=Attempted Poisoning of the Author. Jahāzpur=, _October 1_.—My
journalizing had nearly terminated yesterday. Duncan and Carey being
still confined to their beds, my relative, Captain Waugh, sat down with
me to dinner; but fever and ague having destroyed all appetite on my
part, I was a mere spectator. I had, however, fancied a cake of _makkai_
flour, but had not eaten two mouthfuls before I experienced
extraordinary sensations; my head seemed expanding to an enormous size,
as if it alone would have filled the tent; my tongue and lips felt tight
and swollen, and though I underwent no alarm, nor suffered the slightest
loss of sense, I deemed it the prelude to one of those violent attacks,
which have assailed me for several years past, and brought me to the
verge of death. I begged Captain Waugh to leave me; but he had scarcely
gone before a constriction of the throat came on, and I thought all was
over. I rose up, however, and grasped [674] the tent-pole, when my
relative re-entered with the surgeon. I beckoned them not to disturb my
thoughts, instead of which they thrust some ether and compounds down my
throat, which operated with magical celerity. I vomited violently; the
constriction ceased; I sunk on my pallet, and about two in the morning I
awoke, bathed in perspiration, and without a remnant of disease. It was
difficult to account for this result: the medical oracle fancied I had
been poisoned, but I was loth to admit it. If the fact were so, the
poison must have been contained in the cake, and as it would have been
too great a risk to retain the person who prepared it, the baker was
discharged. It was fortunate that the symptoms were such as to induce
Captain Waugh to describe them so fully, and it was still more fortunate
for me that the doctor was not able to go out with his fishing-rod, for
the whole transaction did not last five minutes. This is about the
fourth time I have been ‘upon the brink’ (_kinari pahuncha_) since I
entered Mewar.[11.8.1]
=Khajuri=, _October 2_.—Left my sick friends this morning to nurse each
other, and having an important duty to perform at Mandalgarh, which is
out of the direct route, appointed a rendezvous where I shall meet them
when this work is over. I was for the first time compelled to shut
myself up in my palki; incessant fever and ague for the last two months
have disorganized a frame which has had to struggle with many of these
attacks. We are now in what is termed the Karar, for so the tract is
named on both banks of the Banas to the verge of the plateau; and my
journey was through a little nation of robbers by birth and profession;
but their _kamthas_ (bows) were unstrung, and their arrows rusting in
the quiver. Well may our empire in the east be called one of opinion,
when a solitary individual of Britain, escorted by a few of Skinner’s
Horse, may journey through the valley of Khajuri, where, three short
years ago, every crag would have concealed an ambush prepared to plunder
him! At present, I could by signal have collected four thousand bowmen
around me, to protect or to plunder; though the Minas, finding that
their rights are respected, are subsiding into regular tax-paying
subjects, and call out with their betters “Atal Raj!” (“May your sway be
everlasting!”) We had a grand convocation of the Mina Naiks, and, in the
Rana’s name, I distributed crimson turbans and scarfs; for as through
our mediation the Rana had just recovered the district of Jahazpur, he
charged me with its settlement. I found these Minas true children of
nature, who for the first time seemed to feel they were received within
the pale of society, instead of being considered as outcasts. “The heart
must leap kindly back to kindness,” is a sentiment as powerfully [675]
felt by the semi-barbarians of the Karar as by the more civilized
habitants of other climes.
Our route was through a very narrow valley, little susceptible of
cultivation, though a few patches were visible near the hamlets,
scattered here and there. The scene was wild, and the cool morning air
imparted vigour to my exhausted frame. The slopes of the valley in many
places are covered with trees to the very summit of the mountains, on
which the _kukra_ or wild cock was crowing his matins, and we were in
momentary expectation of seeing some bears, fit associates of the Minas,
in their early promenades. As we approached Khajuri, the valley widened,
so as to admit of its being termed a township of fifty-two thousand
bighas, which afforded another proof of ancestral wisdom, for it was in
_sasan_, or grant to the Brahmans: but the outlaws of the Karar, though
they sacrifice a tithe of their plunder to ‘our Lady of the Pass’ (Ghata
Rani), have little consideration for the idlers of the plains. This
feeling is not confined to the Minas; for the Bhumia Rajputs, despising
all the anathemas of the church, have seized on the best lands of
Khajuri. But only a small portion of the Bawana (fifty-two thousand),
about seventeen thousand English acres, is arable.
=Kachola= or =Kachaura=, _October 3_.—Execrable roads! Our route
continued through the same valley, occasionally expanding to the
westward. Half-way, we passed the baronial castle of Amargarh, whose
chief, Rawat Dalil Singh, is now on duty with his quota at Jahazpur, but
his uncle Pahar Singh, who is a great favourite with our party (by whom
he is known as ‘the mountain-lion’), came to meet and conduct me to the
castle. But I was too unwell, or should on many accounts have desired to
visit this somewhat celebrated abode of one of the Babas (_infants_) of
Mewar, whose feud I maintained for him against his potent neighbour of
Shahpura, which has elsewhere been related.[11.8.2] It is quite
unassailable, being built on an isolated rock, and, except by a
circuitous path on one side, there is no passage through the dense
jungle that surrounds it: a mode of fortifying recommended by
Manu,[11.8.3] but which, if universally followed in this land so studded
with fortresses, would waste no small portion of the sovereignty. I was
quite satisfied with this view of the castle of Dalil, and enjoyed from
the point of descent a noble prospect. In the foreground is the cenotaph
of Rana Arsi, in the centre of the valley, which extended and gradually
opened towards Mandalgarh, whose blue ridge was distinctly visible in
the distance. The hills to the right were broken abruptly into masses,
and as far as the eye could stretch [676] on every side, were disordered
heaps of gigantic rocks. To reclaim this district, the largest in Mewar,
I am now intent, having convoked all the Bhumias and Patels of its three
hundred and sixty townships at the chief city, Mandalgarh. My friend,
Pahar Singh, as locum tenens of his uncle, expended powder on the
occasion; and must have charged his patereroes[11.8.4] to the muzzle.
Paharji joined me on his Panchkalyan (so they term a horse with four
white legs and a white nose), and determined to escort me to Mandalgarh;
a service, as he said, not only due from his family, but in accordance
with the commands of his sovereign the Rana, of whom Pahar was a
faithful, zealous, and valiant supporter during his adversity. The
Bhumias of Mandalgarh, in fact, generally deserve the praise of having
maintained this stronghold without either command or assistance
throughout the whole period of his misfortunes.
Kachaura is a township rated at six thousand rupees of annual revenue in
the rent-roll of Mewar, but is now an inconsiderable village. In former
times, it must have been a place of importance, for all around, to a
considerable distance, the ground is strewed with fragments of sculpture
of a superior character, and one spot is evidently the site of the
cenotaphs of the family. The town had stood on the western bank of an
immense lake, which through neglect is now a swamp; and, half-way up the
hill, are disclosed, amidst the brushwood of the _dho_,[11.8.5] the
ruins of a temple: but tradition has perished with the population, who
were subjected at once to the curse of constant foreign invasion and the
inroads of the Minas of the Karar. Thus a soil, whose richness is
apparent from the luxuriance of its meadows, is in a state of entire
desolation. Kachaura forms the _patta_ of Shahpura in this district,
whose chief has to serve two masters, for he is a tributary of Ajmer for
Shahpura, itself a fief of Mewar, and holds an estate of about forty
thousand rupees of annual rent in Mandalgarh, which has been two years
under sequestration for his refusal to attend the summons to Udaipur,
and for his barbarous murder of the chief of Amargarh.[11.8.6] This is a
state of things which ought not to exist. When we freed these countries
from the Mahrattas, we should have renounced the petty tributes imposed
upon the surrounding chiefs not within the limits of the district of
Ajmer, and the retention of which is the source of irritating
discussions with these princes through the feudatories. Presuming on
this external influence, the Shahpura Raja set his sovereign’s warrant
at defiance, and styled himself a subject of Ajmer; nor was it until he
found he was bound by a double tie of duty, that he deigned to appear at
the capital. The resumption of the estate in Mandalgarh alone overcame
the inertness of the chief of Shahpura; he has already too much in the
Chaurasi, or eighty-four [677] townships of Shahpura, for such a subject
as he is, who prefers a foreign master to his legitimate lord. I would
recommend that the Rathor chiefs of Marwar, beyond the Aravalli hills,
now tributary to Ajmer, and who consequently only look to that State,
should be replaced under their proper head: the sacrifice is of no
moment to us, and to them it will be a boon.
=Damnia=, _October 9_.—I was detained at Kachaura by a violent accession
of fever and ague, as well as spleen, increased no doubt by the
unhealthiness of the position amidst swamps and jungle. This is a fine
healthy spot, where I should like to convene the Bhumias and ryots, to
endeavour to remove the reproach of so beautiful a land remaining waste.
Damnia, which is in the sequestrated _patta_ of Shahpura, is a town of
two thousand houses; a universal ruin!
=Mānpura=, 15.—After a week’s halt, reached this spot, about a mile
south-west of the town, and on the bank of the Banas.[11.8.7] The entire
population of Manpura turned out to receive me; the damsels with their
brazen vessels of water on their heads; but the song of the Suhaila had
ceased to charm, and my ague made me too ill even to return their
kindness. To-day it has abated, and to-morrow, with another respite, I
will try to get through the work which brought me here. Mandalgarh is
three coss from hence. I was rejoiced to see the signs of reviving
prosperity about Manpura; some fine patches of sugar-cane were
refreshing sights.
=Māndalgarh=,[11.8.8] 16 and 17.—Proceeded up the valley and encamped
within half a mile of the city, from which the governor and his cortege
came to meet and welcome me; but I was too enfeebled to ascend the fort,
which was a subject of regret. It is by no means formidable, and may be
about four furlongs in length, with a low rampart wall, and bastions
encircling the crest of the hill. The governor’s residence appears on
the west side, at which spot the regent of Kotah was compelled to
abandon his ladders, which they retain as a trophy. This is the festival
of the Dasahra, the day sacred to Rama; but feasting is lost upon me,
for this is the ninth day of abstinence from dinner. Captain Waugh
rejoined me yesterday, looking very ill, and giving a poor account of my
friends, especially Carey, who is sinking rapidly. He left them encamped
at Baghit, the point of rendezvous in the Banas where I shall join them
to-morrow. He found me on my _charpai_ (pallet), with some threescore
leeches (which I had got from Mandalgarh) on my left side,[11.8.9] while
I was attending [678] to and noting down the oral reports of the Bhumias
and Patels of the district, who filled my tent, many remaining in groups
outside. I notwithstanding got through the work to my satisfaction, and
have obtained a thorough insight into the agricultural details of this
fine tract, which I may touch upon, if I am able, the first halt.
=Annals of Māndalgarh.=—Mandalgarh was rebuilt by a chief of the
Balnot[11.8.10] tribe, one of the ramifications of the Solanki or
Chaulukya race, which furnished a splendid dynasty of kings to Anhilwara
(Nahrwala) Patan, who ruled over the western maritime provinces of India
from the tenth to the fourteenth century. They were of the great Takshak
or Ophite race, which, with three other tribes, became converts to
Brahmanism.[11.8.11] The Balnot of Mandalgarh was a branch of the family
which occupied Tonk-Toda on the Banas, recognized in their traditional
poems as Takshak, or, in the dialect, Takatpura, ‘city of the Takshak,
or snake.’[11.8.12] Although tradition asserts that the Solanki of Toda
migrated from Patan during the religious wars in the twelfth century, it
is more probable that the branch fixed itself here during their progress
from the north in search of settlements; for their genealogical creed
assigns Lohkot, in the Panjab, as the cradle of their power.[11.8.13] It
is indeed a curious fact, amounting to demonstration of the Indo-Scythic
origin of the Agnikula races, that they all lay claim to this northern
origin, in spite of their entrance into the world through the medium of
fire (_agni_): in fact, the glorious egotism of the Brahman is never
more conspicuous than when he asserts the superiority of the Chauhans
over the more ancient races of Surya and Soma; that “these were born of
woman, but they were made by the Brahmans”: a proof of conversion which
requires no comment. In spite of this fabled birth at the fountain-head,
the Analkund of Abu, tradition negatives the assumed pedigree of the
Brahmans, and brings them all from the north. Be this as it may, the
branch which fixed itself at Mandalgarh gave its name to the tract,
which is still recognized by some as Balnot.
=The Philosopher’s Stone.=—The first possession the founder had was
Larpura, a town of great antiquity. He had in his service a Bhil, named
Mandu, who, while guarding the sugar-cane from the wild hog, came upon
one sound asleep. To ensure his arrow piercing the animal, he began to
sharpen it upon a stone; and, to his astonishment, found it transmuted
to [679] gold. He repaired to his master, who returned with Mandu, and
found the stone, with the hog still asleep beside it; but no sooner had
he seized upon his prize, than Baraha disappeared.[11.8.14] With the
possession of the _paras-patthar_, the ‘philosopher’s stone,’ he raised
the walls of Mandalgarh, which was so named after the fortunate Bhil. By
an act of injustice to one of his subjects, he forfeited Mandalgarh to a
descendant. This subject was a Jogi, who had a mare of such
extraordinary speed as to be able to run down an antelope. Whether the
Balnot prince thought the sport unsuitable to an ascetic we are not
told; but he forcibly took away the mare. The Jogi complained to the
king, who sent a force and expelled the Balnot from Mandalgarh, and his
descendants are petty Bhumias at Jawal and Kachrod, retaining, though
mere peasants, the distinctive title of Rao. The numerous stories of
this kind, common throughout Rajwara, accounting for the foundation of
many ancient places, may merely record, in this manner, the discovery of
mineral wealth; from the acquisition and the loss of which the legendary
moralist has constructed his tale.
I discovered in the remains of a marble _bawari_, or reservoir, at
Kachaura, two large tablets, containing the pedigree of the Solanki
family, which will require time to decipher. Tradition, however, is busy
with the name of Raja Bhim, and his son Baran of Anhilwara, from whom
many tribes branched off; and although, from the first, only royal
houses were founded, the other claims a greater celebrity from
originating a heterogeneous breed, which descended into the third and
fourth great classes, the Vaisya and Sudra. From him the Bagherwal
Mahajans,[11.8.15] who became converts to the Jain faith, claim descent,
as well as the Gujars of Sont-Katoria; the Sunars, or goldsmiths, of
Bonkan; the Bhil communities of Oghna-Panarwa (or Mewar); and likewise
those of Mau-Maidana, in Kotah. Whether from Baran and his degenerate
offspring originated the name of _baran-shankar_, applied to the mixed
classes, I am not informed.[11.8.16] The Bagherwal is one of the “twelve
and a half (_sarha barah niyat_) castes of Mahajans,” or mercantile
tribes, subdivided into innumerable families, the greater portion of
whom profess the Jain creed, and nearly all are of Rajput ancestry: an
important fact in the pedigree of this considerable part of the
population. The lineal descendant of the Toda Rao resides at Basai in a
small village; and two other branches, who held large possessions at
Todri and Jahazpur, retain the villages of Mirchiakhera and Bhatwara,
both in Chitor; they have preserved the title of Rao amidst all the
revolutions that have deprived them of their estates; nor would any
prince of Rajwara deem himself degraded by their alliance [680]. Such is
the virtue of pedigree in these regions. I should imagine that the
Balnots held of the Ranas of Mewar, as Mandalgarh has been an integral
portion of that State during the most flourishing period of the
Anhilwara dynasty, although the inscription of Chitor savours of
conquest; in which case we have at once a solution of the question, and
proof that the Balnot was inducted into Mandalgarh by his superior,
Kumarpal.[11.8.17]
In S. 1755 (A.D. 1699) the tyrant Aurangzeb granted Mandalgarh to the
Rathor chief of Pisangan, named Dudaji, who subdivided it into
allotments for his brethren, leaving no revenue for the duties of the
civil administration and repairs of the castle. To remedy this, he
imposed a tax, called _daotra_ or _dasotra_, or ‘tenth’ of the net value
of each harvest, upon his Bhumia brethren. When the Rana succeeded in
expelling the royal garrison, he found it a work of some difficulty to
get rid of the Rathor feudatories; and he gave them regular _pattas_ for
their estates, subject to the payment of _dasotra_; but as he found it
led to interference, in the inspection of crops, and to fluctuation and
appeals in bad seasons, he commuted the tax for service of one horseman
and one foot-soldier for each five hundred rupees of rent, and a certain
small sum annually to mark their tributary condition.
In these times of turbulence, other impositions were laid on the Bhumias
of his own kindred, the Ranawats, Kanawats, and Saktawats, who
established their rights with their swords when the district was
subjected to the emperor. In the same manner as with the Rathors, the
Rana confirmed their acquisitions on the payment of certain fines called
_bhumbarar_, which were either _baraskar_ and _trisala_, or ‘annual’ and
‘triennial’; the first being levied from the holders of single villages,
the latter from those who had more than one. Thus, Amargarh was fixed at
two thousand five hundred rupees; Amaldah, fifteen hundred; Tintora,
thirteen hundred; Jhunjrala, fourteen hundred, etc., triennially, having
obtained their lands by main force. They also, when Mandalgarh was
threatened, would repair with their vassals and defend it during ten
days at their own expense, after which they received rations from the
State. There were various other fines collected from the Bhumia
vassalage, such as _lauasma_, or for the support of the Nakkarchis
(kettle-drummers), the mace, standard, and even the torch-bearers
attached to each garrison. There was also _khar-lakar_, for wood and
forage, which has been elsewhere explained; _hal-barar_, or
‘plough-tax,’ and _ghasmali_, or ‘pasturage,’ the rates of which are
graduated, and vary [681] in amount with the power of enforcing their
collections. But owing to these circumstances, the best land in
Mandalgarh belongs to the Bhumia chieftains.
It was about this time, in the reign of Jagat Singh II., that Ummeda
Singh of Shahpura had the grant of seventy-three villages in Mandalgarh,
one-fifth of the whole district, subject only to the fine of three
thousand two hundred and fifty rupees annually for _ghasmali_, with five
hundred more to the deputy governor, and two hundred to the Chaudhari,
or territorial head of the district. In this lavish manner were estates
disposed of. This family continued to hold it until S. 1843, when the
minister Somji, in order to obtain his support during the Chondawat
rebellion, gave him a formal acquittance for this service, and in
addition to these lands, the two subordinate fiefs of Dangarmau and
Borwa on the Plateau, and the rich estate of Agoncha on the Khari; in
return for which, he exacted a stipulation to serve with four hundred
horse: a contract fulfilled only by one chief of the family, who fell
leading his contingent at the battle of Ujjain. His descendants seem to
have claimed immunity on the score of his service; and the present
incumbent is a madman. Great changes, however, have recently been made
in the condition of the Bhumias, and these desultory fines have all
merged into a duty more accordant with the character of the Rajput;
service in the garrisons of Mandalgarh and Jahazpur, and a fixed annual
sum from those who are too poor to command even a single horse.
=Baghīt=,[11.8.18] _18th_; eight miles.—A large village on the west of
our own stream, the Berach, coming from the Udaisagar. Our road lay over
a rich soil, as usual overgrown with grass. Here I rejoined my sick
friends, all very ill; the doctor better, but Carey in a very precarious
condition.
=Birslabās=, _19th_.—The route over the most fertile plains of Mewar;
but one continuous mass of jungle and rank grass. The Maharaja came out
to meet me, a courteous, polished Rajput. He is of the Ranawat clan,
descended from Rana Amra Singh, and the elder branch of the Shahpura
family. Both his father and grandfather fell defending the cause of Shah
Jahan against the usurper Aurangzeb, which lost him his birthright; but
he has five villages left attached to Birslabas. Encamped near the
altars of his heroic ancestors.
=Amba=, _21st_; six and a half miles.—The route over a scene of
desolation; fine fields, fruitful of grass and ruins. Sent one of my
Brahmans to the town of Akola, two coss distant, and had several
inscriptions copied; they were all immunities or grants of privileges to
the printers of that town, thence called Chhipi-ka-Akola, to distinguish
[682] it from another of the same name. I halted at Birslabas, received
several visits, and held interesting conversations with the Maharaja;
but fever and ague leave the mind in a sorry state. I can pay no
attention to barometer or perambulator; of the latter Babu Mahesh keeps
a diary, and on his intelligence I can depend.
=Hamīrgarh=,[11.8.19] _22nd_.—This town belongs to Biramdeo, Ranawat,
the son of Dhiraj Singh, who was the chief adviser of the Salumbar
princes in the rebellion of S. 1843, during which he obtained it. The
present chief is an oaf, always intoxicated; and as he did not discharge
the Baoris, or professional thieves in his service, on the return of
these days of peace, he was deprived of two towns amounting to seven
thousand rupees annual rent. He ought, indeed, by the treaty of A.D.
1818, to have lost Hamirgarh, but he contrived by various indirect means
to elude it, and to retain this, one of the most thriving places in
Mewar. It contains about eight hundred inhabited houses, tenanted
chiefly by manufacturers of chintz and _dopattas_, or ‘scarfs,’ such as
are worn by all the Rajputnis. It has a fine lake, filled with a variety
of wild duck, which live unmolested amidst the _singhara_[11.8.20] and
lotus. The more ancient name of this place is Bakrol, as I found by two
inscriptions, which again furnish specimens of sumptuary legislation.
=Siyāna=,[11.8.21] _23rd_; eight miles and three furlongs.—We are now in
the very heart of Mewar, plains extending as far as the eye can reach.
Traces of incipient prosperity are visible, but it will require years to
repair the mischief of the last quarter of a century. Passed through
Ujhana, Amli, Neuria—all surrendered in consequence of the treaty of
1818: the last-mentioned, together with Siyana, from the ‘Red Riever,’
as we have nicknamed the chieftain of Badesar. The prospect from this
ground is superb: the Udaipur hills in the distance; those of Pur and
Gurla,[11.8.22] with their cupolas, on our right; the fantastic peak of
Barak rising insulated from the plain. We are now approaching a place of
rest, which we all much require; though I fear Carey’s will be one of
perpetuity. Saw a beautiful mirage (_si-kot_) this morning, the certain
harbinger of the cold season. The ridge of Pur underwent a thousand
transformations, and the pinnacle of Barak was crowned with a multitude
of spires. There is not a more delightful relaxation than to watch the
changes of these evanescent objects, emblems of our own ephemeral
condition. This was the first really cold morning. The Panchayat, or
elders of Pur, with several of the most respectable inhabitants to the
number of fifty, came all this way to see me, and testify their
happiness and gratitude! Is there another nook in the earth where such a
principle is professed, much [683] less acted on? Hear their spokesman’s
reply to my question, “Why did they take the trouble to come so far from
home?” I give it verbatim: “Our town had not two hundred inhabited
dwellings when you came amongst us: now there are twelve hundred: the
Rana is our sovereign, but you are to us next to Parameswar (the
Almighty); our fields are thriving, trade is reviving, and we have not
been molested even for the wedding-portion.[11.8.23] We are happy, and
we have come to tell you so; and what is five coss, or five hundred, to
what you have done for us?” All very true, my friends, if you think so.
After a little wholesome advice to keep party feuds from the good town
of Pur, they took leave, to return their ten miles on foot.
Since the town council left me, I have been kept until half-past seven
by the Baba of Mangrop, and the Thakur of Rawarda, whose son I redeemed
from captivity in the fortress of Ajmer. Worn out; but what is to be
done? It is impossible to deny one’s self to chiefs who have also come
miles from the best motives. Now for coffee and the _charpai_.
=Rāsmi=,[11.8.24] _October 23_.—The direct or usual route is thirteen
and a half miles, but as I made a circuit by Marauli, it was fifteen.
Had I taken the common route, I should have followed the Banas the whole
way; as it was, for the last half I skirted its low banks, its limpid
stream flowing gently to the north-east. Found the cultivation
considerably increased compared with last year; but it is still a
desert, overgrown with grass and brushwood, in which these little
cultivated oases are “few and far between.” Marauli was thriving in the
midst of ruin, with fifty-seven ploughs at work; there were but twelve
when I entered Mewar. Rasmi has also seventy families instead of the
twenty I found; and in a few years I hope to see them greatly increased.
We had some delicious trout from the Banas, some of them equal to what
we caught last year at Pahona, the largest of which weighed
seventy-three rupees, or about two pounds, and near seventeen inches
long by nine in girth. My friend Tom David Steuart was more successful
than we were in getting them to rise at the fly; in revenge we took
them, unsportsmanlike, in a net. This appears to be the season for
eating them.
Rasmi is a place of considerable interest, and tradition is at work to
establish its antiquity, connecting it with the name of Raja Chand; but
whether the Pramar of [684] Chandravati, or the Chauhan of Abhaner, I
cannot learn. There were vestiges of past days; but even in these
regions, where to a certain extent they respect antiquity, I find the
ruined temples are despoiled, and appropriated to modern fabrics.
Amongst the groves of Rasmi I found some fragments of patriarchal
legislation, prohibiting “the ladies from carrying away under their
_ghaghra_ (petticoats) any portion of the _sadh_, or village-feast!” I
also discovered a tablet raised by the collective inhabitants of Rasmi,
which well illustrates the truth, that they had always some resort
against oppression. It runs as follows: “Written by the merchants,
bankers, printers, and assembled panchayat of Rasmi: Whereas the
collector of town-duties oppressed the merchant by name Pakar, and
exacted exorbitant duties on grain and _reza_ (unbleached cloth), for
which he abandoned the place; but the government-officer having forsworn
all such conduct for the future, and prevailed on him to return, and
having taken the god to witness—we, the assembled panch, have set up
this stone to record it. Asarh the 3rd, S. 1819.”
Fourteen years have elapsed since I first put my foot in Mewar, as a
subaltern of the Resident’s[11.8.25] escort, when it passed through
Rasmi. Since that period, my whole thoughts have been occupied with her
history and that of her neighbours.
=Jāsma=,[11.8.26] _24th_; distance fourteen miles, but not above twelve
direct.—This in past times was a township of celebrity, and in the heart
of the finest soil in India, with water at hand; but it had not a single
habitation when we entered the country; now, it has eighty families. Our
way for fourteen miles was through one wide waste of untrodden plain;
the Banas continued our companion half-way, when _she_ departed for
Galund to our right. Saw many inscriptions, of which we shall give an
account hereafter. Passed the copper-mines of Dariba;[11.8.27] but they
are filled with water, and the miners are all dead.
=Sanwār=,[11.8.28] _25th_; distance twelve and a half miles by the
direct route through Lonera; but I made a circuit to visit the
celebrated field of battle between Rawal Samarsi, of Chitor, and Bhola
Bhim, of Anhilwara Patan, recorded by the bard Chand in his Raesa. This
magnificent plain, like all the rest of this once garden of Mewar, is
overgrown with the _kesula_ or _palas_, and lofty rank grass; and the
sole circumstance by which it is known is the site. The bard describes
the battle as having occurred in Khet-Karera, or field of Karera, and
that the Solanki, on his defeat, retreated across the river, meaning the
Berach, which is a few miles to the south. A little way [685] from hence
is the Sangam, or point of junction of the Berach and Banas, which, with
a third small stream, forms a _triveni_; at their point of confluence
there is an altar to Mahadeo.
=Karera.=—At Karera there is a temple of some celebrity, dedicated to
the twenty-third of the Jain apostles, Parsvanath. I found several
inscriptions recording its foundation in S. 11 ..., and several from
1300 to 1350. We must supply the figures wanting in the first. The
priests are poor and ignorant; but they are transcribing its history,
and such as it is it shall be given. The temple is imposing, and though
evidently erected in the decline of the arts, may be considered a good
specimen for the twelfth century. It consists of two domes, supported by
numerous massive columns of a species of porphyry, of close texture,
excessively hard, and taking a fine polish. The capitals of the columns
are filled with Jain figures of their pontiffs. The domes are of nearly
equal diameters, about thirty feet each, and about forty in height;
under the further one is the sanctum of Parsva, and the other within the
votaries. There is a splendid colonnaded vestibule at the entrance,
richly sculptured, which gives a very grand appearance to the whole
edifice; but it stands in the midst of desolation. Even thirty years
ago, these plains were covered with crops of juar, in which an elephant
would have been lost; now there is scarcely the trace of a footpath, and
with some difficulty did I make way in my palki (for I am unable to
mount my horse) through the high grass which completely overtopped it,
and the babul trees, the thorns of which annoyed us. Karera, which
formerly contained six hundred houses, has now only sixty; and more than
half of these have been built since we came amongst them. The damsels of
Karera came out to welcome me with the ‘song of joy,’ and bringing
water. The distance is seven miles from Rasmi to Karera, and nine thence
to Sanwar. The latter belongs to one of the infants (_Babas_) of Mewar,
the Maharaja Daulat Singh, now kilahdar or commandant of Kumbhalmer.
This chief town of the estate of my friend the Maharaja is but small,
and in no flourishing condition. There is a small fort, in which he
contrived to maintain himself against the savage bands who long prowled
over the country. Transcribed an inscription, and found it to be the
abolition of a monopoly of tobacco, dated S. 1826.
=Mauli=, _26th_; seven and a half miles.—As usual, all was barren
between Sanwar and Mauli; though at each are the traces of reviving
industry. This was formerly a considerable town, and rated in the books
at seven thousand rupees annual rent; but now it yields not seven
hundred. Its population consists of about eighty families of all classes
[686], half of which have been recalled from their long exile in Malwa
and Khandesh, and have already given a new aspect to Mauli in its
sugar-canes. Her highness’s steward, however, is not one of the
faithful. There is a very fine _bawari_, or reservoir, of coarse marble,
constructed by Baiji Raj, ‘the royal mother,’ of the present Rana and
his sister, in whose appanage it is. An inscription, dated S. 1737,
recorded an ordinance in favour of the Jains, that “the oil-mill of
Mauli should not work on the four rainy months”; in order to lessen the
destruction of animal life.[11.8.29]
=Heights of Tus and Merta=, _27th_; fourteen miles and a half.—At length
there is an end to our disastrous journey; and from this ground I stir
not again, till I start for Samudra (the sea), to embark for the land of
my sires. Our route, as usual, over desolate fields, doubly striking as
we passed the hunting-seats of Nahramagra, or ‘tiger mount.’ Bajraj, the
royal steed, who seemed instinctively to know he was at the end of his
journey, was unwilling to quit the path and his companions, when I urged
him to pick his way amidst the ruined palace of the Ranas, where,
without metaphor, “the owl stands sentinel”; and which was crumbling
into and choking up the Bamani, whose monotonous murmur over these
impediments increased the melancholy sensations which arose on beholding
such a scene. Every year is aiding its rapid decay, and vegetation,
fixing itself everywhere, rends its walls asunder. The range of stabling
for thirty horses, all of stone, even to the mangers, is one extensive
ruin. It was on this spot, according to the chronicles, that the sage
Harit bestowed the enchanted blade upon the great sire of the Sesodias,
eleven centuries ago; but they have run their career, and the problem
remains to be solved, whether they have to commence a new course, or
proceed in the same ratio of decay as the palace of the tiger-mount. The
walls around this royal preserve no longer serve to keep the game from
prowling where they please. A noble boar crossed our path, but had no
pursuers; “our blood was cold”; we wanted rest. As we approached our old
ground, my neighbours of Merta and villages adjacent poured out to
welcome our return, preceded by the Dholi of Tus and his huge
kettle-drum, and the fair, bearing their lotas, or brazen vessels with
water, chanted the usual strain of welcome. I dropped a piece of silver
into each as I passed, and hastened to rest my wearied limbs.
Poor Carey will never march again! Life is almost extinct, and all of us
are but the ghosts of what we were [687].
-----
Footnote 11.8.1:
[Lieut.-Col. T. H. Sweeny, who has much experience in such cases, is
satisfied, from the symptoms, that the attack was not due to darnel,
the seeds of which, when mixed with cereals, and when they have been
attacked by mildew or fungi, are deleterious. The attack was certainly
due to the administration of _datura fastuosa_, used by road
poisoners, and his recovery was due to the immediate production of
vomiting.]
Footnote 11.8.2:
See Vol. I. p. 212.
Footnote 11.8.3:
[Laws, vii. 70.]
Footnote 11.8.4:
[Spanish _pedrero_, originally an engine used for flinging stones:
then, a piece of ordnance for discharging fragments of broken iron and
the like, and for firing salutes (see J. Fryer, _A New Account of East
India and Persia_, ed. 1909, i. 271 f.).]
Footnote 11.8.5:
[A ravine, deep pool.]
Footnote 11.8.6:
See Vol I. p. 213.
Footnote 11.8.7:
By mistake, Manpura is not rightly placed in the map. [It is situated
about half-way between Damnia and Māndalgarh.]
Footnote 11.8.8:
[About 100 miles N.E. of Udaipur city (Erskine ii. A. 118 f., quoting,
for its archaeology, H. Cousens, _Progress Report AS W. India_, for
year ending June 30, 1905).]
Footnote 11.8.9:
Enlargement of the spleen appears an invariable accompaniment of
protracted fever and ague, arising from such causes as afflicted us. I
could feel the spleen at the very pit of the stomach, as hard as a
stone. The bleeding reduced it, as it did generally in my case; for
the leeches were enormous, and must have each drained half an ounce of
blood; but I had only the choice of them or the actual cautery, which
was strongly recommended by my native friends: of two evils I chose
what appeared to me the least.
Footnote 11.8.10:
[The origin of the Bālnot tribe is doubtful (_Census Report
Rājputāna_, 1911, i. 256).]
Footnote 11.8.11:
[The Chaulukya or Solanki tribe is of Gurjara origin, which is implied
in the Takshak theory of the Author. There is no reason for connecting
them with a race of serpent-worshippers.]
Footnote 11.8.12:
Tonk-Toda is well worth visiting. The artist might fill a portfolio
with architectural and picturesque sketches. Moreover, topazes of a
good quality are found in its hills. The sacred cave of Gokaran,
celebrated in the history of the great Chauhan king, Bisaldeo of
Ajmer, is also worth notice.
Footnote 11.8.13:
[For Lohkot see Vol. I. p. 116.]
Footnote 11.8.14:
[Bārāha, Vārāha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu.]
Footnote 11.8.15:
[They are said to take their name from Bāghera in Ajmer.]
Footnote 11.8.16:
[The Baranshankar, or mixed tribes, have no connexion with a mythical
Rāja Baran. The distinction of colours (_varna_) goes back to the
early Hindu period (A. A. Macdonell, _Hist. Sanskrit Literature_,
86).]
Footnote 11.8.17:
See Inscription, Vol. II. p. 925.
Footnote 11.8.18:
[Nearly 10 miles S.W. of Māndalgarh.]
Footnote 11.8.19:
[Seventy-two miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]
Footnote 11.8.20:
[The edible nut, _Trapa bispinosa_ (Watt, _Econ. Prod._ 1080).]
Footnote 11.8.21:
[About 60 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]
Footnote 11.8.22:
[Pur, 72 miles N.E. of Udaipur city: Gurla on the S.W. point of the
same hill-range.]
Footnote 11.8.23:
When the Rana was about celebrating simultaneously the marriage of two
daughters and a granddaughter of the princes of Jaisalmer, Bikaner,
and Kishangarh, his subjects were called on for the ‘tenth.’
Footnote 11.8.24:
[About 46 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]
Footnote 11.8.25:
My esteemed friend, Mr. Graeme Mercer, of Maevisbank.
Footnote 11.8.26:
[Now headquarters of a Tahsīl in Kapāsan district: about 42 miles N.E.
of Udaipur city.]
Footnote 11.8.27:
[These lead mines, once yielding a high revenue, have long been closed
(Erskine ii. A. 53).]
Footnote 11.8.28:
[A trading town, about 30 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]
Footnote 11.8.29:
[Among Jains at the present day the period of retreat, known as
Pachasan or Paryusan, extends among the Swetāmbara section from 12th
dark half of Sāwan (July-August) to 5th bright half of Bhādrapada
(August-September): among the Digambara section from 5th bright half
to 5th dark half of Bhādrapada (_BG_, ix. Part i. 113 f.). It
corresponds to the Buddhist Vassavāsa or Vassa (Skt. _vārshika_,
‘belonging to the rainy season’) (Kern, _Manual of Indian Buddhism_,
80 f.).]
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