Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c30.38

v2.c30.38

¹ The precise knowledge of the topography of these regions, displayed in the Bhatti annals, is the most satisfactory proof of their authenticity. In the present day, it would be in vain to ask any native of Jaisalmer the position of the “ hill of Jud,” or the site of Bahra; and but for the valuable translation of Babur’s Memoirs, by Mr. Erskine, we should have been unable to adduce the following testimony. Babur crossed the Indus the 17th February 1519, and on the 19th, between that river and one of its great towns, the Behat, he reached the very tract where the descendant of Krishna established himself twenty-five centuries before. Babur says, “ Seven kos from Behreh to the north there is a hill. This hill in the Zefer Nameh (History of Timoor), and other books, is called the Hill of Jud. At first I was ignorant of the origin of its name, but afterwards discovered that in this hill there were two races of men descended of the same father. One tribe is called Jud, the other Jenjuheh. From old times they have been the rulers and lords of the inhabitants of this hill, and of the Ils and Uluses (political divisions) between Nilab and Behreh. Their power is exerted in a friendly and brotherly way. They cannot take from them whatever they please. They take as their share a portion that has been fixed from very remote times. The Jud is divided into various branches or families, as well as the Jenjuheh. The chief man amongst them gets the name of Rae.” —Erskine’s Baber, p. 254.