Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c28.s1.t2.89

v2.c28.s1.t2.89

His Conduct to Durgadās.—There is one stain on the memory of Ajit which, though unnoticed in the chronicle [96], is too well ascertained to be omitted in a summary of his character, more especially as it illustrates that of the nation and of the times, and shows the loose system which holds such governments together. The heroic Durgadas, the preserver of his infancy, the instructor of his youth, the guide of his manhood, lived to confirm the proverb, “Put not thy faith in princes.” He, who, by repeated instances of exalted self-denial, had refused wealth and honours that might have raised himself from his vassal condition to an equality with his sovereign, was banished from the land which his integrity, wisdom, and valour had preserved. Why, or when, Ajit loaded himself with this indelible infamy was not known; the fact was incidentally discovered in searching a collection of original newspapers written from the camp of Bahadur Shah,¹ in one of which it was stated, that “ Durgadas was encamped with his household retainers on the banks of the Pichola Lake at Udaipur, and receiving daily five hundred rupees for his support from the Rana; who when called on by the king (Bahadur Shah) to surrender him, magnanimously refused.” Imagining that Ajit had been compelled to this painful sacrifice, which is not noticed in the annals, the compiler mentioned it to a Yati deeply versed in all the events and transactions of this State. Aware of the circumstance, which is not overlooked by the bards, he immediately repeated the couplet composed on the occasion—