Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c28.s1: Chapter 7
Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c28.s1
- Language
- English
Contents
- v2.c28.s1.t1 Eulogy of Durgadās — 8 parts
- v2.c28.s1.t2 Horoscope of Rāja Abhai Singh — 212 parts
Chapter 7
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Fate of the Family of Jaswant Singh.—“ When Jaswant died beyond the Attock, his wife, the (future) mother of Ajit, determined to burn with her lord, but being in the seventh month of her pregnancy, she was forcibly prevented by Uda Kumpawat.
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His other queen and seven Patras (concubines) mounted the pyre; and as soon as the tidings reached Jodhpur, the Chandravati queen, taking a turban of her late lord, ascended the pile at Mandor. The Hindu race was in despair at the loss of the support of their faith. The bells of the temple were mute; the sacred shell no longer sounded at sunrise; the Brahmans vitiated their doctrines and learned the Muslim creed.”¹
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¹ [Erskine (iii. A, 62) gives the story from local sources; also see Elliot-Dowson vii. 297 f.]
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Birth of Ajīt Singh.—The queen was delivered of a boy, who received the name of Ajit. As soon as she was able to travel, the Rathor contingent, with their infant prince, his mother, the daughters, and establishment of their late sovereign, prepared to return to their native land. But the unrelenting tyrant, carrying his vengeance towards Jaswant even beyond the grave, as soon they reached Delhi, commanded that the infant should be surrendered to his custody. “Aurang offered to divide Maru amongst [59] them if they would surrender their prince; but they replied, ‘Our country is with our sinews, and these can defend both it and our Lord.’ With eyes red with rage, they left the Amm-khass. Their abode was surrounded by the host of the Shah. In a basket of sweetmeats they sent away the young prince, and prepared to defend their honour; they made oblations to the gods, took a double portion of opium, and mounted their steeds. Then spoke Ranchhor, and Govind the son of Jodha, and Chandarbhan the Darawat, and the son of Raghu, on whose shoulders the sword had been married at Ujjain, with the fearless Baharmall the Udawat, and the Sujawat, Raghunath. ‘Let us swim,’ they exclaimed, ‘in the ocean of fight. Let us root up these Asuras, and be carried by the Apsaras to the mansions of the sun.’ As thus each spoke, Suja the bard took the word: ‘For a day like this,’ said he, ‘you enjoy your fiefs (pattas), to give in your lord’s cause your bodies to the sword, and in one mass to gain swarga (heaven). As for me, who enjoyed his friendship and his gifts, this day will I make his salt resplendent. My father’s fame will I uphold, and lead the death in this day’s fight, that future bards may hymn my praise.’ Then spake Durga, son of Asa: ‘The teeth of the Yavans are whetted, but by the lightning emitted from our swords, Delhi shall witness our deeds; and the flame of our anger shall consume the troops of the Shah.’
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As thus the chiefs communed, and the troops of the king approached, the Rajloka¹ of their late lord was sent to inhabit Swarga. Lance in hand, with faces resembling Yama,² the Rathors rushed upon the foe. Then the music of swords and shields commenced. Wave followed wave in the field of blood. Sankara³ completed his chaplet in the battle fought by the children of Duhar in the streets of Delhi. Ratna contended with nine thousand of the foe; but his sword failed, and as he fell, Rambha⁴ carried him away. Dila the Darawat made a gift of his life;⁵ the salt of his lord he mixed with the water of the field.⁶ Chandarbhan was conveyed by the [60] Apsaras to Chandrapur.⁷ The Bhatti was cut piecemeal and lay on the field beside the son of Surthan. The faithful Udawat appeared like the crimson lotus; he journeyed to Swarga to visit Jaswant. Sanda the bard, with a sword in either hand, was in the front of the battle, and gained the mansion of the moon.⁸ Every tribe and every clan performed its duty in this day's pilgrimage to the stream of the sword, in which Durgadas ground the foe and saved his honour.”⁹
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¹ A delicate mode of naming the female part of Jaswant's family; the ‘royal abode’ included his young daughters, sent to inhabit heaven (swarga).
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² Pluto.
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³ ‘The lord of the shell,’ an epithet of Siva, as the god of war; his war-trump being a shell (sankh); his chaplet (mala), which the Rathor bard says was incomplete until this fight, being of human skulls. [Sankara, a title of Siva, means ‘causing happiness,’ and has no connexion with sankh, ‘a shell.’]
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⁴ Queen of the Apsaras, or celestial nymphs.
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⁵ Pope makes Sarpedon say :
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⁶ I.e. blood.
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⁷ “The city of the moon.”
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⁸ The lunar abode seems that allotted for all bards, who never mention Bhanloka, or the ‘mansion of the sun,’ as a place of reward for them. Doubtless they could assign a reason for such a distinction.
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⁹ This is but a short transcript of the poetic account of this battle, in which the deeds, name, and tribe of every warrior who fell are related. The heroes of Thermopylae had not a more brilliant theme for the bard. [Compare the more matter-of-fact accounts of Khāfi Khān, Elliot-Dowson (vii. 296 f.), and Manucci (ii. 233 f.).]
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The Johar.—When these brave men saw that nothing short of the surrender of all that was dear to a Rajput was intended
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“The life that others pay, let us bestow,
And give to fame what we to nature owe.”
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by the fiend-like spirit of the king, their first thought was the preservation of their prince; the next to secure their own honour and that of their late master. The means by which they accomplished this were terrific. The females of the deceased, together with their own wives and daughters, were placed in an apartment filled with gunpowder, and the torch applied—all was soon over. This sacrifice accomplished, their sole thought was to secure a niche in that immortal temple, which the Rajput bard, as well as the great minstrel of the west, peoples with “ youths who died, to be by poets sung.” For this, the Rajput’s anxiety has in all ages been so great, as often to defeat even the purpose of revenge, his object being to die gloriously rather than to inflict death; assured that his name would never perish, but, preserved in “immortal rhyme” by the bard, would serve as the incentive to similar deeds. Accordingly, “the battle fought by the sons of Duharia¹ in the streets of Delhi” is one of the many themes of everlasting eulogy to the Rathors; and the seventh of Sravan, S. 1736 (the second month of the Monsoon of A.D. 1680), is a sacred day in the calendar of Maru.
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¹ Here is another instance of the ancient patronymic being brought in by the bards, and it is thus they preserve the names and deeds of the worthies of past days. Rao Duhar was one of the earliest Rathor kings of Marwar.
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In the midst of this furious contest, the infant prince was saved. To avoid suspicion the heir of Maru, concealed in a basket of sweetmeats, was entrusted to a Muslim, who religiously executed his trust and conveyed him to the appointed spot, where he was joined by the gallant Durgadas with the survivors who had cut their way through all opposition, and who were doomed often to bleed for the prince thus miraculously preserved. It is pleasing to find that if to “the leader [61] of the faithful,” the bigoted Aurangzeb, they owed so much misery, to one (and he of humble life), of the same faith, they owed the preservation of their line. The preserver of Ajit lived to witness his manhood and the redemption of his birthright, and to find that princes are not always ungrateful; for he was distinguished at court, was never addressed but as Kaka, or uncle, by the prince; and to the honour of his successors be it told, the lands then settled upon him are still enjoyed by his descendants.
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The Youth of Ajit Singh. Campaign of Aurangzeb in Mārwār. —With the sole surviving scion of Jaswant, the faithful Durga and a few chosen friends repaired to the isolated rock of Abu, and placed him in a monastery of recluses. There the heir of Maru was reared in entire ignorance of his birth. Still rumours prevailed, that a son of Jaswant lived; that Durga and a few associates were his guardians; and this was enough for the loyal Rajput, who, confiding in the chieftain of Dunara, allowed the mere name of Dhani (lord) to be his rallying-word in the defence of his rights. These were soon threatened by a host of enemies, amongst whom were the Indhas, the ancient sovereigns of Maru, who saw an opening for the redemption of their birthright, and for a short time displayed the flag of the Parihars on the walls of Mandor. While the Indhas were rejoicing at the recovery of their ancient capital, endeared to them by tradition, an attempt was made by Ratna,¹ the son of Amra Singh (whose tragical death has been related), to obtain the seat of power, Jodhpur. This attempt, instigated by the king, proved futile; and the clans, faithful to the memory of Jaswant and the name of Ajit, soon expelled the Indhas from Mandor, and drove the son of Amra to his castle of Nagor. It was then that Aurangzeb, in person, led his army into Maru; the capital was invested; it fell and was pillaged, and all the great towns in the plains, as Merta, Didwana, and Rohat, shared a similar fate. The emblems of religion were trampled under foot, the temples thrown down, mosques were erected on their site, and nothing short of the compulsory conversion to the tenets of Islam of every Rajput in Marwar would satisfy his revenge.² The consequences of this fanatical and impolitic conduct recoiled not only upon the emperor but his whole race, for it roused an opposition to this iron yoke, which ultimately broke it in pieces. The emperor promulgated that famous edict, the Jizya, against the whole Hindu race, which cemented into one compact union all who cherished either patriotism or religion. It was at this period of time, when the Rathors and Sesodias united [62] against the tyrant, that Rana Raj Singh indited that celebrated epistle, which is given in a preceding part of this work.¹
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¹ [According to Musalmān authorities, the name of the son of Amar Singh was Indar Singh, not Ratan Singh (Jadunath Sarkar, Life of Aurangzib, iii. 369).]
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² [In 1679 Khān Jahān arrived from Jodhpur, bringing several cartloads of idols pillaged from Hindu temples. It was ordered that some should be cast away into the out-offices, and the remainder to be placed beneath the steps of the Great Mosque, there to be trampled under foot (Elliot-Dowson vii. 187 ; Jadunath Sarkar iii. 323).]
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¹ Vol. I. p. 442.
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“Seventy thousand men,” says the bard,² “under Tahawwur Khan, were commanded to destroy the Rajputs, and Aurang followed in person to Ajmer. The Mertia clan assembled, and advanced to Pushkar to oppose him. The battle was in front of the temple of Varaha, where the swords of the Mertias, always first in the fight, played the game of destruction on the heads of the Asuras. Here the Mertias were all slain on the 11th Bhadon, S. 1736.
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² It may be well to exhibit the manner in which the poetic annalist of Rajputana narrates such events, and to give them in his own language rather than in an epitome, by which not only the pith of the original would be lost, but the events themselves deprived of half their interest. The character of historic fidelity will thus be preserved from suspicion, which could scarcely be withheld if the narrative were exhibited in any but its native garb. This will also serve to sustain the Annals of Marwar, formed from a combination of such materials, and dispose the reader to acknowledge the impossibility of reducing such animated chronicles to the severe style of history. But more than all, it is with the design to prove what, in the preface of this work, the reader was compelled to take on credit; that the Rajput kingdoms were in no ages without such chronicles: and if we may not compare them with Froissart, or with Monstrelet, they may be allowed to compete with the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and they certainly surpass those of Ulster. But we have stronger motives than even legitimate curiosity, in allowing the bard to tell his own tale of the thirty years’ war of Rajputana; the desire which has animated this task from its commencement, to give a correct idea of the importance of these events, and to hold them up as a beacon to the present governors of these brave men. How well that elegant historian, Orme, appreciates their importance, as bearing on our own conduct in power, the reader will perceive by reference to his Fragments [ed. 1782, note i.], where he says, “There are no states or powers on the continent of India, with whom our nation has either connexion or concern, which do not owe the origin of their present condition to the reign of Aurangzebe, or to its influence on the reigns of his successors.” It behoves us, therefore, to make ourselves acquainted with the causes as well as the characters of those who occasioned the downfall of our predecessors in the sovereignty of India. With this object in view, the bard shall tell his own tale from the birth of Ajit, in S. 1737, to 1767, when he had vanquished all opposition to Aurangzeb, and regained the throne of Maru.
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“Tahawwur continued to advance. The inhabitants of Murdhar fled to the mountains. At Gura the brothers Rupa and Kumbha took post with their clan to oppose him; but they fell with twenty-five of their brethren. As the cloud pours water upon the earth, so did Aurang pour his barbarians over the land. He remained but five days at Ajaidurg (Ajmer), and marched against Chitor. It fell : it appeared as if the heavens had fallen. Ajit was protected by the Rana, and the Rathors led the van in the host of the Sesodias. Seeing the strength of the Yavans, they shut up the young prince, like a flame confined in a vessel. Delhipat (the king of Delhi) came to Debari,¹ at whose pass he was opposed by Kumbha, Ugarsen, and Uda, all Rathors. While Aurangzeb attacked Udaipur, Azam was left at Chitor. Then the king learned that Durgadas had invaded Jalor ; he abandoned his conquest, and returned to Ajmer, sending Mukarrab Khan to aid Bihari at Jalor ; but Durga had raised contributions [63] (dand), and passed to Jodhpur, alike forced to contribute ; for the son of Indar Singh, on the part of the king, now commanded in Trikuta (triple-peaked mount). Aurang Shah measured the heavens ; he determined to have but one faith in the land. Prince Akbar was sent to join Tahawwur Khan. Rapine and conflagration spread over the land. The country became a waste ; fear stalked triumphant. Providence had willed this affliction. The Indhas were put in possession of Jodhpur ; but were encountered at Ketapur and put to the sword by the Champawats. Once more they lost the title of Raos of Murdardes, and thus the king’s intentions of bestowing sovereignty on the Parihars were frustrated on the 13th day of Jeth, S. 1736.
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¹ The cenotaph of these warriors still marks the spot where they fell, on the right on entering the portals.
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Retreat of the Rathors.—" The Aravalli gave shelter to the Rathors. From its fastnesses they issued, and mowed down entire harvests of the Muslim, piling them in khallas.² Aurang had no repose. Jalor was invaded by one body, Siwana by another of the faithful chiefs of Ajit, whose an³ daily increased, while Aurang’s was seldom invoked. The king gave up the war against the Rana to send all his troops into Maru ; but the Rana, who provoked the rage of Aurang from granting refuge to Ajit, sent his troops under his own son, Bhim, who joined the Rathors, led by Indarbhan and Durgadas in Godwar. Prince Akbar and Tahawwur Khan advanced upon them, and a battle took place at Nadol. The Sesodias had the right. The combat was long and bloody. Prince Bhim fell at the head of the Mewaris : he was a noble bulwark to the Rathors.¹ Indarbhan was slain, with Jeth the Udawat, performing noble deeds ; and Soning Durga did wonders on that day, the 14th Asoj, S. 1737 ” (the winter of A.D. 1681).
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² The heaps of grain thrashed in the open field, preparatory to being divided and housed, are termed khallas.
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³ Oath of allegiance.
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¹ The Mewar chronicle claims a victory for the combined Rajput army, and relates a singular stratagem by which they gained it ; but either I have overlooked it, or the Raj-Vilas does not specify that Prince Bhim, son of the heroic Rana Raj, fell on this day, so glorious in the annals of both States. See Vol. I. p. 448. [According to Manucci (ii. 234) the Rāja “ was obliged to cede to Aurangzeb a province and the town of Mairtha.” According to another story, Aurangzeb offered the succession to Ajīt Singh on condition that he was converted to Islām. The Emperor kept a counterfeit Ajīt Singh in ward, and brought him up as a Musalmān, called him Muhammadi Rāj, and on his death he was buried as a Musalmān (Jadunath Sarkar iii. 374).]
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The Rebellion of Prince Akbar, A.D. 1681.—The gallant bearing of the Rajputs in this unequal combat, their desperate devotion to their country and prince, touched the soul of Prince Akbar, who had the magnanimity to commiserate the sufferings he was compelled to inflict, and to question the policy of his father towards these gallant vassals. Ambition came to the aid of compassion for the sufferings of the Rathors, and the persecution of the minor son of Jaswant. He opened his mind to Tahawwur Khan, and exposed the disgrace of bearing arms in so unholy a warfare, and in severing from the crown such devoted and brave vassals as the Rathors. Tahawwur was gained over, and an embassy sent to Durgadas offering peace, and expressing a wish for a conference. Durga convened the chiefs, and disclosed the overture ; but some suspected treachery in the prince, others selfish views on the part of Durga. To prevent the injurious operation of such suspicions, Durga observed, that if assent were not given to the meeting, it would be attributed to the base motive of fear. “ Let us proceed in a body,” said he, “ to this conference ; who ever heard of a cloud being caught ? ” They met ; mutual views were developed ; a treaty was concluded, and the meeting ended by Akbar waving the umbrella of regality over his head.² He coined in his own name ; he established his own weights and measures. The poisoned intelligence was poured into Aurang’s ear at Ajmer; his soul was troubled; he had no rest; he plucked his beard in grief when he heard that Durga and Akbar had united. Every Rathor in the land flocked to Akbar’s standard. The house of Delhi was divided, and Govind¹ again supported the Hindu faith.
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² [On Akbar’s rebellion see Jadunath Sarkar iii. 402 ff.]
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¹ Krishna. ² [Orme, *Fragments*, ed. 1782, 142 ff.; Khāfī Khān in Elliot-Dowson vii. 298 ff.]
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The dethronement of the tyrant appeared inevitable. The scourge of the Rajputs was in their power, for he was almost alone and without the hope of succour. But his energies never forsook him; he knew the character of his foes, and that on an emergency his grand auxiliary, stratagem, was equal to an army. As there is some variation both in the Mogul historian’s account of this momentous transaction and in the annals of Mewar and Marwar,² we present the latter *verbatim* from the chronicle.
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“Akbar, with multitudes of Rajputs, advanced upon Ajmer. But while Aurang prepared for the storm, the prince gave himself up to women and the song, placing everything in the hands of Tahawwur Khan. We are the slaves of fate; puppets that dance as it pulls the strings. Tahawwur allowed himself to dream of treason; it was whispered in his ear that if he could deliver Akbar to his father, high rewards would follow. At night he went privily to Aurangzeb, and thence wrote to the Rathors: ‘I was the bond of union betwixt you and Akbar, but the dam which separated the waters has broken down. Father and son again are one. Consider the pledges, given and received, as restored, and depart for your own lands.’ Having sealed this with his signet, and dispatched a messenger to the Rathors, he appeared before Aurangzeb to receive the fruit of his service. But his treason met its [65] reward, and before he could say, the imperial orders were obeyed, a blow of the mace from the hand of the monarch sent his soul to hell. At midnight the Dervesh messenger reached the Rathor camp; he put the letter into their hand, which stated father and son were united; and added from himself that Tahawwur Khan was slain. All was confusion; the Rathors saddled and mounted, and moved a coss from Akbar’s camp. The panic spread to his troops, who fled like the dried leaves of the sugar-cane when carried up in a whirlwind, while the prince was attending to the song and the wiles of the wanton.”
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The Rāthors abandon Akbar.—This narrative exemplifies most strongly the hasty unreflecting character of the Rajput, who always acts from the impulse of the moment. They did not even send to Akbar’s camp, although close to their own, to inquire the truth or falsehood of the report, but saddled and did not halt until they were twenty miles asunder. It is true, that in these times of peril they did not know in whom to confide; and being headed by one of their own body, they could not tell how far he might be implicated in the treachery.
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The next day they were undeceived by the junction of the prince, who, when made acquainted with the departure of his allies, and the treason and death of Tahawwur Khan, could scarcely collect a thousand men to abide by his fortunes. With these he followed his panic-struck allies, and threw himself and his family upon their hospitality and protection—an appeal never made in vain to the Rajput. The poetic account, by the bard Karnidhan, of the reception of the prince by the chivalry of Maru, is remarkably minute and spirited :—the warriors and senators enter into a solemn debate as to the conduct to be pursued to the prince now claiming saran (sanctuary), when the bard takes occasion to relate the pedigree and renown of the chiefs of every clan. Each chief delivers his sentiments in a speech full of information respecting their national customs and manners. It also displays a good picture of “the power of the swans, and the necessity of feeding them with pearls,” to enable them to sing with advantage. The council breaks up with the declaration of its determination to protect Akbar at all hazards, and Jetha, the brother of the head of the Champawats, is nominated to the charge of protector of Akbar’s family. The gallant Durga, the Ulysses of the Rathors, is the manager of this dramatic convention, the details of which are wound up with an eulogy in true oriental hyperbole, in the Doric accents of Maru : [66]—
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Māi chā pūt jin,
Jehā Durgādās,
Band Murdhara rakhiyo
Vin thāmbhā ākās.¹
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¹ [The reading in the text is that of Dr. Tessitori. Major Luard’s Pandit, questioning the Author’s translation, says that the words Band Murdharā ra rakhyo mean ‘governed Mārwār well,’ and that bin thāmbhā ākās, ‘the heavens without a prop,’ refers to the ruler who was a minor.]
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“ O mother ! produce such sons as Durgadas, who first supported the dam of Murdhara, and then propped the heavens.”
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Character of Durgadās.—This model of a Rajput, as wise as he was brave, was the saviour of his country. To his suggestion it owed the preservation of its prince, and to a series of heroic deeds, his subsequent and more difficult salvation. Many anecdotes are extant recording the dread Aurangzeb had of this leader of the Rathors, one of which is amusing. The tyrant had commanded pictures to be drawn of two of the most mortal foes to his repose, Sivaji and Durga : “ Siva was drawn seated on a couch ; Durga in his ordinary position, on horseback, toasting bātis, or barley-cakes, with the point of his lance, on a fire of maize-stalks. Aurangzeb, at the first glance, exclaimed, ‘ I may entrap that fellow (meaning Sivaji), but this dog is born to be my bane.’ ”
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Durga at the head of his bands, together with young Akbar, moved towards the western extremity of the State, in hopes that they might lead the emperor in pursuit amongst the sandhills of the Luni ; but the wily monarch tried other arts, and first attempted to corrupt Durga. He sent him eight thousand gold mohurs,¹ which the Rajput instantly applied to the necessities of Akbar, who was deeply affected at this proof of devotion, and distributed a portion of it amongst Durga’s retainers. Aurangzeb, seeing the futility of this plan, sent a force in pursuit of his son, who, knowing he had no hope of mercy if he fell into his father’s hands, was anxious to place distance between them. Durga pledged himself for his safety, and relinquished all to ensure it. Making over the guardianship of young Ajit to his elder brother, Soning, and placing himself at the head of one thousand chosen men, he turned towards the south. The bard enumerates the names and families of all the chieftains of note who formed the bodyguard of prince Akbar in this desperate undertaking. The Champawats were the most numerous, but he specifies several of the home clans, as the Jodha and Mertia, and amongst the foreign Rajputs, the Jadon, Chauhan, Bhatti, Deora, Sonigira, and Mangalia [67].
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¹ The Mewar chronicle says forty thousand.
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Escape of Prince Akbar.—“ The king followed their retreat : his troops surrounded the Rathors ; but Durga with one thousand chosen men left the north on their backs, and with the speed of the winged quitted the camp. Aurang continued the pursuit to Jalor, when he found he had been led on a wrong scent, and that Durga, with the prince, keeping Gujarat on his right, and Chappan ¹ on his left, had made good his retreat to the Nerbudda. Rage so far got the better of his religion, that he threw the Koran at the head of the Almighty. In wrath, he commanded Azam to exterminate the Rathors, but to leave Udaipur on one side,² and every other design, and first secure his brother. The deeds of Kamunda ³ removed the troubles of Mewar, as the wind disperses the clouds which shade the brightness of the moon. In ten days after Azam marched, the emperor himself moved, leaving his garrisons in Jodhpur and Ajmer. Durga’s name was the charm which made the hosts of locusts quit their ground.⁴ Durga was the sea-serpent; Akbar the mountain with which they churned the ocean Aurang, and made him yield the fourteen gems, one of which our religion regained, which is Lakshmi, and our faith, which is Dhanwantari ⁵ the sage.
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¹ [The hill tract about Siwāna, in S. Mewār.]
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² That is, dropped all schemes against it at that moment.
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³ The Kamdhuj; epithet of the Rathors.
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⁴ Charms and incantations, with music, are had recourse to, in order to cause the flight of these destructive insects from the fields they light on.
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⁵ [The physician of the gods, born at the churning of the ocean.]
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“ In fidelity who excelled the Khichis Sheo Singh and Mukund, who never left the person of Ajit, when his infancy was concealed in the mountains of Arbud? to them alone, and the faithful Sonigira, did Durga confide the secret of his retreat. The vassals of the Nine Castles of Maru knew that he was concealed; but where or in whose custody all were ignorant. Some thought he was at Jaisalmer; others at Bikampur; others at Sirohi. The eight divisions nobly supported the days of their exile; their sinews sustained the land of Murdhar. Raos, Rajas, and Ranas applauded their deeds, for all were alike enveloped in the net of destruction. In all the nine thousand [towns] of Murdhar, and the ten thousand of Mewar,⁶ inhabitants there were none. Inayat Khan was left with ten thousand men to preserve Jodhpur; but the Champawat is the Sumer ⁷ of Maru, and without fear was Durga’s brother, Soning. With Khemkaran the Karanot, and Sabhal the Jodha, Bijmall the Mahecha, Jethmall Sujot, Kesari Karanot, and the Jodha brethren Sheodan and Bhim, and many more collected their clans and kin, and as soon as they heard that the king was within four coss of Ajmer they blockaded the Khan [68] in the city of Jodha ; but twenty thousand Moguls came to the rescue. Another dreadful conflict ensued at the gates of Jodhpur, in which the Jadon Kishor, who led the battle, and many other chiefs were slain, yet not without many hundreds of the foe ; the 9th Asarh, S. 1737.
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⁶ The number of towns and villages formerly constituting the arrondissement of each State.
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⁷ [Meru, the sacred mountain.]
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" Soning carried the sword and the flame into every quarter. Aurang could neither advance nor retreat. He was like the serpent seizing the musk-rat, which, if liberated, caused blindness ; but if swallowed, was like poison. Harnath and Kana Singh took the road to Sojat. They surrounded and drove away the cattle, which brought the Asurs to the rescue. A dreadful strife ensued ; the chief of the Asurs was slain, but the brothers and all their kin bedewed the land with their blood. This, the sakha of Sojat, was when 1737 ended and 1738 commenced, when the sword and the pestilence (mari ¹) united to clear the land.
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¹ Mari, or ' death ' personified, is the name for that fearful scourge the spasmodic cholera morbus, which has caused the loss of so many lives for the last thirteen years throughout India. It appears to have visited India often, of which we have given a frightful record in the Annals of Mewar in the reign of Rana Raj Singh (see Vol. I. p. 454), in S. 1717 or A.D. 1661 (twenty years prior to the period we treat of); and Orme [Fragments, ed. 1782, p. 200] describes it as raging in the Deccan in A.D. 1684. They had likewise a visitation of it within the memory of many individuals now living.
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Regarding the nature of this disease, whether endemic, epidemic, or contagious, and its cure, we are as ignorant now as the first day of our experience. There have been hundreds of conflicting opinions and hypotheses, but none satisfactory. In India, nine medical men out of ten, as well as those not professional, deny its being contagious. At Udaipur, the Rana's only son, hermetically sealed in the palace against contact, was the first seized with the disorder ; a pretty strong proof that it was from atmospheric communication. He was also the last man in his father's dominions likely, from predisposition, to be attacked, being one of the most athletic and prudent of his subjects. I saw him through the disorder. We were afraid to administer remedies to the last heir of Bappa Rawal, but I hinted to Amarji, who was both bard and doctor, that strong doses of musk (12 grs. each) might be beneficial. These he had, and I prevented his having cold water to drink, and also checking the insensible perspiration by throwing off the bedclothes. Nothing but his robust frame and youth made him resist this tremendous assailant.
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“ Soning was the Rudra of the field ; Agra and Delhi trembled at his deeds ; he looked on Aurang as the waning moon. The king sent an embassy to Soning ; it was peace he desired. He offered the mansab of Sat Hazari for Ajit,¹ and what dignities he might demand for his brethren—the restoration of Ajmer, and to make Soning its governor. To the engagement was added, ‘ the panja is affixed in ratification of this treaty, witnessed by God Almighty.’² The Diwan, Asad Khan, was the negotiator, and the Aremdi,³ who was with him, solemnly swore to its maintenance. The treaty concluded, the king, whose thoughts could not be diverted from Akbar, departed for the Deccan. Asad Khan was left at Ajmer, and Soning at Merta [69]. But Soning was a thorn in the side of Aurangzeb; he bribed the Brahmans, who threw pepper into the Homa (burnt sacrifice) and secured for Soning a place in Suraj Mandala (the mansion of the sun). The day following the treaty, by the incantations of Auranga, Soning was no more.⁴ Asoj the 6th, S. 1738.
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¹ [A command of 7000 troops.]
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² See Vol. I. p. 419, for an explanation of the panja—and the treaty which preceded this, made by Rana Raj Singh, the fourth article of which stipulates for terms of the minor son of Jaswant.
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³ I know not what officer is meant by the Aremdi, sent to swear to the good faith of the king.
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⁴ His death was said to be effected by incantations, most probably poison.
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“ Asad sent the news to the king. This terror being removed, the king withdrew his panja from his treaty, and in joy departed for the Deccan. The death of Soning shed gloom and grief over the land. Then Mukund Singh Mertia, son of Kalyan, abandoned his mansab and joined his country’s cause. A desperate encounter soon followed with the troops of Asad Khan near Merta, in which Ajit, the son of Bitaldas, who led the fight, was slain, with many of each clan, which gave joy to the Asurs, but grief to the faithful Rajput ; on the second day of the bright half of the moon of Kartik, S. 1738.
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“ Prince Azam was left with Asad Khan ; Inayat at Jodhpur ; and their garrisons were scattered over the land, as their tombs (gor) everywhere attest. The lord of Chandawal, Śambhu Kumpawat, now led the Rathors with Udang Singh Bakhshi, and Tejsi, the young son of Durga, the bracelet on the arm of Mahadeva, with Fateh Singh and Ram Singh, just returned from placing Akbar safely in the Deccan, and many other valiant Rathors.¹ They spread over the country even to Mewar, sacked Pur-Mandal, and slew the governor Kasim Khan.”
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¹ Many were enumerated by the bardic chronicler, who would deem it sacrilege to omit a single name in the page of fame.
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These desultory and bloody affrays, though they kept the king’s troops in perpetual alarm and lost them myriads of men, thinned the ranks of the defenders of Maru, who again took refuge in the Aravalli. From thence, watching every opportunity, they darted on their prey. On one occasion they fell upon the garrison of Jaitaran, which they routed and expelled, or as the chronicle quaintly says, “ with the year 1739 they also fled.” At the same time, the post of Sojat was carried by Bija Champawat, while the Jodhawats, under Ram Singh, kept their foes in play to the northward, and led by Udaibhan attacked the Mirza Nur Ali at Charai : “ the contest lasted for three hours ; the dead bodies of the Yavans lay in heaps in the Akhara ; who even abandoned their Nakkaras.” ²
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² [Akhāra, ‘a place of wrestling,’ rhyming with nakkāra, ‘a kettle-drum.’]
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“ After the affair of Jaitaran, when Udai Singh Champawat and Mohkam Singh Mertia were the leaders, they made a push for Gujarat, and had penetrated to [70] Kheralu,³ when they were attacked, pursued, and surrounded in the hills at Renpur, by Sayyid Muhammad, the Hakim of Gujarat. All night they stood to their arms. In the morning the sword rained and filled the cars of the Apsaras. Karan and Kesari were slain, with Gokuldas Bhatti, with all their civil officers, and Ram Singh himself renounced life on this day.⁴ But the Asurs pulled up the reins, having lost many men. Pali was also attacked in the month of Bhadon this year 1739 ; then the game of destruction was played with Nur Ali, three hundred Rathors against five hundred of the king’s troops, which were routed, losing their leader, Afzal Khan, after a desperate struggle.
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³ [In Baroda State, about 63 miles N. of Ahmadābād.]
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⁴ He was one of the gallant chiefs who, with Durga, conveyed prince Akbar to the sanctuary with the Mahrattas.
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“ Bala was the hero who drove the Yavan from this post. Udaya attacked the Sidi at Sojat. Jaitaran was again reinforced. In Baisakh, Mohkam Singh Mertia attacked the royal post at Merta, slew Sayyid Ali, and drove out the king’s troops.”
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Assistance given by the Bhattis.—The year 1739 was one of perpetual conflict, of captures and recaptures, in which many parties of twenty and thirty on each side fell. They afford numerous examples of heroic patriotism, in which Rathor blood was lavishly shed; but while to them each warrior was a loss not to be replaced, the despot continued to feed the war with fresh troops. The Bhattis of Jaisalmer came forward this year, and nobly shed their blood in seconding the efforts of the Rathors in this patriotic warfare.
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“In S. 1740, Azam and Asad Khan joined the emperor in the Deccan, and Inayat Khan was left in command at Ajmer—being enjoined not to relax the war in Marwar, even with the setting in of the rains. Merwara afforded a place of rendezvous for the Rathors, and security for their families. Here eleven thousand of the best troops of Inayat invaded the hills to attack the united Jodhas and Champawats, who retaliated on Pali, Sojat, and Godwar. The ancient Mandor, which was occupied by a garrison under Khwaja Salah, was attacked by the Mandecha Bhatti and driven out. At Bagri, a desperate encounter took place in the month of Baisakh, when Ram Singh and Samant Singh, both Bhatti chiefs, fell, with two hundred of their vassals, slaying one thousand of the Moguls. The Karamsots and Kumpawats, under Anup Singh, scoured the banks of the Luni, and put to the sword the garrisons of Ustara and Gangani. Mohkam, with his Mertias, made a descent on his patrimonial lands, and drew upon him the whole force of its [71] governor, Muhammad Ali. The Mertias met him on their own native plains. The Yavan proposed a truce, and at the interview assassinated the head of the Mertias, tidings of whose death rejoiced the Shah in the Deccan.
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“At the beginning of 1741, neither strife nor fear had abated. Sujan Singh led the Rathors in the south, while Lakha Champawat and Kesar Kumpawat, aided by the Bhattis and Chauhans, kept the garrison of Jodhpur in alarm. When Sujan was slain, the bard was sent to Sangram, who held a mansab and lands from the king; he was implored to join his brethren; he obeyed, and all collected around Sangram.¹ Siwancha² was attacked, and with Bhalotra and Panchbhadra were plundered; while the blockaded garrisons were unable to aid. An hour before sunset every gate of Maru was shut. The Asurs had the strongholds in their power; but the plains resounded with the An¹ of Ajit. Udaibhan, with his Jodhawats, appeared before Bhadrajun; he assaulted the foe and captured his guns and treasure. An attempt from Jodhpur made to recapture the trophies, added to the triumph of the Jodha.
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¹ We are not informed of what clan he was, or his rank, which must have been high.
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² The tract so called, of which Siwana is the capital [in S. Mewār].
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¹ Oath of allegiance.
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Abduction of the Asāni Girls.—“ Purdil Khan² held Siwana; and Nahar Khan Mewati, Kunari. To attack them, the Champawats convened at Mokalsar. Their thirst for vengeance redoubled at the tidings that Nur Ali had abducted two young women of the tribe of Asani. Ratna led the Rathors; they reached Kunari and engaged Purdil Khan, who was put to the sword with six hundred of his men. The Rathors left one hundred in the field that day, the ninth of Chait. The Mirza³ no sooner heard of this defeat than he fled towards Toda, with the Asani damsels, gazing on the mangoes as they ripened, and having reached Kuchal, he encamped. Subhal Singh, the son of Askaran, heard it; he took his opium, and though the Mirza was surrounded by pillars, the dagger of Askaran’s son reached his heart; but the Bhatti⁴ was cut in pieces. The roads were now impassable; the Thanas⁵ of the Yavans were reduced to great straits [72].
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² It is almost superfluous to remark, even to the mere English reader, that whenever he meets the title Khan, it indicates a Muhammadan [and a Pathān]; and that of Singh (lion) a Rajput.
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³ Nur Ali. Mirza is a title only applied to a Mogul.
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⁴ As a Bhatti revenged this disgrace, it is probable the Asani damsels, thus abducted by the Mirza, were of his own race.
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⁵ Garrisons and military posts.
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“The year 1742 commenced with the slaughter of the king’s garrison at Sambhar by the Lakhawats and Asawats;⁶ while from Godwar the chiefs made incursions to the gates of Ajmer. A battle took place at Merta, where the Rathors were defeated and dispersed; but in revenge Sangram burned the suburbs of Jodhpur, and then came to Dunara, where once more the clans assembled. They marched, invested Jalor, when Bihari, left without succour, was compelled to capitulate, and the gate of honour (dharmadwara) was left open to him. And thus ended 1742.”
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⁶ These are of the most ancient vassalage of Maru.
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Ajīt Singh produced to the Rāthors, A.D. 1686.—“ In the year 1743, the Champawats, Kumpawats, Udawats, Mertias, Jodhas, Karamsots, and all the assembled clans of Maru, became impatient to see their sovereign. They sent for the Khichi Mukund, and prayed that they might but [73] behold him; but the faithful to his trust replied: ‘He,¹ who confided him to me, is yet in the Deccan.’—‘Without the sight of our Lord, bread and water have no flavour.’ Mukund could not withstand their suit. The Hara prince Durjan Sal, having come to their aid with one thousand horse from Kotah,² they repaired to the hill of Abu, when on the last day of Chait 1743 they saw their prince. As the lotus expands at the sunbeam, so did the heart of each Rathor at the sight of their infant sovereign; they drank his looks, even as the papiha in the month Asoj sips drops of amrita (ambrosia) from the Champa.³ There were present, Udai Singh, Sangram Singh, Bijaipal, Tej Singh, Mukund Singh, and Nahar son of Hari, all Champawats; Raj Singh, Jagat Singh, Jeth Singh, Samant Singh, of the Udawats; Ram Singh, Fateh Singh, and Kesari, Kumpawats. There was also the Uhar chief of pure descent,⁴ besides the Khichi Mukund, the Purohit, the Parihar, and the Jain priest, Yati Gyan, Bijai. In a fortunate hour, Ajīt became known to the world. The Hara Rao first made his salutation; he was followed by all Marwar with offerings of gold, pearls, and horses.
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¹ Meaning Durgadas.
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² His principal object was to marry the daughter of Shujāwan Singh Champawat, the sister of the brave Mukund Singh, often mentioned in the chronicle. The Kotah prince dared not, according to every Rajput maxim of gallantry, refuse his aid on such occasion; but the natural bravery and high mind of Durjan Sal required no stimulus.
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³ The Hindu poet says the Papiha bird [the cuckoo] becomes intoxicated with the flowers [of the Champa (Michelia champaka)].
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⁴ A name now lost.
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Inayat conveyed the tidings to Aurang Shah; the Asur chief said to the king, ‘If without a head so long they had combated him, what could now be expected?’ He demanded reinforcements.
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Ajit Singh installed.—“ In triumph they conveyed the young Raja to Awa, whose chief made the *badhava*¹ with pearls, and presented him with horses ; here he was entertained, and here they prepared the *tika daur*² Thence, taking Raepur, Bilara, and Barunda in his way, and receiving the homage and nazars of their chiefs, he repaired to Asop, where he was entertained by the head of the Kumpawats. From Asop he went to the Bhatti fief of Lawera ; thence to Rian, the chief abode of the Mertias ; thence to Khinwasar, of the Karamsots. Each chief entertained their young lord, around whom all the clans gathered. Then he repaired to Kalu, the abode of Pabhu Rao Dhandal,³ who came forth with all his bands ; and at length [74] he reached Pokaran, where he was joined by Durgadas from the Deccan, the 10th of Bhadon 1744.
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¹ Waving a brass vessel, filled with pearls, round his head. ² [The inauguration foray. See Vol. I. p. 315.] ³ Pabhu Rao Rathor is immortalized by the aid of his lance on this occasion ; he was of the ancient chivalry of Maru, and still held his allodial domain. ⁴ [See p. 997 above.] ⁵ [His original name was Kārtalab Khān, and he served as viceroy of Surat and Gujarāt (Manucci ii. 259, iv. 247).]
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“ Inayat Khan was alarmed. He assembled a numerous array to quell this fresh tumult, but death pounced upon him. The king was afflicted thereat. He tried another stratagem, and set up a pretended son of Jaswant, styled Muhammad Shah, and offered Ajit the mansab of five thousand to submit to his authority.⁴ The pretender also died as he set out for Jodhpur, and Shujaat Khan⁵ was made the governor of Marwar in place of Inayat. Now the Rathors and Haras united, having cleared Maru of their foes, attacked them in a foreign land. The garrisons of Malpura and Pur Mandal were put to the sword, and here the Hara prince was killed by a cannon shot in leading the storm. Here they levied eight thousand mohurs in contribution and returned to Marwar, while the civil officers and Purohits made collections in his country ; and thus passed 1744.
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“ The year 1745 commenced with proposals from Shujaat Khan to hold Marwar in farm ; he promised one-fourth of all transit duties if the Rathors would respect foreign commerce : to this they agreed. The son of Inayat left Jodhpur for Delhi ; he had reached Renwal, but was overtaken by the Jodha Harnath, who released him both of wives and wealth. The Khan fled to the Kachhwahas for shelter. Suja Beg, who left Ajmer to release him, fared no better : he was attacked, defeated, and plundered by Mukunddas Champawat.
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War with the Mughals.—“ In 1747, Safi Khan was Hakim of Ajmer : Durga determined to attack him. The Hakim took post in the pass which defends the road ; there Durga assailed him, and made him fly to Ajmer. The tidings reached the king ; he wrote to the Khan, if he discomfited Durgadas, he would raise him over all the Khans of the empire ; if he failed, he should send him bracelets,¹ and order Shujaat from Jodhpur to supersede him. Safi, before abandoning his trust, tried to retain his honours by the circumvention of Ajit. He addressed a letter to him, saying he held the imperial sanad for the restoration of his paternal domains, but that, as the king’s representative, he must come and receive it. Ajit marched at the head of twenty thousand Rathors, sending in advance Mukund Champawat to observe whether any treachery was contemplated. The snare was discovered and reported to Ajit, as he arrived at the foot of the pass beyond the mountains. ‘ Let us, however, have [75] a sight of Ajaidurg as we are so near,’ said the young prince, ‘ and receive the compliments of the Khan.’ They moved on towards the city, and Safi Khan had no alternative but to pay his obeisance to Ajit. To enjoy his distress, one said, ‘ Let us fire the city.’ The Hakim sat trembling for its safety and his own ; he brought forth jewels and horses which he presented to Ajit.
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¹ A mark of contempt.
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“ In 1748, the troubles recommenced in Mewar. Prince Amra rebelled against his father, Rana Jai Singh, and was joined by all his chiefs. The Rana fled to Godwar, and at Ghanerao collected a force, which Amra prepared to attack. The Rana demanded succour of the Rathors, and all the Mertias hastened to relieve him ; and soon after Ajit sent Durgadas and Bhagwan, with Ranmall Jodha, and ‘ the eight ranks of Rathors,’ to espouse the father’s cause. But the Chondawats and Saktawats, the Jhalas and Chauhans, rather than admit foreign interference in their quarrel, thought it better to effect a reconciliation between father and son ; and thus the Rana was indebted to Marwar for the support of his throne.
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Aurangzeb negotiates about Akbar’s Daughter.—“ The year 1749 passed in negotiation to obtain the daughter of prince Akbar, left in charge of Durgadas, for whose honour Aurangzeb was alarmed, as Ajit was reaching manhood; Narayandas Kulumbi was the medium of negotiation, and Safi Khan caused all hostilities to cease while it lasted.
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" In 1750, the Muslim governors of Jodhpur, Jalor, and Siwana combined their forces against Ajit, who was again compelled to retreat to the mountains. Akha, the Bala, received their attack, but was defeated in the month of Magh. Another combat was hastened by the wanton slaughter of a sand,¹ when the Hakim of Chank, with all his train, were made prisoners at Mokalsar by the Champawat Mukanddas.
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¹ One of those pampered bulls, allowed to wander at liberty and fed by every one.
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" To such straits were the Muslims put in 1751, that many districts paid chauth, others tribute, and many, tired of this incessant warfare, and unable to conquer their bread, took service with the Rathors. This year, Kasim Khan and Lashkar Khan marched against Ajit, who took post at Bijaipur. Durga's son led the onset, and the Khan was defeated. With each year of Ajit grew the hopes of the Rathors; while Aurangzeb was afflicted at each month's growth of his granddaughter. He wrote to Shujaat, the Hakim of Jodhpur, to secure his honour at whatever cost; his applications for Akbar's daughter were unwearied [76].
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Ajīt Singh marries a Princess of Mewār.—" This year the coconut studded with gems,² two elephants and ten steeds, all richly caparisoned, were sent by the Rana to affiance the daughter of his younger brother, Gaj Singh, to Ajit. The present was accepted, and in the month of Jeth, the prince of the Rathors repaired to Udaipur, where the nuptials were solemnized. In Asarh he again married at Deolia.³
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² The coco, the symbol of a marriage offer.
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³ Partabgarh Deolia, a small principality grown out of Mewar [IGI, xx. 14].
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" In 1753, negotiations were renewed through Durgadas, and the protracted restoration of the Sultani obtained the seat of his ancestors for the Jodhani. Durga was offered for himself the mansab of five thousand, which he refused; he preferred that Jalor, Siwanchi, Sanchor, and Tharad⁴ should revert to his country. Even Aurang admired the honourable and distinguished treatment of his granddaughter.
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⁴ [In the Pālanpur Agency, Bombay Presidency (IGI, xix. 346).]
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“ In Pus 1757,¹ Ajit regained possession of his ancestral abode : on his reaching Jodhpur he slew a buffalo at each of its five gates.² The Shahzada Sultan led the way, Shujaat being dead.³
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¹ I cannot now call to mind whether this break of four years in the chronicle of the bard Karnidhan occurs in the original, or that in translating I left the hiatus from there being nothing interesting therein. The tyrant was now fully occupied in the Deccan wars, and the Rajputs had time to breathe.
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² [To propitiate the gate spirit.]
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³ This Shahzada must have been prince Azam, who was nominated viceroy of Gujarat and Marwar.
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“ In 1759, Azam Shah again seized on Jodhpur, and Ajit made Jalor his abode. Some of his chiefs now served the foe, some the Rana whose hopes were on Eklinga alone ; while the lord of Amber served the king in the Deccan. The enormities of the Asurs had reached their height ; the sacred kine were sacrificed even at Mathura, Prayag, and Okhamandal ; the Jogis and Bairagis invoked heaven for protection, but iniquity prevailed as the Hindu strength decayed. Prayers were everywhere offered up to heaven to cleanse the land from the iniquities of the barbarians.⁴ In this year, the month of Magh 1759, the Mithun Lagan (the ‘ sun in Gemini ’), a son was born of the Chauhani, who was called Abhai Singh. (See end of this chapter, p. 1019, for the Horoscope of Abhai Singh.)
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