Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c28.s1.t1.1

v2.c28.s1.t1.1

Eulogy of Durgadās.—Here let us, for a while, suspend the narrative of the chronicler, and take a retrospective glance at the transactions of the Rathors, from the year 1737 [A.D. 1680], the period of Raja Jaswant’s death at Kabul, to the restoration of Ajit, presenting a continuous conflict of thirty years’ duration. In vain might we search the annals of any other nation for such inflexible devotion as marked the Rathor character through this period of strife, during which, to use their own phrase, “hardly a chieftain died on his pallet.” Let those who deem the Hindu warrior void of patriotism read the rude chronicle of this thirty years’ war; let them compare it with that of any other country, and do justice to the magnanimous Rajput. This narrative, the simplicity of which is the best voucher for its authenticity, presents an uninterrupted record of patriotism and disinterested loyalty. It was a period when the sacrifice of these principles was rewarded by the tyrant king with the highest honours of the state; nor are we without instances of the temptation being too strong to be withstood; but they are rare, and serve only to exhibit, in more pleasing colours, the virtues of the tribe which spurned the attempts at seduction. What a splendid example is the heroic Durgadas of all that constitutes the glory of the Rajput! Valour, loyalty, integrity, combined with prudence in all the difficulties which surrounded him, are qualities which entitle him to the admiration which his memory continues to enjoy. The temptations held out to him were almost irresistible: not merely the