Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c42.s2.28

v3.c42.s2.28

Mahārāo Durjansāl, A.D. 1724-56. The Marātha Invasion.—Durjansal assumed ‘the rod’ in S. 1780 (A.D. 1724). His accession was acknowledged by Muhammad Shah, the last of the Timurian kings who deserved the appellation, and at whose court the prince of Kotah received the khilat and obtained the boon of preventing the slaughter of kine in every part of the Jumna frequented by his nation. Durjansal succeeded on the eve of an eventful period in the annals of his country. It was in his reign that the Mahrattas under Bajirao first invaded Hindustan. On this memorable occasion, they passed by the Taraj Pass, and skirting Haraoti on its eastern frontier, performed a service to Durjansal, by attacking and presenting to him the castle of Nahargarh, then held by a Musalman chief. It was in S. 1795¹ (A.D. 1739) that the first connexion between the Haras and the ‘Southrons’ took place; and this service of the Peshwa leader was a return for stores and ammunition necessary for his enterprise. But a few years only elapsed before this friendly act and the good understanding it induced were forgotten.