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// 20150228000536tod
// KD Weeks, Emmanuel Ackerman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
// first edit: 4/28/2018
.dt Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, vol. 3 of 3, by James Tod
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Transcriber’s Note:
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This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical
effects. Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_.
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The text is annotated with numerous footnotes, which were numbered
sequentially on each page. On occasion, a footnote itself is
annotated by a note. In the previous two volumes, these were
referenced using symbols (e.g. *, †), which have been converted
to an alphabetic sequence (e.g., A, B). In this volume, however, the
‘subnotes’ appear in one instance as numerals. For the sake of consistency, the
convention used in the previous volumes has been adopted.
.if t
Since there are over 900 notes in this volume, they have been
gathered at each chapter’s end, and resequenced for each chapter,
using a dot notation for chapter and page (e.g. 10.4.2). Notes to the
appendixes are prefaced by 'a' (e.g. a.1.1 for the first note
in Appendix I.)
.if-
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Since there are over 900 notes in this volume, they have been
gathered at each chapter’s end, and resequenced for each chapter.
Links are provided to navigate from the reference to the note,
and back.
.if-
The notes are a combination of those of the author, and of the
editor of this edition. The text of the latter are enclosed in
square brackets. The bold-faced phrases that begin each topic
were also added by the editor, and spelling of Hindi or Sanskrit
words may vary between those phrases and the author’s text.
The pagination of the original edition, published in the
1820's, is preserved for ease of reference by including those
page numbers in the text, also enclosed in square brackets.
Crooke’s plan for the renovation of the Tod’s original text, including
a discussion of the transliteration of words other than English, is
given in detail in the #Preface:vol1_Page_ix#.
Several tables spanned multiple pages, with sums totaled before the
page break as “Carried forward”, and repeated on the following page.
These have been removed, given the nature of the current text.
Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Given
the history of the text, it was thought best to leave all orthography
as printed.
Please see the transcriber’s #note:endnote# at the end of this text
for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered
during its preparation.
.if t
A complex genealogical chart appears on p. #1457#, inserted in
mid-paragraph spanning pp. 1456 and 1458. It has been moved to
precede that paragraph.
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A complex genealogical chart appears on p. #1457#, inserted in
mid-paragraph spanning pp. 1456 and 1458. It has been moved to
precede that paragraph. The chart was not conducive to rendering in
this format. It has been approximated in the text, and a link
provided to an image of the original page.
The cover image has been amended to include identifying information,
and is added, as amended, to the public domain.
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original text in a small popup.
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Any corrections are indicated as hyperlinks, which will navigate the
reader to the corresponding entry in the corrections table in the
note at the end of the text.
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.bn 001.png
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.nf c
ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES
OF RAJASTHAN
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.bn 003.png
.bn 004.png
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.ca
COLONEL TOD AND HIS JAIN GURU.
(From a painting said to be the work of the Author’s native artist, Ghāsi.)
Frontispiece.
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.bn 005.png
.h1
ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES | OF | RAJASTHAN
.nf c
OR THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN
RAJPUT STATES OF INDIA
BY
Lieut.-Col. JAMES TOD
LATE POLITICAL AGENT TO THE WESTERN RAJPUT STATES
EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY
WILLIAM CROOKE, C.I.E.
HON. D.SC. OXON., B.A., F.R.A.I.
LATE OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE
.sp 4
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. III.
.sp 8
HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON\ \ \ EDINBURGH\ \ \ GLASGOW\ \ \ NEW YORK
TORONTO\ \ \ MELBOURNE\ \ \ BOMBAY
1920
.nf-
.bn 006.png
.bn 007.png
.pn v
.h2
CONTENTS
.ta h:60 rb:6
| PAGE
BOOK VIII
SKETCH OF THE INDIAN DESERT
CHAPTER 1
General aspect—Boundaries and divisions of the desert—Probable\
etymology of the Greek oasis—Absorption of the Ghaggar\
river—The Luni, or salt-river—The Rann, or Ran—Distinction\
of thal and rui—Thal of the Luni—Jalor—Siwanchi—Machola\
and Morsin—Bhinmal and Sanchor—Bhadrajun—Mewa—Balotra\
and Tilwara—Indhavati—Gugadeo-ka-thal—Thal\
of Tararoi—Thal of Khawar—Mallinath-ka-thal, or\
Barmer—Kherdhar—Juna Chhotan—Nagar Gura | 1257
CHAPTER 2
Chauhan Raj—Antiquity and nobility of the Chauhans of the\
desert—Dimensions and population of the Raj—Nagar—Bakhasar—Tharad—Face\
of the Chauhan Raj—Water—Productions—Inhabitants—Kolis\
and Bhils—Pitals—Thals\
of Dhat and Umrasumra—Depth of wells—Anecdote—City\
of Aror, the ancient capital of Sind—Dynasties of the Sodha,\
the Sumra, and the Samma princes—Their antiquity—Inferred\
to be the opponents of Alexander the Great, and\
Menander—Lieutenant of Walid takes Aror—Umarkot: its\
history—Tribes of Sind and the desert—Diseases—Narua or\
Guinea-worm—Productions, animal and vegetable, of the\
desert—Daudputra—Itinerary | 1275
.bn 008.png
.pn +1
BOOK IX
ANNALS OF AMBER, OR DHUNDHAR
CHAPTER I
Designations given by Europeans to the principalities of Rajputana—Dhundhar\
known by the name of its capitals,\
Amber or Jaipur—The country of the Kachhwahas an aggregate\
of conquests by the race so called—Etymology of\
Dhundhar—Origin of the Kachhwahas—Raja Nal founds\
Narwar—Dhola Rae expelled, and founds Dhundhar—Romantic\
legend of Dhola Rae—His treachery to his benefactor,\
the Mina lord of Khoganw—Marries a daughter of a\
Bargujar chief, and becomes his heir—Augments his territories,\
and transfers his government to Ramgarh—Marries a\
daughter of the prince of Ajmer—Is killed in battle with the\
Minas—His son Kankhal conquers Dhundhar—Medal Rae\
conquers Amber, and other places—Conquests of Hundeo—Of\
Kuntal—Accession of Pajun—Reflections on the aboriginal\
tribes at this period—The Mina race—Pajun marries the\
sister of Prithiraj of Delhi—His military prowess—Is killed\
at the rape of the princess of Kanauj—Malesi succeeds—His\
successors—Prithiraj creates the Barah-kothris, or twelve\
great fiefs of Amber—He is assassinated—Baharmall—The\
first to wait on the Muhammadan power—Bhagwandas the\
first Rajput to give a daughter to the imperial house—His\
daughter marries Jahangir, and gives birth to Khusru—Accession\
to Man Singh—His power, intrigues, and death—Rao\
Bhao—Maha—Mirza Raja Jai Singh, brother of Raja\
Man, succeeds—Repairs the disgraces of his two predecessors,\
and renders immense services to the empire—Is poisoned by\
his son—Ram Singh—Bishan Singh | 1327
CHAPTER 2
Sawai Jai Singh succeeds—Joins the party of Azam Shah—Amber\
sequestrated—Jai Singh expels the imperial garrison—His\
character—His astronomical knowledge—His conduct during\
the troubles of the empire—Anecdote illustrative of the evils\
of polygamy—Limits of the raj of Amber at the accession of\
Jai Singh—The new city of Jaipur—Conquest of Rajor and\
Deoti—Incidents illustrative of Rajput character—Jai Singh’s\
habit of inebriation—The virtues of his character—Contemplates\
the rite of Aswamedha—Dispersion of his valuable\
manuscripts—His death—Some of his wives and concubines\
become Satis on his pyre | 1341
.bn 009.png
.pn +1
CHAPTER 3
The Rajput league—Aggrandizement of Amber—Isari Singh\
succeeds—Intestine troubles produced by polygamy—Madho\
Singh—The Jats—Their Rajas—Violation of the Amber territory\
by the Jats—Battle—Rise of Macheri—Decline of the\
Kachhwaha power after the death of Madho Singh—Prithi\
Singh—Partap Singh—Intrigues at his court—The stratagems\
of Khushhaliram, and the Macheri chief—Death of\
Firoz the Filban, paramour of the Patrani—Broils with the\
Mahrattas—Partap attains majority, and gains the victory\
of Tonga—His difficulties—Exactions of the Mahrattas—Jagat\
Singh—His follies and despicable character—Makes\
Raskapur, his concubine, queen of half Amber—Project to\
depose him prevented by a timely sacrifice—Mohan Singh\
elected his successor | 1356
CHAPTER 4
Jaipur the last of the Rajput States to embrace the proffered\
alliance of the British—Procrastination habitual to the\
Rajputs, as to all Asiatics—Motives and considerations which\
influenced the Jaipur court in declining our alliance—A treaty\
concluded—Death of Jagat Singh—Effects of our interference\
in the intrigues respecting the succession—Law of primogeniture—The\
evils attending an ignorance of Rajput\
customs—Violation of the law of succession in the placing of\
Mohan Singh on the gaddi—Reasons for departing from the\
rule of succession—Conduct of the British authorities—The\
title of Mohan Singh disputed by the legal heir-presumptive—Dilemma\
of the Nazir and his faction—The threatened disorders\
prevented by the unexpected pregnancy of one of the\
queens of Jagat Singh—Birth of a posthumous son | 1366
SHAIKHAWAT FEDERATION
CHAPTER 5
Origin of the Shaikhavati federation—Its constitution—Descent\
of the chiefs from Balaji of Amber—Mokalji—Miraculous\
birth of his son—Shaikhji—Aggrandizes his territory—Raemall—Suja—Raesal—His\
heroism—Obtains grants from\
Akbar—Gets possession of Khandela and Udaipur—His\
exploits and character—Girdharji—Is cut off by assassination—Dwarkadas—His\
extraordinary feat with a lion—Falls\
by Khan Jahan Lodi—Birsinghdeo—His authority usurped\
by his son—Bahadur Singh—Aurangzeb directs the demolition\
of the temple of Khandela—Bahadur deserts his capital—Shujawan\
Singh Raesalot flies to its defence—He is slain,\
.bn 010.png
.pn +1
the temple razed, and the city garrisoned—Kesari—Partition\
of the territory between Kesari and Fateh Singh—Fateh\
Singh assassinated—Kesari resists the regal authority—Is\
deserted in the field and slain—His son Udai Singh taken to\
Ajmer—Khandela retaken, and restored to Udai Singh, who\
is liberated—He resolves to punish the Manoharpur chief—Is\
baffled by that chief’s intrigues—Is besieged by Jai Singh of\
Amber—Khandela becomes tributary to Amber | 1378
CHAPTER 6
Bindrabandas adheres to Madho Singh in the civil wars of Amber—Partition\
of lands annulled—Self-immolation of the\
Brahmans—Consequences to Bindraban, in his contest with\
Indar Singh, the other chief of Khandela—Civil war—Prodigal\
expiatory sacrifice of Bindraban—He abdicates—Govind\
Singh—Is assassinated—Narsinghdas—Rise and\
devastations of the Mahrattas—Siege of Khandela—Terms of\
redemption—Murder of deputies by the Mahrattas—Indar\
Singh perishes in the attempt to avenge them—Partap Singh—Rise\
of the Sikar chief—Transactions between Partap and\
Narsingh, his co-partner—Partap obtains the whole of\
Khandela—Narsingh recovers by stratagem his share of\
Khandela—Domestic broils and feuds—General assembly of\
the Sadhani and Raesalot chiefs, to counteract the encroachments\
of Amber—Treaty between the Shaikhawats and the\
court of Amber—Violated by the latter—The confederacy\
assault the town of the Haldia faction—Narsingh refuses\
tribute to the court, and Khandela is sequestrated—Narsingh\
and Partap treacherously made captive, and conveyed to\
Jaipur—Khandela annexed to the fisc | 1395
CHAPTER 7
Bagh Singh opposes the faithless court of Amber—He is joined by\
the celebrated George Thomas—Desperate action—Bagh\
Singh placed in the fortified palace at Khandela—His garrison,\
with his brother, slain by Hanwant Singh, son of Partap—Bagh\
regains the palace—The lands of Khandela farmed by\
Amber to two Brahmans—They are expelled by the feudatory\
Barwatias, who resist the court—They become a banditti—Sangram\
Singh, cousin to Partap, their leader—He avoids the\
treachery of the court—His death—The confederacy unite\
in the league against Jodhpur—New treaty with the Amber\
court—Liberation of Partap and Narsingh—Grand union of\
the Shaikhawats—Abhai Singh succeeds in Khandela—Treachery\
of the court—Hanwant regains Govindgarh,\
Khandela, etc.—Restoration of Khushhaliram to the ministry\
of Jaipur—New investitures granted to the feudatories of\
Khandela—Abhai and Partap inducted into their ancestral\
abodes—Incident illustrative of the defects of the Rajput\
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feudal system—Khandela assailed by Lachhman Singh, chief\
of Sikar—Gallant defence of Hanwant—His death—Surrender\
of Khandela to Lachhman Singh—The co-heirs\
exiled—Power and influence of Lachhman Singh—Foils the\
designs of the Purohit—Present attitude of Lachhman Singh—Subordinate\
branches of the Shaikhawats—The Sadhanis—Their\
territories wrested from the Kaimkhanis and Rajputs—The\
Khetri branch of the family of Sadhu attains superiority—Bagh\
Singh of Khetri murders his own son—The Larkhanis—Revenues\
of Shaikhavati | 1408
CHAPTER 8
Reflections—Statistics of Amber—Boundaries—Extent—Population—Number\
of townships—Classification of inhabitants—Soil—Husbandry—Products—Revenues—Foreign\
army—The\
feudal levies | 1428
BOOK X
ANNALS OF HARAVATI
BUNDI
CHAPTER 1
Haravati defined—Fabulous origin of the Agnikula races—Mount\
Abu—The Chauhans obtain , Golkonda, and the\
Konkan—Found Ajmer—Ajaipal—Manika Rae—First\
Islamite invasion—Ajmer taken—Sambhar founded; its\
salt lake—Offspring of Manik Rae—Establishments in Rajputana—Contests\
with the Muhammadans—Bilandeo of\
Ajmer; Guga Chauhan of Mahra; both slain by Mahmud—Bisaldeo\
Generalissimo of the Rajput nations; his period\
fixed; his column at Delhi; his alliances—Origin of the\
Hara tribe—Anuraj obtains Asi—Dispossessed—Ishtpal\
obtains Asir—Rao Hamir—Rao Chand slain—Asir, Alau-d-din—Prince\
Rainsi escapes to Chitor; settles at Bhainsror,\
in Mewar—His son Kolan declared lord of the Pathar | 1441
CHAPTER 2
Recapitulation of the Hara princes from the founder Anuraj to\
Rae Dewa—He erects Bundi—Massacre of the Usaras—Dewa\
abdicates—Ceremony of Yugaraj, or abdication—Succeeded\
by Samarsi—Extends his sway east of the Chambal—Massacre\
of the Kotia Bhils—Origin of Kotah—Napuji\
succeeds—Feud with the Solanki of Toda—Assassination of\
Napuji—Singular Sati—Hamu succeeds—The Rana asserts\
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his right over the Patar—Hamu demurs, defies, and attacks\
him—Anecdote—Birsingh—Biru—Rao Banda—Famine—Anecdote—Banda\
expelled by his brothers; converts to\
Muhammadanism—Narayandas puts his uncles to death, and\
recovers his patrimony—Anecdotes of Narayandas—Aids\
the Rana of Chitor—Gains a victory—Espouses the niece of\
Rana Raemall—His passion for opium—Death—Rao Surajmall—Marries\
a princess of Chitor—Fatal result—Aheria or\
Spring-hunt—Assassination of the Rao—His revenge—Two-fold\
sati—Rao Surthan—His cruelty, deposal, and banishment—Rao\
Arjun elected—Romantic death—Rao Surjan\
succeeds | 1466
CHAPTER 3
Rao Surjan obtains Ranthambhor—Is besieged by Akbar—The\
Bundi prince surrenders the castle—Becomes a vassal of the\
empire—Magnanimous sacrifice of Sawant Hara—Akbar\
bestows the title of Rao Raja on the Hara prince—He is sent\
to reduce Gondwana—His success and honours—Rao Bhoj\
succeeds—Akbar reduces Gujarat—Gallant conduct of the\
Haras at Surat and Ahmadnagar—Amazonian band—Disgrace\
of Rao Bhoj—Cause of Akbar’s death—Rao Ratan—Rebellion\
against the emperor Jahangir—The Hara prince\
defeats the rebels—Partition of Haraoti—Madho Singh\
obtains Kotah—Rao Ratan slain—His heir Gopinath killed—Partition\
of fiefs in Haraoti—Rao Chhattarsal succeeds—Appointed\
governor of Agra—Services in the Deccan—Escalades\
Daulatabad—Kalburga—Damauni—Civil war amongst the\
sons of Shah Jahan—Character of Aurangzeb by the Bundi\
prince—Fidelity of the Hara princes—Battles of Ujjain and\
Dholpur—Heroic valour of Chhattarsal—Is slain, with twelve\
princes of Hara blood—Rao Bhao succeeds—Bundi invaded—Imperialists\
defeated—Rao Bhao restored to favour—Appointed\
to Aurangabad—Succeeded by Rao Aniruddh—Appointed\
to Lahore—His death—Rao Budh—Battle of\
Jajau—The Hara princes of Kotah and Bundi opposed to\
each other—Kotah prince slain—Gallantry of Rao Budh—Obtains\
the victory for Bahadur Shah—Fidelity of the Bundi\
prince—Compelled to fly—Feud with the prince of Amber—Its\
cause—Ambitious views of Amber—Its political condition—Treachery\
of Amber—Desperate conflict—Rao Budh\
driven from Bundi—Bundi territory curtailed—Rao Budh\
dies in exile—His sons | 1480
CHAPTER 4
Rao Ummeda defeats the troops of Amber—Conflict at Dablana—Ummeda\
defeated and obliged to fly—Death of Hanja, his\
steed—Takes refuge amidst the ravines of the Chambal—Redeems\
his capital—Is again expelled from it—Interview\
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with the widow of his father; she solicits aid from Holkar to\
reinstate Ummeda—The Amber prince forced to acknowledge\
the claims of Ummeda—He recovers Bundi—Suicide of the\
Amber prince—First alienation of land to the Mahrattas—Madho\
Singh of Amber asserts supremacy over Haraoti—Origin\
of tributary demands thereon—Zalim Singh—Mahratta\
encroachments—Ummeda’s revenge on the chief of Indargarh;\
its cause and consequences—Ummeda abdicates—Ceremony\
of Yugaraj, or abdication—Installation of Ajit—Ummeda\
becomes a pilgrim; his wanderings; cause of their interruption—Ajit\
assassinates the Rana of Mewar—Memorable Sati\
imprecation—Awful death of Ajit—Fulfilment of ancient\
prophecy—Rao Bishan Singh succeeds—Ummeda’s distrust\
of his grandson; their reconciliation—Ummeda’s death—British\
army retreats through Haraoti, aided by Bundi—Alliance\
with the English—Benefits conferred on Bundi—Bishan\
Singh dies of the cholera morbus; forbids the rite of\
Sati—His character; constitutes the Author guardian of his\
son, the Rao Raja Ram Singh | 1499
KOTAH
CHAPTER 5
Separation of Kotah from Bundi—The Kotah Bhils—Madho\
Singh, first prince of Kotah—Its division into fiefs—The\
Madhani—Raja Mukund—Instance of devotion—He is slain\
with four brothers—Jagat Singh—Pem Singh—Is deposed—Kishor\
Singh—Is slain at Arcot—Law of primogeniture set\
aside—Ram Singh—Is slain at Jajau—Bhim Singh—Chakarsen,\
king of the Bhils—His power is annihilated by\
Raja Bhim—Umat tribe—Origin of the claims of Kotah\
thereon—Raja Bhim attacks the Nizamu-l-mulk, and is\
slain—Character of Raja Bhim—His enmity to Bundi—Anecdote—Title\
of Maharao bestowed on Raja Bhim—Rao\
Arjun—Civil contest for succession—Shyam Singh slain—Maharao\
Durjansal—First irruption of the Mahrattas—League\
against Kotah, which is besieged—Defended by\
Himmat Singh Jhala—Zalim Singh born—Siege raised—Kotah\
becomes tributary to the Mahrattas—Death of\
Durjansal—His character—His hunting expeditions—His\
queens—Bravery of the Jhala chief—Order of succession restored—Maharao\
Ajit—Rao Chhattarsal—Madho Singh of\
Amber claims supremacy over the Hara princes, and invades\
Haraoti—Battle of Bhatwara—Zalim Singh Jhala—The\
Haras gain a victory—Flight of the Amber army, and capture\
of the ‘five-coloured banner’—Tributary claims on Kotah\
renounced—Death of Chhattarsal | 1521
CHAPTER 6
Maharao Guman Singh—Zalim Singh—His birth, ancestry, and\
progress to power—Office of Faujdar becomes hereditary in\
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his family—His office and estate resumed by Guman Singh—He\
abandons Kotah—Proceeds to Mewar—Performs services\
to the Rana, and receives the title of Raj Rana, and estates—Serves\
against the Mahrattas—Is wounded and made\
prisoner—Returns to Kotah—Mahratta invasion—Storm of\
Bakhani—Its glorious defence—Sacrifice of a clan—Garrison\
of Sohet destroyed—Zalim Singh employed—His successful\
negotiation—Restoration to power—Rao Guman constitutes\
Zalim guardian of his son Ummed Singh, who is proclaimed—The\
Tika-daur, or ‘raid of accession’—Capture of Kelwara—Difficulties\
of the Protector’s situation—Cabal against his\
power—Destruction of the conspirators—Exile of the nobles—Sequestration\
of estates—Conspiracy of Aton—Predatory\
bands—Aton surrenders—Exile of the Hara nobles—Curtailment\
of the feudal interests—Conspiracy of Mohsen—Plan for\
the destruction of the Regent and family—Mohsen chief takes\
sanctuary in the temple—Is dragged forth and slain—Maharao’s\
brothers implicated in the plot—Their incarceration\
and death—Numerous projects against the life of the regent—Female\
conspiracy—How defeated—The Regent’s precautions | 1534
CHAPTER 7
Zalim regarded as a legislator—His political views on Mewar—Kotah\
sacrificed thereto—His tyranny—His superstition—Makes\
a tour of his dominions—Establishes a permanent\
camp—Trains an army—Adopts European arms and discipline—Revises\
the revenue system of Haraoti—The Patel\
system described—Council of four—Extent of jurisdiction—The\
Bohras described—Their utility in the old farming system\
of India—Patels usurp their influence—Depression of the\
peasantry—Patels circumvented, imprisoned, and fined—Patel\
system destroyed—Return to the old system—Moral\
estimation of the peasant of Rajputana—Modes of realizing\
the land revenue described—Advantages and disadvantages | 1547
CHAPTER 8
Farming system of Zalim Singh—Extent to which it has been\
carried—Its prosperity, fallacious and transitory—Details of\
the system—Soil of Kotah—The Regent introduces foreign\
ploughs—Area cultivated—Net produce—Value—Grain-pits—Prices,\
in plenty and famine—Zalim sells in one year grain\
to the amount of a million sterling—Monopoly—The tithe, or\
new tax on exported grain—The Jagatya, or tax-gatherer—Impolicy\
of this tax—Gross revenue of Kotah—Opium\
monopoly—Tax on widows—On the mendicant—Gourd-tax—Broom-tax—The\
Regent detested by the bards—Province\
of Kotah at this period, and at assumption of the government,\
contrasted—Question as to the moral result of his improvements | 1559
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CHAPTER 9
Political system of the Regent—His foreign policy—His pre-eminent\
influence in Rajwara—His first connexion with the\
English Government—Monson’s retreat—Gallant conduct\
and death of the Hara chief of Koila—Aid given by the\
Regent involves him with Holkar—Holkar comes to Kotah—Preparations\
to attack the capital—Singular interview with\
Zalim—Zalim’s agents at foreign courts—Alliance with Amir\
Khan, and the Pindari chiefs—Characteristic anecdotes—Zalim’s\
offensive policy—His domestic policy—Character of\
Maharao Ummed Singh—Zalim’s conduct towards him—Choice\
of ministers—Bishan Singh Faujdar—Dalil Khan\
Pathan—Circumvallation of Kotah—Foundation of the city\
Jhalrapatan—Mihrab Khan, commander of the forces | 1569
CHAPTER 10
The Rajput States invited to an alliance with the British Government—Zalim\
Singh the first to accept it—Marquess of Hastings\
sends an agent to his court—Confederation against the\
Pindaris—The Regent’s conduct during the war—Approbation\
and reward of his services—Peace throughout India—Death\
of Maharao Ummed Singh—Treaty and supplemental\
articles—Sons of Maharao Ummed Singh—Their characters—Sons\
of the Regent—State of parties—The Regent leaves\
the Chhaoni for Kotah—He proclaims Kishor Singh as successor\
of the late prince—His letter to the British agent, who\
repairs to Kotah—Dangerous illness of the Regent—Plots to\
overturn the order of succession—The Regent’s ignorance\
thereof—Intricate position of the British Government—Arguments\
in defence of the supplemental articles—Recognition\
of all rulers de facto the basis of our treaties—Kishor Singh\
refuses to acknowledge the supplemental articles—Consequences—The\
Regent blockades the Prince, and demands\
the surrender of his son Gordhandas—The Maharao breaks\
through the blockade—The British agent interposes—Surrender\
and exile of Gordhandas—Reconciliation of the\
Maharao and the Regent—Coronation of the Maharao—Mutual\
covenants executed—The Regent prohibits dand\
throughout Kotah—Reflections | 1577
CHAPTER 11
Banishment of Gordhandas, the natural son of the Regent—His\
reappearance in Malwa—Consequent renewal of dissensions\
at Kotah—The troops mutiny and join the Maharao—The\
Regent assaults the castle—Flight of the Maharao and party—Reception\
at Bundi—The Maharao’s second brother joins the\
Regent—Gordhandas’ attempt to join the Maharao frustrated—The\
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Maharao leaves Bundi—General sympathy for him—He\
arrives at Brindaban—Intrigues of Gordhandas and\
superior native officers of the British Government, who\
deceive the Maharao—Returns to Kotah at the head of a\
force—Summons the Haras to his standard—His demands—Supplemental\
article of the treaty considered—Embarrassing\
conduct of the Regent—The Maharao refuses all mediation—His\
ultimatum—British troops march—Junction with the\
Regent—Attack the Maharao—His defeat and flight—Death\
of his brother Pirthi Singh—Singular combat—Amnesty proclaimed—The\
Hara chiefs return to their families—The\
Maharao retires to the temple of Krishna in Mewar—Negotiation\
for his return—Satisfactory termination—Reflections on\
these civil wars—Character and death of Zalim Singh | 1595
BOOK XI
PERSONAL NARRATIVE: UDAIPUR TO KHERODA
CHAPTER 1
Departure from the valley of Udaipur—Lake of Kheroda—Ancient\
temple of Mandeswar—Bhartewar—Its Jain temples—Kheroda—Connected\
with the history of the feuds of\
Mewar—Exploits of Sangram Singh—He obtains Kheroda—Curious\
predicament of Jai Singh, the adopted heir of\
Sangram—Calmness with which political negotiations are\
managed in the East—The agricultural economy of Kheroda—Precarious\
nature of sugar-cultivation—Hinta—Large proportion\
of land alienated as religious grants—Hinta and\
Dundia established on church-lands—Mandhata Raja—Traditions\
of him—Performed the Aswamedha—His grant of\
Mainar to the Rishis—Grant inscribed on a pillar—Exploit\
of Raj Singh against the Mahrattas—Morwan, boundary of\
the Mewar territory—Reflections on that State—The Author’s\
policy during his official residence there | 1621
CHAPTER 2
The chief of Hinta—Difficulty of arranging the separation of\
Hinta from the fisc—Anomalous character of its present chief,\
Man Singh Saktawat—His history—Lalji Rawat of Nethara—Origin\
of the Dudia family—Adventure of Sangram Singh,\
the Rana of Mewar—His son, Chandrabhan, and Rana Raj—Extraordinary\
manner in which he acquired Lawa—Decline\
of the family—Form of deed of conveyance of lands from the\
lord paramount—Address of Man Singh—Atrocious murder\
of a Rathor boy—Its singular sequel | 1635
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CHAPTER 3
Morwan—The solitude of this fine district—Caused by the\
Mahrattas and their mercenaries—Impolicy of our conduct\
towards the Mahrattas—Antiquities of Morwan—Tradition\
of the foundation and destruction of the ancient city—Inscriptions—Jain\
temple—Game—Attack by a tiger—Sudden\
change of the weather—Destructive frost—Legend\
of a temple of Mama-devi—Important inscription—Distress\
of the peasantry—Gratitude of the people to the author—Nikumbh—Oppression\
of the peasants—Marla—Inhabited\
by Charans—Reception of the Author—Curious privilege of\
the Charanis—Its origin—Traditional account of the settlement\
of this colony in Mewar—Imprecation of Satis—The\
tandas, or caravans—Their immunity from plunder and extortion—Nimbahera—Ranikhera—Indignity\
committed by\
a scavenger of Laisrawan—Sentence upon the culprit—Tablet\
to a Silpi—Reception at Nimbahera | 1646
CHAPTER 4
The Patar or Table-land of Central India—View from thence—Project\
of a canal—Its advantages to Mewar—Utility of\
further works to the people—Traces of superstition in the\
Pathar—Temple of Sukhdeo—The Daitya-ka-har, or 'Giant’s\
bone'—The Vira-jhamp, or ‘Warrior’s Leap’—Proprietorship\
of the Patar—Its products—The poppy—Pernicious\
effects of its increased cultivation—Account of the introduction\
and mode of culture of opium—Original spot of its\
cultivation—The manufacture of opium kept pace with the\
depopulation of Mewar—Process of cultivation, and of manufacture—Its\
fluctuation of price—Adulterated opium of\
Kanthal—Evil consequences of the use of opium—Duty of\
the paramount power to restrict the culture—Practicability\
of such a measure—Distribution of crops—Impolicy of our\
Government in respect to the opium monopoly | 1660
CHAPTER 5
Dhareswar—Ratangarh Kheri—Colony of Charans—Little Atoa—Inscription\
at Paragarh—Dungar Singh—Sheo Singh—Law\
of adoption—Kala Megh—Ummedpura and its chief—Singoli—Temple\
of Bhavani—Tablet of Rana Mokal—Traditionary\
tales of the Haras—Alu Hara of Bumbaoda—Dangarmau—Singular\
effects produced by the sun on the\
atmosphere of the Patar | 1672
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CHAPTER 6
Bhainsrorgarh—Cairn of a Rajput—Raghunath Singh of Bhainsror—Castle\
of Bhainsror—Passage forced by the Chambal\
through the Plateau—Origin and etymology of Bhainsror—Charans,\
the carriers of Rajwara—The young chief of\
Mewa becomes the champion of Mewar—Avenges the Rana’s\
feud with Jaisalmer, and obtains Bhainsror—Tragical death\
of his Thakurani, niece of the Rana—He is banished—The\
Pramar chiefs of Bhainsror—Cause of their expulsion—Lal\
Singh Chondawat obtains Bhainsror—Assassinates his friend\
the Rana’s uncle—Man Singh, his son, succeeds—Is taken\
prisoner—Singular escape—Reflections on the policy of the\
British Government towards these people—Antiquities and\
inscriptions at Bhainsror—Dabhi—View from the pass at\
Nasera—Rajput cairns—Tomb of a bard—Sentiments of the\
people on the effects of our interference—Their gratitude—Cairn\
of a Bhatti chief—Karipur—Depopulated state of the\
country—Inscriptions at Sontra—Bhil temple—Ruins—The\
Holi festival—Kotah, its appearance | 1687
CHAPTER 7
Unhealthiness of the season at Kotah—Eventful character of the\
period of the Author’s residence there—The cuckoo—Description\
of the encampment—Cenotaphs of the Haras—Severe\
tax upon the curiosity of travellers in Kotah—General insalubrity\
of Kotah—Wells infected—Productive of fever—Taking\
leave of the Maharao and Regent—The Regent’s\
sorrow—Cross the Chambal—Restive elephant—Kanari—Regent’s\
patrimonial estate—Nanta—Author’s reception by\
Madho Singh—Rajput music—The Panjabi tappa—Scene of\
the early recreations of Zalim Singh—Talera—Nawagaon—Approach\
of the Raja of Bundi—Splendour of the cortège—Bundi—The\
castellated palace, or Bundi ka mahall—Visit to\
the Raja—Illness of our party—Quit Bundi—Cenotaphs in\
the village of Satur—The tutelary deity, Asapurna—Temple\
of Bhavani—Banks of the Mej—Thana—Inscriptions—Jahazpur—Respectable\
suite of the Basai chief | 1704
CHAPTER 8
Extraordinary attack of illness in the Author—Suspicion of poison—Journey\
to Mandalgarh—The Karar—Tranquil state of\
the country—The Minas subsiding into peaceful subjects—Scenery\
in the route—Sasan, or ecclesiastical lands—Castle\
of Amargarh—Kachaura—Its ancient importance—Our true\
policy with regard to the feudatories in these parts—Damnia—Manpura—Signs\
of reviving prosperity—Arrival at Mandalgarh—The\
Dasahra—Sickness of the party left behind—Assembly\
of the Bhumias and Patels—Description of Mandalgarh—Rebuilt\
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by one of the Takshak race—Legend of\
Mandalgarh—Genealogical tablet of stone—Pedigrees of the\
tribes—Mandalgarh granted to the Rathors by Aurangzeb—Recovered\
by the Rana—Taxes imposed—Lavish grants—Baghit—The\
Author rejoins his party——Akola—Desolation\
of the country—Inscriptions—Hamirgarh—Siyana—Superb\
landscape—Mirage—Testimony of gratitude\
from the elders of Pur—Thriving state of Marauli—Rasmi—Antiquities—Curious\
law—Jasma—Waste country—Inscriptions—Copper\
mines—Sanwar—Tribeni, or point of\
junction of three rivers—Temple of Parsvanath—Deserted\
state of the country—Karera—Maoli—Barren country—Hunting\
seat of Nahra-Magra—Heights of Tus and Merta—End\
of second journey | 1716
CHAPTER 9
The Author obliged to take a journey to Bundi—Cause of the\
journey—Sudden death of the Rao Raja, who left his son to\
the Author’s care—The cholera morbus, or mari—Its ravages—Curious\
expedient to exclude it from Kotah and Bundi—Bad\
weather—Death of the Author’s elephant—Pahona—Bhilwara—Gratifying\
reception of the Author—State of the\
town contrasted with its former condition—Projects for its\
further improvement—Reflections on its rise—Jahazpur—Difficulties\
of the road—Arrival at Bundi—The aspect of the\
court—Interview with the young Rao Raja—Attentions paid\
to the Author | 1732
CHAPTER 10
Ceremony of Rajtilak, or inauguration—Personal qualities of the\
Rao Raja and his brothers—The installation—The tilak first\
made by the Author, as representative of the British Government—Ceremonies—Message\
from the queen-mother—Balwant\
Rao, of Gotra—The Bohra, or chief minister—Power\
and disposition of these two officers—Arrangements made by\
the Author—Interview and conversation with the Rani—Literary\
and historical researches of the Author—Revenues of\
Bundi—Its prospects—Departure for Kotah—Condition of\
the junior branches of the Haras—Rauta—Grand hunts in\
Haraoti | 1740
CHAPTER 11
Pass of Mukunddarra—View from the summit of the pass into\
Pachel—Marks set up by the Banjaras—Monastery of Atits,\
or Jogis—Their savage aspect—The author elected a chela—The\
head of the establishment—His legend of the origin of\
the epithet Sesodia—The grand temple of Barolli—Conjecture\
as to its founder—Barolli | 1750
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CHAPTER 12
The Chulis, or whirlpools of the Chambal—Grandeur of the scene—Description\
of the falls and rocks of the Chambal in this part—The\
remarkable narrowness of its bed—The roris, or stones\
found in the whirlpools—Visit to Gangabheva—Its magnificent\
temple and shrines—The details of their architecture—The\
main temple more modern than the shrines around it—Dilapidation\
of these fine specimens of art—Effects of vegetation—The\
gigantic amarvela—Naoli—Takaji-ka-kund,\
or fountain of the snake-king—Fragments of sculpture—Mausoleum\
of Jaswant Rao Holkar—Holkar’s horse—His\
elephant—Bhanpura—Tranquillity and prosperity of these\
parts—Garot—Traces of King Satal Patal, of the era of the\
Pandus—Agates and cornelians—The caves of Dhumnar—Description\
of the caves and temples—Explanation of the\
figures—Jain symbols on one side of the caves, Brahman\
on the other—Statues of the Jain pontiffs—Bhim’s bazar | 1764
CHAPTER 13
Route over the ground of Monson’s retreat—Battle of Pipli—Heroism\
of Amar Singh Hara, chief of Koila—Conduct of\
General Monson—Pachpahar—Kanwara—Thriving aspect\
of the country—Jhalrapatan—Temples—Commercial immunities\
of the city—Judicious measures of the Regent in\
establishing this mart—Public visit of the community of\
Patan—The ancient city—Legends of its foundation—Profusion\
of ancient ruins—Fine sculpture and architecture of\
the temples—Inscriptions—Cross the natural boundary of\
Haraoti and Malwa—The Chhaoni of the Kotah Regent—Chhaoni\
of the Pindaris—Gagraun—Narayanpur—Mukunddarra\
Pass—Inscriptions—Anecdotes of the 'Lords of the\
Pass'—The Chaori of Bhim—Ruins—Ordinances of the\
Hara princes—Return to Kotah—Field sports—Author\
attacked by a bear—Ruins of Ekelgarh | 1777
CHAPTER 14
Visit to Menal—Definition of the servile condition termed basai—Bijolia—Inscriptions—Ancient\
history of Bijolli—Evidence\
that the Chauhans wrested the throne of Delhi from the Tuars—Jain\
temples—Inscriptions—Saiva temples—Prodigious\
extent of ruins—The Bijolli chief—His daughter a Sati—Menal,\
or Mahanal—Its picturesque site—Records of Prithiraj,\
the Chauhan—Inscriptions—Synchronism in an\
enigmatical date—March to Begun—Bumbaoda, the castle\
of Alu Hara—Legends of that chief—Imprecation of the\
virgin Sati—Recollections of the Haras still associated with\
their ancient traditions—Quit Bumbaoda and arrive at Begun | 1796
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CHAPTER 15
Begun—Serious accident to the Author—Affecting testimony of\
the gratitude of the Rawat—Expulsion of the Mahrattas from\
Begun—The estates of the Rawat sequestrated—Restored—Basai—Chitor—‘Akbar’s\
Lamp’—Reflections upon the\
Ruins of Chitor—Description of the city, from the Khuman\
Raesa, and from observation—Tour of the city—Origin of\
the Bagrawat class—Inscriptions—Aged Fakir—Return to\
Udaipur—Conclusion | 1810
APPENDIX | 1828
INDEX | 1837
.ta-
.bn 022.png
.bn 023.png
.pn +2
.sp 4
.h2
ILLUSTRATIONS
.ta l:55 r:15
Colonel Tod and his Jain Guru | Frontispiece
| TO FACE PAGE
Raghubīr Singh, Māhārāo Rāja of Būndi | #1441:i1441#
City of Kotah from the East | #1521:i1521#
Country Seat of the Kotah Prince | #1530:i1530#
Palace and Fortress of Būndi | #1710:i1710#
Fragment from the Ruins of Barolli | #1752:i1752#
Outline of a Temple to Mahadeva at Barolli | #1754:i1754#
Sculptured Niche on the Exterior of the Temple at Barolli | #1756:i1756#
Ceiling of the Portico of Temple at Barolli | #1758:i1758#
Remains of an Ancient Temple at Barolli, near the Chambal |#1760:i1760#
Temples of Ganga Bheva in the Forest of Pachail in Mewar | #1766:i1766#
Smaller Group of Temples of Ganga Bheva | #1768:i1768#
Image of the Snake King at the Fountain of the Amjar | #1770:i1770#
Cave Temples of Dhamnar | #1776:i1776#
Entrance to the Sanctuary of a Temple at Chandravati | #1784:i1784#
Sculptured Foliage in Chandravati Temple | #1786:i1786#
Sculptured Ceilings of Temple at Chandravati | #1788:i1788#
Columns of Chandravati Temples | #1790:i1790#
Entrance to the Sanctuary of a Temple at Chandravati | #1792:i1792#
Ruins of Bhīm’s Chaori in the Mukunddara Pass | #1794:i1794#
Ancient Columns in the Mukunddara Pass | #1796:i1796#
Temples of Menāl in Mewār | #1800:i1800#
Second Group of Temples of Menāl in Mewār | #1802:i1802#
Jaistambha, Pillar of Victory | #1820:i1820#
Columns in the Fortress of Chitor | #1822:i1822#
.ta-
.bn 024.png
.bn 025.png
.pn 1257
.nf c
ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES
OF RAJASTHAN
.nf-
.sp 4
.h2 nobreak
BOOK VIII | SKETCH OF THE INDIAN DESERT
.sp 4
.h3 nobreak
CHAPTER 1
.sp 2
Having never penetrated personally farther into the heart of
the desert than Mandor, the ancient capital of all Marusthali, the
old castle of Hissar on its north-eastern frontier, and Abu, Nahrwala,
and Bhuj, to the south, it may be necessary, before entering
upon the details, to deprecate the charge of presumption or incompetency,
by requesting the reader to bear in mind that my
parties of discovery have traversed it in every direction, adding to
their journals of routes living testimonies of their accuracy, and
bringing to me natives of every thal from Bhatner to Umarkot,
and from Abu to Aror.[8.1.1] I wish it, however, to be clearly understood,
that I look upon this as a mere outline, which, by showing
what might be done, may stimulate further research; but in the
existing dearth of information on the subject I have not hesitated
to send it forth, with its almost inevitable errors, as (I trust) a
pioneer to more extended and accurate knowledge.
.fn 8.1.1
The journals of all these routes, with others of Central and Western
India, form eleven moderate-sized folio volumes, from which an itinerary
of these regions might be constructed. It was my intention to have drawn
up a more perfect and detailed map from these, but my health forbids the
attempt. They are now deposited in the archives of the Company, and
may serve, if judiciously used, to fill up the only void in the great map of
India, executed by their commands.
.fn-
After premising thus much, let us commence with details,
which, but for the reasons already stated, should have been
comprised in the geographical portion of the work, and which,
though irrelevant to the historical part, are too important to
.bn 026.png
.pn +1
be \[290] thrown into notes. I may add, that the conclusions
formed, partly from personal observation, but chiefly from the
resources described above, have been confirmed by the picture
drawn by Mr. Elphinstone of his passage through the northern
desert in the embassy to Kabul, which renders perfectly satisfactory
to me the views I before entertained. It may be well, at
this stage, to mention that some slight repetitions must occur as
we proceed, having incidentally noticed many of the characteristic
features of the desert in the Annals of Bikaner, which was unavoidable
from the position of that
Description of the Desert.—The hand of Nature has defined, in
the boldest characters, the limits of the great desert of India, and
we only require to follow minutely the line of demarcation;
though, in order to be distinctly understood, we must repeat the
analysis of the term Marusthali, the emphatic appellation of this
‘region of death.’ The word is compounded of the Sanskrit mri,
‘to die,’ and sthala, ‘arid or dry land,’ which last, in the corrupted
dialect of those countries, becomes thal, the converse of the Greek
oasis, denoting tracts particularly sterile. Each thal has its
distinct denomination, as the ‘thal of Kawa,’ the ‘thal of Guga,’
etc.; and the cultivated spots, compared with these, either as to
number or magnitude, are so scanty, that instead of the ancient
Roman simile, which likened Africa to the leopard’s hide, reckoning
the spots thereon as the oases, I would compare the Indian
desert to that of the tiger, of which the long dark stripes would
indicate the expansive belts of sand, elevated upon a plain
only less sandy, and over whose surface numerous thinly-peopled
towns and hamlets are scattered.
Boundaries of the Desert.—Marusthali is bounded on the north
by the flat skirting the Ghara; on the south by that grand salt-marsh,
the Ran, and Koliwara; on the east by the Aravalli; and
on the west by the valley of Sind. The two last boundaries are
the most conspicuous, especially the Aravalli, but for which impediment
Central India would be submerged in sand; nay, lofty
and continuous as is this chain, extending almost from the sea to
Delhi, wherever there are passages or depressions, these floating
sand-clouds are wafted through or over, and form a little thal even
in the bosom of fertility. Whoever has crossed the Banas near
Tonk, where the sand for some miles resembles waves of the
sea, will comprehend this remark. Its western boundary is alike
.bn 027.png
.pn +1
defined, and will recall to the English traveller, who may be
destined to journey up the valley of Sind, the words of Napoleon
on the Libyan desert: “Nothing so much resembles the sea as
the desert; or a coast, as the valley of the Nile”: for this substitute
‘Indus’ \[291], whence in journeying northward along its
banks from Haidarabad to Uchh, the range of vision will be
bounded to the east by a bulwark of sand, which, rising often to
the height of two hundred feet above the level of the river, leads
one to imagine that the chasm, now forming this rich valley, must
have originated in a sudden melting of all the glaciers of Caucasus,
whose congregated waters made this break in the continuity of
Marusthali, which would otherwise be united with the deserts of
We may here repeat the tradition illustrating the geography
of the desert, i.e. that in remote ages it was ruled by princes of
the Panwar (Pramara) race, which the sloka, or verse of the bard,
recording the names of the nine fortresses (Nau-koti Maru-ki), so
admirably adapted by their position to maintain these regions in
subjection, further corroborates. We shall divest it of its metrical
form, and begin with Pugal, to the north; Mandor, in the centre
of all Maru; Abu, Kheralu, and Parkar, to the south; Chhotan,
Umarkot, Aror, and Lodorva, to the west; the possession of
which assuredly marks the sovereignty of the desert. The
antiquity of this legend is supported by the omission of all modern
cities, the present capital of the Bhattis not being mentioned.
Even Lodorva and Aror, cities for ages in ruins, are names known
only to a few who frequent the desert; and Chhotan and Kheralu,
but for the traditional stanzas which excited our research, might
never have appeared on the map.
Natural Divisions of the Desert.—We purpose to follow the
natural divisions of the country, or those employed by the natives,
who, as stated above, distinguish them as thals; and after
describing these in detail, with a summary notice of the principal
towns whether ruined or existing, and the various tribes, conclude
with the chief lines of route diverging from, or leading to,
Jaisalmer.
The whole of Bikaner, and that part of Shaikhavati north of
the Aravalli, are comprehended in the desert. If the reader will
refer to the map, and look for the town of Kanod,[8.1.2] within the
.bn 028.png
.pn +1
British frontier, he will see what Mr. Elphinstone considered as
the commencement of the desert, in his interesting expedition to
Kabul.[8.1.3] “From Delly to Canound (the Kanorh of my map), a
distance of one hundred miles is through the British dominions,
and need not be described. It is sufficient to say that the country
is sandy, though not ill cultivated. On approaching Canound, we
had the first specimen of the desert, to which we were looking
forward with anxious curiosity. Three miles before reaching
that place we came to sand-hills, which at first were \[292] covered
with bushes, but afterwards were naked piles of loose sand, rising
one after another like the waves of the sea, and marked on the
surface by the wind like drifted snow. There were roads through
them, made solid by the treading of animals; but off the road
our horses sunk into the sand above the knee.” Such was the
opening scene; the route of the embassy was by Singhana,
Jhunjhunu, to Chum, when they entered Bikaner. Of Shaikhavati,
which he had just left, Mr. Elphinstone says: “It seems to
lose its title to be included in the desert, when compared with the
two hundred and eighty miles between its western frontier and
Bahawulpoor, and, even of this, only the last hundred miles is
absolutely destitute of inhabitants, water, or vegetation. Our
journey from Shekhavati to Poogul was over hills and valleys of
loose and heavy sand. The hills were exactly like those which
are sometimes formed by the wind on the seashore, but far
exceeding them in height, which was from twenty to a hundred
feet. They are said to shift their position and alter their shapes
according as they are affected by the wind; and in summer the
passage is rendered dangerous by the clouds of moving sand; but
when I saw the hills (in winter), they seemed to have a great
degree of permanence, for they bore grass, besides phoke, the
babool, and bair or jujube, which altogether give them an appearance
that sometimes amounted to verdure. Amongst the most
dismal hills of sand one occasionally meets with a village, if such
a name can be given to a few round huts of straw, with low walls
and conical roofs, like little stacks of corn.” This description of
the northern portion of the desert, by an author whose great
characteristics are accuracy and simplicity, will enable the reader
to form a more correct notion of what follows.[8.1.4]
.fn 8.1.2
[Kānod Mohindargarh in Patiāla State (IGI, xvii. 385).]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.3
It left Delhi October 13, 1808.
.fn-
.fn 8.1.4
“Our marches,” says Mr. Elphinstone, “were seldom very long. The
longest was twenty-six miles, and the shortest fifteen; but the fatigue
which our people suffered bore no proportion to the distance. Our line,
when in the closest order, was two miles long. The path by which we
travelled wound much, to avoid the sand-hills. It was too narrow to allow
of two camels going abreast; and if an animal stepped to one side, it sunk
in the sand as in snow,” etc. etc.—Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, ed.
1842, vol. i. p. 11.
.fn-
.bn 029.png
.pn +1
With these remarks, and bearing in mind what has already
been said of the physiography of these regions, we proceed to
particularize the various thals and oases in this ‘region of death.’
It will be convenient to disregard the ancient Hindu geographical
division, which makes Mandor the capital of Marusthali, a distinction
both from its character and position better suited to Jaisalmer,
being nearly in the centre of what may be termed entire desert.
It is in fact an oasis, everywhere insulated by immense masses of
thal, some of which are forty miles in breadth, without the trace
of man, or aught that could subsist him. From Jaisalmer we
shall pass to Marwar, and without crossing the Luni, describe
Jalor and Siwanchi; then conduct the \[293] reader into the
almost unknown Raj of Parkar and Virawah,[8.1.5] governed by
princes of the Chauhan race, with the title of Rana. Thence,
skirting the political limits of modern Rajputana, to the regions
of Dhat and Umra-sumra, now within the dominion of Sind, we
shall conclude with a very slight sketch of Daudputra, and the
valley of the Indus. These details will receive further illustration
from the remarks made on every town or hamlet diverging from
the ‘hill of Jaisal’ (Jaisalmer). Could the beholder, looking
westward from this ‘triple-peaked hill,’[8.1.6] across this sandy ocean
to the blue waters (Nilab)[8.1.7] of the Indus, embrace in his vision
its whole course from Haidarabad to Uchh, he would perceive,
amidst these valleys of sand-hills, little colonies of animated
beings, congregated on every spot which water renders habitable.
Throughout this tract, from four hundred to five hundred miles
in longitudinal extent, and from one hundred to two hundred
of diagonal breadth, are little hamlets, consisting of the scattered
huts of the shepherds of the desert, occupied in pasturing their
.bn 030.png
.pn +1
flocks or cultivating these little oases for food. He may discern
a long line of camels (called kitar, a name better known than either
kafila or karwan), anxiously toiling through the often doubtful
path, and the Charan conductor, at each stage, tying a knot on
the end of his turban. He may discover, lying in ambush, a
band of Sahariyas, the Bedouins of our desert (sahra),[8.1.8] either
mounted on camels or horses, on the watch to despoil the caravan,
or engaged in the less hazardous occupation of driving off the
flocks of the Rajar or Mangalia shepherds, peacefully tending
them about the tars or bawas, or hunting for the produce stored
amidst the huts of the ever-green jhal,[8.1.9] which serve at once as
grain-pits and shelter from the sun. A migratory band may be
seen flitting with their flocks from ground which they have
exhausted, in search of fresh pastures:
.pm start_poem
And if the following day they chance to find
A new repast, or an untasted spring,
Will bless their stars, and think it luxury!
.pm end_poem
.ti 0
Or they may be seen preparing the rabri, a mess quite analogous to
the kouskous of their Numidian brethren, or quenching their
thirst from the Wah of their little oasis, of which they maintain
sovereign possession so long as the pasture lasts, or till they come
in conflict with some more powerful community.
.fn 8.1.5
[In Sind, on the N. shore of the Great Rann, about 10 miles from
Nagar-Pārkar.]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.6
Trikuta, the epithet bestowed on the rock on which the castle of
Jaisalmer is erected.
.fn-
.fn 8.1.7
A name often given by Ferishta to the Indus.
.fn-
.fn 8.1.8
[As has been already stated, Sahariya has no connexion with Arabic
Sahra, ‘desert.’]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.9
[Jhāl, of which there are two varieties, large and small, Salvadora
persica and S. oleoides.]
.fn-
Oasis.—We may here pause to consider whether in the bah,
bawa, or wah, of the Indian desert, may not be found the oasis
of the Greeks, corrupted by them from el-wah, or, as written by
Belzoni (in his account of the Libyan desert, while searching for
the \[294] temple of Ammon), Elloah. Of the numerous terms
used to designate water in these arid regions, as par, rar, tar, dah
or daha, bah, bawa, wah, all but the latter are chiefly applicable
to springs or pools of water, while the last (wah), though used
often in a like sense, applies more to a water-course or stream.
El-wah, under whatever term, means—‘the water.’ Again, daha
or dah is a term in general use for a pool, even not unfrequently
in running streams and large rivers, which, ceasing to flow in
.bn 031.png
.pn +1
dry weather, leave large stagnant masses, always called dah.
There are many of the streams of Rajputana, having such pools,
particularized as hathi-dah, or ‘elephant-pool,’ denoting a sufficiency
of water even to drown that animal. Now the word dah
or daha, added to the generic term for water, wah, would make
wadi (pool of water), the Arabian term for a running stream, and
commonly used by recent travellers in Africa for these habitable
spots. If the Greeks took the word wadi from any MS., the
transposition would be easily accounted for: wadi would be
written thus وازي, and by the addition of a point وازي, wazi,
easily metamorphosed, for a euphonous termination, into oasis.[8.1.10]
.fn 8.1.10
When I penned this conjectural etymology, I was not aware that any
speculation had been made upon this word: I find, however, the late
M. Langlés suggested the derivation of oasis (variously written by the Greeks
[Greek: au)/asis], [Greek: i)/asis] and [Greek: ua(/sis], [Greek: o)/asis], [[Greek: au)/asis] is the only other recognized form]) from
the Arabic واح: and Dr. Wait, in a series of interesting etymologies (see
Asiatic Journal, May 1830), suggests वसि, vasi from वस, vas, ‘to inhabit.’
Vasi and [Greek: u(/asis] quasi vasis are almost identical. My friend, Sir W. Ouseley,
gave me nearly the same signification of وادي, Wadi, as appears in Johnson’s
edition of Richardson, namely, a valley, a desert, a channel of a river—a
river; وادي, wadi-al-kabir, ‘the great river,’ corrupted into Guadalquiver,
which example is also given in d’Herbelot (see Vadi Gehennem), and
by Thompson, who traces the word water through all the languages of
Europe—the Saxon waeter, the Greek [Greek: u)/dôr], the Islandic udr, the Slavonic
wod (whence woder and oder, ‘a river’): all appear derivable from the
Arabic wad, ‘a river’—or the Sanskrit wah; and if Dr. W. will refer to
p. #1322# of the Itinerary, he will find a singular confirmation of his etymology
in the word bas (classically vas) applied to one of these habitable spots. The
word basti, also of frequent occurrence therein, is from basna, to inhabit;
vasi, an inhabitant; or vas, a habitation, perhaps derivable from wah,
indispensable to an oasis! [The New English Dict. gives Lat. oasis, Greek
[Greek: o)/asis], apparently of Egyptian origin; cf. Coptic ouahe (whence Egyptian
Arabic wāh), ‘dwelling-place, oasis,’ from ouih, ‘to dwell.’]
.fn-
At the risk of somewhat of repetition, we must here point out
the few grand features which diversify this sea of sand, and after
defining the difference between rui and thal, which will frequently
occur in the itinerary, at once plunge in medias res.
The Lost River of the Desert.—We have elsewhere mentioned
the tradition of the absorption of the Ghaggar river, as one of the
causes of the comparative depopulation of the northern desert.
The couplet recording it I could not recall at the time, nor any
.bn 032.png
.pn +1
record of the Sodha prince Hamir, in whose reign this phenomenon
is said to have happened. But the utility of these ancient
traditional couplets, to which I have frequently drawn the
reader’s attention, has again been happily illustrated, for the
name of Hamir has been incidentally discovered from the trivial
circumstance of an intermarriage related in the Bhatti annals.
His contemporary of Jaisalmer was Dusaj, who succeeded in
S. 1100 or \[295] A.D. 1044, so that we have a precise date assigned,
supposing this to be the Hamir in question. The Ghaggar, which
rises in the Siwalik, passes Hansi Hissar, and flowed under the
walls of Bhatner, at which place they yet have their wells in its
bed. Thence it passed Rangmahall, Balar, and Phulra, and
through the flats of Khadal (of which Derawar is the capital),
emptying itself according to some below Uchh, but according to
Abu-Barakat (whom I sent to explore in 1809, and who crossed
the dry bed of a stream called the Khaggar, near Shahgarh),
between Jaisalmer and Rori-Bakhar. If this could be authenticated,
we should say at once that, united with the branch from
Dara, it gave its name to the Sangra, which unites with the Luni,
enlarging the eastern branch of the Delta of the Indus.[8.1.11]
.fn 8.1.11
[See IGI, xii. 212 f.; E. H. Aitken, Gazetteer of Sind, 4; Calcutta
Review, 1874; JRAS, xxv. 49 ff.]
.fn-
The Lūni River.—The next, and perhaps most remarkable
feature in the desert, is the Luni, or Salt River, which, with its
numerous feeders, has its source in the springs of the Aravalli.
Of Marwar it is a barrier between the fertile lands and the desert;
and as it leaves this country for the thal of the Chauhans, it
divides that community, and forms a geographical demarcation;
the eastern portion being called the Raj of Suigam; and the
western part, Parkar, or beyond the Khar, or Luni.[8.1.12]
.fn 8.1.12
[The derivation of Pārkar is unknown; that suggested in the text is
impossible.]
.fn-
The Rann of Cutch.—We shall hereafter return to the country
of the Chauhans, which is bounded to the south by that singular
feature in the physiognomy of the desert, the Rann, or Ran,
already slightly touched upon in the geographical sketch prefixed
to this work. This immense salt-marsh, upwards of one hundred
and fifty miles in breadth, is formed chiefly by the Luni, which,
like the Rhone, after forming Lake Leman, resumes its name at
its further outlet, and ends as it commences with a sacred character,
.bn 033.png
.pn +1
having the temple of Narayan[8.1.13] at its embouchure, where
it mingles with the ocean, and that of Brahma at its source of
Pushkar. The Rann, or Ran, is a corruption of Aranya, or ‘the
waste’;[8.1.14] nor can anything in nature be more dreary in the dry
weather than this parched desert of salt and mud, the peculiar
abode of the khar-gadha, or wild-ass, whose love of solitude has
been commemorated by an immortal pen.[8.1.15] That this enormous
depository of salt is of no recent formation we are informed by the
Greek writers, whose notice it did not escape, and who have
preserved in Erinos a nearer approximation to the original
Aranya than exists in our Ran or Rann. Although mainly
indebted to the Luni for its salt, whose bed and that of its feeders
are covered with saline deposits, it is also supplied by the overflowings
of the Indus, to which grand stream it may be indebted
for its volume of water. We have here another strong point of
physical resemblance between the valleys of the Indus and the
Nile, which Napoleon \[296] at once referred to the simple operations
of nature; I allude to the origin of Lake Moeris, a design
too vast for man.[8.1.16]
.fn 8.1.13
[Nārāyansar, an important place of pilgrimage, with interesting
temples, is situated at the Kori entrance of the W. Rann (BG, v. 245 ff.).]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.14
[Or irina, Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 2nd ed. 774.]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.15
[Equus hemionus (Blanford, Mammalia of India, 470 f.; Job xxxix.
5 ff.).]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.16
“The greatest breadth of the valley of the Nile is four leagues, the
least, one”; so that the narrowest portion of the valley of Sind equals the
largest of the Nile. Egypt alone is said to have had eight millions of
inhabitants; what then might Sind maintain! The condition of the
peasantry, as described by Bourrienne, is exactly that of Rajputana; “The
villages are fiefs belonging to any one on whom the prince may bestow
them; the peasantry pay a tax to their superior, and are the actual proprietors
of the soil; amidst all the revolutions and commotions, their
privileges are not infringed.” This right (still obtaining), taken away by
Joseph, was restored by Sesostris.
.fn-
Thal, Rūi.—As the reader will often meet with the words thal
and rui, he should be acquainted with the distinction between
them. The first means an arid and bare desert; the other is
equally expressive of desert, but implies the presence of natural
vegetation; in fact, the jungle of the desert.
Thal of the Luni.—This embraces the tracts on both sides of
the river, forming Jalor and its dependencies. Although the
region south of the stream cannot be included in the thal, yet it
.bn 034.png
.pn +1
is so intimately connected with it, that we shall not forego the
only opportunity we may have of noticing it.
Jālor.—This tract is one of the most important divisions of
Marwar. It is separated from Siwanchi by the Sukri and Khari,[8.1.17]
which, with many smaller streams, flow through them from the
Aravalli and Abu, aiding to fertilize its three hundred and sixty
towns and villages, forming a part of the fiscal domains of Marwar.
Jalor, according to the geographical stanza so often quoted, was
one of the ‘nine castles of Maru,’ when the Pramar held paramount
rule in Marusthali. When it was wrested from them we
have no clue to discover;[8.1.18] but it had long been held by the
Chauhans, whose celebrated defence of their capital against
Alau-d-din, in A.D. 1301, is recorded by Ferishta, as well as in the
chronicles of their bards. This branch of the Chauhan race was
called Mallani, and will be again noticed, both here and in the
annals of Haraoti. It formed that portion of the Chauhan
sovereignty called the Hapa Raj, whose capital was Juna-Chhotan,
connecting the sway of this race in the countries along the Luni
from Ajmer to Parkar, which would appear to have crushed its
Agnikula brother, the Pramar, and possessed all that region
marked by the course of the ‘Salt River’ to Parkar.
.fn 8.1.17
Another salt river.
.fn-
.fn 8.1.18
[The Chauhān Rāo Kīrttipāl took it from the Pramāras towards the
end of the twelfth century, and Kānardeo Chauhān lost it to Alāu-d-dīn
(Erskine iii. A. 199 f.). In Briggs’ translation of Ferishta (i. 370) the place
is called Jalwar, and the King Nāhardeo.]
.fn-
Sonagir, the ‘golden mount,’ is the more ancient name of this
castle, and was adopted by the Chauhans as distinctive of their
tribe, when the older term, Mallani, was dropped for Sonigira.
Here they enshrined their tutelary divinity, Mallinath, ‘god of
the Malli,’ who maintained his position until the sons of Siahji
entered these regions, when the name of Sonagir was exchanged
for that of Jalor, contracted from Jalandharnath, whose shrine
is about a coss west of the castle. Whether Jalandharnath \[297],
the ‘divinity of Jalandhar,’ was imported from the Ganges, or
left as well as the god of the Malli by the ci-devant Mallanis, is
uncertain: but should this prove to be a remnant of the foes of
Alexander, driven by him from Multan,[8.1.19] its probability is increased
.bn 035.png
.pn +1
by the caves of Jalandhar (so celebrated as a Hindu pilgrimage
even in Babur’s time) being in their vicinity. Be this as it may,
the Rathors, like the Roman conquerors, have added these indigenous
divinities to their own pantheon. The descendants of
the expatriated Sonigiras now occupy the lands of Chitalwana,
near the furca of the Luni.
.fn 8.1.19
Multan and Juna (Chhotan, qu. Chauhan-tan?) have the same signification,
‘the ancient abode,’ and both were occupied by the tribe of Malli or
Mallani, said to be of Chauhan race; and it is curious to find at Jalor
(classically Jalandhar) the same divinities as in their haunts in the Panjab,
namely, Mallinath, Jalandharnath, and Balnath. says, “The
cell of Balnath is in the middle of Sindsagar”; and Babur (Elliot-Dowson
ii. 450, iv. 240, 415, v. 114, Āīn, ii. 315) places “Balnath-jogi below the hill
of Jud, five marches east of the Indus,” the very spot claimed by the Yadus,
when led out of India by their deified leader Baldeo, or Balnath.
.fn-
Jalor comprehends the inferior districts of Siwanchi, Bhinmal,
Sanchor, Morsin, all attached to the khalisa or fisc; besides the
great pattayats, or chieftainships, of Bhadrajan, Mewa, Jasola,
and Sindari—a tract of ninety miles in length, and nearly the
same in breadth, with fair soil, water near the surface, and
requiring only good government to make it as productive as any
of its magnitude in these regions, and sufficient to defray the
whole personal expenses of the Rajas of Jodhpur, or about nine
lakhs of rupees; but in consequence of the anarchy of the capital,
the corruption of the managers, and the raids of the Sahariyas
of the desert and the Minas of Abu and the Aravalli, it is deplorably
deteriorated. There are several ridges (on one of which is the
castle) traversing the district, but none uniting with the table-land
of Mewar, though with breaks it may be traced to near Abu. In
one point it shows its affinity to the desert, i.e. in its vegetable
productions, for it has no other timber than the jhal, the babul,
the karil, and other shrubs of the thal.
The important fortress of Jalor, guarding the southern frontier
of Marwar, stands on the extremity of the range extending north
to Siwana. It is from three to four hundred feet in height,
fortified with a wall and bastions, on some of which cannon are
mounted. It has four gates; that from the town is called the
Suraj-pol, and to the north-west is the Bal-pol (‘the gate of Bal,’
the sun-god), where there is a shrine of the Jain pontiff, Parsvanath.
There are many wells, and two considerable baoris, or
reservoirs of good water, and to the north a small lake formed by
damming up the streams from the hills; but the water seldom
lasts above half the year. The town \[298], which contains three
.bn 036.png
.pn +1
thousand and seventeen houses, extends on the north and eastern
side of the fort, having the Sukri flowing about a mile east of it.
It has a circumvallation as well as the castle, having guns for its
defence; and is inhabited by every variety of tribe, though,
strange to say, there are only five families of Rajputs in its motley
population. The following census was made by one of my
parties, in A.D. 1813:
.ta h:38 r:7 w=90% bl=n
| Houses.
Malis, or gardeners | 140
Telis, or oilmen, here called Ghanchi | 100
Kumhars, or potters | 60
Thatheras, or braziers | 30
Chhipis, or printers | 20
Bankers, merchants, and shopkeepers | 1156
Musalman families | 936
Khatiks, or butchers | 20
Nais, or barbers | 16
Kalals, or spirit-distillers | 20
Weavers | 100
Silk weavers | 15
Yatis (Jain priests) | 2
Brahmans | 100
Gujars | 40
Rajputs | 5
Bhojaks[8.1.20] | 20
Minas | 60
Bhils | 15
Sweetmeat shops | 8
Ironsmiths and carpenters (Lohars and Sutars) | 14
Churiwalas, or bracelet-manufacturers | 4
.ta-
.fn 8.1.20
[Bhojak, ‘a feeder,’ a term usually applied to those Brāhmans who are
fed after a death, in order to pass on the food to the spirit.]
.fn-
The general accuracy of this census was confirmed.
Sīwāna.—Siwanchi is the tract between the Luni and Sukri,
of which Siwana, a strong castle placed on the extremity of the
same range with Jalor, is the capital. The country requires no
particular description, being of the same nature as that just
depicted. In former times it constituted, together with Nagor,
the appanage of the heir-apparent of Marwar; but since the
.bn 037.png
.pn +1
setting-up of the pretender, Dhonkal Singh, both have been
attached to the fisc: in fact, there is no heir to Maru! Ferishta
mentions the defence of Siwana against the arms of Alau-d-din.[8.1.21]
.fn 8.1.21
[Ferishta (i. 369) calls the Rāja Sītaldeo; Amīr Khusru (Elliot-Dowson
iii. 78, 550, v. 166) Sutaldeo.]
.fn-
Machola, Morsin.—Machola and Morsin are the two principal
dependencies of Jalor within the Luni, the former having a strong
castle guarding its south-east frontier against the \[299] depredations
of the Minas; the latter, which has also a fort and town of
five hundred houses, is on the western extremity of Jalor.
Bhīnmāl, Sānchor.—Bhinmal and Sanchor are the two principal
subdivisions to the south, and together nearly equal the
remainder of the province, each containing eighty villages. These
towns are on the high-road to Cutch and Gujarat, which has given
them from the most remote times a commercial celebrity. Bhinmal
is said to contain fifteen hundred houses, and Sanchor about
half the number.[8.1.22] Very wealthy Mahajans, or ‘merchants,’ used
to reside here, but insecurity both within and without has much
injured these cities, the first of which has its name, Mal (not Mahl,
as in the map), from its wealth as a mart.[8.1.23] There is a temple of
Baraha (Varaha, the incarnation of the hog), with a great sculptured
boar. Sanchor possesses also a distinct celebrity from being
the cradle of a class of Brahmans called Sanchora, who are the
officiating priests of some of the most celebrated temples in these
regions, as that of Dwarka, Mathura, Pushkar, Nagar-Parkar,
etc.[8.1.24] The name of Sanchor is corrupted from Satipura, Sati, or
Suttee’s town, said to be very ancient.
.fn 8.1.22
[The population of these towns is now respectively 4545 and 2066.]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.23
[The old name was Srīmāl or Bhillamāla, which Erskine (iii. A. 194)
identifies with Pi-lo-mo-lo of Hiuen Tsiang. But Beal (Buddhist Records
of the Western World, ii. 270) transliterates this name as Bālmer or Bārmer.]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.24
[For the Sāchora or Sānchora Brāhmans see BG, ix. Part i. 18; Erskine
iii. A. 84.]
.fn-
Bhadrājan.—A slight notice is due to the principal fiefs of
Jalor, as well as the fiscal towns of this domain. Bhadrajan is a
town of five hundred houses (three-fourths of which are of the
Mina class), situated in the midst of a cluster of hills, having a
small fort. The chief is of the Jodha clan; his fief connects
Jalor with Pali in Godwar.
Mewa.—Mewa is a celebrated little tract on both banks of the
Luni, and one of the first possessions of the Rathors. It is,
.bn 038.png
.pn +1
properly speaking, in Siwanchi, to which it pays a tribute, besides
service when required. The chief of Mewa has the title of Rawal,
and his usual residence is the town of Jasol. Surat Singh is the
present chief; his relative, Surajmall, holds the same title, and
the fief and castle of Sandri, also on the Luni, twenty-two miles
south of Jasol. A feud reigns between them; they claim co-equal
rights, and the consequence is that neither can reside at Mewa,
the capital of the domain. Both chiefs deemed the profession of
robber no disgrace, when this memoir was written (1813); but it
is to be hoped they have seen the danger, if not the error, of their
ways, and will turn to cultivating the fertile tracts along the
‘Salt River,’ which yield wheat, juar, and bajra in abundance.
Bālotra, Tīlwāra.—Balotra, Tilwara, are two celebrated names
in the geography of this region, and have an annual fair, as renowned
in Rajputana as that of Leipsic in Germany. Though
called the Balotra mela (literally, 'an assemblage, or \[300] concourse
of people'), it was held at Tilwara, several miles south,[8.1.25] near an
island of the Luni, which is sanctified by a shrine of Mallinath,
‘the divinity of the Malli,’ who, as already mentioned, is now the
patron god of the Rathors. Tilwara forms the fief of another
relative of the Mewa family, and Balotra, which ought to belong
to the fisc, did and may still belong to Awa, the chief noble of
Marwar. But Balotra and Sandri have other claims to distinction,
having, with the original estate of Dunara, formed the fief of
Durgadas, the first character in the annals of Maru, and whose
descendant yet occupies Sandri. The fief of Mewa, which includes
them all, was rated at fifty thousand rupees annually. The
Pattayats with their vassalage occasionally go to court, but hold
themselves exempt from service except on emergencies. The
call upon them is chiefly for the defence of the frontier, of which
they are the Simiswara, or lord-marchers.
.fn 8.1.25
[Tīlwāra is about 10 miles W. of Bālotra.]
.fn-
Īndhāvati.—This tract, which has its name from the Rajput
tribe of Indha, the chief branch of the Parihars (the ancient
sovereigns of Mandor), extends from Balotra north, and west of
the capital, Jodhpur, and is bounded on the north by the thal of
Guga. The thal of Indhavati embraces a space of about thirty
coss in circumference.
Gūgadeo ka Thal.—The thal of Guga, a name celebrated in the
heroic history of the Chauhans, is immediately north of Indhavati,
.bn 039.png
.pn +1
and one description will suit both. The sand-ridges (thal-ka-tiba)
are very lofty in all this tract; very thinly inhabited; few
villages; water far from the surface, and having considerable
jungles. Tob, Phalsund, and Bimasar are the chief towns in this
rui. They collect rain-water in reservoirs called tanka, which
they are obliged to use sparingly, and often while a mass of
corruption, producing that peculiar disease in the eyes called
rataundha (corrupted by us to rotunda) or night-blindness,[8.1.26] for
with the return of day it passes off.
.fn 8.1.26
It is asserted by the natives to be caused by a small thread-like worm,
which also forms in the eyes of horses. I have seen it in the horse, moving
about with great velocity. They puncture and discharge it with the aqueous
humour.
.fn-
Tararoi.—The thal of Tararoi intervenes between that of
Gugadeo and the present frontier of Jaisalmer, to which it formerly
belonged.[8.1.27] Pokaran is the chief town, not of Tararoi only,
but of all the desert interposed between the two chief capitals of
Marusthali. The southern part of this thal does not differ from
that described, but its northern portion, and more especially for
sixteen to twenty miles around the city of Pokaran, are low
disconnected ridges of loose rock, the continuation of that on
which stands the capital of the Bhattis, which give, as we have
already said, to this oasis the epithet of Mer, or rocky. The name
of Tararoi is derived from tar, which signifies moisture, humidity
\[301] from springs, or the springs themselves, which rise from
this rui. Pokaran, the residence of Salim Singh (into the history
of whose family we have so fully entered in the Annals of Marwar),
is a town of two thousand houses, surrounded by a stone wall,
and having a fort, mounting several guns on its eastern side.
Under the west side of the town, the inhabitants have the unusual
sight in these regions of running water, though only in the rainy
season, for it is soon absorbed by the sands. Some say it comes
from the Sar of Kanod, others from the springs in the ridge; at
all events, they derive a good and plentiful supply of water from
the wells excavated in its bed. The chief of Pokaran, besides its
twenty-four villages, holds lands between the Luni and Bandi
rivers to the amount of a lakh of rupees. Dunara and Manzil,
the fief of the loyal Durgadas, are now in the hands of the traitor
.bn 040.png
.pn +1
Salim. Three coss to the north of Pokaran is the village of
Ramdeora, so named from a shrine to Ramdeo, one of the Paladins
of the desert, and which attracts people from all quarters to the
Mela, or fair, held in the rainy month of Bhadon.[8.1.28] Merchants
from Karachi-bandar, Tatta, Multan, Shikarpur, and Cutch here
exchange the produce of various countries: horses, camels, and
oxen used also to be reared in great numbers, but the famine of
1813, and anarchy ever since Raja Man’s accession, added to
the interminable feuds between the Bhattis and Rathors, have
checked all this desirable intercourse, which occasionally made
the very heart of the desert a scene of joy and activity.
.fn 8.1.27
[The name Tararoi seems to have disappeared from the maps, the
tract being now known as Sānkra.]
.fn-
.fn 8.1.28
[Rāmdeora is 12 miles N. of Pokaran. The saint is commonly called
Rāmdeoji or Rāmsāh Pīr.]
.fn-
Khawar.—This thal, lying between Jaisalmer and Barmer, and
abutting at Girab into the desert of Dhat, is in the most remote
angle of Marwar. Though thinly inhabited, it possesses several
considerable places, entitled to the name of towns, in this ‘abode
of death.’ Of these, Sheo and Kotra are the most considerable,
the first containing three hundred, the latter five hundred houses,
situated upon the ridge of hills, which may be traced from Bhuj
to Jaisalmer. Both these towns belong to chiefs of the Rathor
family, who pay a nominal obedience to the Raja of Jodhpur.
At no distant period, a smart trade used to be carried on between
Anhilwara Patan and this region; but the lawless Sahariyas
plundered so many kafilas, that it is at length destroyed. They
find pasture for numerous flocks of sheep and buffaloes in this
thal.
Mallināth, Bārmer.—The whole of this region was formerly
inhabited by a tribe called Malli or Mallani, who, although
asserted by some to be Rathor in origin, are assuredly Chauhan,
and of the same stock as the ancient lords of Juna Chhotan.
Barmer was reckoned, before the last famine, to contain one
\[302] thousand two hundred houses, inhabited by all classes,
one-fourth of whom were Sanchora Brahmans.[8.1.29] The town is
situated in the same range as Sheo-Kotra, here two to three
hundred feet in height. From Sheo to Barmer there is a good
.bn 041.png
.pn +1
deal of flat intermingled with low tibas of sand, which in favourable
seasons produces enough food for consumption. Padam
Singh, the Barmer chief, is of the same stock as those of Sheo
Kotra and Jasol; from the latter they all issue, and he calculates
thirty-four villages in his feudal domain. Formerly, a dani
(which is, literally rendered, douanier) resided here to collect the
transit duties; but the Sahariyas have rendered this office a
sinecure, and the chief of Barmer takes the little it realizes to
himself. They find it more convenient to be on a tolerably good
footing with the Bhattis, from whom this tract was conquered,
than with their own head, whose officers they very often oppose,
especially when a demand is made upon them for dand; on which
occasion they do not disdain to call in the assistance of their
desert friends, the Sahariyas. Throughout the whole of this
region they rear great numbers of the best camels, which find a
ready market in every part of India.
.fn 8.1.29
[Bārmer, the ancient name of which is said to be Bāhadamer, ‘hill fort
of Bāhada,’ is 130 miles W. of Jodhpur city; its present population is
6064. Mallināth was son of Rāo Salkha, eighth in descent from Siāhji,
founder of Mārwār State.]
.fn-
Kherdhar.—‘The land of Kher’[8.1.30] has often been mentioned in
the annals of these States. It was in this distant nook that the
Rathors first established themselves, expelling the Gohil tribe,
which migrated to the Gulf of Cambay, and are now lords of
Gogha and Bhavnagar; and instead of steering ‘the ship of the
desert’ in their piracies on the kafilas, plied the Great Indian
Ocean, even “to the golden coast of Sofala,” in the yet more
nefarious trade of slaves. It is difficult to learn what latitude
they affixed to the ‘land of Kher,’ which in the time of the
Gohils approximated to the Luni; nor is it necessary to perplex
ourselves with such niceties, as we only use the names for the
purpose of description. In all probability it comprehended the
whole space afterwards occupied by the Mallani or Chauhans, who
founded Juna-Chhotan, etc., which we shall therefore include in
Kherdhar. Kheralu, the chief town, was one of the ‘nine castles
.bn 042.png
.pn +1
of Maru,’ when the Pramar was its sovereign lord. It has now
dwindled into an insignificant village, containing no more than
forty houses, surrounded on all sides by hills “of a black colour,”
part of the same chain from Bhuj.
.fn 8.1.30
Named in all probability, from the superabundant tree of the desert
termed Khair, and dhar, ‘land.’ It is also called Kheralu, but more properly
Kherala, ‘the abode of Khair’; a shrub of great utility in these
regions. Its astringent pods, similar in appearance to those of the laburnum,
they convert into food. Its gum is collected as an article of trade; the
camels browse upon its twigs, and the wood makes their huts. [Kher is a
ruined village, not far from Jasol, at the point where the Lūni River turns
eastward. Kherālu has disappeared from modern maps, if it be not a
mistake for Kerādu, where there are interesting temples (ASR, West Circle,
March 31, 1907, pp. 40-43; Erskine iii. A. 201).]
.fn-
Jūna Chhotan.—Juna Chhotan, or the ‘ancient’ Chhotan,
though always conjoined in name, are two \[303] distinct places,
said to be of very great antiquity, and capitals of the Hapa
sovereignty. But as to what this Hapa Raj was, beyond the bare
fact of its princes being Chauhan, tradition is now mute. Both
still present the vestiges of large cities, more especially Juna,
‘the ancient,’ which is enclosed in a mass of hills, having but one
inlet, on the east side, where there are the ruins of a small castle
which defended the entrance. There are likewise the remains
of two more on the summit of the range. The mouldering
remnants of mandirs (temples), and baoris (reservoirs), now choked
up, all bear testimony to its extent, which is said to have included
twelve thousand habitable dwellings! Now there are not above
two hundred huts on its site, while Chhotan has shrunk into a
poor hamlet. At Dhoriman, which is at the farther extremity of
the range in which are Juna and Chhotan, there is a singular place
of worship, to which the inhabitants flock on the tij, or third day
of Sawan of each year. The patron saint is called Alandeo,
through whose means some grand victory was obtained by the
Mallani. The immediate objects of veneration are a number of
brass images called Aswamukhi, from having the ‘heads of
horses’ ranged on the top of a mountain called Alandeo. Whether
these may further confirm the Scythic ancestry of the Mallani,
as a branch of the Asi, or Aswa race of Central Asia, can at present
be only matter of conjecture.
Nagar Gurha.—Between Barmer and Nagar-Gurha on the
Luni is one immense continuous thal, or rather rui, containing
deep jungles of khair, or kher, khejra, karil, khep, phog,[8.1.31] whose
gums and berries are turned to account by the Bhils and Kolis of
the southern districts. Nagar and Gurha are two large towns on
the Luni (described in the itinerary), on the borders of the Chauhan
raj of Suigam, and formerly part of it.
.fn 8.1.31
[Khair, Acacia catechu; Khejra, Prosopis spicigera; Karīl, Capparis
aphylla; Khep, Crotolaria burhia; Phog, Calligonum polygonoides.]
.fn-
Here terminate our remarks on the thals of western Marwar,
which, sterile as it is by the hand of Nature, had its miseries
.bn 043.png
.pn +1
completed by the famine that raged generally throughout these
regions in S. 1868 (A.D. 1812), and of which this[8.1.32] is the third year.
The disorders which we have depicted as prevailing at the seat of
government for the last thirty years, have left these remote
regions entirely to the mercy of the desert tribes \[304], or their
own scarce less lawless lords: in fact, it only excites our astonishment
how man can vegetate in such a land, which has nothing
but a few sars, or salt-lakes, to yield any profit to the proprietors,
and the excellent camel pastures, more especially in the southern
tracts, which produce the best breed in the desert.
.fn 8.1.32
That is, 1814. I am transcribing from my journals of that day, just
after the return of one of my parties of discovery from these regions, bringing
with them natives of Dhat, who, to use their own simple but expressive
phraseology, “had the measure of the desert in the palm of their hands”;
for they had been employed as kasids, or messengers, for thirty years of
their lives. Two of them afterwards returned and brought away their
families, and remained upwards of five years in my service, and were faithful,
able, and honest in the duties I assigned them, as jamadars of daks, or
superintendents of posts, which were for many years under my charge when
at Sindhia’s court, extending at one time from the Ganges to Bombay,
through the most savage and little-known regions in India. But with such
men as I drilled to aid in these discoveries, I found nothing insurmountable.
[The famine of 1812-13 was the most calamitous of the earlier visitations
(Erskine iii. A. 125).]
.fn-
.fm rend=th lz=th
.fm rend=th
.sp 4
.h3 nobreak
CHAPTER 2
.sp 2
The Chauhān Rāj.—This sovereignty (raj) of the Chauhans
occupies the most remote corner of Rajputana, and its existence
is now for the first time noticed. As the quality of greatness as
well as goodness is, in a great measure, relative, the Raj of the
Chauhans may appear an empire to the lesser chieftains of the
desert. Externally, it is environed, on the north and east, by the
tracts of the Marwar State we have just been sketching. To the
south-east it is bounded by Koliwara, to the south hemmed-in
by the Rann, and to the west by the desert of Dhat. Internally,
it is partitioned into two distinct governments, the eastern being
termed Virawah, and the western from its position ‘across the
Luni,’ Parkar;[8.2.1] which appellation, conjoined to Nagar, is also
.bn 044.png
.pn +1
applied to the capital, with the distinction of Srinagar, or
metropolis. This is the Negar-Parker of the distinguished
Rennel, a place visited at a very early stage of our intercourse
with these regions by an enterprising Englishman, named
Whittington.[8.2.2]
.fn 8.2.1
From par, ‘beyond,’ and kar or khar, synonymous with Luni, the
‘salt-river.’ We have several Khari Nadis, or salt-rivulets, in Rajputana,
though only one Luni. The sea is frequently called the Luna-pani, ‘the
salt-water,’ or Khara-pani, metamorphosed into Kala-pani, or ‘the black
water,’ which is by no means insignificant. [The proposed etymology of
Pārkar is impossible, and Khārā, ‘saline,’ has no connexion with Kālā,
‘black.’]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.2
[An account of the travels of Withington or Whithington is given in
Purchas his Pilgrimes, ed. 1625, i. 483. Mr. W. Foster, who is engaged on
a new edition, describes the story as interesting, but muddled in history and
geography.]
.fn-
History of the Chauhāns.—The Chauhans of this desert boast
the great antiquity of their settlement, as well as the nobility of
their blood: they have only to refer to Manik Rae and Bisaldeo of
Ajmer, and to Prithiraj, the last Hindu sovereign of Delhi, to
establish the latter fact; but the first we must leave to conjecture
and their bards, though we may \[305] fearlessly assert that they
were posterior to the Sodhas and other branches of the Pramar
race, who to all appearance were its masters when Alexander
descended the Indus. Neither is it improbable that the Malli or
Mallani, whom he expelled in that corner of the Panjab, wrested
‘the land of Kher’ from the Sodhas. At all events, it is certain
that a chain of Chauhan principalities extended, from the eighth
to the thirteenth century, from Ajmer to the frontiers of Sind,
of which Ajmer, Nadol, Jalor, Sirohi, and Juna-Chhotan were
the capitals; and though all of these in their annals claim to be
independent, it may be assumed that some kind of obedience was
paid to Ajmer. We possess inscriptions which justify this assertion.
Moreover, each of them was conspicuous in Muslim history,
from the time of the conqueror of Ghazni to that of Alau-d-din,
surnamed ‘the second Alexander.’ Mahmud, in his twelfth
expedition, by Multan to Ajmer (whose citadel, Ferishta says,
“he was compelled to leave in the hands of the enemy”),[8.2.3] passed
and sacked Nadol (transliterated Buzule);[8.2.4] and the traditions of
the desert have preserved the recollection of his visit to Juna-Chhotan,
and they yet point out the mines by which its castle
.bn 045.png
.pn +1
on the rock was destroyed. Whether this was after his visitation
and destruction of Nahrvala (Anhilwara Patan), or while on his
journey, we have no means of knowing; but when we recollect
that in this his last invasion, he attempted to return by Sind, and
nearly perished with all his army in the desert, we might fairly
suppose his determination to destroy Juna-Chhotan betrayed him
into this danger: for besides the all-ruling motive of the conversion
or destruction of the ‘infidels,’ in all likelihood the expatriated
princes of Nahrvala had sought refuge with the Chauhans amidst
the sandhills of Kherdhar, and may thus have fallen into his
grasp.
.fn 8.2.3
[Briggs’ trans. i. 69, but compare Elliot-Dowson iv. 180.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.4
[See Vol. II. p. vol2_807.]
.fn-
Although nominally a single principality, the chieftain of
Parkar pays little, if any, submission to his superior of Virawah.
Both of them have the ancient Hindu title of Rana, and are said
at least to possess the quality of hereditary valour, which is
synonymous with Chauhan. It is unnecessary to particularize
the extent in square miles of thal in this raj, or to attempt to
number its population, which is so fluctuating; but we shall
subjoin a brief account of the chief towns, which will aid in
estimating the population of Marusthali. We begin with the
first division.
Chief Towns.—The principal towns in the Chauhan raj are
Suigam, Dharanidhar,[8.2.5] Bakhasar, Tharad, Hotiganv, and Chitalwana.
Rana Narayan Rao resides alternately at Sui and Bah,
both large towns surrounded by an abbatis, chiefly of the babul
and other thorny trees, called in these regions kantha-ka-kot,
which has given these simple, but very \[306] efficient fortifications
the term of kantha-ka-kot, or ‘fort of thorns.’ The resources of
Narayan Rao, derived from this desert domain, are said to be
three lakhs of rupees, of which he pays a triennial tribute of one
lakh to Jodhpur, to which no right exists, and which is rarely
realized without an army. The tracts watered by the Luni yield
good crops of the richer grains; and although, in the dry season,
there is no constant stream, plenty of sweet water is procured by
excavating wells in its bed. But it is asserted that, even when
not continuous, a gentle current is perceptible in those detached
portions or pools, filtrating under the porous sand: a phenomenon
.bn 046.png
.pn +1
remarked in the bed of the Kunwari River (in the district
of Gwalior), where, after a perfectly dry space of several miles,
we have observed in the next portion of water a very perceptible
current.[8.2.6]
.fn 8.2.5
[Dharanīdhar, the Kūrma or tortoise, ‘supporter of the earth,’ the
second incarnation of Vishnu. At Dhema in Tharād a fair is held in honour
of Dharanīdharji (BG, v. 300, 342).]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.6
One of my journals mentions that a branch of the Luni passes by Sui,
the capital of Virawah, where it is four hundred and twelve paces in breadth:
an error, I imagine. [Sūigām is on the E. shore of the Rann, and the Lūni
does not pass by it or by Virawāh.]
.fn-
Nagar Pārkar.—Nagar, or Srinagar, the capital of Parkar, is a
town containing fifteen hundred houses, of which, in 1814, one-half
were inhabited. There is a small fort to the south-west of
the town on the ridge, which is said to be about two hundred feet
high. There are wells and beras (reservoirs) in abundance. The
river Luni is called seven coss south of Nagar, from which we
may infer that its bed is distinctly to be traced through the Rann.
The chief of Parkar assumes the title of Rana, as well as his
superior of Virawah whose allegiance he has entirely renounced,
though we are ignorant of the relation in which they ever stood
to each other: all are of the same family, the Hapa-Raj, of which
Juna-Chhotan was the capital.
Bakhasar.—Bakhasar ranks next to Srinagar. It was at no
distant period a large and, for the desert, a flourishing town; but
now (1814) it contains but three hundred and sixty inhabited
dwellings. A son of the Nagar chief resides here, who enjoys, as
well as his father, the title of Rana. We shall make no further
mention of the inferior towns, as they will appear in the itinerary.
Tharād.—Tharad is another subdivision of the Chauhans of
the Luni whose chief town of the same name is but a few coss to
the east of Suigam, and which like Parkar is but nominally
dependent upon it. With this we shall conclude the subject of
Virawah, which, we repeat, may contain many errors.
Face of the Chauhān Rāj.—As the itinerary will point out in
detail the state of the country, it would be superfluous to attempt
a more minute description here. The same sterile ridge, already
described as passing through Chhotan to Jaisalmer, is to be \[307]
traced two coss west of Bakhasar, and thence to Nagar, in detached
masses. The tracts on both banks of the Luni yield good
crops of wheat and the richer grains, and Virawah, though
enclosing considerable thal, has a good portion of flat, especially
towards Radhanpur, seventeen coss from Sui. Beyond the
.bn 047.png
.pn +1
Luni, the thal rises into lofty tibas: and indeed from Chhotan to
Bakhasar, all is sterile, and consists of lofty sandhills and broken
ridges often covered by the sands.
Water Production.—Throughout the Chauhan raj, or at least
its most habitable portion, water is obtained at a moderate
distance from the surface, the wells being from ten to twenty
pursas,[8.2.7] or about sixty-five to a hundred and thirty feet in depth;
nothing, when compared with those in Dhat, sometimes near
seven hundred. Besides wheat, on the Luni, the oil-plant (til),
mung, moth, and other pulses, with bajra, are produced in sufficient
quantities for internal consumption; but plunder is the chief
pursuit throughout this land, in which the lordly Chauhan and
the Koli menial vie in dexterity. Wherever the soil is least
calculated for agriculture, there is often abundance of fine pasture,
especially for camels, which browse upon a variety of thorny
shrubs. Sheep and goats are also in great numbers, and bullocks
and horses of a very good description, which find a ready sale at
the Tilwara fair.
.fn 8.2.7
Pursa, the standard measure of the desert, is here from six to seven
feet, or the average height of a man, to the tip of his finger, the hand being
raised vertically over the head. It is derived from purush, ‘man.’
.fn-
Inhabitants.—We must describe the descendants, whether of
the Malli, foe of Alexander, or of the no less heroic Prithiraj, as a
community of thieves, who used to carry their raids into Sind,
Gujarat, and Marwar, to avenge themselves on private property
for the wrongs they suffered from the want of all government, or
the oppression of those (Jodhpur) who asserted supremacy over,
and the right to plunder them. All classes are to be found in the
Chauhan raj: but those predominate, the names of whose tribes
are synonyms for ‘robber,’ as the Sahariya, Khosa, Koli, Bhil.
Although the Chauhan is lord-paramount, a few of whom are to
be found in every village, yet the Koli and Bhil tribe, with another
class called Pital,[8.2.8] are the most numerous: the last named,
though equally low in caste, is the only industrious class in this
region. Besides cultivation, they make a trade of the gums,
which they collect in great quantities from the various trees
whose names have been already mentioned. The Chauhans,
.bn 048.png
.pn +1
like most of these remote Rajput tribes, dispense with the zunnar[8.2.9]
or janeo, the distinctive thread of a ‘twice-born tribe,’ and are
altogether free from \[308] the prejudices of those whom association
with Brahmans has bound down with chains of iron. But
to make amends for this laxity in ceremonials, there is a material
amendment in their moral character, in comparison with the
Chauhans of the purab (east); for here the unnatural law of
infanticide is unknown, in spite of the examples of their neighbours,
the Jarejas, amongst whom it prevails to the most frightful
extent. In eating, they have no prejudices; they make no
chauka, or fireplace; their cooks are generally of the barber (Nai)
tribe, and what is left at one meal, they, contrary to all good
manners, tie up and eat at the next.
.fn 8.2.8
[Pital is another name for the Kalbi farming caste, Kalbi being apparently
the local form of the name Kanbi or Kunbi (Census Report, Mārwār,
1891, ii. 343). The caste does not appear in the 1911 Census Report of
Rājputāna.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.9
[Arabic zunnār, probably Greek [Greek: zôna/rion] The Hindi janeo is Skt.
yajnopavīta, the investiture of youths with the sacred thread, and later the
thread itself.]
.fn-
Kolis and Bhils.—The first is the most numerous class in these
regions, and may be ranked with the most degraded portion of the
human species. Although they puja all the symbols of Hindu
worship, and chiefly the terrific Mata, they scoff at all laws,
human or divine, and are little superior to the brutes of their own
forests. To them every thing edible is lawful food; cows,
buffaloes, the camel, deer, hog; nor do they even object to such
as have died a natural death. Like the other debased tribes,
they affect to have Rajput blood, and call themselves Chauhan
Koli, Rathor Koli, Parihar Koli, etc., which only tends to prove
their illegitimate descent from the aboriginal Koli stock. Almost
all the cloth-weavers throughout India are of the Koli class,
though they endeavour to conceal their origin under the term
Julaha, which ought only to distinguish the Muslim weaver.[8.2.10]
The Bhils partake of all the vices of the Kolis, and perhaps
descend one step lower in the scale of humanity; for they will
feed on vermin of any kind, foxes, jackals, rats, guanas,[8.2.11] and
snakes; and although they make an exception of the camel
and the pea-fowl, the latter being sacred to Mata, the goddess
they propitiate, yet in moral degradation their fellowship is complete.
The Kolis and Bhils have no matrimonial intercourse, nor
will they even eat with each other—such is caste! The bow
.bn 049.png
.pn +1
and arrow form their arms, occasionally swords, but rarely the
matchlock.
.fn 8.2.10
[For a full account of the Kolis see BG, ix. Part i. 237 ff.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.11
[Iguanas (Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 2nd ed. ]
.fn-
Pital is the chief husbandman of this region, and, with the
Bania, the only respectable class. They possess flocks, and are
also cultivators, and are said to be almost as numerous as either
the Bhils or Kolis. The Pital is reputed synonymous with the
Kurmi of Hindustan and the Kulambi of Malwa and the Deccan.
There are other tribes, such as the Rabari, or rearer of camels,
who will be described with the classes appertaining to the whole
desert.
Dhāt and Umrasūmra.—We now take leave of Rajputana, as it
is, for the desert depending upon Sind, or that space between the
frontier of Rajputana to the valley \[309] of the Indus, on the
west, and from Daudputra north, to Baliari on the Rann.[8.2.12] This
space measures about two hundred and twenty miles of longitude,
and its greatest breadth is eighty; it is one entire thal, having
but few villages, though there are many hamlets of shepherds
sprinkled over it, too ephemeral to have a place in the map. A
few of these puras and vas, as they are termed, where the springs
are perennial, have a name assigned to them, but to multiply
them would only mislead, as they exist no longer than the vegetation.
The whole of this tract may be characterized as essentially
desert, having spaces of fifty miles without a drop of water, and
without great precaution, impassable. The sandhills rise into
little mountains, and the wells are so deep, that with a large
kafila, many might die before the thirst of all could be slaked.
The enumeration of a few of these will put the reader in possession
of one of the difficulties of a journey through Maru; they range
from eleven to seventy-five pursa, or seventy to five hundred feet
in depth. One at Jaisinghdesar, fifty pursa; Dhot-ki-basti,
sixty; Girab, sixty; Hamirdeora, seventy; Jinjiniali, seventy-five;
Chailak, seventy-five to eighty.
.fn 8.2.12
[That is to say, from Bahāwalpur on the N. to Baliāri on the N. shore
of the Rann of Cutch, a distance, as the crow flies, of some 380 miles.]
.fn-
The Horrors of Humāyūn’s March.—In what vivid colours
does the historian Ferishta describe the miseries of the fugitive
emperor, Humayun, and his faithful followers, at one of these
wells! “The country through which they fled being an entire
desert of sand, the Moguls were in the utmost distress for water:
some ran mad; others fell down dead. For three whole days
.bn 050.png
.pn +1
there was no water; on the fourth day they came to a well, which
was so deep that a drum was beaten, to give notice to the man
driving the bullocks, that the bucket had reached the top; but
the unhappy followers were so impatient for drink, that, so soon
as the first bucket appeared, several threw themselves upon it,
before it had quite reached the surface, and fell in. The next
day, they arrived at a brook, and the camels, which had not
tasted water for several days, were allowed to quench their thirst;
but, having drunk to excess, several of them died. The king,
after enduring unheard-of miseries, at length reached Omurkote
with only a few attendants. The Raja, who has the title of
Rana, took compassion on his misfortunes, and spared nothing
that could alleviate his sufferings, or console him in his distress.”—Briggs’
Ferishta, vol. ii. p. 93.[8.2.13]
.fn 8.2.13
[The original is condensed. “The lands of the Rāthor, who rules
nine districts, are for the most part all sand; they have little or no water.
The wells in some places are so deep that the water is drawn with the help
of oxen. When water is to be drawn, those who set the animals to work
beat a drum as a warning that the pot is at the mouth of the well, and they
are about to draw water” (Manucci ii. 432).]
.fn-
We are now in the very region where Humayun suffered these
miseries, and in its chief town, Umarkot, Akbar, the greatest
monarch India ever knew, first saw the light. Let us throw aside
the veil which conceals the history of the race of Humayun’s
protector, and notwithstanding he is now but nominal sovereign
of Umarkot, and lord \[310] of the village of Chor,[8.2.14] give him “a
local habitation and a name,” even in the days of the Macedonian
invader of India.
.fn 8.2.14
[About 15 miles N. of Umarkot. See Elliot-Dowson i. 532.]
.fn-
Dhāt.—Dhat,[8.2.15] of which Umarkot is the capital, was one of the
divisions of Marusthali, which from time immemorial was subject
to the Pramar. Amongst the thirty-five tribes of this the most
numerous of the races called Agnikula, were the Sodha, the
Umar, and the Sumra;[8.2.16] and the conjunction of the two last has
given a distinctive appellation to the more northern thal, still
known as Umarsumra, though many centuries have fled since
they possessed any power.
.fn 8.2.15
[The name Dhāt has disappeared from modern maps, and is not to be
found in the IGI.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.16
See table of tribes, and sketch of the Pramaras, Vol. I. pp. vol1_98 and vol1_107.
.fn-
Aror, Umarsūmra.—Aror, of which we have already narrated
.bn 051.png
.pn +1
the discovery, and which is laid down in the map about six miles
east of Bakhar on the Indus, was in the region styled Umarsumra,
which may once have had a much wider acceptation, when a
dynasty of thirty-six princes of the Sumra tribe ruled all these
countries during five hundred years.[8.2.17] On the extinction of its
power, and the restoration of their ancient rivals, the Sind-Samma
princes, who in their turn gave way to the Bhattis, this tract
obtained the epithet of Bhattipoh; but the ancient and more
legitimate name, Umarsumra, is yet recognized, and many
hamlets of shepherds, both of Umars and Sumras, are still existing
amidst its sandhills. To them we shall return, after discussing
their elder brethren, the Sodhas. We can trace the colonization
of the Bhattis, the Chawaras, and the Solankis, the Guhilots, and
the Rathors, throughout all these countries, both of central and
western Rajputana; and wherever we go, whatever new capital
is founded, it is always on the site of a Pramar establishment.
Pirthi tain na Pramar ka, or ‘the world is the Pramars,’[8.2.18] I may
here repeat, is hardly hyperbolical when applied to the Rajput
world.
.fn 8.2.17
Ferishta [iv. 411], Abu-l Fazl [Āīn, ii. 337, 340 ff.].
.fn-
.fn 8.2.18
[A better version runs:
.pm start_poem
“Pirthī barā Panwār, Pirthi Panwārān tāni;
Ek Ujjaini Dhār, dūjē Ābū baithno.”
.pm end_poem
“The Panwār the greatest on earth, and the world belongs to the Panwārs.
Their early seats were Ujjain, Dhār, and Mount Ābū” (Census Report,
Mārwār, 1891, ii. 29).]
.fn-
Aror.—Aror, or Alor as written by Abu-l Fazl, and described by
that celebrated geographer, Ibn-Haukal, as “rivalling Multan in
greatness,” was one of the ‘nine divisions of Maru’ governed by
the Pramar, of which we must repeat, one of the chief branches was
the Sodha. The islandic Bakhar, or Mansura (so named by the
lieutenant of the Khalif Al-Mansur), a few miles west of Aror, is
considered as the capital of the Sogdoi, when Alexander sailed
down the Indus,[8.2.19] and if we couple the similarity of name to the
well-authenticated fact of immemorial sovereignty over this
region, it might not be drawing too largely on credulity to suggest
that the Sogdoi and Soda are one and \[311] the same.[8.2.20] The Sodha
.bn 052.png
.pn +1
princes were the patriarchs of the desert when the Bhattis immigrated
thither from the north: but whether they deprived them
of Aror as well as Lodorva, the chronicle does not intimate. It is
by no means unlikely that the Umars and Sumras, instead of being
coequal or coeval branches with the Sodha, may be merely subdivisions
of them.
.fn 8.2.19
[St. Martin fixes the capital of the Sogdoi at Alor or Aror, but Cunningham
would place it higher up stream, about midway between Alor and
Uchh, at the village of Sirwahi (McCrindle, Alexander, 354).]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.20
To convince the reader I do not build upon nominal resemblance, when
localities do not bear me out, he is requested to call to mind, that we have
elsewhere assigned to the Yadus of the Panjab the honour of furnishing the
well-known king named Porus; although the Puar, the usual pronunciation
of Pramar, would afford a more ready solution. [This is doubtful (Smith,
EHI, 40 note).]
.fn-
We may follow Abu-l Fazl and Ferishta in their summaries of
the history of ancient Sind, and these races. The former says:
“In former times, there lived a Rāja named Siharas, whose capital
was Alor. His sway extended eastward, as far as Kashmīr and
towards the sea to Mekrān, while the sea confined it on the south
and the mountains to the north. An invading army entered the
country from Persia, in opposing which the Rāja lost his life.
The invaders, contenting themselves with devastating part of the
territory, returned. Rāē Sahi,[8.2.21] the Rāja’s son, succeeded his
.bn 053.png
.pn +1
father, by whose enlightened wisdom and the aid of his intelligent
minister Rām, justice was universally administered and the repose
of the country secured.... In the caliphate of Walīd bin Abdu’l
Malik, when Hajjāj was governor of Irāk, he dispatched on his
own authority Muhammad Kāsim, his cousin and son-in-law, to
Sind, who fought Dāhir in several engagements.... After
Muhammad Kāsim’s death, the sovereignty of this country devolved
on the descendants of the Banu Tamīm Ansāri. They
were succeeded by the Sūmrah race, who established their rule, and
were followed by the Sammas, who asserted their descent from
Jamshīd, and each of them assumed the name of Jām.”[8.2.22]
.fn 8.2.21
Colonel Briggs, in his translation [iv. 406], writes it Hully Sa, and in
this very place remarks on the “mutilation of Hindu names by the early
Mahomedan writers, which are frequently not to be recognized”; or, we
might have learned that the adjunct Sa to Hully (qu. Heri), the son of
Sehris, was the badge of his tribe, Soda. The Roy-sahy, or Rae-sa of
Abulfazil, means ‘Prince Sa’ or ‘Prince of the Sodas.’ Of the same family
was Dahir, whose capital, in A.H. 99, was (says Abu-l fazil) “Alore or Debeil,”
in which this historian makes a geographical mistake: Alore or Arore being
the capital of Upper Sinde, and Debeil (correctly Dewul, the temple), or
Tatta, the capital of Lower Sinde. In all probability Dahir held both. We
have already dilated, in the Annals of Mewar, on a foreign prince named
“Dahir Despati,” or the sovereign prince, Dahir, being amongst her defenders,
on the first Mooslem invasion, which we conjectured must have
been that of Mahomed Kasim, after he had subdued Sinde. Bappa, the
lord of Cheetore, was nephew of Raja Maun Mori, shewing a double motive
in the exiled son of Dahir to support Cheetore against his own enemy Kasim.
The Moris and Sodas were alike branches of the Pramar (see Vol. I. p. vol1_111).
It is also worth while to draw attention to the remark elsewhere made
(p. 286) on the stir made by Hejauje of Khorasan (who sent Kasim to Sinde)
amongst the Hindu princes of Zabulist’han: dislocated facts, all demonstrating
one of great importance, namely, the wide dominion of the Rajpoot
race, previous to the appearance of Mahomed. Oriental literature sustained
a loss which can scarcely be repaired, by the destruction of the valuable
MSS. amassed by Colonel Briggs, during many years, for the purpose of a
general history of the early transactions of the Mahomedans. [This note
has been reprinted as it stands in the original text. Many statements must
be received with caution. See Elliot-Dowson i. 120 ff.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.22
Of the latter stock he gives us a list of seventeen princes. Gladwin’s
translation of Ayeen Akberi, vol. ii. p. 122. [This has been replaced by that
of Jarrett, Āīn, ii. 343 ff.]
.fn-
Ferishta gives a similar version. “On the death of Mahomed
Kasim, a tribe who trace their origin from the Ansarias established
a government in Sind; after which the zamindars [lords of the
soil or indigenous chiefs], denominated in their country Soomura,
usurped the power, and held independent rule over the kingdom
of Sinde for the space of five hundred years. These \[312], the
Soomuras, subverted the country of another dynasty called
Soomuna [the Samma of Abu-l Fazl], whose chief assumed the
title of Jam.”[8.2.23]
.fn 8.2.23
See Briggs’ Ferishta, vol. iv. pp. 411 and 422.
.fn-
The difficulty of establishing the identity of these tribes from
the cacography of both the Greek and Persian writers, is well
exemplified in another portion of Ferishta, treating of the same
race, called by him Soomuna, and Samma by Abu-l Fazl. “The
tribe of Sahna appears to be of obscure origin, and originally to
have occupied the tract lying between Bekher and Tatta in Sinde,
and pretend to trace their origin from Jemshid.” We can pardon
his spelling for his exact location of the tribe, which, whether
written Soomuna, Sehna, or Seemeh, is the Summa or Samma
tribe of the great Yadu race, whose capital was Summa-ka-kot, or
Sammanagari, converted into Minnagara, and its princes into
Sambas, by the Greeks.[8.2.24] Thus the Sodhas appear to have ruled
.bn 054.png
.pn +1
at Aror and Bakhar, or Upper Sind, and the Sammas in the lower,[8.2.25]
when Alexander passed through this region. The Jarejas and
Jams of Navanagar in Saurashtra claim descent from the Sammas,
hence called elsewhere by Abu-l Fazl “the Sind-Samma dynasty”;
but having been, from their amalgamation with the ‘faithful,’
put out of the pale of Hinduism, they desired to conceal their
Samma-Yadu descent, which they abandoned for Jamshid, and
Samma was converted into Jam.[8.2.26]
.fn 8.2.24
[For Minnagara see Vol. I. p. vol1_255.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.25
The four races called Agnikula (of which the Pramar was the most
numerous), at every step of ancient Hindu history are seen displacing the
dynasty of Yadu. Here the struggle between them is corroborated by the
two best Muhammadan historians, both borrowing from the same source,
the more ancient histories, few of which have reached us. It must be
borne in mind that the Sodhas, the Umars, the Sumras, were Pramars
(vulg. Puar); while the Sammas were Yadus, for whose origin see Annals
of Jaisalmer, p. #vol2_1185# above.
.fn-
.fn 8.2.26
[This is very doubtful. See Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 2nd ed. 447.]
.fn-
We may, therefore, assume that a prince of the Sodha tribe held
that division of the great Puar sovereignty, of which Aror, or the
insular Bakhar, was the capital, when Alexander passed down the
Indus: nor is it improbable that the army, styled Persian by
Abu-l Fazl, which invaded Aror, and slew Raja Siharas, was a
Graeco-Bactrian army led by Apollodotus, or Menander, who traversed
this region, “ruled by Sigertides” (qu. Raja Siharas?) even
to “the country of the [Greek: Sô~ra],” or Saurashtra,[8.2.27] where, according to
their historian, their medals were existent when he wrote in the
second century.[8.2.28] The histories so largely quoted give us decided
proof that Dahir, and his son \[313] Raesa, the victims of the first
Islamite invasion led by Kasim, were of the same lineage as Raja
.bn 055.png
.pn +1
Siharas; and the Bhatti annals prove to demonstration, that at
this, the very period of their settling in the desert, the Sodha tribe
was paramount (see p. vol2_1185); which, together with the strong
analogies in names of places and princes, affords a very reasonable
ground for the conclusion we have come to, that the Sodha tribe
of Puar race was in possession of Upper Sind, when the Macedonian
passed down the stream; and that, amidst all the vicissitudes of
fortune, it has continued (contesting possession with its ancient
Yadu antagonist, the Samma) to maintain some portion of its
ancient sovereignty unto these days. Of this portion we shall now
instruct the reader, after hazarding a passing remark on the almost
miraculous tenacity which has preserved this race in its desert
abode during a period of at least two thousand two hundred
years,[8.2.29] bidding defiance to foreign foes, whether Greek, Bactrian,
or Muhammadan, and even to those visitations of nature, famines,
pestilence, and earthquakes, which have periodically swept over
the land, and at length rendered it the scene of desolation it now
presents; for in this desert, as in that of Egypt, tradition records
that its increase has been and still is progressive, as well in the
valley of the Indus as towards the Jumna.
.fn 8.2.27
[Sora is supposed to represent the Chola Kingdom in S. India (McCrindle,
Ptolemy, 64 f.).]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.28
Of these, the author was so fortunate as to obtain one of Menander
and three of Apollodotus, whose existence had heretofore been questioned:
the first of the latter from the wreck of Suryapura, the capital of the Surasenakas
of Manu [Laws, ii. 19, vii. 193] and Arrian; another from the
ancient Avanti, or Ujjain, whose monarch, according to Justin, held a
correspondence with Augustus; and the third, in company with a whole
jar of Hindu-Scythic and Bactrian medals, at Agra, which was dug up
several years since in excavating the site of the more ancient city. This, I
have elsewhere surmised, might have been the abode of Aggrames, Agra-gram-eswar,
the “lord of the city of Agra,” mentioned by Arrian as the
most potent monarch in the north of India, who, after the death of Porus,
was ready to oppose the further progress of Alexander. Let us hope that
the Panjab may yet afford us another peep into the past. For an account of
these medals, see Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 313.
[Aggrames, King of the Gangaridae and Prasii, also known as Xandrames,
probably the Hindu Chandra, belonged to the Nanda dynasty (Smith,
EHI, 40; McCrindle, Ancient India in Classical Literature, 43).]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.29
Captain, now Colonel, Pottinger, in his interesting work on Sind and
Baluchistan, in extracting from the Persian work Mu’jamu-l Waridat,
calls the ancient capital of Sind, Ulaor, and mentions the overthrow of the
dynasty of ‘Sahir’ (the Siharas of Abu-l Fazl), whose ancestors had
governed Sind for two thousand years.
.fn-
Umarkot.—This stronghold (kot) of the Umars, until a very
few years back, was the capital of the Sodha Raj, which extended,
two centuries ago, into the valley of Sind, and east to the Luni;
but the Rathors of Marwar, and the family at present ruling Sind,
have together reduced the sovereignty of the Sodhas to a very
confined spot, and thrust out of Umarkot (the last of the nine
castles of Maru) the descendant of Siharas, who, from Aror, held
dominions extending from Kashmir to the ocean. Umarkot has
sadly fallen from its ancient grandeur, and instead of the five
thousand houses it contained during the opulence of the Sodha
princes, it hardly reckons two hundred and fifty houses, or rather
huts.[8.2.30] The old castle is to the north-west of the town. It is
.bn 056.png
.pn +1
built of brick, and the bastions, said to be eighteen in number, are
of stone. It has an inner citadel, or rather a fortified palace.
There is an old canal to the north of the fort, in which water still
lodges part of the year. When Raja Man \[314] had possession
of Umarkot, he founded several villages thereunto, to keep up the
communication. The Talpuris then found it to their interest, so
long as they had any alarms from their own lord paramount of
Kandahar, to court the Rathor prince; but when civil war
appeared in that region, as well as in Marwar, the cessation of all
fears from the one, banished the desire of paying court to the
other, and Umarkot was unhappily placed between the Kalhoras
of Sind and the Rathors, each of whom looked upon this frontier
post as the proper limit of his sway, and contended for its
possession. We shall therefore give an account of a feud between
these rivals, which finally sealed the fate of the Sodha prince, and
which may contribute something to the history of the ruling
family of Sind, still imperfectly known.
.fn 8.2.30
[The present population is 4924.]
.fn-
The Fate of the Sodha Tribe. Assassination of Mīr Bijar.—When
Bijai Singh ruled Marwar, Miyan Nur Muhammad, Kalhora,
governed Sind; but being expelled by an army from Kandahar,
he fled to Jaisalmer, where he died. The eldest son, Antar Khan,
and his brothers, found refuge with Bahadur Khan Khairani;
while a natural brother, named Ghulam Shah, born of a common
prostitute, found means to establish himself on the masnad at
Haidarabad. The chiefs of Daudputra espoused the cause of
Antar Khan, and prepared to expel the usurper. Bahadur Khan,
Sabzal Khan, Ali Murad, Muhammad Khan, Kaim Khan, Ali
Khan, chiefs of the Khairani tribe, united, and marched with
Antar Khan to Haidarabad. Ghulam Shah advanced to meet
him, and the brothers encountered at Ubaura[8.2.31] (see #map:MAP#); but
legitimacy failed: the Khairani chiefs almost all perished, and
Antar Khan was made prisoner, and confined for life in Gaja-ka-kot,
an island in the Indus, seven coss south of Haidarabad.
Ghulam Shah transmitted his masnad to his son Sarfaraz, who,
dying soon after, was succeeded by Abdul Nabi. At the town of
Abhaipura, seven coss east of Sheodadpur (a town in Lohri Sind),
resided a chieftain of the Talpuri tribe, a branch of the Baloch,
named Goram, who had two sons, named Bijar and Sobhdan.
Sarfaraz demanded Goram’s daughter to wife; he was refused,
.bn 057.png
.pn +1
and the whole family was destroyed. Bijar Khan, who alone
escaped the massacre, raised his clan to avenge him, deposed the
tyrant, and placed himself upon the masnad of Haidarabad. The
Kalhoras dispersed; but Bijar, who was of a violent and imperious
temperament, became involved in hostilities with the Rathors
regarding the possession of Umarkot. It is asserted that he not
only demanded tribute from Marwar, but a daughter of the
Rathor prince, to wife, setting forth as a precedent his grandfather
Ajit, who bestowed a wife on Farrukhsiyar. This insult led to a
pitched battle, fought at Dugara, five coss from Dharnidhar, in
which the Baloch \[315] army was fairly beaten from the field by the
Rathor; but Bijai Singh, not content with his victory, determined
to be rid of this thorn in his side. A Bhatti and Chondawat
offered their services, and lands being settled on their families,
they set out on this perilous enterprise in the garb of ambassadors.
When introduced to Bijar, he arrogantly demanded if the Raja
had thought better of his demand, when the Chondawat referred
him to his credentials. As Bijar rapidly ran his eye over it,
muttering “no mention of the dola (bride),” the dagger of the
Chondawat was buried in his heart. “This for the dola,” he
exclaimed; and “this for the tribute,” said his comrade, as he
struck another blow. Bijar fell lifeless on his cushion of state,
and the assassins, who knew escape was hopeless, plied their
daggers on all around; the Chondawat slaying twenty-one, and
the Bhatti five, before they were hacked to pieces.[8.2.32] The nephew
of Bijar Khan, by name Fateh Ali, son of Sobhdan, was chosen
his successor, and the old family of Kalhora was dispersed to
Bhuj, and Rajputana, while its representative repaired to Kandahar.
There the Shah put him at the head of an army of twenty-five
thousand men, with which he reconquered Sind, and commenced
a career of unexampled cruelty. Fateh Ali, who had
fled to Bhuj, reassembled his adherents, attacked the army of the
Shah, which he defeated and pursued with great slaughter beyond
Shikarpur, of which he took possession, and returned in triumph
to Haidarabad. The cruel and now humbled Kalhora once more
appeared before the Shah, who, exasperated at the inglorious
result of his arms, drove him from his presence; and after wandering
.bn 058.png
.pn +1
about, he passed from Multan to Jaisalmer, settling at length
at Pokaran, where he died. The Pokaran chief made himself his
heir, and it is from the great wealth (chiefly in jewels) of the ex-prince
of Sind that its chiefs have been enabled to take the lead
in Marwar. The tomb of the exile is on the north side of the
town \[316].[8.2.33]
.fn 8.2.31
[In Shikārpur, Sind, near the frontier of Bahāwalpur.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.32
[By another story, Abdu-n-nabi Khān, brother of Ghulām Nabi Khān,
prince of Sind, assassinated his too successful general, Mīr Bijar, in A.D. 1781
(IGI, xxii. 399).]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.33
The memoir adds: Fateh Ali was succeeded by his brother, the present
Ghulam Ali, and he by his son, Karam Ali. The general correctness of this
outline is proved by a very interesting work (which has only fallen into my
hands in time to make this note), entitled Narrative of a Visit to the Court
of Sinde, by Dr. Burnes. Bijar Khan was minister to the Kalhora rulers of
Sind, whose cruelties at length gave the government to the family of the
minister. As it is scarcely to be supposed that Raja Bijai Singh would
furnish assassins to the Kalhora, who could have little difficulty in finding
them in Sind, the insult which caused the fate of Bijar may have proceeded
from his master, though he may have been made the scapegoat. It is much
to be regretted that the author of the Visit to Sinde did not accompany the
Amirs to Sehwan (of which I shall venture an account obtained nearly
twenty years ago). With the above memoir and map (by his brother,
Lieut. Burnes) of the Rann, a new light has been thrown on the history and
geography of this most interesting and important portion of India. It is
to be desired that to a gentleman so well prepared may be entrusted the
examination of this still little-known region. I had long entertained the
hope of passing through the desert, by Jaisalmer to Uchh, and thence,
sailing down to Mansura, visiting Aror, Sehwan, Sammanagari, and Bamanwasa.
The rupture with Sind in 1820 gave me great expectations of accomplishing
this object, and I drew up and transmitted to Lord Hastings a plan
of marching a force through the desert, and planting the cross on the insular
capital of the Sogdoi; but peace was the order of the day. I was then in
communication with Mir Sohrab, governor of Upper Sind, who, I have
little doubt, would have come over to our views.
.fn-
This episode, which properly belongs to the history of Marwar,
or to Sind, is introduced for the purpose of showing the influence
of the latter on the destinies of the Sodha princes. It was by
Bijar, who fell by the emissaries of Bijai Singh, that the Sodha
Raja was driven from Umarkot, the possession of which brought
the Sindis into immediate collision with the Bhattis and Rathors.
But on his assassination and the defeat of the Sind army on the
Rann, Bijai Singh reinducted the Sodha prince to his gaddi of
Umarkot; not, however, long to retain it, for on the invasion from
Kandahar, this poor country underwent a general massacre and
pillage by the Afghans, and Umarkot was assaulted and taken.
When Fateh Ali made head against the army of Kandahar, which
he was enabled to defeat, partly by the aid of the Rathors, he
.bn 059.png
.pn +1
relinquished, as the price of this aid, the claims of Sind upon
Umarkot, of which Bijai Singh took possession, and on whose
battlements the flag of the Rathors waved until the last civil war,
when the Sindis expelled them. Had Raja Man known how to
profit by the general desire of his chiefs to redeem this distant
possession, he might have got rid of some of the unquiet spirits
by other means than those which have brought infamy on his
name.
Chor.—Since Umarkot has been wrested from the Sodhas, the
expelled prince, who still preserves his title of Rana, resides at the
town of Chor, fifteen miles north-east of his former capital. The
descendant of the princes who probably opposed Alexander,
Menander, and Kasim, the lieutenant of Walid, and who sheltered
Humayun when driven from the throne of India, now subsists on
the eleemosynary gifts of those with whom he is connected by
marriage, or the few patches of land of his own desert domain left
him by the rulers of Sind. He has eight brothers, who are hardly
pushed for a subsistence, and can only obtain it by the supplement
to all the finances of these States, plunder.
The Sodha, and the Jareja, are the connecting links between
the Hindu and the Muslim; for although the farther west we go
the greater is the laxity of Rajput prejudice, yet to something
more than mere locality must be attributed the denationalized
sentiment which allows the Sodha to intermarry with a Sindi:
this cause is hunger; and there are few zealots who will deny that
its influence is more potent than the laws of Manu. Every third
year brings famine, and those who have not stored up against it
fly to their neighbours, and chiefly to the valley of the Indus.
The \[317] connexions they then form often end in the union of
their daughters with their protectors; but they still so far adhere
to ancient usage as never to receive back into the family caste a
female so allied.[8.2.34] The present Rana of the Sodhas has set the
example, by giving daughters to Mir Ghulam Ali and Mir Sohrab,
and even to the Khosa chief of Dadar; and in consequence, his
brother princes of Jaisalmer, Bah and Parkar, though they will
.bn 060.png
.pn +1
accept a Sodha princess to wife (because they can depend on the
purity of her blood), yet will not bestow a daughter on the Rana,
whose offspring might perhaps grace the harem of a Baloch. But
the Rathors of Marwar will neither give to nor receive daughters
of Dhat. The females of this desert region, being reputed very
handsome, have become almost an article of matrimonial traffic;
and it is asserted, that if a Sindi hears of the beauty of a Dhatiani,
he sends to her father as much grain as he deems an equivalent,
and is seldom refused her hand. We shall not here further touch
on the manners or other peculiarities of the Sodha tribe, though
we may revert to them in the general outline of the tribes, with
which we shall conclude the sketch of the Indian desert.
.fn 8.2.34
[The chief connexion of the Sodhas with Cutch is through the marriage
of their daughters with leading Jāreja and Musalmān families. Their
women are of great natural ability, but ambitious and intriguing, not
scrupling to make away with their husbands in order that their sons may
obtain the estate (BG, v. 67).]
.fn-
Tribes.—The various tribes inhabiting the desert and valley of
the Indus would alone form an ample subject of investigation,
which would, in all probability, elicit some important truths.
Amongst the converts to Islam the inquirer into the pedigree of
nations would discover names, once illustrious, but which, now
hidden under the mantle of a new faith, might little aid his researches
into the history of their origin. He would find the Sodha,
the Kathi, the Mallani, affording in history, position, and nominal
resemblance grounds for inferring that they are the descendants
of the Sogdoi, Kathi, and Malloi, who opposed the Macedonian in
his passage down the Indus; besides swarms of Getae or Yuti,
many of whom have assumed the general title of Baloch, or retain
the ancient specific name of Numri; while others, in that of
Zj’at [Jat], preserve almost the primitive appellation. We have
also the remains of those interesting races the Johyas and Dahyas,
of which much has been said in the Annals of Jaisalmer, and elsewhere;
who, as well as the Getae or Jats, and Huns, hold places
amongst the “Thirty-six Royal Races” of ancient India.[8.2.35] These,
with the Barahas and the Lohanas, tribes who swarmed a few
centuries ago in the Panjab, will now only be discerned in small
numbers in “the region of death,” which has even preserved the
illustrious name of Kaurava, Krishna’s foe in the Bharat. The
Sahariya, or great robber of our western desert, would alone afford
a text for discussion on his habits \[318] and his raids, as the
enemy of all society. But we shall begin with those who yet
retain any pretensions to the name of Hindu (distinguishing them
from the proselytes to Islam), and afterwards descant upon their
.bn 061.png
.pn +1
peculiarities. Bhatti, Rathor, Jodha, Chauhan, Mallani, Kaurava,
Johya, Sultana, Lohana, Arora, Khumra, Sindhal, Maisuri,
Vaishnavi, Jakhar, Asaich, Punia.
.fn 8.2.35
See sketch of the tribes, Vol. I. p. vol1_98.
.fn-
Of the Muhammadan there are but two, Kalhora and Sahariya,
concerning whose origin any doubt exists, and all those we are
about to specify are Nayyads,[8.2.36] or proselytes chiefly from Rajput
or other Hindu tribes:
Zjat; Rajar; Umra; Sumra; Mair, or Mer; Mor, or Mohor;
Baloch; Lumria, or Luka; Samaicha; Mangalia; Bagria;
Dahya; Johya; Kairui; Jangaria; Undar; Berawi; Bawari;
Tawari; Charandia; Khosa; Sadani; Lohanas.
.fn 8.2.36
Nayyad is the noviciate, literally new (naya), or original converts, I
suppose. [In other parts of India they are known as Naumuslim.]
.fn-
The Nayyāds.—Before we remark upon the habits of these
tribes, we may state one prominent trait which characterizes the
Nayyad, or convert to Islam, who, on parting with his original
faith, divested himself of its chief moral attribute, toleration, and
imbibed a double portion of the bigotry of the creed he adopted.
Whether it is to the intrinsic quality of the Muhammadan faith
that we are to trace this moral metamorphosis, or to a sense of
degradation (which we can hardly suppose) consequent on his
apostasy, there is not a more ferocious or intolerant being on the
earth than the Rajput convert to Islam. In Sind, and the desert,
we find the same tribes, bearing the same name, one still Hindu,
the other Muhammadan; the first retaining his primitive manners,
while the convert is cruel, intolerant, cowardly, and inhospitable.
Escape, with life at least, perhaps a portion of property, is possible
from the hands of the Maldot, the Larkhani, the Bhatti, or even
the Tawaris, distinctively called “the sons of the devil”; but
from the Khosas, the Sahariyas, or Bhattis, there would be no
hope of salvation. Such are their ignorance and brutality, that
should a stranger make use of the words rassa, or rasta (rope, and
road), he will be fortunate if he escape with bastinado from these
beings, who discover therein an analogy to rasul, or ‘the prophet’:
he must for the former use the words kilbar, randori, and for the
latter, dagra, or dag.[8.2.37] It will not fail to strike those who have
.bn 062.png
.pn +1
perused the heart-thrilling adventures of Park, Denham, and
Clapperton—names which will live for ever in the annals of discovery—how
completely the inoffensive, kind, and hospitable
negro resembles in these qualities the Rajput, who is transformed
into a wild beast the moment he can repeat, “Ashhadu an lā
ilāha illa allāh! \[319] Ashhadu anna Muhammad rasūlu-llāh,”
“there is but one God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God”:
while a remarkable change has taken place amongst the Tatar
tribes, since the anti-destructive doctrines of Buddha (or Hinduism
purified of polytheism) have been introduced into the regions of
Central Asia.
.fn 8.2.37
Dagra is very common in Rajputana for a ‘path-way’; but the
substitute here used for rassa, a rope, I am not acquainted with. [For a
large collection of similar taboo names for persons, animals, and things see
Sir J. Frazer, The Golden Bough, “Taboo and Perils of the Soul,” 318 ff.]
.fn-
On the Bhattis, the Rathors, the Chauhans, and their offset
the Mallani, we have sufficiently expatiated, and likewise on the
Sodha; but a few peculiarities of this latter tribe remain to be
noticed.
The Sodha Tribe.—The Sodha, who has retained the name of
Hindu, has yet so far discarded ancient prejudice, that he will
drink from the same vessel and smoke out of the same hukka
with a Musalman, laying aside only the tube that touches the
mouth. With his poverty, the Sodha has lost his reputation
for courage, retaining only the merit of being a dexterous thief,
and joining the hordes of Sahariyas and Khosas who prowl from
Daudputra to Gujarat. The arms of the Sodhas are chiefly the
sword and shield, with a long knife in the girdle, which serves
either as a stiletto or a carver for his meat: few have matchlocks,
but the primitive sling is a general weapon of offence, and they
are very expert in its use. Their dress partakes of the Bhatti
and Muhammadan costume, but the turban is peculiar to themselves,
and by it a Sodha may always be recognized. The
Sodha is to be found scattered over the desert, but there are
offsets of his tribe, now more numerous than the parent stock,
of which the Samecha is the most conspicuous, whether of those
who are still Hindu, or who have become converts to Islam.
The Kaurava Tribe.—This singular tribe of Rajputs, whose
habits, even in the midst of pillage, are entirely nomadic, is to be
found chiefly in the thal of Dhat, though in no great numbers.[8.2.38]
They have no fixed habitations, but move about with their flocks,
and encamp wherever they find a spring or pasture for their
cattle; and there construct temporary huts of the wide-spreading
.bn 063.png
.pn +1
pilu,[8.2.39] by interlacing its living branches, covering the top with
leaves, and coating the inside with clay: in so skilful a manner
do they thus shelter themselves that no sign of human habitation
is observable from without. Still the roaming Sahariya is always
on the look-out for these sylvan retreats, in which the shepherds
deposit their little hoards of grain, raised from the scanty patches
around them. The restless disposition of the Kauravas, who
even among their ever-roaming brethren enjoy a species of fame
in this respect, is attributed (said my Dhati) to a curse entailed
upon them from remote ages. They rear camels, cows, buffaloes,
and goats, which they sell to the Charans and other merchants.
They are altogether a singularly peaceable race; and like all their
Rajput brethren, can at will \[320] people the desert with palaces
of their own creation, by the delightful amal-pani, the universal
panacea for ills both moral and physical.
.fn 8.2.38
[The name cannot be traced in recent Census Reports.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.39
[Salvadora oleoides or persica (Watt, Econ. Dict. vi. Part ii. 447 ff.).]
.fn-
The Dhāti Tribe.—Dhat, or Dhati, is another Rajput, inhabiting
Dhat, and in no greater numbers than the Kauravas, whom
they resemble in their habits, being entirely pastoral, cultivating
a few patches of land, and trusting to the heavens alone to bring
it forward. They barter the ghi or clarified butter, made from
the produce of their flocks, for grain and other necessaries of life.
Rabri and chhachh, or ‘porridge and buttermilk,’ form the grand
fare of the desert. A couple of sers of flour of bajra, juar, and
khejra is mixed with some sers of chhachh, and exposed to the
fire, but not boiled, and this mess will suffice for a large family.
The cows of the desert are much larger than those of the plains
of India, and give from eight to ten sers (eight or ten quarts) of
milk daily. The produce of four cows will amply subsist a family
of ten persons from the sale of ghi; and their prices vary with
their productive powers, from ten to fifteen rupees each. The
rabri, so analogous to the kouskous of the African desert, is often
made with camel’s milk, from which ghi cannot be extracted,
and which soon becomes a living mass when put aside. Dried
fish, from the valley of Sind, is conveyed into the desert on horses
or camels, and finds a ready sale amongst all classes, even as far
east as Barmer. It is sold at two dukras (coppers) a ser. The
puras, or temporary hamlets of the Dhatis, consisting at most of
ten huts in each, resemble those of the Kauravas.
The Lohāna Tribe.—This tribe is numerous both in Dhat and
.bn 064.png
.pn +1
Talpura: formerly they were Rajputs, but betaking themselves
to commerce, have fallen into the third class. They are scribes
and shopkeepers, and object to no occupation that will bring a
subsistence; and as to food, to use the expressive idiom of this
region, where hunger spurns at law, “excepting their cats and
their cows, they will eat anything.”[8.2.40]
.fn 8.2.40
[In Cutch they claim to be Rāthors from Multān, and are said to have
been driven by the Muhammadans from the Panjāb into Cutch. In Gujarāt
they are Vaishnavas, and are particular about their food and drink, but in
Sind they are more lax (BG, v. 54 ff., ix. Part i. 122; Burton, Sindh, 314).]
.fn-
The Arora Tribe.—This class, like the former, apply themselves
to every pursuit, trade, and agriculture, and fill many of the
inferior offices of government in Sind, being shrewd, industrious,
and intelligent. With the thrifty Arora and many other classes,
flour steeped in cold water suffices to appease hunger. Whether
this class has its name from being an inhabitant of Aror, we
know not.[8.2.41]
.fn 8.2.41
[They are numerous in S.W. Panjāb, where Rose (Glossary, ii. 16 ff.)
gives a full account of them.]
.fn-
The Bhātia Tribe.—Bhatia is also one of the equestrian order
converted into the commercial, and the exchange has been to his
advantage. His habits are like those of the Arora, next to whom
he ranks as to activity and wealth. The Aroras and Bhatias
have commercial houses at Shikarpur, Haidarabad, and even at
Surat and Jaipur \[321].[8.2.42]
.fn 8.2.42
[On their connexion with the Bhatti Rājputs see Crooke, Tribes and
Castes N.W.P. and Oudh, ii. 37; Russell, Tribes and Castes Central Provinces,
i. 380; BG, v. 37 f.]
.fn-
Brāhmans.—Bishnoi is the most common sect of Brahmans
in the desert and Sind. The doctrines of Manu with them go for
as much as they are worth in the desert, where “they are a law
unto themselves.” They wear the janeo, or badge of their tribe,
but it here ceases to be a mark of clerical distinction, as no drones
are respected; they cultivate, tend cattle, and barter their superfluous
ghi for other necessaries. They are most numerous in
Dhat, having one hundred of their order in Chor, the residence of
the Sodha Rana, and several houses in Umarkot, Dharnas, and
Mitti.[8.2.43] They do not touch fish or smoke tobacco, but will eat
food dressed by the hands of a Mali (gardener), or even a Nai
(barber caste); nor do they use the chauka, or fireplace, reckoned
.bn 065.png
.pn +1
indispensable in more civilized regions. Indeed, all classes of
Hindus throughout Sind will partake of food dressed in the sarai,
or inn, by the hands of the Bhathiyarin. They use indiscriminately
each other’s vessels, without any process of purification
but a little sand and water. They do not even burn their dead,
but bury them near the threshold; and those who can afford it,
raise small chabutras, or altars, on which they place an image of
Siva, and a ghara, or jar of water. The janeo, or thread which
marks the sacerdotal character in Hindustan, is common in these
regions to all classes, with the exception of Kolis and Lohanas.
This practice originated with their governors, in order to discriminate
them from those who have to perform the most servile
duties.[8.2.44]
.fn 8.2.43
[About 45 miles S. of Umarkot.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.44
[These desert Brāhmans, whose laxity of custom is notorious, have no
connexion with other orthodox Brāhmans, and are probably priests or
medicine-men who now claim that rank.]
.fn-
The Rabāri Tribe.—This term is known throughout Hindustan
only as denoting persons employed in rearing and tending camels,
who are there always Muslims. Here they are a distinct tribe,
and Hindus, employed entirely in rearing camels, or in stealing
them, in which they evince a peculiar dexterity, uniting with the
Bhattis in the practice as far as Daudputra. When they come
upon a herd grazing, the boldest and most experienced strikes
his lance into the first he reaches, then dips a cloth in the blood,
which at the end of his lance he thrusts close to the nose of the
next, and wheeling about, sets off at speed, followed by the whole
herd, lured by the scent of blood and the example of their leader.[8.2.45]
.fn 8.2.45
[Census Report, Bombay, 1911, i. 298.]
.fn-
Jat Tribes.—Jakhar, Asaich, Punia are all denominations of
the Jat race, a few of whom preserve under these ancient subdivisions
their old customs and religion; but the greater part
are among the converts to Islam, and retain the generic name,
pronounced Zjat. Those enumerated are harmless and industrious,
and are found both in the desert and valley. There
are besides these a few scattered families of ancient tribes \[322],
as the Sultana[8.2.46] and Khumra, of whose history we are ignorant,
.bn 066.png
.pn +1
Johyas, Sindhals, and others, whose origin has already been
noticed in the Annals of Marusthali.
.fn 8.2.46
Abu-l Fazl, in describing the province of Bajaur, inhabited by the
Yusufzais, says: “The whole of the tract [Swāt] of hill and plain is the
domain of the Yūsufzai clan. In the time of Mīrza Ulugh Beg of Kābul,
they migrated from Kābul to this territory and wrested it from the Sultāns
who affected to be descendants of Alexander Bicornutus” (Āīn, ii. 392 f.).
Mr. Elphinstone inquired in vain for this offspring of Alexander the Great.
.fn-
We shall now leave this general account of the Hindu tribes,
who throughout Sind are subservient to the will of the Muhammadan,
who is remarkable, as before observed, for intolerance.
The Hindu is always second: at the well, he must wait patiently
until his tyrant has filled his vessel; or if, in cooking his dinner,
a Muslim should require fire, it must be given forthwith, or the
shoe would be applied to the Hindu’s head.
The Sahariya Tribe.—The Sahariya is the most numerous of
the Muhammadan tribes of the desert, said to be Hindu in origin,
and descendants of the ancient dynasty of Aror; but whether
his descent is derived from the dynasty of Siharas (written Sahir
by Pottinger), or from the Arabic word sahra, ‘a desert,’ of
which he is the terror, is of very little moment.[8.2.47]
.fn 8.2.47
[These derivations are impossible; the name is possibly connected
with that of the Savara tribe.]
.fn-
The Khosa Tribe.—The Kosas or Khosas, etc., are branches
of the Sahariya, and their habits are the same. They have
reduced their mode of rapine to a system, and established kuri,
or blackmail, consisting of one rupee and five daris of grain for
every plough, exacted even from the hamlets of the shepherds
throughout the thal. Their bands are chiefly mounted on camels,
though some are on horseback; their arms are the sel or sang
(lances of bamboo or iron), the sword and shield, and but few
firearms. Their depredations used to be extended a hundred
coss around, even into Jodhpur and Daudputra, but they eschew
coming in contact with the Rajput, who says of a Sahariya,
“he is sure to be asleep when the battle nakkara beats.” Their
chief abode is in the southern portion of the desert; and about
Nawakot, Mitti, as far as Baliari.[8.2.48] Many of them used to find
service at Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Suigam, but they are cowardly
and faithless.
.fn 8.2.48
[Nawakot and Mitti in the interior of Thar-Pārkar; Baliāri on the
shore of the Great Rann.]
.fn-
The Samaicha Tribe.—Samaicha is one of the nayyad, or
proselytes to Islam from the Sodha race, and numerous both in
the thal and the valley, where they have many puras or hamlets.
They resemble the Dhatis in their habits, but many of them
associate with the Sahariyas, and plunder their brethren. They
.bn 067.png
.pn +1
never shave or touch the hair of their heads, and consequently
look more like brutes than human beings. They allow no animal
to die of disease, but kill it when they think there are no hopes of
recovery. The Samaicha women have the reputation of being
great scolds, and never veil their faces \[323].
The Rājar Tribe.—They are said to be of Bhatti descent, and
confine their haunts to the desert, or the borders of Jaisalmer,
as at Ramgarh, Kiala, Jarela, etc.; and the thal between Jaisalmer
and Upper Sind: they are cultivators, shepherds, and thieves,
and are esteemed amongst the very worst of the converts to
Muhammadanism.[8.2.49]
.fn 8.2.49
[The Rājar are recorded as a section of the Saman, an aboriginal tribe
in Sind (Census Report, Bombay, 1911, i. 233).]
.fn-
The Umar Sūmra Tribe.—Umars and Sumras are from the
Pramar or Puar race, and are now chiefly in the ranks of the
faithful, though a few are to be found in Jaisalmer and in
the thal called after them; of whom we have already said
enough.[8.2.50]
.fn 8.2.50
[See Elliot-Dowson i. 489.]
.fn-
The Kalhora, Tālpuri Tribes.—Kalhora and Talpuri are tribes
of celebrity in Sind, the first having furnished the late, and the
other its present, dynasty of rulers; and though the one has dared
to deduce its origin from the Abbasides of Persia, and the other
has even advanced pretensions to descent from the Prophet, it is
asserted that both are alike Baloch, who are said to be essentially
Jat or Gete in origin. The Talpuris, who have their name from
the town (pura) of palms (tal or tar), are said to amount to one-fourth
of the population of Lori or Little Sind, which misnomer
they affix to the dominion of Haidarabad. There are none in
the thal.
Nūmri, Lūmri, or Lūka Tribe.—This is also a grand subdivision
of the Baloch race, and is mentioned by Abu-l Fazl as ranking
next to the Kulmani, and being able to bring into the field three
hundred cavalry and seven thousand infantry. Gladwin has
rendered the name Nomurdy, and is followed by Rennel.[8.2.51] The
Numris, or Lumris, also styled Luka, a still more familiar term
for fox,[8.2.52] are likewise affirmed to be Jat in origin. What is the
etymology of the generic term Baloch, which they have assumed,
.bn 068.png
.pn +1
or whether they took it from, or gave it to, Baluchistan, some
future inquirer into these subjects may discover.[8.2.53]
.fn 8.2.51
[The true reading is Nohmardi (Āīn, ii. 337).]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.52
[Cf. Hindi lokri or lokhri.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.53
[Max Müller derived Baloch from Skt. mlechchha, ‘a barbarian,’ but
this is doubtful.]
.fn-
The Zott[8.2.54] or Jat Tribe.—This very original race, far more
numerous than perhaps all the Rajput tribes put together, still
retains its ancient appellation throughout the whole of Sind,
from the sea to Daudputra, but there are few or none in the thal.
Their habits differ little from those who surround them. They
are amongst the oldest converts to Islam.
.fn 8.2.54
[Zott is the Arabic form of Jat or Jāt (Sykes, Hist. of Persia, ii. 79).]
.fn-
The Mer, Mair Tribe.—We should scarcely have expected to
find a mountaineer (mera) in the valley of Sind, but their Bhatti
origin sufficiently accounts for the term, as Jaisalmer is termed
Mer.[8.2.55]
.fn 8.2.55
[The ascription of Bhatti origin to the Mers is obviously intended to
correspond with the assertion that they are a branch of the Mīna or Maina
tribe (Elliot-Dowson i. 523 f.).]
.fn-
The Mor, Mohor Tribe.—Said to be also Bhatti in origin.[8.2.56]
.fn 8.2.56
[In the Panjāb Mor is the name of a Jāt sept which worship the peacock
(mor) because it is said to have saved their ancestor from a snake (Rose,
Glossary, iii. 129). There was a settlement of this tribe at Sārangpur on the
Kāli Sind River (ASR, ii. 228).]
.fn-
The Tāwari, Thori, or Tori Tribe.—These engross the distinctive
epithet of bhut, or ‘evil spirits,’ and the yet more emphatic title
of ‘sons of the devil.’ Their origin is doubtful, but \[324] they
rank with the Bawariyas, Khengars, and other professional thieves
scattered over Rajputana, who will bring you either your enemy’s
head or the turban from it. They are found in the thals of
Daudputra, Bijnot, Nok, Nawakot, and Udar. They are proprietors
of camels, which they hire out, and also find employment
as convoys to caravans.
Johya, Dahya, Mangalia Tribes.—Once found amongst the
Rajput tribes, now proselytes to Islam, but few in number either
in the valley or the desert. There are also Bairawis, a class of
Baloch, Khairawis, Jangrias, Undars, Bagrias, descended from
the Pramar and Sankhla Rajputs, but not possessing, either in
respect to numbers or other distinctive marks, any claims on our
attention.
Dāūdputra, Bahāwalpur State.—This petty State, though
beyond the pale of Hinduism, yet being but a recent formation
.bn 069.png
.pn +1
out of the Bhatti State of Jaisalmer, is strictly within the limits
of Marusthali. Little is known regarding the family who founded
it, and we shall therefore confine ourselves to this point, which
is not adverted to by Mr. Elphinstone, who may be consulted for
the interesting description of its prince, and his capital, Bahawalpur,
during the halt of the embassy to Kabul.[8.2.57]
.fn 8.2.57
[Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, 2nd ed. (1842) i. 22 ff. For a
full account of the Abbāsi Dāūdputras of Bahāwalpur see the State Gazetteer
by Malik Muhammad Din (1908), i. .]
.fn-
Daud Khan, the founder of Daudputra, was a native of
Shikarpur, west of the Indus, where he acquired too much power
for a subject, and consequently drew upon himself the arms of
his sovereign of Kandahar. Unable to cope with them, he
abandoned his native place, passed his family and effects across
the Indus, and followed them into the desert. The royal forces
pursued, and coming up with him at Sutiala, Daud had no alternative
but to surrender, or destroy the families who impeded his
flight or defence. He acted the Rajput, and faced his foes; who,
appalled at this desperate act, deemed it unwise to attack him,
and retreated. Daud Khan, with his adherents, then settled in
the kachhi, or flats of Sind, and gradually extended his authority
into the thal. He was succeeded by Mubarik Khan; he, by his
nephew Bahawal Khan, whose son is Sadik Muhammad Khan,
the present lord of Bahawalpur, or Daudputra, a name applied
both to the country and to its possessors, “the children of David.”[8.2.58]
It was Mubarik who deprived the Bhattis of the district called
Khadal, so often mentioned in the Annals of Jaisalmer, and whose
chief town is Derawar, founded by Rawal Deoraj in the eighth
century; and where the successor of Daud established his abode.
Derawar was at that time inhabited by a branch of the Bhattis,
broken off at a very early period, its chief holding the title of
Rawal, and whose family since their expulsion have resided at
Ghariala, belonging to Bikaner, on \[325] an allowance of five
rupees a day, granted by the conqueror. The capital of the
“sons of David” was removed to the south bank of the Gara
by Bahawal Khan (who gave it his name), to the site of an old
.bn 070.png
.pn +1
Bhatti city, whose name I could not learn. About thirty years
ago[8.2.59] an army from Kandahar invaded Daudputra, invested and
took Derawar, and compelled Bahawal Khan to seek protection
with the Bhattis at Bikampur. A negotiation for its restoration
took place, and he once more pledged his submission to the
Abdali king, and having sent his son Mubarik Khan as a hostage
and guarantee for the liquidation of the imposition, the army
withdrew. Mubarik continued three years at Kabul, and was
at length restored to liberty and made Khan of Bahawalpur, on
attempting which he was imprisoned by his father, and confined
in the fortress of Khangarh, where he remained nearly until
Bahawal Khan’s death. A short time previous to this, the
principal chiefs of Daudputra, namely, Badera Khairani, chief
of Mozgarh, Khudabakhsh of Traihara, Ikhtiyar Khan of Garhi,
and Haji Khan of Uchh, released Mubarik Khan from Khangarh
and they had reached Murara, when tidings arrived of the death
of Bahawal Khan. He continued his route to the capital; but
Nasir Khan, son of Alam Khan, Gurgecha (Baloch), having
formerly injured him and dreading punishment, had him assassinated,
and placed his brother, the present chief, Sadik Muhammad,
on the masnad: who immediately shut up his nephews, the sons
of Mubarik, together with his younger brothers, in the fortress
of Derawar. They escaped, raised a force of Rajputs and Purbias,
and seized upon Derawar; but Sadik escaladed it, the Purbias
made no defence \[326], and both his brothers and one nephew were
slain. The other nephew got over the wall, but was seized by a
neighbouring chief, surrendered, and slain; and it is conjectured
the whole was a plot of Sadik Khan to afford a pretext for their
death. Nasir Khan, by whose instigation he obtained the
masnad, was also put to death, being too powerful for a subject.
But the Khairani lords have always been plotting against their
liege; an instance of which has been given in the Annals of
Bikaner, when Traihara and Mozgarh were confiscated, and the
chiefs sent to the castle of Khangarh, the State prison of Daudputra.
Garhi still belongs to Abdulla, son of Haji Khan, but no
territory is annexed to it. Sadik Muhammad has not the reputation
of his father, whom Bijai Singh, of Marwar, used to style his
brother. The Daudputras are much at variance amongst each
other, and detested by the Bhattis, from whom they have hitherto
.bn 071.png
.pn +1
exacted a tribute to abstain from plunder. The fear of Kandahar
no longer exists at Bahawalpur, whose chief is on good terms
with his neighbour of Upper Sind, though he is often alarmed by
the threats of Ranjit Singh of Lahore, who asserts supremacy
over “the children of David.”
.fn 8.2.58
[The succession runs: Bahāwal Khān II. (A.D. 1772-1809); Sādik
Muhammad Khān (1809-25); Muhammad Bahāwal Khān III. (1825-52);
Sādik Muhammad Khān II. (1853-58); Muhammad Bahāwal Khān IV.
(1858-66); Sādik Muhammad Khān III., a minor, installed in 1879.]
.fn-
.fn 8.2.59
This memorandum was written, I think, in 1811 or 1812.
.fn-
Diseases.—Of the numerous diseases to which the inhabitants
of the desert are subjected, from poor and unwholesome diet, and
yet more unwholesome drink, rataundha or night-blindness, the
narua or Guinea-worm, and varicose veins, are the most common.
The first and last are mostly confined to the poorer classes, and
those who are compelled to walk a great deal, when the exertion
necessary to extricate the limbs from deep sand, acting as a
constant drag upon the elasticity of the fibres, occasions them
to become ruptured. Yet such is the force of habit that the
natives of Dhat in my service, who had all their lives been plying
their limbs as kasids, or carriers of dispatches, between all the
cities on the Indus and in Rajputana, complained of the firmer
footing of the Indian plains, as more fatiguing than that of their
native sandhills. But I never was a convert to the Dhati’s
reasoning; with all his simplicity of character, even in this was
there vanity, for his own swelled veins, which could be compared to
nothing but rattans twisted round the calf of his limbs, if they did
not belie his assertion, at least proved that he had paid dearly for
his pedestrianism in the desert \[327]. From the narua, or Guinea-worm,
there is no exemption, from the prince to the peasant, and
happy is the man who can boast of only one trial. The disease is
not confined to the desert and western Rajputana, being far from
uncommon in the central States; but beyond the Aravalli the
question of “How is your narua?” is almost a general form of
greeting, so numerous are the sufferers from this malady. It
generally attacks the limbs and the integuments of the joints,
when it is excruciating almost past endurance. Whether it arises
from animalculae in sand or water, or porous absorption of minute
particles imbued with the latent vital principle, the natives are
not agreed. But the seat of the disease appears immediately
under and adhesive to the skin, on which it at first produces a
small speck, which, gradually increasing and swelling, at length
reaches a state of inflammation that affects the whole system.
The worm then begins to move, and as it attains the degree of
vitality apparently necessary for extricating itself, its motions
.bn 072.png
.pn +1
are unceasing, and night and day it gnaws the unhappy patient,
who only exists in the hope of daily seeing the head of his enemy
pierce the cuticle. This is the moment for action: the skilful
narua-doctor is sent for, who seizes upon the head of the worm,
and winding it round a needle or straw, employs it as a windlass,
which is daily set in motion at a certain hour, when they wind out
as much line as they can without the risk of breaking it. Unhappy
the wretch whom this disaster befalls, when, happening to fall
into a feverish slumber, he kicks the windlass, and snaps the
living thread, which creates tenfold inflammation and suppuration.
On the other hand, if by patience and skill it is extracted entire,
he recovers. I should almost imagine, when the patriarch of
Uz exclaims, “My flesh is clothed with worms: my skin is broken
and become loathsome. When I lie down, I say, when shall I
arise and the night be gone?” that he must have been afflicted
with the narua, than which none of the ills that flesh is heir to
can be more agonizing.[8.2.60]
.fn 8.2.60
My friend Dr. Joseph Duncan (attached to the Residency when I was
Political Agent at Udaipur) was attacked by the