History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v2.c29.3

v2.c29.3

Of this most illustrious family Bappā Rāwal was the reputed founder and it is no wonder that many strange legends have gathered round the birth, the youth, the exploits and even the end of this great hero as around the lives of most heroes in ancient and even modern history of the world. Tod has recounted them in his monumental history but we shall content ourselves here with giving the most simple account leaving out all miraculous events and testing each fact in the crucible of probability, aided by inscriptions which too require to be submitted to the same test; for it can never be accepted that because certain facts are recorded on stone or copper they are therefore reliable or true. We find that facts especially those belonging to former times recorded in inscriptions are often based on untrue and unreliable legends and hence the need of applying this same test even to inscriptions. Col. Tod made most searching inquiries about oral and written traditions of this family, collected genealogies and inscriptions and had the advantage of personal acquaintance with the historical localities of Mewad and he has done well in recording traditions which he also looked upon as doubtful. For the shrewd observation of Hume which Tod has quoted must here be borne in mind viz., "poets though they disfigure the most certain history by their fictions and use strange liberties with truth when they are the sole historians have commonly some foundation for their wildest exaggeration." We will use the legends given by Tod in connection with the founder of the Mewad family under the same test in giving the following account, differing in many respects from that of Tod. With due deference to this great historian of the Rajputs, we must say that he was much influenced by the wrong theory of the foreign descent of Rajputs started by him and further observe that historical research was only in its infancy in his days, many inportant and incontrovertible facts being now known or finally established. With these prefatory remarks and duly honouring and recognising the work done by the great historian, we proceed to sketch our story of Bappā Rāwal and his successors during the Mediæval period of Indian history. It may be stated here that Mewad history is certain and unquestionable only from Hamīra onwards, the history of the family from the foundation to the end of the twelfth century A. D. being still shrouded in doubt on many points and our account is only an attempt to rationalize story and is therefore liable to be modified as future research may discover new facts or new arguments.