Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c43.t1.586.3

v3.c43.t1.586.3

It is plain, capacious, and in excellent taste, the only ornament being its crenated battlements, and gives a good idea of the domestic architecture of the Rajputs, long anterior to the intrusion of the Islamite amongst them. The vaulted chamber, the projecting gaukh or balcony, and the gentle exterior slope or talus of the walls, lend a character of originality to all the ancient structures of Chitor. The industrious Ghasi made sketches for me of all their domestic dwellings, from the ancient abode of Chitrang Mori, down to the mahalls of Jaimall and Patta. A courtyard surrounds the palace, in which there is a small temple to Deoji, through whose interposition Rana Sanga effected all his conquests. This unknown divinity I find is styled one of the eleven kalas, or Mahavidyas, incarnate in the person of a celebrated warrior, named Bhoj, whose father was a Chauhan, and his mother of the Gujar tribe, which originated a new class, called the Bagrawat.¹ The story of this Deo will add another to the many tales of superstition which are listened to with reverence, and I imagine generally with belief. The incarnate Bagrawat, while on his way to revenge an ancient feud with the Parihars of Ranbinai [760], approached Chitor, and Rana Sanga, aware of his sanctity, paid him all the dues of hospitality; in return for this, the Deoji bestowed a charm upon Sanga, by means of which, so long as he followed the prescribed injunctions, victory was always to attend his steps.