenced the redemption of his pledge, when his minister stopped the half-uttered vow, which would have impoverished the family for ever; for there were ten Brahmans in Amber who followed secular employments, cultivating or holding lands in usufruct, to one in Marwar. Had these lords of the earth been left to their misguided vanity, the fisc of each state would have been seriously curtailed.

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¹ [The practice of a devotee weighing himself against gold was common in ancient Hindu times, was known as *tulāpurushadāna*, and is still performed by the Mahārāja of Travancore (Thurston, *Tribes and Castes of S. India*, vii. 202 ff.; *BG*, i. Part ii. 415; Forbes, *Rāsmāla*, 84). Akbar used to have himself weighed against precious substances twice a year, on his solar and lunar birthdays, the articles being given to Brāhmans, and Jahāngīr followed the same custom (*Āīn*, i. 266 ff.; Elliot-Dowson v. 307, 453; *Memoirs of Jahāngīr*, trans. Rogers-Beveridge, 78, 81, 111, 183).]

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² [*Sāsan*, a grant by charter of rent-free lands, made in favour of Brāhmans and devotees. For the formula used in such grants see Barnett, *Antiquities of India*, 129.]

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Grants to Brāhmans and Devotees.—The Brahmans, Sannyasis, and Gosains are not behind those professional flatterers, the Bards; and many a princely name would have been forgotten but for the record of the gift of land. In Mewar, the lands in *sasan*, or religious grants, amount in value to one-fifth of the revenue of the State, and the greater proportion of these has arisen out of the prodigal mismanagement of the last century. The dilapidated state of the country, on the general pacification in A.D. 1818, afforded a noble opportunity to redeem in part these alienations, without the penalty of denunciation attached to the resumer of sacred charities. But death, famine, and exile, which had left but few of the grantees in a capacity to return and reoccupy the lands, in vain coalesced to restore the fisc of Mewar. The Rana dreaded a “ sixty thousand [509] years' residence in hell,” and some of the finest land of his country is doomed to remain unproductive. In this predicament is the township of Menal,¹ with 50,000 bighas (16,000 acres), which with the exception of a nook where some few have established themselves, claiming to be descendants of the original holders, are condemned to sterility, owing to the agricultural proprietors and the rent-receiving Brahmans being dead; and apathy united to superstition admits their claims without inquiry.

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¹ [Menāl, Mahānāl, ‘ the great chasm,’ in the Begun Estate, E. Mewār.]

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The antiquary, who has dipped into the records of the dark period in European church history, can have ocular illustration in Rajasthan of traditions which may in Europe appear questionable. The vision of the Bishop of Orleans,² who saw Charles Martel in the depths of hell, undergoing the tortures of the damned, for having stripped the churches of their possessions, “ thereby rendering himself guilty of the sins of all those who had endowed them,” would receive implicit credence from every Hindu, whose ecclesiastical economy might both yield and derive illustration from a comparison, not only with that of Europe, but with the more ancient Egyptian and Jewish systems, whose endowments, as explained by Moses and Ezekiel, bear a strong analogy to his own. The disposition of landed property in Egypt, as amongst the ancient Hindus, was immemorially vested in the cultivator; and it was only through Joseph’s ministry in the famine that “ the land became Pharaoh’s, as the Egyptians sold every man his field.”¹ And the coincidence is manifest even in the tax imposed on them as occupants of their inheritance, being one-fifth of the crops to the king, while the maximum rate among the Hindus is a sixth.² The Hindus also, in visitations such as that which occasioned the dispossession of the ryots of Egypt, can mortgage or sell their patrimony (bapota). Joseph did not attempt to infringe the privileges of the sacred order when the whole of Egypt became crown-land, “ except the lands of the priests, which became not Pharaoh’s ”; and these priests, according to Diodorus, held for themselves and the sacrifices no less than one-third of the lands of Egypt. But we learn from [510] Herodotus, that Sesostris, who ruled after Joseph’s ministry, restored the lands to the people, reserving the customary tax or tribute.³

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² “ Saint Eucher, évêque d’Orléans, eut une vision qui étonna les princes. Il faut que je rapporte à ce sujet la lettre que les évêques, assemblés à Reims, écrivent à Louis-le-Germanique, qui étoit entré dans les terres de Charles le Chauve, parce qu’elle est très-propre à nous faire voir quel étoit, dans ces temps-là, l’état des choses, et la situation des esprits. Ils disent que ‘ Saint Eucher ayant été ravi dans le ciel, il vit Charles Martel tourmenté dans l’enfer inférieur par l’ordre des saints qui doivent assister avec Jésus-Christ au jugement dernier ; qu’il avoit été condamné à cette peine avant le temps pour avoir dépouillé les églises de leurs biens, et s’être par là rendu coupable des péchés de tous ceux qui les avoient dotées ’” (Montesquieu, L’Esprit des Lois, livre xxxi. chap. xi. p. 460).

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¹ Genesis xlvii. 20-26.

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² Manu, *Laws*, vii. 130.

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³ *Origin of Laws and Government*, vol. i. p. 54, and vol. ii. p. 13. [Herodotus ii. 109.]

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The prelates of the middle ages of Europe were often completely feudal nobles, swearing fealty and paying homage as did the lay lords.⁴ In Rajasthan, the sacerdotal caste not bound to the altar may hold lands and perform the duties of vassalage:⁵ but of late years, when land has been assigned to religious establishments, no reservation has been made of fiscal rights, territorial or commercial. This is, however, an innovation; since, formerly, princes never granted, along with territorial assignments, the prerogative of dispensing justice, of levying transit duties, or exemption from personal service of the feudal tenant who held on the land thus assigned. Well may Rajput heirs exclaim with the grandson of Clovis, “ our exchequer is impoverished, and our riches are transferred to the clergy.”⁶ But Chilperic had the courage to recall the grants of his predecessors, which, however, the pious Gontram re-established. Many Gontrams could be found, though but few Chilperics, in Rajasthan: we have, indeed, one in Jograj,¹ the Rana's ancestor, almost a contemporary of the Merovingian king, who not only resumed all the lands of the Brahmans, but put many of them to death, and expelled the rest his dominions.²

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⁴ Hallam, *Middle Ages*, vol. ii. p. 212.

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⁵ “ A Brahman unable to subsist by his duties just mentioned (sacerdotal), may live by the duty of a soldier ” (Manu x. 81).

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⁶ Montesquieu.

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¹ [One of the legendary Rānas, twenty-fifth on the list, to whom no date can be assigned.]

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² “Le clergé recevoit tant, qu'il faut que, dans les trois races, on lui ait donné plusieurs fois tous les biens du royaume. Mais si les rois, la noblesse, et le peuple, trouvèrent le moyen de leur donner tous leurs biens, ils ne trouvèrent pas moins celui de les leur ôter” (Montesquieu, L'Esprit des Lois, livre xxxi. chap. x.).

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It may be doubted whether vanity and shame are not sufficient in themselves to prevent a resumption of the lands of the Mangtas or mendicants, as they style all those ‘ who extend the palm,’ without the dreaded penalty, which operates very slightly on the sub-vassal or cultivator, who, having no superfluity, defies their anathemas when they attempt to wrest from him, by virtue of the crown-grant, any of his long-established rights. By these, the threat of impure transmigration is despised; and the Brahman may spill his blood on the threshold of his dwelling or in the field in dispute, which will be relinquished by the owner but with his life. The Pat Rani, or chief queen, on the death of Prince Amra, the heir-apparent, in 1818, bestowed a grant of fifteen bighas of land, in one of the central districts, on a Brahman who had assisted in the funeral rites of her son. With grant in hand [511], he hastened to the Jat proprietor, and desired him to make over to him the patch of land. The latter coolly replied that he would give him all the prince had a right to, namely the tax. The Brahman threatened to spill his own blood if he did not obey the command, and gave himself a gash in a limb; but the Jat was inflexible, and declared that he would not surrender his patrimony (bapota) even if he slew himself.³ In short, the ryot of Mewar would reply, even to his sovereign, if he demanded his field, in the very words of Naboth to Ahab, king of Israel, when he demanded the vineyard contiguous to the palace: “The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.”

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³ These worshippers of God and Mammon, when threats fail, have recourse to maiming, and even destroying, themselves, to gain their object. In 1820, one of the confidential servants of the Rana demanded payment of the petty tax called gugri, of one rupee on each house, from some Brahmans who dwelt in the village, and which had always been received from them. They refused payment, and on being pressed, four of them stabbed themselves mortally. Their bodies were placed upon biers, and funeral rites withheld till punishment should be inflicted on the priest-killer. But for once superstition was disregarded, and the rights of the Brahmans in this community were resumed. See Appendix to this Part, No. I [p. 644].

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Tithes, Temples.—But the tithes, and other small and legally established rights of the hierarchy, are still religiously maintained. The village temple and the village priest are always objects of veneration to the industrious husbandman, on whom superstition acts more powerfully than on the bold marauding Rajput, who does not hesitate to demand salvamenta (rakhwali) from the lands of Kanhaiya or Eklinga. But the poor ryot of the nineteenth century of Vikrama has the same fears as the peasants of Charlemagne, who were made to believe that the ears of corn found empty had been devoured by infernal spirits, reported to have said they owed their feast to the non-payment of tithes.¹

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¹ “Mais le bas peuple n’est guère capable d’abandonner ses intérêts par des exemples. Le synode de Francfort lui présenta un motif plus pressant pour payer les dîmes. On y fit un capitulaire dans lequel il est dit que, dans la dernière famine, on avoit trouvé les épis de blé vides, qu’ils avoient été dévorés par les démons, et qu’on avoit entendu leurs voix qui reprochoient de n’avoir pas payé la dîme : et, en conséquence, il fut ordonné à tous ceux qui tenoient les biens ecclésiastiques de payer la dîme, et, en conséquence encore, on l’ordonna à tous” (L’Esprit des Lois, livre xxxi. chap. xii.).

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Political Influence of Brāhmans.—The political influence of the Brahmans is frequently exemplified in cases alike prejudicial to the interests of society and the personal welfare of the sovereign. The latter is often surrounded by lay-Brahmans as confidential servants, in the capacities of butler, keeper of the wardrobe, or seneschal,² besides the Guru or domestic chaplain, who to the duty of ghostly comforter sometimes joins that of [512] astrologer and physician, in which case God help the prince!¹ These Gurus and Purohits, having the education of the children, acquire immense influence, and are not backward in improving “the greatness thrust upon them.” They are all continually importuning their prince for grants of land for themselves and the shrines they are attached to; and every chief, as well as every influential domestic, takes advantage of ephemeral favour to increase the endowments of his tutelary divinity. The Peshwas of Satara are the most striking out of numerous examples.

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