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Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c30.t2: The Langāha Tribe

Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c30.t2

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The Langāha Tribe

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¹ [Khizr Khān was left in charge of Delhi after the sack of that city by Timūr in A.D. 1398; possessed little power, and died in 1421.]

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Ferishta² calls Rae Sehra and his tribe of Langaha, Afghans;

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² [iv. 380, 383 f. Abu-l-fazl (Āīn, ii. 337) calls them Nohmardi; see Census Report, Baluchistan, 1911, i. 171.]

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and Abu-l-fazl says, the inhabitants of Sivi were of the Numri (fox) tribe, which is assuredly one of the most numerous of the Jat or Gete race, though they have all, since their conversion, adopted the distinctive term of Baloch. The Bhatti chronicle calls the Langahas in one page Pathan, and in another Rajput, which are perfectly reconcilable, and by no means indicative that the Pathan or Afghan of that early period, or even in the time of Rae Sahra, was a Muhammadan. The title of Rae is sufficient proof that they were even then Hindus. Mr. Elphinstone scouts the idea of the descent of the Afghans from the Jews; and not a trace of the Hebrew is found in the Pushtu, or language of this tribe, although it has much affinity to the Zend and Sanskrit. I cannot refrain from repeating my conviction of the origin of the Afghans from the Yadu, converted into Yahudi, or ‘Jew.’ Whether these Yadus are or are not Yuti, or Getae, remains to be proved.¹

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¹ [The theory of the Jewish descent of the Afghāns is not now accepted by any serious student. They are probably of Aryan origin, though the Yadu theory in the text is not supported by good evidence. They link India on the east with Persia on the west (Sykes, Hist. of Persia, ii. 306; Bellew, Races of Afghanistan, 15 ff.).]

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To the south of Derawar dwelt the Lodra Rajputs; their capital was Lodorva,² an immense city, having twelve gates. The family Purohit, having been offended, took sanctuary (saran) with Deoraj, and stimulated him to dispossess his old masters of their territory. A marriage was proposed to Nripbhan, the chief of the Lodras, which being accepted, Deoraj, at the head of twelve hundred chosen horse, departed for Lodorva. The gates of the city were thrown open as the bridegroom approached; but no sooner had he entered with his suite, than swords were drawn, and Deoraj made himself master of Lodorva.³ He married the chief's daughter, left a garrison in Lodorva, and returned to Derawar. Deoraj was now lord of fifty-six thousand horse, and a hundred thousand camels [239].¹

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² [Lodorwa, 10 miles N. of Jaisalmer. For its temples see Erskine iii. A. 17.]

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³ We are not told of what race (kula) was the Lodra Rajput; in all probability it was Pramara, or Puar, which at one time occupied the whole desert of India. Lodorva, as will be seen, became the capital of the Bhattis, until the founding of their last and present capital, Jaisalmer; it boasts a high antiquity, though now a ruin, occupied by a few families of shepherds. Many towns throughout the desert were formerly of celebrity, but are now desolate, through the conjoined causes of perpetual warfare and the shifting sands. I obtained a copper-plate inscription of the tenth century from Lodorva, of the period of Bijairaj, in the ornamental Jain character; also some clay signets, given to pilgrims, bearing Jain symbols. All these relics attest the prevailing religion to have been Jain.

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¹ A gross exaggeration of the annalist, or a cypher in each added by the copyist.

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At this period, a merchant of Derawar, named Jaskaran, having gone to Dharanagari, was imprisoned by its prince, Brajbhan Puar, and compelled to pay a ransom for his liberty. On his return to Derawar, he showed the mark of the iron-collar to his sovereign, who, indignant at the dishonour put upon his subject, swore he would not drink water until he had avenged the insult. But he had not calculated the distance between him and his foe; in order, however, to redeem his pledge, a Dhar of clay (gar-ra-dhar) was constructed, on which he was about to wreak his vengeance, but there were Pramars in his army, who were at their post ready to defend their mock capital; and, as their astonished prince advanced to destroy it, they exclaimed—

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Jān Puār tān Dhār hai
Aur Dhār tān Puār
Dhār bina Puār nahīn
Aur nahīn Puār bina Dhār,

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which may be thus translated:

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“Wherever there is a Puar, there is a Dhar; and where there is a Dhar, there is a Puar. There is no Dhar without a Puar; neither is there a Puar without a Dhar.” ²

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² Dhar, or Dharanagari, was the most ancient capital of this tribe, the most numerous of the Agnikula races. See a sketch of the Puars, or Pramaras, Vol. I. p. 107. [The proverb is repeated by Forbes, Rāsmāla, 115.]

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Under their leaders, Tejsi and Sarang, they protected the mock Dhar, and were cut to pieces to the number of one hundred and twenty.³ Deoraj approved their valour, and provided for their children. Being thus released from his oath, he proceeded towards Dhar, reducing those who opposed his progress. Brajbhan defended Dhar during five days, and fell with eight hundred of his men; upon which Deoraj unfurled the flag of victory and returned to his late conquest, the city of Lodorva.

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³ [The story reads like a piece of sympathetic or imitative magic.]

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Deoraj had two sons, Mund and Chedu; the last, by a wife of the Baraha tribe, had five sons, whose descendants were styled Cheda Rajputs. Deoraj excavated several large lakes in the territory of Khadal (in which Derawar is situated); one at Tanot is called Tanosar; another, after himself, Deosar. Having one day gone to hunt, slightly attended, he was attacked by an ambush of the Chana Rajputs, and slain with twenty-six of his attendants, after having reigned fifty-five years. His kin and clans shaved their locks and moustaches, excepting ¹

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¹ There is no interregnum in Rajwara; the king never dies.

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Mund, who succeeded, and performed all the ceremonies during the twelve days. Having made his ablutions with the water from sixty-eight different wells, in which [240] were immersed the leaves of one hundred and eight different shrubs and trees, a female of spotless virtue waved the burning frankincense over his head. Before him was placed the panjamrit, consisting of curds, milk, butter, sugar, and honey; likewise pearls, gems, the royal umbrella, the grass called dub, various flowers, a looking-glass, a young virgin, a chariot, a flag or banner, the vela flower, seven sorts of grain, two fish, a horse, a nakhank (unknown),² a bullock, a shell, a lotus, a vessel of water, the tail of the wild ox (chaunri), a sword, a female calf, a litter, yellow clay, and prepared food. Then, seated on the lion's hide—(on which were painted the seven dwipas or continents of Hindu cosmography, apparelled in the dress of the Jogi, and covered with ashes (bhabut), with the mudra in his ears)—the white chaunri (ox-tail) was waved over his head, and he was inaugurated on the gaddi of Deoraj, while the Purohit and chiefs presented their offerings. The tika-daur was against the assassins of his father, who had congregated for defence, eight hundred of whom were put to death. Rawal Mund had one son, who was called Bachera. When about fourteen years of age the coco-nut came from Balabhsen Solanki, Raja of Patan.³ He forthwith proceeded to Patan, where he married the Solanki princess, and died not long after his father.

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² [? Nikhang, ‘a quiver.’]

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³ This affords a most important synchronism, corroborative of the correctness of these annals. Raja Valabhsen of Patan (Anhilwara) immediately followed Chamund Rae, who was dispossessed of the throne by Mahmud of Ghazni, in the year A.D. 1011, or S. 1067. [Valabhsen Durlabha, A.D. 1010-22.] Valabhsen died the year of his installation, and was succeeded by Durlabh, whose period has also been synchronically fixed by an inscription belonging to the Pramaras.—See Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 223. [The annalist seems to have confounded Anhilwāra Pātan in Gujarāt with Patan Munām, also called Fatan or Patanpur, five miles from Rahīmyār Railway Station, on E. bank of the Indus, locally called Sej (Malik Muhammad Dīn, Bahāwalpur State Gazetteer, A. 376 f.).]

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Rāwal Bachera or Wachuji.—Bachera succeeded on Saturday the 12th Sravan, S. 1035.¹ The same rites of installation were performed; the Kanphara (split-eared) Jogi was the first to put the regal tilak on his forehead, and “ his hand upon his back.” Rawal Bachera had five sons, Dusaj, Singh, Bapi Rao, Ankho, and Malpasao; all of whom had issue, forming clans.

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¹ This date, S. 1035, is evidently an error of the copyist. Bachera married Balabhsen’s daughter in S. 1067, and he died in S. 1100; so that it should be either S. 1055 or 1065. It is important to clear this point, as Rawal Bachera was the opponent of Mahmud of Ghazni in his invasion of India, A.H. 393, A.D. 1000, = S. 1056 or S. 1066, the Samvat era being liable to a variation of ten years (Colebrooke). If we are right, a passage of Ferishta, which has puzzled the translators, should run thus: “Mahmud directed his march against the Bhatti, and passing Multan arrived at Bahra, a Bhatti city.”—Compare Dow, vol. i. p. 39 (2nd ed.), and Briggs, vol. i. p. 38.

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A merchant came to Lodorva with a caravan of horses, of which there was one of a race so superior that a lakh of rupees was fixed as his price; the breed belonged to a Pathan chief, west of the Indus. To obtain it, Dusaj and his son Ankho put themselves at the head of a band, crossed the Indus, slew Ghazi Khan, the Pathan chief, and carried off his stud [241].

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Singh had a son, Sachharae; his son was Bala, who had two sons, Ratan and Jaga; they attacked the Parihar prince Jagannath of Mandor, and carried off five hundred camels: their descendants are styled Singhrao Rajputs.

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Bapi Rao had two sons, Pahu and Mandan. Pahu had likewise two, Biram and Tular, whose numerous issue were styled the Pahu Rajputs. The Pahus issued from their abode of Bikampur, and conquered the lands of the Johyas, as far as Devijhal; and having made Pugal² their capital, they dug numerous wells in the thal, which still go by the name of the Pahu wells.

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² See Map. This was one of the points touched at in Mr. Elphinstone’s journey. [The town is about 48 miles N.W. of Bikaner city.]

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Near Khata, in the Nagor district of Marwar, there dwelt a warrior of the Khichi tribe, named Jadra, who often plundered even to the gates of Pugal, slaying many of the Jaitang Bhattis. Dusaj prepared a kafila (‘caravan’) under pretence of making a pilgrimage to the Ganges, invaded unawares the Khichi chief’s territory, and slew him, with nine hundred of his men.

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Dusaj, with his three brothers, went to the land of Kher, where dwelt Partap Singh, chief of the Guhilots,¹ whose daughters they espoused. “In the land of Kher, the Jadon showered gold, enriching it.” In the daeja (dower) with his daughter, the Guhilot gave fifteen Dewadharis, or ‘virgin lamp-holders.’ Soon after, the Balochs made an inroad into the territory of Khadal; a battle ensued, in which five hundred were killed, and the rest fled beyond the river. Bachera died, and was succeeded by

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¹ The chief of the Guhilots is now settled at Bhavnagar, at the estuary of the Mahi; where I visited him in 1823. The migration of the family from Kherdhar occurred about a century after that period, according to the documents in the Rao’s family. And we have only to look at the opening of the Annals of Marwar to see that from its colonization by the Rathors the Gohil community of Kherdhar was finally extinguished. To the general historian these minute facts may be unimportant, but they cease to be so when they prove the character of these annals for fidelity.

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Rāwal Dusaj.—Dusaj, in the month of Asarh, S. 1100. Hamir, prince of the Sodhas,² made an incursion into his territories, which he plundered. Dusaj having unavailingly remonstrated, reminding him of ancient ties, he marched into Dhat, and gained a victory. Dusaj had two sons, Jaisal and Bijairaj, and in his old age a third son, by a Ranawat princess of the house of Mewar, called Lanja Bijairae, who, when Dusaj died, was placed on the throne by the nobles and civil officers of the State. Previous to his elevation, he had espoused a daughter of Siddhraj Jai Singh, Solanki. During the nuptial ceremonies, as the mother of the bride was marking the forehead of the bridegroom [242] with the tilak, or ‘inauguration mark,’ she exclaimed, “My son, do thou become the portal of the north—the barrier between us and the king, whose power is becoming strong.”³ By the princess of Patan he had a son, who was named Bhojdeo, and who, by the death of his father when he attained the age of twenty-five, became lord of Lodorva. The other sons of Dusaj were at this time advanced in manhood, Jaisal being thirty-five, and Bijairaj thirty-two years of age.

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² If this is the Hamira alluded to in the Annals of Bikaner, in whose time the Ghaggar River ceased to flow in these lands, we have another date assigned to a fact of great physical importance.

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³ Here we have another synchronism. In the Kumarpal Charitra, or history of the kings of Anhilwara Patan, the reign of Siddhraj was from S. 1150 to S. 1201, or A.D. 1094 to 1145 [1094–1143]; the point of time intermediate between the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni and the final conquest of India by Shihabu-d-din, during which there were many irruptions into India by the lieutenants of the monarchs of Ghazni. There was one in the reign of Masud, in A.H. 492 (A.D. 1098), four years after the accession of Siddhraj; another in A.D. 1120, in the reign of Bairam Shah, during which, according to Ferishta, the Ghaznevide general, Balin, rebelled

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Some years before the death of Dusaj, Raedhawal Puar, son (or descendant) of Udayaditya of Dhar, had three daughters, one of whom he betrothed to Jaipal (Ajaipal) Solanki, son of Siddhraj ;¹ another to Bijairaj Bhatti, and the third to the Rana of Chitor. The Bhatti prince left Lodorva for Dhar at the head of seven hundred horse, and arrived at the same time with the Sesodia and Solanki princes. On his return to Lodorva, he erected a temple to Seshalinga, close to which he made a lake. By the Puar princess he had a son named Rahar, who had two sons, Netsi and Keksi.

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¹ [Siddharāja Jayasingha had no son, and he was succeeded by Kumārapāla ; and Ajayapāla, who succeeded in A.D. 1174, was son of Mahipāla, brother of Kumārapāla (BG, i. Part i. 194).] The mention of these simultaneous intermarriages in three of the principal Rajput monarchies of that day, namely, Dhar, Patan, and Chitor, is important, not only as establishing fresh synchronisms, but as disclosing the intercourse between the Bhattis and the more ancient princely families of India. The period of Udayaditya Pramar has been established beyond cavil (see Trans. R.A.S. vol. i. p. 223), and that of Siddhraj, likewise, whose son and successor, Ajaipal, had but a short reign when he was deposed by Kumarpal, whose date is also found from inscriptions. It is a singular fact that all the Rajput dynasties of these regions were established about the same epoch, namely, Patan by the Chawaras, Chitor by the Guhilots, Delhi, refounded by the Tuars, and the Bhatti principality by the descendant of Salbahan. This was in the middle of the eighth century of Vikramaditya, when the older Hindu governments were broken up. The admission of the Bhatti to intermarry with their families proves one of two facts : either that they were considered Rajputs, notwithstanding their being inhabitants of the regions beyond the Indus ; or, that the families mentioned, with which they intermarried, were Indo-Scythic like themselves.

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Bhojdeo had not long occupied the gaddi of Lodorva, when his uncle Jaisal conspired against him ; but being always surrounded by a guard of five hundred Solanki Rajputs, his person was unassailable. At this time the prince of Patan was often engaged with the king's troops from Tatta. Jaisal, in pursuance of his plan, determined to coalesce with the king, and cause an attack and assailed the Hindu Rajas from Nagor, where he established himself. [His real name was Muhammad Bahlīm (Ferishta i. 151).] In all probability this is the event alluded to by the queen of Patan, when she nominated the Bhatti prince as her champion.

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on Patan (Anhilwara), by which alone he could hope for the departure of the Solanki body-guard. Jaisal, with his chief kin, escorted by two hundred horse, marched to the Panjnad, where he saw the king of Ghor, who had just overcome the king of Tatta,¹ and placed his own garrison there [243],² and he accompanied him to Aror, the ancient capital of Sind. There he unfolded his views, and having sworn allegiance to the king, he obtained a force to dispossess his nephew of his territory. Lodorva was encompassed, and Bhojdeo slain in its defence. In two days the inhabitants were to carry off their effects, and on the third the troops of Ghor were permitted the license of plunder. Lodorva was sacked, and Karim Khan departed for Bakhar with the spoils.

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¹ At every step we see, however meagre may be the outline, the correctness of this historical sketch. It was, according to Ferishta, in A.H. 555 (A.D. 1159 [1150], or S. 1215) that the prince of Ghor conquered Ghazni, and immediately after overran Multan and Sind (see Briggs, vol. i. p. 153); and doubtless it was on this occasion that the Bhatti prince swore allegiance to Shihabu-d-din, and obtained the force which drove his nephew from Lodorva, which being sacked by his auxiliaries, he founded Jaisalmer in S. 1212. The three years’ discrepancy between the Muhammadan and Hindu dates is of little consequence; but even this could be remedied, when we recollect that the Samvat, according to Mr. Colebrooke, is liable to a variation of ten years.

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² Tatta was not then in existence. It was founded about the middle of the fifteenth century.

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The Foundation of Jaisalmer, *c.* A.D. 1156.—Jaisal thus obtained the *gaddi* of Lodorva; but it being open to invasion, he sought a spot better adapted for defence, and he found one only five coss (ten miles) from Lodorva. Upon the summit of a rocky ridge, he discovered a Brahman, whose solitary hermitage adjoined the fountain of Brahmsar. Having paid homage, and disclosed the purport of his visit, the recluse related the history of the triple-peaked hill, which overlooked his hermitage. He said that in the Treta, or ‘silver age,’ a celebrated ascetic called Kak, or Kaga, resided at this fountain, after whom the rivulet which issued thence had its name of Kaga; that the Pandu Arjun, with Hari Krishna, came there to attend a great sacrifice, on which occasion Krishna foretold that, in some distant age, a descendant of his should erect a town on the margin of that rivulet, and should raise a castle on Trikuta, the triple-peaked mount.³ While Krishna thus prophesied, it was observed to him by Arjun that the water was bad, when Krishna smote the rock with his chakra (discus), whereupon a sweet spring bubbled up, and on its margin were inscribed the prophetic stanzas which the hermit Isal now pointed out to the Bhatti prince, who read as follows :

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³ If there were no better support for the assumed descent of the Bhatti

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“ Oh prince of Jadu-vansa! come into this land, and on this mountain’s top erect a triangular castle.

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“ Lodorva is destroyed, but only five coss therefrom is Jasana, a site of twice its strength.

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“ Prince, whose name is Jaisal, who will be of Yadu race, abandon Lodorpura ; here erect thy dwelling.”

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The hermit Isal alone knew the existence of the fountain on whose margin these lines were engraved. All that he stipulated for himself was that the fields to the [244] westward of the castle should retain his name, “ the fields of Isal.” He foretold that the intended castle should twice and a half times be sacked ; that rivers of blood would flow, and that for a time all would be lost to his descendants.

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On Rabiwar, ‘ the day of the sun ’ (a favourite day for commencing any grand undertaking with all these tribes), the 12th of Sravan, the enlightened half of the moon, S. 1212 (A.D. 1156), the foundation of Jaisalmer was laid, and soon the inhabitants, with all that was valuable, abandoned Lodorva,¹ and began to erect new habitations. Jaisal had two sons, Kelan and Salbahan. He chose his chief ministers and advisers from the children of Sodal, of the Pahu tribe, who became too powerful. Their old enemies, the Chana Rajputs, again invaded the lands of Khadal ; but they suffered for their audacity. Jaisal survived this event five years, when he died, and was succeeded by his youngest son, Salbahan the Second [245].

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¹ Lodorva remains in ruins; a journey thither might afford subject-matter for the antiquary, and enable him to throw light upon the origin of the Bhatti tribe. I omitted to place it in the Map; it is ten miles N.W. of the present capital.

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founder of Jaisalmer from the Yadus of the Bharat than this prophecy, we should be confirmed in our suspicion that they are a colony of the Yuti, and that the Brahmans took advantage of the nominal resemblance to incorporate them in the Chhattis Rajkula, or Thirty-six Royal Races.

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Having thus epitomized the Bhatti annals, from the expulsion of the tribe from the Panjab, and the establishment of Tanot in the Indian desert, in A.D. 731, to the foundation of the existing capital, Jaisalmer, in A.D. 1156, we shall continue the sketch to the present day, nearly in the language of the chronicle, adding explanatory notes as we proceed.

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Retrospect of Bhatti History. — The interval between the erection of the castle of Tanot and the present time is exactly eleven hundred years; during which the historical narrative, whatever may be its value, is at least continuous, and the events recorded are corroborated, even in the darkest period, by numerous synchronisms in the annals of the other States; and viewed synoptically, it presents matter of deep interest to the explorer of Indian history. The period of four hundred and twenty-five years, embraced in the preceding chapter, is full of incidents. It is a record of a people who once deemed their consequence and their fame imperishable. And even were it less diversified by anecdotes descriptive of manners, it would still possess claims to interest as a simple relation of the gradual peopling of a great portion of the Indian desert. We see tribes and cities disappearing; new races and new capitals taking their place; and although not a syllable is written which [246] bears directly upon religion, we can see, incidentally, the analogy of these Indo-Scythic tribes, from Zabulistan and Salbahana, with the Hindu, confirming what Manu says, that the Sakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, and the Khasas¹ of Central Asia, were all Chhattris or Rajputs. We now proceed with the chronicle.

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¹ [Manu, Laws, x. 44, which does not name the Khasas.] There is a race in the desert, now Muhammadan, and called Khosas. Elphinstone mentions the Khasa-Khel. Kashgar is ‘the region of the Khasas,’ the Casia Regia of Ptolemy [?]. [The Khosas are a Muhammadan tribe, driven from Sind in A.D. 1786, who lived beside the Rann of Cutch, and levied blackmail on their neighbours. They are believed to be a branch of the Rind, and it is improbable that they can be connected with the Khasas of Manu (Laws, x. 22).]

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Jaisal, the founder of Jaisalmer, survived the change of capital only twelve years. His elder son, Kailan, having given displeasure to the Pahu minister, was expelled, and his younger brother placed upon the gaddi.

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Rāwal Sālivāhan I.—Salbahan, a name of celebrity in the annals, renewed in the son of Jaisal, succeeded in S. 1224 (A.D. 1168). His first expedition was against the Kathi tribe, who, under their leader, Jagbhan, dwelt between the city of Jalor and the Aravalli.¹ The Kathi Rao was killed, and his horses and camels were carried to Jaisalmer. The fame of this exploit exalted the reputation of Salbahan. He had three sons, Bijar, Banar, and Haso.

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¹ We can scarcely refuse our assent to the belief that the Kathi or Katti tribe, here mentioned, is the remnant of the nation which so manfully opposed Alexander. It was then located about Multan, at this period occupied by the Langahas. The colony attacked by the Bhatti was near the Aravalli, in all probability a predatory band from the region they peopled and gave their name to, Kathiawar, in the Surashtra peninsula. [The Kāthis were probably a nomadic Central Asian tribe, driven down the valley of the Indus by the tide of early Muhammadan invasions. Their appearance in Jaisalmer at the end of the twelfth century A.D. probably marks a stage in their southerly progress. Thence they seem to have moved into Mālwa, thence to Cutch, and finally to Kāthiāwār (BG, ix. Part i. 252 ff., viii. 128).]

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Embassy from Badarināth.—In the mountains of Badarinath, there was a State whose princes were of the Jadon (Yadu) race, descended from the first Salbahan at the period of the expulsion from Gajni.² At this time, the prince of this State dying without issue, a deputation came to Jaisalmer to obtain a prince to fill the vacant gaddi. Haso was accordingly sent, but died just as he arrived. His wife, who was pregnant, was taken with the pains of labour on the journey, and was delivered of a son under the shade of a palas tree, whence the child was called Palasia. This infant succeeding, the raj (principality) was named after him Palasia.¹

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² Mr. Elphinstone enumerates the Jadon as a subdivision of the Yusufzais, one of the great Afghan tribes, who were originally located about Kabul and Ghazni. I could not resist surmising the probability of the term Jadon, applied to a subdivision of the Afghan race, originating from the Hindu-Scythic Jadon, or Yadu; whence the boasted descent of the Afghans from Saul, king of the Jews (Yahudis). The customs of the Afghans would support this hypothesis: "The Afghans (says the Emperor Babur, p. 159), when reduced to extremities in war, come into the presence of their enemy with grass between their teeth, being as much as to say, 'I am your ox.'" This custom is entirely Rajput, and ever recurring in inscriptions recording victories. They have their bards or poets in like manner, of whom Mr. Elphinstone gives an interesting account. In features, also, they resemble the Northern Rajputs, who have generally aquiline noses, or, as Mr. Elphinstone expresses it in the account of his journey through the desert, "Jewish features"; though this might tempt one to adopt the converse of my deduction, and say that these Yadus of Gajni were, with the Afghans, also of Yahudi origin: from the lost tribes of Israel. [The Jadūn, as Rose writes their name, are not Yūsufzais, but live S. of them, and have no connexion with the Rājput Jādons (Glossary, ii. 272 f., iii. 254).]

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¹ See Mr. Elphinstone's map for the position of the Jadon branch of the Yusufzais at the foot of the Siwalik hills.

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Proposals of marriage came from Mansi Deora of Sirohi.² The Rawal left Jaisalmer [247] to the care of his eldest son Bijal. Soon after his departure, the foster-brother (Dhabhai) of the young prince propagated the report of the Rawal's death in an encounter with a tiger, and prompted Bijal to assume the dignity. Salbahan, on his return, finding his seat usurped, and having in vain expostulated with his traitorous son, proceeded to Khadal, of which Derawar is the capital, where he was slain, with three hundred of his followers, in repelling an irruption of the Balochs. Bijal did not long enjoy the dignity; having in a fit of passion struck the Dhabhai, the blow was returned, upon which, stung with shame and resentment, he stabbed himself with his dagger.

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² [" If this is correct, the date of the foundation of Jaisalmer must be wrong, for Mān Singh's father is known to have been alive in 1249. Moreover the Deora sept did not exist, as it took the name from Mān Singh's son Deoraj " (Erskine iii. A. 11).]

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Rāwal Kailan, c. A.D. 1200-19.—Kailan, the elder brother of Salbahan, who was expelled by the Pahus, was now (A.D. 1200) recalled, and installed at the age of fifty. He had six sons, Chachakdeo, Palhan, Jaichand, Pitamsi, Pitamchand, and Asrao. The second and third had numerous issue, who are styled Jaser and Sihana Rajputs.

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Khizr Khan Baloch, with five thousand men, at this time again crossed the Mihran (Indus), and invaded the land of Khadal, which was the second irruption since he slew Salbahan. Kailan marched against him at the head of seven thousand Rajputs, and, after a severe engagement, slew the Baloch leader and fifteen hundred of his men. Kailan ruled nineteen years.

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Rāwal Chāchakdeo I., c. A.D. 1219-41.—Chachakdeo succeeded, in S. 1275 (A.D. 1219). Soon after his accession, he carried on war against the Chana Rajputs (now extinct), of whom he slew two thousand, capturing fourteen thousand cows, and compelling the tribe to take refuge with the Johyas. Soon after, the Rawal invaded the lands of Rana Armsi, prince of the Sodhas, who, though taken by surprise, assembled four thousand horse; but was defeated, and forced to fly for shelter to the walls of his capital, Umarkot. The Puar was glad to obtain the absence of his foe by the offer of his daughter in marriage.¹

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¹ In this single passage we have revealed the tribe (got), race (kula), capital, and proper name of the prince of Dhat. The Sodha tribe, as before stated, is an important branch of the Pramara (Puar) race, and with the Umras and Sumras gave dynasties to the valley of Sind from the most remote period. The Sodhas, I have already observed, were probably the Sogdoi of Alexander, occupying Upper Sind when the Macedonian descended that stream. The Sumra dynasty is mentioned by Ferishta from ancient authorities, but the Muhammadan historians knew nothing, and cared nothing, about Rajput tribes. It is from such documents as these, scattered throughout the annals of these principalities, and from the ancient Hindu epic poems, that I have concentrated the "Sketches of the Rajput Tribes," introductory to the first volume, which, however slight they appear, cost more research than the rest of the book. I write this note chiefly for the information of the patriarch of oriental lore on the Continent, the learned and ingenious De Sacy. If this mentor ask, "Where are now the Sodhas?" I reply, the ex-prince of Umarkot, with whose ancestors Humayun took refuge—in whose capital in the desert the great Akbar was born—and who could on the spur of the moment oppose four thousand horse to invasion, has only one single town, that of Chor, left to him. The Rathors, who, in the time of Armsi Rana and Rawal Chachak, were hardly known in Marudes, have their flag waving on the battlements of the 'immortal castle' (Amarkuta), and the Amirs of Sind have incorporated the greater part of Dhat with their State of Haidarabad. [Umarkot is not the 'immortal castle,' but the fort of Umar, chief of the Sūmra tribe (IGI, xxiv. 118).]

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The Rathors, recently established in the land of Kher, had become troublesome [248] neighbours; Chachak obtained the aid of the Sodha troops to chastise them, and he proceeded to Jasal and Bhalotra, where they were established; but Chhadu and his son Thida averted his wrath by giving him a daughter to wife.²

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² To those interested in the migration of these tribes, it must be gratifying to see these annals thus synchronically corroborating each other. About two centuries before this, in the reign of Dusaj, when the Bhatti capital was at Lodorva, an attack was made on the land of Kher, then occupied by the Guhilots, who were, as related in the Annals of Marwar, dispossessed by the Rathors. None but an inquirer into these annals of the desert tribes can conceive the satisfaction arising from such confirmation.

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Rawal Chachak ruled thirty-two years. He had only one son, Tej Rao, who died at the age of forty-two, from the smallpox, leaving two sons, Jethsi and Karan. To the youngest the Rawal was much attached; and having convened the chiefs around his death-bed, he entreated they would accede to his last wish, that his youngest grandson might be his successor.

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Rāwal Karan Singh I., A.D. 1241-71.—Karan having succeeded, his elder brother, Jethsi, abandoned his country, and took service with the Muhammadans in Gujarat. About this time, Muzaffar Khan, who occupied Nagor with five thousand horse, committed great outrages. There was a Bhumia of the Baraha tribe, named Bhagawatidas, who resided fifteen coss from Nagor, and was master of one thousand five hundred horse. He had an only daughter, who was demanded by the Khan, and being unwilling to comply, and unable to resist, he resolved to abandon the country. For this purpose he prepared carriages, in which he placed his family and chattels, and at night proceeded towards Jaisalmer; but the Khan, gaining intelligence of his motions, intercepted the convoy. A battle ensued, in which four hundred of the Barahas were killed, and his daughter and other females were carried off. The afflicted Baraha continued his route to Jaisalmer, and related his distress to Rawal Karan, who immediately put himself at the head of his followers, attacked the Khan, whom he slew, with three thousand of his people, and re-inducted the Bhumia in his possessions. Karan ruled twenty-eight years, and was succeeded, in S. 1327, by his son,

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Rāwal Lākhansen, A.D. 1271-75.—He was so great a simpleton, that when the jackals howled at night, being told that it was from being cold, he ordered quilted dresses (daglas) to be prepared for them. As the howling still continued, although he was assured his orders had been fulfilled, he commanded houses to be built for the animals in the royal preserves (ramna), many of which yet remain. Lakhan was the contemporary of Kanirdeo Sonigira, whose life was saved by his (Lakhan's) wife's knowledge of omens. Lakhan was ruled by this Rani, who was of the Sodha tribe. She invited her brethren from Umarkot; but the madman, her husband, put [249] them to death, and threw their bodies over the walls. He was allowed to rule four years, and was then replaced by his son,

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Rāwal Pūnpāl, A.D. 1275-76.—This prince was of a temper so violent that the nobles dethroned him, and recalled the exiled Jethsi from Gujarat. Punpal had a residence assigned him in a remote quarter of the State. He had a son, Lakamsi, who had a son called Rao Raningdeo, who by a stratagem pointed out by a Kharal¹ Rajput, took Marot from the Johyas, and Pugal from the Thoris, thieves by profession, whose chief, styled Rao, he made captive; and in Pugal he settled his family. Rao Raning had a son called Sadul, who alternately bathed in the sea of pleasure, and struggled in that of action : to their retreat the father and son conveyed the spoils seized from all around them.

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¹ This tribe is unknown to Central India. [They are a branch of the Parihārs.]

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Rāwal Jeth Singh I., A.D. 1276-94.—Jethsi obtained the gaddi in S. 1332 (A.D. 1276). He had two sons, Mulraj and Ratansi. Deoraj, the son of Mulraj, espoused the daughter of the Sonigira chief of Jalor. Muhammad [Khuni]² Padshah invaded the dominions of Rana Rupsi, the Parihar prince of Mandor,³ who, when defeated, fled with his twelve daughters, and found refuge with the Rawal, who gave him Baru⁴ as a residence.

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² [Alāu-d-dīn.]

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³ The title, tribe, and capital of this race show that the Bhattis were intimately connected with the neighbouring States.

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⁴ [About 100 miles N.N.E. of Jodhpur city.]

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Alāu-d-din attacks Jaisalmer.—Deoraj, by his Sonigira wife, had three sons, Janghan, Sarwan, and Hamir. This Hamir was a mighty warrior, who attacked Kumpa Sen of Mewa,⁵ and plundered his lands. He had issue three sons, Jetha, Lunkaran, and Mairu. At this period, Ghori Alau-d-din commenced the war against the castles of India. The tribute of Tatta and Multan, consisting of fifteen hundred horses and fifteen hundred mules laden with treasure and valuables, was at Bakhar in progress to the king at Delhi. The sons of Jethsi determined to lay an ambush and capture the tribute. Disguised as grain-merchants, with seven thousand horse and twelve hundred camels, they set out on their expedition, and on the banks of the Panjnad found the convoy, escorted by four hundred Mogul and the like number of Pathan horse. The Bhattis encamped near the convoy; and in the night they rose upon and slew the escort, carrying the treasure to Jaisalmer. The survivors carried the news to the king, who prepared to punish this insult. When tidings reached Rawal Jethsi that the king was encamped on the Anasagar at Ajmer, he prepared Jaisalmer for defence. He laid in immense stores of grain, and deposited all round the ramparts of the fort large round stones to hurl on the besiegers. All the aged, the infirm, and his female grandchildren were [250] removed into the interior of the desert, while the country around the capital for many miles was laid waste, and the towns made desolate. The Rawal, with his two elder sons and five thousand warriors, remained inside for the defence of the castle, while Deoraj and Hamir formed an army to act against the enemy from without. The sultan in person remained at Ajmer and sent forward an immense force of Khorasanis and Kuraishes, cased in steel armour, “who rolled on like the clouds in Bhadon.” The fifty-six bastions were manned, and three thousand seven hundred heroes distributed amongst them for their defence, while two thousand remained in reserve to succour the points attacked. During the first week that the besiegers formed their entrenchments, seven thousand Musalmans were slain, and Mir Muhabbat and Ali Khan remained on the field of battle. For two years the invaders were confined to their camp by Deoraj and Hamir, who kept the field, after cutting off their supplies, which came from Mandor, while the garrison was abundantly furnished from Khadal, Barmer, and Dhat. Eight years ¹ had the siege lasted, when Rawal Jethsi died, and his body was burnt inside the fort.

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⁵ [In Mallāni, the ‘cradle of the Rāthors.’]

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¹ This can mean nothing more than that desultory attacks were carried on against the Bhatti capital. It is certain that Ala never carried his arms in person against Jaisalmer. [It is impossible to reconcile the dates, and this siege is not mentioned by Muhammadan historians. It is said to have lasted from A.D. 1286 to 1295. Balban reigned 1266-1286-7, and Alā-u-dīn did not ascend the throne till 1296. Much of the narrative is a fiction of the Bhatti bards.]

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During this lengthened siege, Ratansi had formed a friendship with the Nawab Mahbub Khan, and they had daily friendly meetings under a khejra ² tree, between the advanced posts, each attended by a few followers. They played at chess together, and interchanged expressions of mutual esteem. But when duty called them to oppose each other in arms, the whole world was enamoured with their heroic courtesy. Jethsi had ruled eighteen years when he died.

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² [Prosopis spicigera.]

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Rāwal Mūlrāj III., A.D. 1294-95.—Mulraj III., in S. 1350 (A.D. 1294), ascended the gaddi surrounded by foes. On this occasion, the customary rejoicings on installation took place at the moment when the two friends, Ratansi and Mahbub Khan, had met, as usual, under the khejra tree. The cause of rejoicing being explained to the Nawab, he observed that the Sultan had heard of, and was offended with, these meetings, to which he attributed the protracted defence of the castle, and acquainted Ratansi that next day a general assault was commanded, which he should lead in person. The attack took place; it was fierce, but the defence was obstinate, and the assailants were beaten back with the loss of nine thousand men. But the foe obtained reinforcements, and towards the conclusion of the year the garrison was reduced to the greatest privations, and the blockade being perfect, Mulraj assembled his kinsmen and thus addressed them : “ For so many years [251] we have defended our dwellings ; but our supplies are expended, and there is no passage for more. What is to be done ? ” The chiefs, Sahar and Bikamsi, replied, “ A sakha must take place ; we must sacrifice ourselves ” : but that same day the royal army, unaware of the distress of the besieged, retreated.

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The Sati : Johar.—The friend of Ratansi had a younger brother, who, on the retreat of the royal forces, was carried inside the fort, when, seeing the real state of things, he escaped and conveyed intelligence of it, upon which the siege was renewed. Mulraj reproached his brother as the cause of this evil, and asked what was fit to be done ? to which Ratansi replied, “ There is but one path open : to immolate the females, to destroy by fire and water whatever is destructible, and to bury what is not ; then open wide the gates, and sword in hand rush upon the foe, and thus attain Swarga.” The chiefs were assembled ; all were unanimous to make Jaisalnagar resplendent by their deeds, and preserve the honour of the Jadon race. Mulraj thus replied : “ You are of a warlike race, and strong are your arms in the cause of your prince ; what heroes excel you, who thus tread in the Chhatri’s path ? In battle, not even the elephant could stand before you. For the maintenance of my honour the sword is in your hands ; let Jaisalmer be illumined by its blows upon the foe.” Having thus inspired the chiefs and men, Mulraj and Ratan repaired to the palace of their queens. They told them to take the sohag,¹ and prepare to meet in heaven, while they gave up their lives in defence of their honour and their faith. Smiling, the Sodha Rani replied, “ This night we shall prepare, and by the morning’s light we shall be inhabitants of Swarga ” (heaven); and thus it was with the chiefs and all their wives. The night was passed together for the last time in preparation for the awful morn. It came; ablutions and prayers were finished, and at the Rajdwara ² were convened bala, praurha, and briddhu.³ They bade a last farewell to all their kin; the Johar commenced, and twenty-four thousand females, from infancy to old age, surrendered their lives, some by the sword, others in the volcano of fire. Blood flowed in torrents, while the smoke of the pyre ascended to the heavens: not one feared to die, every valuable was consumed with them, not the worth of a straw was preserved for the foe. This work done, the brothers looked upon the spectacle with horror. Life was now a burden, and they prepared to quit it. They purified themselves with water, paid adoration to the divinity, made gifts [252] to the poor, placed a branch of the Tulsi ⁴ in their casques, the Salagram ⁴ round their neck; and having cased themselves in armour and put on the saffron robe, they bound the mor ⁵ (crown) around their heads, and embraced each other for the last time. Thus they awaited the hour of battle. Three thousand eight hundred warriors, with faces red with wrath, prepared to die with their chiefs.

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¹ Sohagan, one who becomes Sati previous to her lord’s death; Duhagan, who follows him after death.

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² Literally, ‘the royal gate’; an allusion to the female apartments, or Rajloka.

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³ Bala, is under sixteen; praurha, middle-aged; briddhu, when forty.

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⁴ The funereal qualities of the tulsi plant, and the emblematic Salagram, or stone found in the Gandak River, have been often described.

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⁵ On two occasions the Rajput chieftain wears the mor [maur], or ‘coronet’: on his marriage, and when going to die in battle; symbolic of his nuptials with the Apsaras, or ‘fair of heaven.’

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Ratansi had two sons, named Gharsi and Kanar, the eldest only twelve years of age. He wished to save them from the impending havoc, and applied to his courteous foeman. The Muslim chief swore he would protect them, and sent two confidential servants to receive the trust; to whom, bidding them a last farewell, their father consigned them. When they reached the royal camp they were kindly welcomed by the Nawab, who, putting his hand upon their heads, soothed them, and appointed two Brahmans to guard, feed, and instruct them.

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On the morrow, the army of the Sultan advanced to the assault. The gates were thrown wide, and the fight began. Ratan was lost in the sea of battle; but one hundred and twenty Amirs fell before his sword ere he lay in the field. Mulraj plied his lance on the bodies of the barbarians: the field swam in blood. The unclean spirits were gorged with slaughter; but at length the Jadon chief fell, with seven hundred of the choice of his kin. With his death the battle closed; the victors ascended the castle, and Mahbub Khan caused the bodies of the brothers to be carried from the field and burned. The sakha took place in S. 1351, or A.D. 1295. Deoraj, who commanded the force in the field, was carried off by a fever. The royal garrison kept possession of the castle during two years, and at length blocked up the gateways, and dismantled and abandoned the place, which remained long deserted, for the Bhattis had neither means to repair the kunguras (battlements) nor men to defend them [253].

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Rāthor Settlement at Jaisalmer. Dūda Rāwal, A.D. 1295-1306.—Some years subsequent to this disastrous event in the Bhatti annals, Jagmall, son of Maloji Rathor, chief of Mewa, attempted a settlement amidst the ruins of Jaisalmer, and brought thither a large force, with seven hundred carts of provisions. On hearing this, the Bhatti chiefs, Dudu and Tilaksi, the sons of Jaisar, assembled their kinsmen, surprised the Rathors, drove them from the castle, and captured the supplies. Dudu, for this exploit, was elected Rawal, and commenced the repairs of Jaisalmer. He had five sons. Tilaksi, his brother, was renowned for his exploits. He despoiled the Baloch, the Mangalea, the Meawa, and the Deoras and Sonagiras of Abu and Jalor felt his power. He even extended his raids to Ajmer, and carried off the stud of Firoz Shah from the Anasagar (lake), where they were accustomed to be watered.¹ This indignity provoked another attack upon Jaisalmer, attended with the same disastrous results. Again the sakha was performed, in which sixteen thousand [254] females ¹ were destroyed; and Dudu, with Tilaksi and seventeen hundred of the clan, fell in battle, after he had occupied the gaddi ten years.

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¹ [If the dates are approximately correct, this was Jalālu-d-dīn Firoz Shāh, Sultān of Delhi, A.D. 1290-96.]

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¹ The Rajputs, by their exterminating sakhas, facilitated the views of the Muhammadans. In every State we read of these horrors.

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Gharsi Rāwal, A.D. 1306-35. Jaisalmer restored.—On the death of Rawal Dudu, in S. 1362 (A.D. 1306), the young princes, Gharsi and Kanar, by the death of their patron Mahbub, were left to the protection of his sons, Zulfikar and Ghazi Khan. Kanar went privately to Jaisalmer, and Gharsi obtained leave to proceed westward to the Mewa tract, where he married Bimala-devi, a widow, sister to the Rathor, who had been betrothed ² to the Deora. While engaged in these nuptials, he was visited by his relation Soningdeo, a man of gigantic strength, who agreed to accompany him on his return to Delhi. The king made trial of his force, by giving him to string an iron bow sent by the king of Khorasan, which the nervous Bhatti not only bent but broke. The invasion of Delhi by Timur Shah ³ having occurred at this time, the services of Gharsi were so conspicuous that he obtained a grant of his hereditary dominions, with permission to re-establish Jaisalmer. With his own kindred, and the aid of the vassals of his friend Jagmall of Mewa, he soon restored order, and had an efficient force at command. Hamir and his clansmen gave their allegiance to Gharsi, but the sons of Jaisar were headstrong.

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² The mere act of being betrothed disqualifies from a second marriage; the affianced becomes a rand (widow), though a kumari (maid).

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³ Even these anachronisms are proofs of the fidelity of these Annals. Ignorant native scribes, aware but of one great Moghul invasion, consider the invader to be Timur; but there were numerous Moghul invasions during the reign of Alau-d-din. In all probability that for which the services of the Bhatti prince obtained him the restoration of his dominions was that of Ibak Khan, general of the king of Transoxiana, who invaded India in A.H. 705 (A.D. 1305), and was so signally defeated that only three thousand out of fifty-seven thousand horse escaped the sword, and these were made prisoners and trod to death by elephants, when pillars of skulls were erected to commemorate the victory.—See Briggs' Ferishta, vol. i. p. 363 f. [Elliot-Dowson iii. 199.]

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The Adoption of Kehar. Rāwal Gharsi assassinated.—Deoraj, who married the daughter of Rupra, Rana of Mandor, had a son named Kehar, who, when Jaisalmer was about to be invested by the troops of the Sultan, was conveyed to Mandor with his mother. When only twelve years of age, he used to accompany the cowherds of the old Rao’s kine, and his favourite amusement was penning up the calves with twigs of the *ak*, to imitate the picketing of horses. One day, tired of this occupation, young Kehar fell asleep upon the hole of a serpent, and the reptile issuing therefrom, arose and spread its hood over him as he slept. A Charan (bard, or genealogist), passing that way, reported the fact and its import immediately to the Rana, who, proceeding to the spot, found it was his own grandson whom fate had thus pointed out for sovereignty.¹ Gharsi, having no offspring by Bimaladevi, proposed to her to adopt a son. All the Bhatti youth were assembled, but none equalled Kehar, who [255] was chosen. But the sons of Jaisar were displeased, and conspired to obtain the *gaddi*. At this time, Rawal Gharsi was in the daily habit of visiting a tank, which he was excavating, and they seized an occasion to assassinate him; whereupon, in order to defeat their design, Bimaladevi immediately had Kehar proclaimed. The widowed queen of Gharsi, with the view of securing the completion of an object which her lord had much at heart, namely, finishing the lake Gharsisar, as well as to ensure protection to her adopted son Kehar, determined to protract the period of self-immolation; but when six months had elapsed, and both these objects were attained, she finished her days on the pyre. Bimaladevi named the children of Hamir as the adopted sons and successors of Kehar. These sons were Jetha and Lunkaran.

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