Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c42.s2.t1.1

v3.c42.s2.t1.1

Mahārāo Gumān Singh, A.D. 1766-71.—Guman Singh, in S. 1822 (A.D. 1766), ascended the gaddi of his ancestors. He was in the prime of manhood, full of vigour and intellect, and well calculated to contend with the tempests collecting from the south, ready to pour on the devoted lands of Rajputana. But one short lustrum of rule was all that fate had ordained for him, when he was compelled to resign his rod of power into the hands of an infant. But ere we reach this period, we must retrace our steps, and introduce more prominently the individual whose biography is the future history of this State; for Zalim Singh is Kotah, his name being not only indissolubly linked with hers in every page of her existence, but incorporated with that of every State of Rajputana for more than half a century. He was the *primum mobile* of the region he inhabited, a sphere far too confined for his genius, which required a wider field for its display, and might have controlled the destinies of nations.