Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c43.t1.29.1

v3.c43.t1.29.1

The Bhangis, or scavengers, of Ranikhera, the very refuse of mankind, had mortgaged their rights in the dead carcases of their town to a professional brother of Lesrawan; but, on the return of these halcyon days, they swerved from their bond [625]. The chieftain of Lesrawan espoused his vassal’s cause, and probably pointed out the mode of revenge. One morning, therefore, not having the fear of Jamshid of Nimbahera before his eyes, the said mortgagee slew his pig; and, albeit but the wreck of a human being, contrived to cast his victim into the pure fountain of ‘Queenstown,’ and immediately fled for saran to Bhindar. But what could be done to a wretch, who for former misdeeds had already suffered the dismemberment of an arm, a leg, and his nose? Here is the sentence! “To be paraded, mounted on an ass, his face blackened, with a chaplet of shoes round his neck, and drummed out of the limits of Ranikhera!” The fountain is now undergoing purification; and when the polluted waters are baled out, it is to be lustrated with the holy stream of the Ganges, and the ceremony will conclude with a *got*, or feast, to one hundred Brahmans. Previous to this, I took a peep at the humble altars of Ranikhera. All is modern; but there is one tablet which pleasingly demonstrates that both public feeling and public gratitude exist in these regions.