  | PAGE | | BOOK IV—continued | | | ANNALS OF MEWAR | | | | CHAPTER 19 | | | Influence of the hierarchy in Rajputana—Emulation of its princes in grants to the priesthood—Analogy between the customs of the Hindus, in this respect, and those of the ancient people—Superstition of the lower orders—Secret influence of the Brahmans on the higher classes—Their frauds—Ecclesiastical dues from the land, etc.—The Saivas of Rajasthan—The worship and shrine of Eklinga—The Jains—Their numbers and extensive power—The temple of Nathdwara, and worship of Kanhaiya—The privilege of Sanctuary—Predominance of the doctrines of Kanhaiya beneficial to Rajput society | 589 | | | | CHAPTER 20 | | | The origin of Kanhaiya or Krishna—Sources of a plurality of gods among the Hindus—Allegories respecting Krishna elucidated—Songs of Jayadeva celebrating the loves of Kanhaiya—The Rasmandal, a mystic dance—Govardhana—Krishna anciently worshipped in caves—His conquest of the ‘Black serpent’ allegorical of the contests between the Buddhists and Vaishnavas—Analogies between the legends of Krishna and Western mythology—Festivals of Krishna—Pilgrimage to Nathdwara—The seven gods of that temple—Its Pontiff | 621 | | | | Appendix | 644 | | | | CHAPTER 21 | | | Importance of mythological history—Aboriginal tribes of India—The Rajputs are conquerors—Solar year of the Hindus—Opened at the winter solstice—The Vasant, or spring festival—Birth of the Sun—Common origin assumed of the Rajputs and Getic tribe of Scandinavia—Surya, the sun-god of all nations, Thor, Syrus, Sol—Sun-worship—The Aheria, or spring-hunt, described—Boar-feast—Phalgun festival—The Rajput Saturnalia—Games on horseback—Rites to the Manes—Festival of Sitala as guardian of children—Rana’s birthday—Phuladola, the Rajput Floralia—Festival of Gauri—Compared with the Diana of Egypt—The Isis or Ertha of the Suevi—And the Phrygian Cybele—Anniversary of Rama—FÊte of Kamdeva or Cupid—Little Ganggor—Inundation of the capital—Festival of Rambha or Venus—Rajput and Druidic rites—Their analogy—Serpent worship—Rakhi, or Festival of the bracelet | 650 | | | | CHAPTER 22 | | | Festivals continued—Adoration of the sword: its Scythic origin—The Dasahra, or military festival: its Scythic origin—Torans or triumphal arcs—Ganesa of the Rajputs and Janus of the Romans—Worship of arms: of the magic brand of Mewar, compared with the enchanted sword, Tyrfing, of the Edda—Birth of Kumara, the Rajput Mars, compared with the Roman divinity—Birth of Ganga: her analogy to Pallas—Adoration of the moon—Worship of Lakshmi, or Fortune; of Yama, or Pluto—Diwali, or festival of lamps, in Arabia, in China, in Egypt, and in India—Annakuta and Jaljatra—Festivals sacred to the Ceres and Neptune of the Hindus—Festival of the autumnal equinox—Reflections on the universal worship of the elements, Fire, Light, Water—Festival sacred to Mithras or Vishnu, as the sun—The Phallus: its etymology—Rajput doctrine of the Triad—Symbols Vishnu, as the sun-god: his messenger Garuda, the eagle: his charioteer Aruna, or the dawn—Sons of Aruna—Fable analogous to that of Icarus—Rites of Vishnu on the vernal equinox and summer solstice—Dolayatra, or festival of the ark, compared with the ark of Osiris, and Argonautic expedition of the Greeks—Etymology of Argonaut—Ethiopia the Lanka of the Hindus—Their sea-king, Sagara—Rama, or Ramesa, chief of the Cushite races of India—Ramesa of the Rajputs and Rameses of Egypt compared—Reflections | 679 | | | | CHAPTER 23 | | | The nicer shades of character difficult to catch—Morals more obvious and less changeable than manners—Dissimilarity of manners in the various races of Rajasthan—Rajputs have deteriorated in manners as they declined in power—Regard and deference paid to women in Rajasthan—Seclusion of the Females no mark of their degradation—High spirit of the Rajput princesses—Their unbounded devotion to their husbands—Examples from the chronicles and bardic histories—Anecdotes in more recent times—Their magnanimity—Delicacy—Courage and presence of mind—Anecdote of Sadhu of Pugal and Karamdevi, daughter of the Mohil chief—The seclusion of the females increases their influence—Historical evidences of its extent | 707 | | | | CHAPTER 24 | | | Origin of female immolation—The sacrifice of Sati, the wife of Iswara—The motive to it considered—Infanticide—Its causes among the Rajputs, the Rajkumars, and the Jarejas—The rite of Johar—Female captives in war enslaved—Summary of the Rajput character—Their familiar habits—The use of opium—Hunting—The use of weapons—Jethis, or wrestlers—Armouries—Music—Feats of dexterity—Maharaja Sheodan Singh—Literary qualifications of the princes—Household economy—Furniture—Dress, etc. | 737 | | | | PERSONAL NARRATIVE | | | CHAPTER 25 | | | Valley of Udaipur—Departure for Marwar—Encamp on the heights of Tus—Resume the march—Distant view of Udaipur—Deopur—Zalim Singh—Reach Pallana—Ram Singh Mehta—Manikchand—Ex-raja of Narsinghgarh—False policy pursued by the British Government in 1817-18—Departure from Pallana—Aspect and geological character of the country—Nathdwara ridge—Arrival at the city of Nathdwara—Visit from the Mukhya of the temple—Departure for the village of Usarwas—Benighted—Elephant in a bog—Usarwas—A Sannyasi—March to Samecha—The Shera Nala—Locusts—Coolness of the air—Samecha—March to Kelwara, the capital—Elephant’s pool—Murcha—Kherli—Maharaja Daulat Singh—Kumbhalmer—Its architecture, remains, and history—March to the ‘Region of Death,’ or Marwar—The difficult nature of the country—A party of native horsemen—Bivouac in the glen | 990 | | | | CHAPTER 8 | | | The clans petition to see the young Raja—Durjan Sal of Kotah joins the Rathor cause—They proceed to Abu—Are introduced to Ajit, who is conveyed to Awa, and makes a tour to all the chieftainships—Consternation of Aurangzeb—He sets up a pretender to Jodhpur—The Rathors and Haras drive the Imperialists from Marwar—They carry the war abroad—Storm of Pur Mandal—The Hara prince slain—Durgadas returns from the Deccan—Defeats Safi Khan, governor of Ajmer, who is disgraced by the king—Safi Khan attempts to circumvent Ajit by negotiation—His failure and disgrace—Rebellion in Mewar—The Rathors support the Rana—Aurangzeb negotiates for the daughter of Prince Akbar left in Marwar—Ajit again driven for refuge into the hills—Affair at Bijapur—Success of the Rathors—Aurangzeb’s apprehension for his granddaughter—The Rana sends the coco-nut to Ajit, who proceeds to Udaipur, and marries the Rana’s niece—Negotiations for peace renewed—Terminate—The surrender of the princess—Jodhpur restored—Magnanimity of Durgadas—Ajit takes possession—Ajit again driven from his capital—Afflictions of the Hindu race—A son born to Ajit, named Abhai Singh—His horoscope—Battle of Dunara—The viceroy of Lahore passes through Marwar to Gujarat—Death of Aurangzeb—Diffuses joy—Ajit attacks Jodhpur—Capitulation—Dispersion and massacre of the king’s troops—Ajit resumes his dominions—Azam, with the title of Bahadur Shah, mounts the throne—Battle of Agra—The king prepares to invade Marwar—Arrives at Ajmer—Proceeds to Bhavi Bilara—Sends an embassy to Ajit, who repairs to the imperial camp—Reception—Treacherous conduct of the emperor—Jodhpur surprised—Ajit forced to accompany the emperor to the Deccan—Discontent of the Rajas—They abandon the king, and join Rana Amra at Udaipur—Triple alliance—Ajit appears before Jodhpur, which capitulates on honourable terms—Ajit undertakes to replace Raja Jai Singh on the gaddi of Amber—Battle of Sambhar, Ajit victorious—Amber abandoned to Jai Singh—Ajit attacks Bikaner—Redeems Nagor—The Rajas threatened by the king—Again unite—The king repairs to Ajmer—The Rajas join him—Receive farmans for their dominions—Ajit makes a pilgrimage to Kurukshetra—Reflections on the thirty years’ war waged by the Rathors against the empire for independence—Eulogium on Durgadas | 1007 | | | | CHAPTER 9 | | | Ajit commanded to reduce Nahan and the rebels of the Siwalik mountains—The emperor dies—Civil wars—Ajit nominated viceroy of Gujarat—Ajit commanded to send his son to court—Daring attack on the chief of Nagor, who is slain—Retaliated—The king’s army invades Marwar—Jodhpur invested—Terms—Abhai Singh sent to court—Ajit proceeds to Delhi—Coalesces with the Sayyid ministry of the king—Gives a daughter in marriage to the emperor—Returns to Jodhpur—Repeal of the Jizya—Ajit proceeds to his viceroyalty of Gujarat—Settles the province—Worships at Dwarka—Returns to Jodhpur—The Sayyids summon him to court—The splendour of his train—Leagues with the Sayyids—The emperor visits Ajit—Portents—Husain Ali arrives from the Deccan—Consternation of the opponents of the Sayyids and Ajit—Ajit blockades the palace with his Rathors—The emperor put to death—Successors—Muhammad Shah—He marches against Amber—Its Raja claims sanctuary with Ajit—Obtains the grant of Ahmadabad—Returns to Jodhpur—Ajit unites his daughter to the prince of Amber—The Sayyids assassinated—Ajit warned of his danger—Seizes on Ajmer—Slays the governor—Destroys the mosques, and re-establishes the Hindu rites—Ajit declares his independence—Coins in his own name—Establishes weights and measures, and his own courts of justice—Fixes the gradations of rank amongst his chiefs—The Imperialists invade Marwar—Abhai Singh heads thirty thousand Rathors to oppose them—The king’s forces decline battle—The Rathors ravage the Imperial provinces—Abhai Singh obtains the surname of Dhonkal, or exterminator—Returns to Jodhpur—Battle of Sambhar—Ajit gives sanctuary to Churaman Jat, founder of Bharatpur—The emperor puts himself at the head of all his forces to avenge the defeat of Sambhar—Ajmer invested—Its defence—Ajit agrees to surrender Ajmer—Abhai Singh proceeds to the Imperial camp—His reception—His arrogant bearing—Murder of Ajit by his son—Infidelity of the bard—Blank leaf of the Raj Rupaka, indicative of this event—Extract from that chronicle—Funereal rites—Six queens and fifty-eight concubines determine to become Satis—Expostulations of the Nazir, bards, and purohits—They fail—Procession—Rite concluded—Reflections on Ajit’s life and history | 1020 | | | | CHAPTER 10 | | | The parricidal murder of Ajit, the cause of the destruction of Marwar—The parricide, Abhai Singh, invested as Raja by the emperor’s own hand—He returns from court to Jodhpur—His reception—He distributes gifts to the bards and priests—The bards of Rajputana—Karna, the poetic historian of Marwar—Studies requisite to form a Bardai—Abhai Singh reduces Nagor—Bestows it in appanage upon his brother Bakhta—Reduces the turbulent allodialists—Commanded to court—Makes a tour of his domain—Seized by the small-pox—Reaches the court—Rebellion of the viceroy of Gujarat, and of Prince Jangali in the Deccan—Picture of the Mogul court at this time—The bira of foreign service against the rebels described—Refused by the assembled nobles—Accepted by the Rathor prince—He visits Ajmer, which he garrisons—Meeting at Pushkar with the Raja of Amber—Plan the destruction of the empire—At Merta is joined by hi
ated—Rao Tano espouses the daughter of the Buta chief—His progeny—Tano finds a concealed treasure—Erects the castle of Bijnot—Tano dies—Succeeded by Bijai Rae—He assails the Baraha tribe, who conspire with the Langahas to attack the Bhatti prince—Treacherous massacre of Bijai Rae and his kindred—Deoraj saved by a Brahman—Tanot taken—Inhabitants put to the sword—Deoraj joins his mother in Butaban—Erects Derawar, which is assailed by the Buta chief, who is circumvented and put to death by Deoraj—The Bhatti prince is visited by a Jogi, whose disciple he becomes—Title changed from Rao to Rawal—Deoraj massacres the Langahas, who acknowledge his supremacy—Account of the Langaha tribe—Deoraj conquers Lodorva, capital of the Lodra Rajputs—Avenges an insult of the prince of Dhar—Singular trait of patriotic devotion—Assaults Dhar—Returns to Lodorva—Excavates lakes in Khadal—Assassinated—Succeeded by Rawal Mund, who revenges his father’s death—His son Bachera espouses the daughter of Balabhsen, of Patan Anhilwara—Contemporaries of Mahmud of Ghazni—Captures a caravan of horses—The Pahu Bhattis conquer Pugal from the Johyas—Dusaj, son of Bachera, attacks the Khichis—Proceeds with his three brothers to the land of Kher, where they espouse the Guhilot chief’s daughters—Important synchronisms—Bachera dies—Dusaj succeeds—Attacked by the Sodha prince Hamir, in whose reign the Ghaggar ceased to flow through the desert—Traditional couplet—Sons of Dusaj—The youngest, Lanja Bijairae, marries the daughter of Siddhraj Solanki, king of Anhilwara—The other sons of Dusaj, Jaisal, and Bijairae—Bhojdeo, son of Lanja Bijairae, becomes lord of Lodorva on the death of Dusaj—Jaisal conspires against his nephew Bhojdeo—Solicits aid from the Sultan of Ghor, whom he joins at Aror—Swears allegiance to the Sultan—Obtains his aid to dispossess Bhojdeo—Lodorva attacked and plundered—Bhojdeo slain—Jaisal becomes Rawal of the Bhattis—Abandons Lodorva as too exposed—Discovers a site for a new capital—Prophetic inscription on the Brahmsarkund, or fountain—Founds Jaisalmer—Jaisal dies, and is succeeded by Salbahan II. | 1190 | | | | CHAPTER 3 | | | Preliminary observations—The early history of the Bhattis not devoid of interest—Traces of their ancient manners and religion—The chronicle resumed—Jaisal survives the change of capital twelve years—The heir of Kailan banished—Salbahan, his younger brother, succeeds—Expedition against the Kathi—Their supposed origin—Application from the Yadu prince of Badarinath for a prince to fill the vacant gaddi—During Salbahan’s absence his son Bijal usurps the gaddi—Salbahan retires to Khadal, and falls in battle against the Baloch—Bijal commits suicide—Kailan recalled and placed on the gaddi—His issue form clans—Khizr Khan Baloch again invades Khadal—Kailan attacks him, and avenges his father’s death—Death of Kailan—Succeeded by Chachak Deo—He expels the Chana Rajputs—Defeats the Sodhas of Umarkot—The Rathors lately arrived in the desert become troublesome—Important synchronisms—Death of Chachak—He is succeeded by his grandson Karan, to the prejudice of the elder, Jethsi, who leaves Jaisalmer—Redresses the wrongs of a Baraha Rajput—Karan dies—Succeeded by Lakhansen—His imbecile character—Replaced by his son Punpal, who is dethroned and banished—His grandson, Raningdeo, establishes himself at Marot and Pugal—On the deposal of Punpal, Jethsi is recalled and placed on the gaddi—He affords a refuge to the Parihar prince of Mandor, when attacked by Alau-d-din—The sons of Jethsi carry off the imperial tribute of Tatta and Multan—The king determines to invade Jaisalmer—Jethsi and his sons prepare for the storm—Jaisalmer invested—First assault repulsed—The Bhattis keep an army in the field—Rawal Jethsi dies—The siege continues—Singular friendship between his son Ratan and one of the besieging generals—Mulraj succeeds—General assault—Again defeated—Garrison reduced to great extremity—Council of war—Determination to perform the sakha—Generous conduct of the Muhammadan friend of Ratan to his sons—Final assault—Rawal Mulraj and Ratan and their chief kin fall in battle—Jaisalmer taken, dismantled, and abandoned | 1206 | | | | CHAPTER 4 | | | The Rathors of Mewa settle amidst the ruins of Jaisalmer—Driven out by the Bhatti chieftain Dudu, who is elected Rawal—He carries off the stud of Firoz Shah—Second storm and sakha of Jaisalmer—Dudu slain—Moghul invasion of India—The Bhatti princes obtain their liberty—Rawal Gharsi re-establishes Jaisalmer—Kehar, son of Deoraj—Disclosure of his destiny by a prodigy—Is adopted by the wife of Rawal Gharsi, who is assassinated by the tribe of Jaisar—Kehar proclaimed—Bimaladevi becomes sati—The succession entailed on the sons of Hamir—Matrimonial overture to Jetha from Mewar—Engagement broken off—The brothers slain—Penitential act of Rao Raning—Offspring of Kehar—Soma the elder departs with his basai and settles at Girab—Sons of Rao Raning become Muslims to avenge their father’s death—Consequent forfeiture of their inheritance—They mix with the Aboharia Bhattis—Kailan, the third son of Kehar, settles in the forfeited lands—Drives the Dahyas from Khadal—Kailan erects the fortress of Kara on the Bias or Gara—Assailed by the Johyas and Langahas under Amir Khan Korai, who is defeated—Subdues the Chahils and Mohils—Extends his authority to the Panjnad—Rao Kailan marries into the Samma family—Account of the Samma race—He seizes on the Samma dominions—Makes the river Indus his boundary—Kailan dies—Succeeded by Chachak—Makes Marot his headquarters—League headed by the chief of Multan against Chachak, who invades that territory, and returns with a rich booty to Marot—A second victory—Leaves a garrison in the Panjab—Defeats Maipal, chief of the Dhundis—Asini-, or Aswini-Kot—Its supposed position—Anecdote—Feud with Satalmer—Its consequences—Alliance with Haibat Khan—Rao Chachak invades Pilibanga—The Khokhars or Ghakkars described—The Langahas drive his garrison from Dhuniapur—Rao Chachak falls sick—Challenges the prince of Multan—Reaches Dhuniapur—Rites preparatory to the combat—Worship of the sword—Chachak is slain with all his bands—Kumbha, hitherto insane, avenges his father’s feud—Birsal re-establishes Dhuniapur—Repairs to Kahror—Assailed by the Langahas and Baloch—Defeats them—Chronicle of Jaisalmer resumed—Rawal Bersi meets Rao Birsal on his return from his expedition in the Panjab—Conquest of Multan by Babur—Probable conversion of the Bhattis of the Panjab—Rawal Bersi, Jeth, Nunkaran, Bhim, Manohardas, and Sabal Singh, six generations | 1215 | | | | CHAPTER 5 | | | Jaisalmer becomes a fief of the empire—Changes in the succession—Sabal Singh serves with the Bhatti contingent—His
|   |
|
