=Rāna Karan Singh II., A.D. 1620-28.=—Karan, or Karna (_the radiant_),
succeeded to the last independent king of Mewar, S. 1677, A.D. 1621.
Henceforth we shall have to exhibit these princely ‘children of the sun’
with diminished lustre, moving as satellites round the primary planet;
but, unaccustomed to the laws of its attraction, they soon deviated from
the orbit prescribed, and in the eccentricity of their movements
occasionally displayed their unborrowed effulgence. For fifteen hundred
years we have traced each alternation of the fortune of this family,
from their establishment in the second, to their expulsion in the fifth
century from Saurashtra by the Parthians; the acquisition and loss of
Idar; the conquest and surrender of Chitor; the rise of Udaipur and
abasement of the red flag to Jahangir; and we shall conclude with not
the least striking portion of their history, their unity of interests
with Britain.
Karan was deficient neither in courage nor conduct; of both he had given
a decided proof, when, to relieve the pecuniary difficulties of his
father, with a rapidity unparalleled, he passed through the midst of his
foes, surprised and plundered Surat, and carried off a booty which was
the means of protracting the evil days of his country. But for the
exercise of the chief virtue of the Rajput, he [369] had little scope
throughout his reign, and fortunately for his country the powerful
esteem and friendship which Jahangir and Prince Khurram evinced for his
house, enabled him to put forth the talents he possessed to repair past
disasters. He fortified the heights round the capital, which he
strengthened with a wall and ditch, partly enlarged the noble dam which
retains the waters of the Pichola, and built that entire portion of the
palace called the Rawala, still set apart for the ladies of the court.
=Terms between Rāna Karan Singh and Jahāngīr.=—When Rana Amra made terms
with Jahangir, he stipulated, as a salvo for his dignity and that of his
successors, exemption from all personal attendance; and confined the
extent of homage to his successors receiving, on each lapse of the
crown, the farman or imperial decree in token of subordination, which,
more strongly to mark their dependent condition, the Rana was to accept
without the walls of his capital; accordingly, though the heirs-apparent
of Mewar[4.13.1] attended the court, they never did as Rana. Partly to
lessen the weight of this sacrifice to independence, and partly to exalt
the higher grade of nobles, the princes of the blood-royal of Mewar were
made to rank below the Sixteen, a fictitious diminution of dignity
which, with similar acts peculiar to this house, enhanced the
self-estimation of the nobles, and made them brave every danger to
obtain such sacrifices to the ruling passion of the Rajput, a love of
distinction.[4.13.2] It is mentioned by the emperor that he placed the
heir-apparent of Mewar immediately on his right hand, over all the
princes of Hindustan; consequently the superior nobles of Mewar, who
were all men of royal descent, deemed themselves, and had their [370]
claims admitted, to rank above their peers at other courts, and to be
seated almost on an equality with their princes.[4.13.3]
[Illustration:
RĀJMAHALL.
_To face page 428._
]
=Sesodias in the Imperial Service.=—The Sesodia chieftains were soon
distinguished amongst the Rajput vassals of the Mogul, and had a full
share of power. Of these Bhim, the younger brother of Karan, who headed
the quota of Mewar, was conspicuous, and became the chief adviser and
friend of Sultan Khurram, who well knew his intrepidity. At his son’s
solicitation, the emperor conferred upon him the title of Raja, and
assigned a small principality on the Banas for his residence, of which
Toda was the capital. Ambitious of perpetuating a name, he erected a new
city and palace on the banks of the river, which he called Rajmahall,
and which his descendants held till about forty years ago. The ruins of
Rajmahall[4.13.4] bear testimony to the architectural taste of this son
of Mewar, as do the fallen fortunes of his descendant to the instability
of power: the lineal heir of Raja Bhim serves the chief of Shahpura on
half a crown a day!
=Revolt and Death of Bhīm Singh.=—Jahangir, notwithstanding his favours,
soon had a specimen of the insubordinate spirit of Bhim. Being desirous
to separate him from Sultan Khurram, who aspired to the crown in
prejudice to his elder brother Parvez, he appointed Bhim to the
government of Gujarat, which was distinctly refused. Detesting Parvez,
who, it will be recollected, invaded Mewar, and was foiled for his
cruelty on this occasion, Bhim advised his friend at once to throw off
the mask, if he aspired to reign. Parvez was slain,[4.13.5] and Khurram
manifested his guilt by flying to arms [371]. He was secretly supported
by a strong party of the Rajput interest, at the head of which was Gaj
Singh of Marwar, his maternal grandfather, who cautiously desired to
remain neutral. Jahangir advanced to crush the incipient revolt; but
dubious of the Rathor (Gaj Singh), he gave the van to Jaipur, upon which
the prince furled his banners and determined to be a spectator. The
armies approached and were joining action, when the impetuous Bhim sent
a message to the Rathor either to aid or oppose them. The insult
provoked him to the latter course, and Bhim’s party was destroyed,
himself slain,[4.13.6] and Khurram and Mahabat Khan compelled to seek
refuge in Udaipur. In this asylum he remained undisturbed: apartments in
the palace were assigned to him; but his followers little respecting
Rajput prejudices, the island became his residence, on which a sumptuous
edifice was raised, adorned with a lofty dome crowned with the crescent.
The interior was decorated with mosaic, in onyx, cornelian, jaspers, and
agates, rich Turkey carpets, etc.; and that nothing of state might be
wanting to the royal refugee, a throne was sculptured from a single
block of serpentine, supported by quadriform female Caryatidae. In the
court a little chapel was erected to the Muhammadan saint Madar,[4.13.7]
and here the prince with his court resided, every wish anticipated, till
a short time before his father’s death, when he retired into
Persia.[4.13.8]
Such was Rajput gratitude to a prince who, when the chances of war made
him victor over them, had sought unceasingly to mitigate the misery
attendant on the loss of independence! It is pleasing to record to the
honour of this calumniated race, that these feelings on the part of
Karan were not transient; and that so far from expiring with the object,
The debt immense of endless gratitude.
was transmitted as an heirloom to his issue; and though two centuries
have fled, during which Mewar had suffered every variety of woe,
pillaged by Mogul [372], Pathan, and Mahratta, yet the turban of Prince
Khurram, the symbol of fraternity,[4.13.9] has been preserved, and
remains in the same folds as when transferred from the head of the Mogul
to that of the Rajput prince. The shield is yet held as the most sacred
of relics, nor will the lamp which illumines the chapel of Madar want
oil while the princes of Udaipur have wherewithal to supply it.[4.13.10]
=Death of Rāna Karan Singh.=—Rana Karan had enjoyed eight years of
perfect tranquillity when he was gathered to his fathers. The sanctuary
he gave Prince Khurram had no apparent effect on Jahangir, who doubtless
believed that the Rana did not sanction the conduct of his brother Bhim.
He was succeeded by his son Jagat Singh, ‘the lion of the world,’ in S.
1684 (A.D. 1628).
[Illustration:
JAGMANDIR PALACE, UDAIPUR.
_To face page 432._
]
=Rāna Jagat Singh I., A.D. 1628-52.=—The Emperor Jahangir died shortly
after his accession [October 28, 1627], and while Khurram was in exile.
This event, which gave the throne to the friend of his house, was
announced to him by the Rana, who sent his brother and a band of Rajputs
to Surat to form the cortege of the emperor, who repaired directly to
Udaipur; and it was in the Badal Mahall (‘the cloud saloon’) of his
palace that he was first saluted by the title of ‘Shah Jahan,’ by the
satraps and tributary princes of the empire.[4.13.11] On taking leave,
the new monarch restored five alienated districts, and presented the
Rana with a ruby of inestimable value, giving him also permission to
reconstruct the fortifications of Chitor.[4.13.12]
The twenty-six years during which Jagat Singh occupied the throne passed
in uninterrupted tranquillity: a state unfruitful to the bard, who
flourishes only amidst agitation and strife. This period was devoted to
the cultivation of the peaceful arts, especially architecture; and to
Jagat Singh Udaipur is indebted for those magnificent works which bear
his name, and excite our astonishment, after all the disasters we have
related, at the resources he found to accomplish them [373].
=Erection of Buildings at Udaipur.=—The palace on the lake (covering
about four acres), called the Jagniwas, is entirely his work, as well as
many additions to its sister isle, on which is the Jagmandir.[4.13.13]
Nothing but marble enters into their composition; columns, baths,
reservoirs, fountains, all are of this material, often inlaid with
mosaics, and the uniformity pleasingly diversified by the light passing
through glass of every hue. The apartments are decorated with historical
paintings in water-colours, almost meriting the term fresco from their
deep absorption in the wall, though the darker tints have blended with
and in part obscured the more delicate shades, from atmospheric causes.
The walls, both here and in the grand palace, contain many medallions,
in considerable relief, in gypsum, portraying the principal historical
events of the family, from early periods even to the marriage pomp of
the present Rana. Parterres of flowers, orange and lemon groves,
intervene to dispel the monotony of the buildings, shaded by the
wide-spreading tamarind and magnificent evergreen khirni;[4.13.14] while
the graceful palmyra and coco wave their plumelike branches over the
dark cypress or cooling plantain. Detached colonnaded refectories are
placed on the water’s edge for the chiefs, and extensive baths for their
use. Here they listened to the tale of the bard, and slept off their
noonday opiate amidst the cool breezes of the lake, wafting delicious
odours from myriads of the lotus-flower which covered the surface of the
waters; and as the fumes of the potion evaporated, they opened their
eyes on a landscape to which not even its inspirations could frame an
equal: the broad waters of the Pichola, with its indented and
well-wooded margin receding to the terminating point of sight, at which
the temple of Brahmpuri opened on the pass of the gigantic Aravalli, the
field of the exploits of their forefathers. Amid such scenes did the
Sesodia princes and chieftains recreate during two generations,
exchanging the din of arms for voluptuous inactivity.
Jagat Singh was a highly respected prince, and did much to efface the
remembrance of the rude visitations of the Moguls. The dignity of his
character, his benevolence of address and personal demeanour, secured
the homage of all who had access to him, and are alike attested by the
pen of the emperor, the ambassador of England, and the chronicles of
Mewar. He had the proud satisfaction [374] of redeeming the ancient
capital from ruin; rebuilding the “chaplet bastion,[4.13.15] restoring
the portals, and replacing the pinnacles on the temples of Chitrakot.”
By a princess of Marwar he left two sons, the eldest of whom succeeded.
=Rāna Rāj Singh, A.D. 1652-80.=—Raj Singh (the royal lion) mounted the
throne in S. 1710 (A.D. 1654). Various causes over which he had no
control combined, together with his personal character, to break the
long repose his country had enjoyed. The emperor of the Moguls had
reached extreme old age, and the ambition of his sons to usurp his
authority involved every Rajput in support of their individual
pretensions. The Rana inclined to Dara,[4.13.16] the legitimate heir to
the throne, as did nearly the whole Rajput race; but the battle of
Fatehabad[4.13.17] silenced every pretension, and gave the lead to
Aurangzeb, which he maintained by the sacrifice of whatever opposed his
ambition. His father, brothers, nay, his own offspring, were in turn
victims to that thirst for power which eventually destroyed the monarchy
of the Moguls.
The policy introduced by their founder, from which Akbar, Jahangir, and
Shah Jahan had reaped so many benefits, was unwisely abandoned by the
latter, who of all had the most powerful reasons for maintaining those
ties which connected the Rajput princes with his house. Historians have
neglected to notice the great moral strength derived from this unity of
the indigenous races with their conquerors; for during no similar period
was the empire so secure, nor the Hindu race so cherished, as during the
reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan: the former born from a Rajput
princess of Amber, and the latter from the house of Marwar. Aurangzeb’s
unmixed Tatar blood brought no Rajput sympathies to his aid; on the
contrary, every noble family shed their best blood in withstanding his
accession, and in the defence of Shah Jahan’s rights, while there was a
hope of success. The politic Aurangzeb was not blind to this defect, and
he tried to remedy it in his successor; for both his declared heir, Shah
Alam, and Azam, as well as his favourite grandson,[4.13.18] were the
offspring of Rajputnis; but, uninfluenced himself by such predilections,
his bigotry outweighed his policy, and he visited the Rajputs with an
unrelenting and unwise persecution [375].
We shall pass the twice-told tale of the struggle for power which ended
in the destruction of the brothers, competitors with Aurangzeb: this
belongs to general history, not to the annals of Mewar; and that history
is in every hand,[4.13.19] in which the magnanimity of Dara,[4.13.20]
the impetuosity of Murad, and the activity of Suja met the same tragical
end.
=Princes contemporary with Aurangzeb.=—It has seldom occurred that so
many distinguished princes were contemporary as during the reign of
Aurangzeb. Every Rajput principality had a head above mediocrity in
conduct as in courage. Jai Singh of Amber, surnamed ‘the Mirza Raja’;
Jaswant Singh of Marwar, with the Haras of Bundi and Kotah; the Rathors
of Bikaner, and Bundelas of Orchha and Datia, were men whose prejudices,
properly consulted, would have rendered the Mogul power indissoluble:
but he had but one measure of contumely for all, which inspired Sivaji
with designs of freedom to Maharashtra, and withdrew every sentiment of
support from the princes of Rajasthan. In subtlety and the most specious
hypocrisy, in that concentration of resolve which confides its deep
purpose to none, in every qualification of the warrior or
scholar,[4.13.21] Aurangzeb had no superior amongst the many
distinguished [376] of his race; but that sin by which ‘angels fell’ had
steeped him in an ocean of guilt, and not only neutralized his natural
capacities, but converted the means for unlimited power into an engine
of self-destruction. “This hypocrisy,” says the eloquent Orme,[4.13.22]
“encreased with his power, and in order to palliate to his Mahomedan
subjects the crimes by which he had become their sovereign, he
determined to enforce the conversion of the Hindoos by the severest
penalties, and even threatned the sword; as if the blood of his subjects
were to wash away the stains, with which he was imbrued by the blood of
his family.... Labour left the field and industry the loom, until the
decrease of the revenues drew representations from the governors of the
provinces; which induced Aurungzebe to substitute a capitation
tax[4.13.23] as the ballance of the account between the two religions.”
The same historian justly characterizes this enactment as one so
contrary to all notions of sound policy, as well as of the feelings of
humanity, that “reflection seeks the motive with amazement.” In this
amazement we might remain, nor seek to develop the motive, did not the
ample page of history in all [377] nations disclose that in the name of
religion more blood has been shed, and more atrocity committed, than by
the united action of the whole catalogue of the passions. Muhammad’s
creed was based on conversion, which, by whatever means effected, was a
plenary atonement for every crime. In obedience thereto Aurangzeb acted;
but though myriads of victims who clung to their faith were sacrificed
by him at the fiat of this gladiatorial prophet, yet nor these, nor the
scrupulous fulfilment of fanatic observances, could soothe at the dread
hour the perturbations of the ‘still small voice’ which whispered the
names of father, brother, son, bereft by him of life. Eloquently does he
portray these terrors in his letters to his grandson on his death-bed,
wherein he says, "Whichever way I look, I see only the divinity"—and
that an offended divinity [378].[4.13.24]
=Rāna Rāj Singh defies Aurangzeb.=—Raj Singh had signalized his
accession by the revival of the warlike Tika-daur, and plundered
Malpura, which though on the Ajmer frontier, Shah Jahan, when advised to
vengeance, replied “it was only a folly of his nephew.”[4.13.25] An
appeal to his gallantry made him throw down the gauntlet to Aurangzeb in
the plenitude of his power, when the valour of the Sesodias again burst
forth in all the splendour of the days of Partap; nor did the contest
close till after a series of brilliant victories, and with the narrow
escape from captivity of the Xerxes of Hindustan. The Mogul demanded the
hand of the princess of Rupnagar, a junior branch of the Marwar house,
and sent with the demand (a compliance with which was contemplated as
certain) a cortège of two thousand horse to escort the fair to court.
But the haughty Rajputni, either indignant at such precipitation or
charmed with the gallantry of the Rana, who had evinced his devotion to
the fair by measuring his sword with the head of her house, rejected
with disdain the proffered alliance, and, justified by brilliant
precedents in the romantic history of her nation, she entrusted her
cause to the arm of the chief of the Rajput race, offering herself as
the reward of protection. The family priest (her preceptor) deemed his
office honoured by being the messenger of her wishes, and the billet he
conveyed is incorporated in the memorial of this reign. “Is the swan to
be the mate of the stork: a Rajputni, pure in blood, to be wife to the
monkey-faced barbarian!” concluding with a threat of self-destruction if
not saved from dishonour. This appeal, with other powerful motives, was
seized on with avidity by the Rana as a pretext to throw away the
scabbard, in order to illustrate the opening of a warfare, in which he
determined to put all to the hazard in defence of his country and his
faith. The issue was an omen of success to his warlike and [379]
superstitious vassalage. With a chosen band he rapidly passed the foot
of the Aravalli and appeared before Rupnagar, cut up the imperial
guards, and bore off the prize to his capital. The daring act was
applauded by all who bore the name of Rajput, and his chiefs with joy
gathered their retainers around the ‘red standard,’ to protect the queen
so gallantly achieved.
=The Imposition of the Jizya or Capitation Tax.=—The annalist of
Rajputana is but an indifferent chronologist, and leaves us doubtful of
the exact succession of events at this period. It was not, however, till
the death of those two powerful princes, Jaswant Singh of Marwar and Jai
Singh of Amber, both poisoned by command of the tyrant, the one at his
distant government of Kabul, the other in the Deccan, that he deemed
himself free to put forth the full extent of his long-concealed design,
the imposition of the _jizya_ or capitation tax on the whole Hindu race.
But he miscalculated his measures, and the murder of these princes, far
from advancing his aim, recoiled with vengeance on his head. Foiled in
his plot to entrap the infant sons of the Rathor by the self-devotion of
his vassals,[4.13.26] the compound treachery evinced that their only
hope lay in a deadly resistance. The mother of Ajit, the infant heir of
Marwar, a woman of the most determined character, was a princess of
Mewar, and she threw herself upon the Rana as the natural guardian of
his rights, for sanctuary (_saran_) during the dangers of his minority.
This was readily yielded, and Kelwa assigned as his residence, where
under the immediate safeguard of the brave Durgadas Ajit
resided,[4.13.27] while she nursed the spirit of resistance at home. A
union of interests was cemented between these the chief States of
Rajputana, for which they never before had such motive, and but for
repeated instances of an ill-judged humanity, the throne of the Moguls
might have been completely overturned [380].
=Letter of Remonstrance to Aurangzeb.=—On the promulgation of that
barbarous edict, the _jizya_, the Rana remonstrated by letter, in the
name of the nation of which he was the head, in a style of such
uncompromising dignity, such lofty yet temperate resolve, so much of
soul-stirring rebuke mingled with a boundless and tolerating
benevolence, such elevated ideas of the Divinity with such pure
philanthropy, that it may challenge competition with any epistolary
production of any age, clime, or condition.[4.13.28] In this are
contained the true principles of Christianity, and to the illustrious
Gentile, and such as acted as he did, was pointed that golden sentence
of toleration, "Those [381] who have not the law, yet do by nature the
things contained in the law, shall be a law unto themselves."
=Aurangzeb attacks Mewār.=—This letter, the sanctuary afforded Ajit,
and (what the historical parasite of the Mogul’s life dared not
indite[4.13.29]) the carrying off of his betrothed, made him pour out
all the phials of his wrath against the devoted Mewar, and his
preparations more resembled those for the conquest of a potent kingdom
than the subjugation of a Rajput _zamindar,_[4.13.30] a vassal of that
colossal empire on whose surface his domain was but a speck. In the
very magnitude of these, the Suzerain of Hindustan paid the highest
tribute of praise to the tributary Rajput, for he denuded the very
extremities of his empire to assemble a host which he deemed must
prove irresistible. Akbar was recalled from his province, Bengal; Azam
from the distant Kabul; and even Muazzam (the Mogul’s heir) from the
war in the Deccan. With this formidable array[4.13.31] the emperor
entered Mewar, and soon reduced the low countries, which experience
had taught them were indefensible, the inhabitants previously retiring
with their effects to the hills.[4.13.32] Chitor, Mandalgarh,
Mandasor, Jiran, and many other strongholds were obtained after the
usual form of opposition, and garrisoned by the Moguls. Meanwhile the
Rana was animating the might of the Aravalli, where he meditated a
resistance proportioned to the peril which threatened every cherished
prejudice of his race: not the mere defence of dominion or dignity,
but a struggle, _pro aris et focis_, around which rallied every Rajput
with the most deadly determination. Even the primitive races of the
western wilds, “the Palindas[4.13.33] and Palipats[4.13.33] (_lord of
the passes_), with thousands of bows, and hearts devoted in the cause
of Hindupat,”[4.13.34] assembled round the red banner of Mewar. The
Rana divided his forces into three bodies [382]. His eldest son, Jai
Singh, was posted on the crest of the Aravalli, ready to act on the
invaders from either side of the mountains. Prince Bhim was to the
west, to keep up the communications with the outlets to Gujarat; while
the Rana, with the main body, took post in the Nai defile,
unassailable by the enemy, and hanging on his left flank, ready to
turn it, and cut off all retreat the moment the Imperialists entered
the mountains. Aurangzeb advanced to Debari, but instead of entering
the valley of which it was the gorge, he halted, and by the advice of
Tahawwar Khan[4.13.35] sent on Prince Akbar with fifty thousand men to
the capital. This caution of the wily monarch saved him from the ably
planned scheme of the Rajput prince, who evinced a thorough
knowledge[4.13.36] of the topography of this intricate and romantic
portion of his domain. The Girwa, emphatically ‘the Circle,’ from
which the valley of the capital is named, has this form to the eye
when viewing it from thence as a centre. It is, however, an irregular
ellipse of about fourteen miles in length from south to north, and
about eleven in breadth from east to west, the capital being situated
towards the extremity of the transverse axis, having only the lake
Pichola between it and the base of the Aravalli. The mountains of this
circular (_girwa_) valley, ranging from eight to twelve hundred feet
in height, are of primitive formation, and raise their fantastic
pinnacles in every diversity of shape over each other. To the westward
the grand chain rises two thousand feet above the plains, and might be
termed the chord, of which the Girwa is an irregular segment of a
circle, less in height, and far less compound in character. Towards
the plains east, it has three practicable passes; one, the more
northern, by Delwara; the other (central), by Debari; a third, leading
to the intricacies of Chappan, that of Nai. Of these three passes the
emperor chose the most practicable, and encamped near the Udaisagar
lake, on the left of its entrance.
=The Advance of Prince Akbar.=—Prince Akbar advanced. “Not a soul
interrupted his progress to the city. Palaces, gardens, lakes, and isles
met his eye, but no living thing: all was silence.” Akbar encamped.
Accustomed to this desertion from the desire of the people to avoid a
licentious soldiery, and lulled into a hardy security, he was surprised
[383] by the heir of Mewar. Some were praying, some feasting, some at
chess: “they came to steal and yet fell asleep,” says the annalist, and
were dispersed with terrific and unrelenting slaughter. Cut off from the
possibility of a junction with the emperor by a movement of a part of
the Rana’s personal force, Akbar attempted a retreat to the plains of
Marwar by the route of Gogunda. It was a choice of evils, and he took
the worst. The allodial vassals of the mountains, with the Bhil
auxiliaries, outstripped his retreat, and blocked up farther egress in
one of those long-extended valleys termed _Nal_, closed by a natural
rampart or _Col_, on which they formed _abbatis_ of trees, and manning
the crests on each side, hurled destruction on the foe; while the
prince, in like manner, blocked up the entrance and barred
retrogression. Death menaced them in every form. For several days they
had only the prospect of surrender to save them from famine and a justly
incensed foe, when an ill-judged humanity on the part of Jai Singh saved
them from annihilation. He admitted overtures, confided in protestations
to renounce the origin of the war, and gave them guides to conduct them
by the defile of Jhilwara, nor did they halt till protected by the walls
of Chitor.[4.13.37]
Another body of the Imperialists, under the celebrated Dilir
Khan,[4.13.38] who [384] entered by the Desuri Pass from Marwar
(probably with a view of extricating Prince Akbar), were allowed to
advance unopposed, and when in the long intricate gorge were assailed by
Bikram Solanki[4.13.39] and Gopinath Rathor[4.13.40] (both nobles of
Mewar), and after a desperate conflict entirely destroyed. On each
occasion a vast booty fell into the hands of the Rajputs.
So ably concerted was this mountain warfare, that these defeats were the
signal for a simultaneous attack by the Rana on Aurangzeb, who, with his
son Azam, watched at Debari the result of the operations under Akbar and
Dilir. The great home-clans had more than their wonted rivalry to
sustain them, for the gallant Durgadas with the Rathor swords (_talwār
Rāthorān_) whetted by an accumulation of wrongs, were to combat with
them against their common oppressor; and nobly did they contest the palm
of glory. The tyrant could not withstand them: his guns, though manned
by Franks, could not protect him against the just cause and avenging
steel of the Rajput, and he was beaten and compelled to disgraceful
flight, with an immense loss in men and equipment. The Rana had to
lament many brave leaders, home and auxiliary; and the imperial
standard, elephants, and state equipage fell into his hands, the
acquisition of Mohkam and the Saktawats. This glorious encounter
occurred in the spring month of Phalgun, S. 1737, March A.D. 1681
[1680].
The discomfited forces formed a junction under the walls of Chitor,
whence the emperor dictated the recall of his son, Prince Muazzam,
from the Deccan, deeming it of greater moment to regain lost
importance in the north than to prevent the independence of Sivaji.
Meanwhile the activity of Sawaldas (descended from the illustrious
Jaimall) cut off the communication between Chitor and Ajmer, and
alarmed the tyrant for his personal safety. Leaving, therefore, this
perilous warfare to his sons Azam and Akbar, with instructions how to
act till reinforced,—foiled in his vengeance and personally disgraced,
he abandoned Mewar, and at the head of his guards repaired to Ajmer.
Thence he detached[4.13.41] Khan Rohilla, with twelve thousand men,
against Sawaldas, with supplies and equipments for his sons. The
Rathor, joined by the troops of Marwar, gave him the meeting at Pur
Mandal, and defeated the Imperialists with great loss, driving them
back on Ajmer [385].
=Diversion made by the Rājputs.=—While the Rana, his heir and
auxiliaries, were thus triumphant in all their operations, Prince Bhim
with the left division was not idle, but made a powerful diversion by
the invasion of Gujarat, captured Idar, expelling Hasan and his
garrison, and proceeding by Birnagar, suddenly appeared before Patan,
the residence of the provincial satrap, which he plundered. Siddhpur,
Modasa,[4.13.42] and other towns shared the same fate; and he was in
full march to Surat, when the benevolence of the Rana, touched at the
woes of the fugitives, who came to demand his forbearance, caused him to
recall Bhim in the midst of his career.
Contrary to the Rajput character, whose maxim is _parcere subjectis_,
they were compelled by the utter faithlessness of Aurangzeb (chiefly
vulnerable through his resources) to retaliate his excesses; and Dayal
Sah, the civil minister, a man of high courage and activity, headed
another flying force, which ravaged Malwa to the Nerbudda and Betwa.
Sarangpur, Dewas, Sironj, Mandu, Ujjain, and Chanderi were plundered,
and numerous garrisons put to the sword; and, to use the words of the
Chronicle, “husbands abandoned their wives and children, and whatever
could not be carried off was given to the flames.” For once they avenged
themselves, in imitation of the tyrant, even on the religion of their
enemies: “the Kazis were bound and shaved, and the Korans thrown into
wells.” The minister was unrelenting and made Malwa a desert, and from
the fruits of his incursions repaired the resources of his master.
Flushed with success, he formed a junction with the heir of Mewar, and
gave battle to Azam near Chitor. On this occasion the flower of Mewar,
with the Rathor and Khichi auxiliaries,[4.13.43] were engaged, and
obtained a glorious victory, the Mogul prince being defeated and pursued
with great slaughter to Ranthambhor, which he entered. This was a just
revenge, for it was Azam who surprised Chitor the year preceding. In
Mewar the contest terminated with the expulsion of the Imperialists from
the country; when the Rana, in support of the rights of the minor prince
of Marwar, united his arms to the forces of that state, and opened the
campaign at Ghanerao, the chief town of [386] Godwar. The heroic mother
of the infant Rathor prince, a daughter of Mewar, had, since the death
of her husband, well supported his rights, having resisted every
aggression and regained many lost advantages over their antagonist.
Prince Bhim commanded the Sesodias, who formed a junction with the
Rathors, and gave battle to the royal forces led by Akbar and Tahawwar
Khan, whom they entirely defeated. The victory is chiefly attributed to
a stratagem of a Rajput chief, who, having carried off five hundred
camels from the Imperialists, conceived the idea of fixing torches to
them and letting them loose in the royal camp; and, in the confusion
produced by the charge of such a body, the Rajputs assaulted them.
=Plan to dethrone Aurangzeb.=—On their continued successes, the Rana and
his allies meditated the project of dethroning the tyrant and setting up
his son Akbar. The pernicious example of his father towards Shah Jahan
was not lost upon Akbar, who favourably received the overture; but he
wanted the circumspection which characterized Aurangzeb, whose
penetration defeated the scheme when on the eve of execution.[4.13.44]
Already had the Rajput armies united with Akbar, and the astrologer had
fixed the day which was to exalt him; but the revealer of secrets
baffled his own prediction by disclosing it to the emperor. Aurangzeb,
attended only by his guards at Ajmer, had recourse to the same artifice
which raised him to empire, in order to ward off this danger. Akbar was
but one day’s march distant; his elder sons, Muazzam and Azam, yet far
off. Not a moment was to be lost: he penned a letter to his son, which
by a spy was dropped in the tent of the Rajput leader Durgadas.[4.13.45]
In this he applauded a pretended scheme by which Akbar was to fall upon
them when they engaged the emperor. The same scheme had saved Sher Shah
in this country from Maldeo, and has more recently been put in practice,
and with like success, in the war with Sivaji. It succeeded. The Rajputs
detached themselves from the prince who had apparently betrayed them.
Tahawwar Khan, in despair, lost his life in an attempt to assassinate
the emperor,[4.13.46] and before the artifice was discovered, the
reinforcements under Muazzam and Azam arrived, and Aurangzeb was saved.
The Rajputs still offered _saran_ (refuge) to Akbar; but aware of his
father’s vigour of character, he deemed himself unsafe in his vicinage,
and accepted the escort of five hundred Rajputs led by Durgadas [387],
who cut their way through every opposition by the defiles of Mewar and
Dungarpur, and across the Nerbudda, to the Mahratta leader Sambhaji, at
Palargarh, whence he was shortly after conveyed in an English ship to
Persia.[4.13.47]
=Overtures for Peace.=—“The escape of Acbar” (observes an
historian,[4.13.48] who appreciated the importance of the transactions
of this period) “to Sambagee, oppressed Aurengzebe with as much anxiety,
as formerly the phantom of his brother Sujah amongst the Pitans; and the
consequence of their alliance became a nearer care than the continuance
of the war against the Rajpoots, whose gallant activity prevented a
speedy decision by the sword; but the dignity of the throne forbad any
overtures of peace to a resistance which had attempted the deposal, if
not the life, of the monarch. A Rajpoot officer, who had long served
with distinction under Delire Khan, solved the difficulty: he quitted
the army on the pretence of retiring to his own country and visited the
Rana as from courtesy on his journey. The conversation turned on the
war, which the Rajpoot perhaps really lamented, and he persuaded the
Rana that although Aurengzebe would never condescend to make, he might
accept overtures of peace: upon which he was empowered by the Rana to
tender them.”[4.13.49] The domestic annals confirm this account, and
give the name of this mediator, Raja Shyam Singh of Bikaner; but the
negotiation was infamously protracted to the rains, the period when
operations necessarily cease, and by which time Aurangzeb had recruited
his broken forces, and was again enabled to take the field; and it was
concluded “without assertion or release of the capitation tax, but with
the surrender of the districts taken from Chitor, and the State of
Jodhpur was included in the treaty.” How correctly this elegant
historian had obtained a knowledge of those events, a translation of the
treaty evinces.[4.13.50] But these occurrences belong to the succeeding
reign, for the Rana died about this period,[4.13.51] from wounds and
vexation.
=Cruel Treatment of Rāja of Golkonda.=—Once more we claim the reader’s
admiration on behalf of another patriot prince of Mewar, and ask him to
contrast the indigenous Rajput with the emperor of the Moguls [388];
though to compare them would be manifestly unjust, since in every moral
virtue they were antipodes to each other. Aurangzeb accumulated on his
head more crimes than any prince who ever sat on an Asiatic throne. With
all the disregard of life which marks his nation, he was never betrayed,
even in the fever of success, into a single generous action; and,
contrary to the prevailing principle of our nature, the moment of his
foe’s submission was that chosen for the malignant completion of his
revenge: witness his scourging the prostrate King of Golkonda.[4.13.52]
How opposite to the beneficence of the Rajput prince, who, when the most
efficient means of self-defence lay in the destruction of the resources
of his enemy, feeling for the miseries of the suffering population of
his persecutor, recalled his son in the midst of victory! As a skilful
general and gallant soldier, in the defence of his country, he is above
all [389] praise. As a chivalrous Rajput, his braving all consequences
when called upon to save the honour of a noble female of his race, he is
without parallel. As an accomplished prince and benevolent man, his
dignified letter of remonstrance to Aurangzeb on the promulgation of the
capitation edict, places him high in the scale of moral as well as
intellectual excellence; and an additional evidence of both, and of his
taste for the arts, is furnished by the formation of the inland lake,
the Rajsamund, with a slight account of which, and the motives for its
execution, we shall conclude the sketch of this glorious epoch in the
annals of Mewar.
=The Rājsamund Lake.=—This great national work is twenty-five miles
north of the capital, and is situated on the declivity of the plain
about two miles from the base of the Aravalli. A small perennial stream,
called the Gomati or ‘serpentine,’[4.13.53] flowing from these
mountains, was arrested in its course, and confined by an immense
embankment, made to form the lake called after himself, Rajsamund, or
‘royal sea.’ The _band_ or dam forms an irregular segment of a circle,
embracing an extent of nearly three miles, and encircling the waters on
every side except the space between the north-west and north-east
points. This barrier, which confines a sheet of water of great depth,
and about twelve miles in circumference, is entirely of white marble,
with a flight of steps of the same material, throughout this extent,
from the summit to the water’s edge; the whole buttressed by an enormous
rampart of earth, which, had the projector lived, would have been
planted with trees to form a promenade. On the south side are the town
and fortress built by the Rana, and bearing his name, Rajnagar; and upon
the embankment stands the temple of Kankroli, the shrine of one of the
seven forms (_sarup_) of Krishna. The whole is ornamented with sculpture
of tolerable execution for the age; and a genealogical sketch of the
founder’s family is inscribed in conspicuous characters. One million one
hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling,[4.13.54] contributed by the
Rana, his chiefs and opulent subjects, was expended on this work, of
which the material was from the adjacent quarries. But, magnificent,
costly, and useful as it is, it derives its chief beauty from the
benevolent motive to which it owes its birth: to alleviate the miseries
of a starving population, and make their employment conducive to
national benefit, during one of those awful visitations [390] of
providence, famine, and pestilence with which these states are sometimes
afflicted.
=The Famine of A.D. 1662.=—It was in S. 1717,[4.13.55] only seven years
after the accession of Raj Singh, that these combined evils reached
Mewar, less subject to them, owing to its natural advantages, than any
other State in India;[4.13.56] and on Tuesday the 8th of Pus, Hasti
Nakshatra (constellation of the elephant), as fixed by the astrologer,
the first stone was laid. "The chief of Mewar, deeply meditating on this
extreme distress, determined to raise a monument, by which the wretched
might be supported and his own name perpetuated. This was seven years in
constructing, and at its commencement and termination all the rites of
sacrifice and oblation were observed.
"The Rana went to implore favour at the temple of the ‘four-armed’; for
though Asarh[4.13.57] was over, not a drop of rain fell from the
heavens; and, in like manner, the months of Sawan[4.13.57] and
Bhadon[4.13.57] passed away. For want of water the world was in despair,
and people went mad with hunger. Things unknown as food were eaten. The
husband abandoned the wife, the wife the husband—parents sold their
children—time increased the evil; it spread far and wide: even the
insects died: they had nothing to feed on. Thousands of all ages became
victims to hunger. Those who procured food to-day, ate twice what nature
required. The wind was from the west, a pestilential vapour. The
constellations were always visible at night, nor was there a cloud in
the sky by day, and thunder and lightning were unknown. Such portents
filled mankind with dread. Rivers, lakes, and fountains were dried up.
Men of wealth meted out the portions of food. The ministers of religion
forgot their duties. There was no longer distinction of caste, and the
Sudra and Brahman were undistinguishable. Strength, wisdom, caste,
tribe, all were abandoned, and food alone was the object. The
Charbaran[4.13.58] threw away every symbol of separation; all was lost
in hunger. Fruits, flowers, every vegetable thing, even trees were
stripped of their bark, to appease the cravings [391] of hunger: nay,
_man ate man_! Cities were depopulated. The seed of families was lost,
the fishes were extinct, and the hope of all extinguished."[4.13.59]
Such is the simple yet terrific record of this pestilence, from which
Mewar was hardly freed, when Aurangzeb commenced the religious warfare
narrated, with all its atrocities, still further to devastate this fair
region. But a just retribution resulted from this disregard to the
character and prejudices of the Rajputs, which visited the emperor with
shame, and his successors with the overthrow of their power.
-----
Footnote 4.13.1:
The contingent of Mewar was one thousand horse.
Footnote 4.13.2:
During the progress of my mediation between the Rana and his nobles,
in 1818, the conduct of the lineal representative of Jaimall, the
defender of Chitor against Akbar, was striking. Instead of
surrendering the lands which he was accused of usurping, he placed
himself at the door of the threshold of the palace, whence he was
immovable. His claims were left to my adjudication: but he complained
with great heat of the omission of ceremonials, and especially of the
prostration of honours by the prince. I incautiously remarked that
these were trivial compared with the other objects in view, and begged
him to disregard it. “Disregard it! why, it was for these things my
ancestors sacrificed their lives; when such a band[4.13.2.A] as this
on my turban was deemed ample reward for the most distinguished
service, and made them laugh at wounds and hardships!” Abashed at the
inconsiderate remark which provoked this lofty reproof, I used my
influence to have the omission rectified: the lands were restored, and
the enthusiastic reverence with which I spoke of Jaimall would have
obtained even greater proof of the Badnor chief’s regard for the fame
of his ancestors than the surrender of them implied. Who would not
honour this attachment to such emblems in the days of adversity?
Footnote 4.13.2.A:
_Balaband_, a fillet or band, sometimes embroidered; often, as in the
present case, of silk or gold thread knotted, and tassels tied round
the turban. _Balaband_ is synonymous with diadem.
Footnote 4.13.3:
This was conceded, as the following anecdote will attest. When the
first Peshwa [Bālaji Visvanāth (1707-20)] appeared at the Jaipur court
he was accompanied by the Salumbar chieftain. The Jaipur prince
divided his gaddi (_cushion_) with the Peshwa, and the latter made
room for the Salumbar chief upon it, observing that their privileges
and rank were similar. The same Peshwa had the address to avoid all
discussion of rank at Udaipur, by alleging the prerogative of his
order to ‘_spread his cloth in front of the throne_,’ a distinction to
which every priest is entitled.
Footnote 4.13.4:
The plate represents Rajmahall, on the Banas, now in the fief of Rao
Chand Singh, one of the Jaipur nobles, whose castle of Duni is in the
distance. There are many picturesque scenes of this nature on the
Banas. Duni made a celebrated defence against Sindhia’s army in 1808,
and held out several months, though the Mahratta prince had an army of
forty thousand men and a park of eighty pieces of cannon to oppose two
hundred Rajputs. They made sorties, captured his foragers, cut his
batteries to pieces, and carried off his guns (of which they had
none), and, placing them on their walls, with his own shot made the
whole army change position, beyond matchlock range. At last their
inexpertness rendered them useless, and they obtained honourable
terms. On one occasion the foragers of our escort were returning, and
met Sindhia’s coming away without their guns and cattle, which had
just been taken from them. Our lads, from fellowship, volunteered to
recover them, and returned on the captors, who gave them up (if my
memory deceive me not) without a struggle, and from respect to the red
coat!
Footnote 4.13.5:
[Parvez died at Burhānpur, Nimār District, Central Provinces, in his
thirty-eighth year, on October 28, 1626.]
Footnote 4.13.6:
Man Singh, chief of the Saktawats, and his brother Gokuldas, were
Bhim’s advisers, and formed with Mahabat Khan the junta who ruled the
Mogul heir-apparent. Man held Sanwar in the Khairar, and was
celebrated in Amra’s wars as the great champion of the Sesodias. He
counted above eighty wounds, and had at various times "sent a _ser_
(two pounds) of exfoliated bone to the Ganges." Such was the affection
between Man and Bhim, that they concealed the death of the latter,
sending him food in Bhim’s name; but he no sooner learned the truth
than he tore away the bandages and expired. Of Gokuldas the bard says,
in allusion to the peaceful reign of Karan, “The wreath of Karan’s
renown was fading, but Gokul revived it with his blood.” It was with
the Sesodia Rajputs and the Saktawats that Mahabat performed the most
daring exploit in Mogul history, making Jahangir prisoner in his own
camp: but it is too long for insertion in a note. [This occurred in
1626; see Elphinstone, _Hist. of India_, 568.]
Footnote 4.13.7:
[The saint Madār is said to have been a Jew from Aleppo who lived from
A.D. 1050 to 1433, and was buried at Makanpur in the Cawnpur District,
where pilgrims visit his tomb (_IGI_, xvii. 43; _Dabistan_, trans.
Shea-Troyer iii. 244 ff.).]
Footnote 4.13.8:
Contemporary historians say to Golkonda. [Khurram was prevented by bad
health from going to Persia, and proceeded to the Deccan, whence he
returned after his father’s death (Elphinstone, _op. cit._ 573;
Elliot-Dowson vi. 433, 437, 445).]
Footnote 4.13.9:
An exchange of turbans is the symbol of fraternal adoption.
Footnote 4.13.10:
It is an affecting proof of the perpetuity of true gratitude,
“Which owing, owes not,”
as well as of religious toleration, to find the shrine of the
Muhammadan saint maintained in this retreat of the Sesodias, and the
priest and establishment kept up, though the son of their benefactor
persecuted them with unrelenting barbarity. Are these people worth
conciliating? or does the mist of ignorance and egotism so blind us
that we are to despise the minds hidden under the cloak of poverty and
long oppression? The orange-coloured turban, and the shield of Shah
Jahan, have been brought from their sacred niche for my view: that I
looked on them with sentiments of reverence, as relics consecrated by
the noblest feeling of the mind, will be credited. I bowed to the
turban with an irresistible impulse, and a fervour as deep as ever did
pilgrim before the most hallowed shrine.
Footnote 4.13.11:
Ferishta [Dow iii. 99], whose geography is often quite unintelligible,
omits this in his history, and passes the king direct to Ajmer: but
the annals are fuller, and describe the royal insignia conveyed by
Mahabat, Abdulla, Khan Jahan, and his secretary Sadullah.
Footnote 4.13.12:
[According to Manucci (i. 214 f.) Shāhjahān ordered his Wazīr
S’adullah Khān to prepare a campaign against the Rāna, but the plan
was disclosed by a woman, and the Rāna made terms, ceded territory,
and paid a sum of money. Shāhjahān is said to have destroyed the
fortifications of Chitor, on the ground that they had been repaired
without his father’s permission.]
Footnote 4.13.13:
‘The minster of the world.’ [According to Erskine (ii. A. 109) the
Jagmandir was built by Jagat Singh I. (1628-52); the Jagniwās by Jagat
Singh II. (1734-51).]
Footnote 4.13.14:
[_Wrightia tinctoria_ (Watt, _Comm. Prod._ 1131 f.).]
Footnote 4.13.15:
The _Mala Burj_, a ‘chaplet bastion’ blown up by Akbar, is a small
fortress of itself.
Footnote 4.13.16:
I have copies of the original letters written by Dara, Suja, Murad,
and Aurangzeb on this occasion, each soliciting the Rana’s aid.
Footnote 4.13.17:
[Samūgarh, afterwards called Fatehābād, May 20, 1658 (Jadunath Sarkar,
_Life of Aurangzib_, ii. 32 ff.; Manucci i. 270 ff.; Bernier 49 ff.).]
Footnote 4.13.18:
Kambakhsh (son of Jodhpuri, not Udaipuri), ‘the gift of Cupid.’ Of
this the Greeks made Cambyses. [Kāmbakhsh was son of Udaipuri, the
youngest and best-loved concubine of Aurangzeb (Jadunath Sarkar i.
64). Cambyses is Old Persian Kābuzīya or Kambuzīya (Maspero, _Passing
of the Empires_, 655, note).]
Footnote 4.13.19:
Bernier, who was an eye-witness of these transactions, describes them
far better than the Mogul historians, and his accounts tally admirably
with the Rajput annals. [But he is not always to be trusted (Jadunath
Sarkar ii. 10, note).]
Footnote 4.13.20:
[The proper form is Dāra Shukoh or Shikoh, ‘equal in splendour to
Darius.’]
Footnote 4.13.21:
We possess a most erroneous idea of the understanding of Asiatic
princes, and the extent of its cultivation. Aurangzeb’s rebuke to his
tutor Mulla Sale [Mulla Sālih, Bernier 154; Manucci ii. 30], who beset
him with a sycophantic intrusion on his coming to the throne, may
correct this, and, with the letter of Rana Raj Singh, give the
European world juster notions of the powers of mind both of Hindu and
Muhammadan. It is preserved by Bernier, who had ample opportunity to
acquire a knowledge of them. (_From an edition in the author’s
possession, printed A.D. 1684, only three years after these events._)
"‘What is it you would have of me, Doctor? Can you reasonably desire I
should make you one of the chief Omrahs of my court? Let me tell you,
if you had instructed me as you should have done, nothing would be
more just; for I am of this persuasion, that a child well educated and
instructed is as much, at least, obliged to his master as to his
father. But where are those good documents you have given me? In the
first place, you have taught me that all that Frangistan (so it seems
they call Europe) was nothing but I know not what little island, of
which the greatest king was he of Portugal, and next to him he of
Holland, and after him he of England: and as to the other kings, as
those of France and Andalusia, you have represented them to me as our
petty Rajas; telling me that the kings of Indostan were far above them
all together, and that they were the true and only Houmayons, the
Ekbars, the Jehan-Guyres, the Chah-Jehans, the fortunate ones, the
great ones, the conquerors and kings of the world; and that Persia and
Usbec, Kachguer, Tartar and Catay, Pegu, China and Matchina did
tremble at the name of the kings of Indostan. Admirable geography! You
should rather have taught me exactly to distinguish all those
different states of the world, and well to understand their strength,
their way of fighting, their customs, religions, governments, and
interests; and, by the perusal of solid history, to observe their
rise, progress, decay, and whence, how, and by what accidents and
errors those great changes and revolutions of empires and kingdoms
have happened. I have scarce learnt of you the name of my grandsires,
the famous founders of this empire: so far were you from having taught
me the history of their life, and what course they took to make such
great conquests. You had a mind to teach me the Arabian tongue, to
read and to write. I am much obliged to you, forsooth, for having made
me lose so much time upon a language that requires ten or twelve years
to attain to its perfection; as if the son of a king should think it
to be an honour to him to be a grammarian or some doctor of the law,
and to learn other languages than those of his neighbours, when he
cannot well be without them; he, to whom time is so precious for so
many weighty things, which he ought by times to learn. As if there
were any spirit that did not with some reluctancy, and even with a
kind of debasement, employ itself in so sad and dry an exercise, so
longsom and tedious, as is that of learning words.’
"Thus did Arung-Zebe resent the pedantic instructions of his tutor; to
which ’tis affirmed in that court, that after some entertainment which
he had with others, he further added the following reproof:
"‘Know you not, that childhood well govern’d, being a state which is
ordinarily accompanied with an happy memory, is capable of thousands
of good precepts and instructions, which remain deeply impressed the
whole remainder of a man’s life, and keep the mind always raised for
great actions? The law, prayers, and science, may they not as well be
learned in our mother-tongue as in Arabick? You told my father, Chah
Jehan, that you would teach me philosophy. ’Tis true, I remember very
well, that you have entertain’d me for many years with airy questions
of things that afford no satisfaction at all to the mind, and are of
no use in humane society, empty notions and mere phancies, that have
only this in them, that they are very hard to understand and very
easie to forget, which are only capable to tire and spoil a good
understanding, and to breed an opinion that is insupportable. I still
remember, that after you had thus amused me, I know not how long, with
your fine philosophy, all I retained of it was a multitude of
barbarous and dark words, proper to bewilder, perplex, and tire out
the best wits, and only invented the better to cover the vanity and
ignorance of men like yourself, that would make us believe that they
know all, and that under those obscure and ambiguous words are hid
great mysteries which they alone are capable to understand. If you had
season’d me with that philosophy which formeth the mind to
ratiocination, and insensibly accustoms it to be satisfied with
nothing but solid reasons, if you had given me those excellent
precepts and doctrines which raise the soul above the assaults of
fortune, and reduce her to an unshakeable and always equal temper, and
permit her not to be lifted up by prosperity nor debased by adversity;
if you had taken care to give me the knowledge of what we are and what
are the first principles of things, and had assisted me in forming in
my mind a fit idea of the greatness of the universe, and of the
admirable order and motion of the parts thereof; if, I say, you had
instilled into me this kind of philosophy, I should think myself
incomparably more obliged to you than Alexander was to his Aristotle,
and believe it my duty to recompense you otherwise than he did him.
Should not you, instead of your flattery, have taught me somewhat of
that point so important to a king, which is, what the reciprocal
duties are of a sovereign to his subjects and those of subjects to
their sovereign; and ought not you to have considered, that one day I
should be obliged with the sword to dispute my life and the crown with
my brothers? Is not that the destiny almost of all the sons of
Indostan? Have you ever taken any care to make me learn, what ’tis to
besiege a town or to set an army in array? For these things I am
obliged to others, not at all to you. Go, and retire to the village
whence you are come, and let nobody know who you are or what is become
of you.’" [For another version of this speech see Bernier 154 ff.,
Manucci ii. 30 ff.]
Footnote 4.13.22:
[_Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire_, ed. 1782, p. 101. The
quotation in the text has been corrected.]
Footnote 4.13.23:
The Jizya.
Footnote 4.13.24:
I deem it right, in order further to illustrate the cultivated
understanding of Aurangzeb, to annex the letters written to his sons a
few days before his death. With such talents, with so just a
conception as these and the rebuke to his tutor evince of his
knowledge of the right, what might he not have been had not fell
ambition misguided him!
"To Shaw Azim Shaw. [Shāh Āzam Shāh.]
"Health to thee! my heart is near thee. Old age is arrived: weakness
subdues me, and strength has forsaken all my members. I came a
stranger into this world, and a stranger I depart. I know nothing of
myself, what I am, and for what I am destined. The instant which
passed in power, hath left only sorrow behind it. I have not been the
guardian and protector of the empire. My valuable time has been passed
vainly. I had a patron in my own dwelling (conscience), but his
glorious light was unseen by my dim sight. Life is not lasting, there
is no vestige of departed breath, and all hopes from futurity are
lost. The fever has left me, but nothing of me remains but skin and
bone. My son (Kaum Buksh), though gone towards Beejapore, is still
near; and thou, my son, are yet nearer. The worthy of esteem, Shaw
Aulum, is far distant; and my grandson (Azeem Ooshaun), by the orders
of God, is arrived near Hindostan. The camp and followers, helpless
and alarmed, are like myself, full of affliction, restless as the
quicksilver. Separated from their lord, they know not if they have a
master or not.
“I brought nothing into this world, and, except the infirmities of
man, carry nothing out. I have a dread for my salvation, and with what
torments I may be punished. Though I have strong reliance on the
mercies and bounty of God, yet, regarding my actions, fear will not
quit me; but when I am gone, reflection will not remain. Come then
what may, I have launched my vessel to the waves. Though Providence
will protect the camp, yet, regarding appearances, the endeavours of
my sons are indispensably incumbent. Give my last prayers to my
grandson (Bedar Bukht), whom I cannot see, but the desire affects me.
The Begum (his daughter) appears afflicted; but God is the only judge
of hearts. The foolish thoughts of women produce nothing but
disappointment. Farewell! farewell! farewell!” [This letter is printed
by H. Bilimoria, _Letters of Aurangzeb_, 71 f.]
"To the Prince Kaum Buksh. [Kāmbakhsh.]
"My son, nearest to my heart. Though in the height of my power, and by
God’s permission, I gave you advice, and took with you the greatest
pains, yet, as it was not the divine will, you did not attend with the
ears of compliance. Now I depart a stranger, and lament my own
insignificance, what does it profit me? I carry with me the fruits of
my sins and imperfections. Surprising Providence! I came here alone,
and alone I depart. The leader of this caravan hath deserted me. The
fever which troubled me for twelve days has left me. Wherever I look,
I see nothing but the divinity. My fears for the camp and followers
are great: but, alas! I know not myself. My back is bent with
weakness, and my feet have lost the powers of motion. The breath which
rose is gone, and left not even hope behind it. I have committed
numerous crimes, and know not with what punishments I may be seized.
Though the protector of mankind will guard the camp, yet care is
incumbent also on the faithful and my sons. When I was alive, no care
was taken; and now I am gone, the consequence may be guessed. The
guardianship of a people is the trust by God committed to my sons.
Azim Shaw is near. Be cautious that none of the faithful are slain, or
their miseries fall upon my head. I resign you, your mother and son,
to God, as I myself am going. The agonies of death come upon me fast.
Behadur Shaw is still where he was, and his son is arrived near
Hindostan. Bedar Bukht is in Guzarat. Hyaut al Nissa, who has beheld
no afflictions of time till now, is full of sorrows. Regard the Begum
as without concern. _Odiporee,[4.13.24.A] your mother, was a partner
in my illness, and wishes to accompany me in death; but every thing
has its appointed time._
“The domestics and courtiers, however deceitful, yet must not be
ill-treated. It is necessary to gain your views by gentleness and art.
Extend your feet no lower than your skirt. The complaints of the
unpaid troops are as before. Dara Shekkoh, though of much judgment and
good understanding, settled large pensions on his people, but paid
them ill and they were ever discontented. I am going. Whatever good or
evil I have done, it was for you. Take it not amiss, nor remember what
offences I have done to yourself; that account may not be demanded of
me hereafter. No one has seen the departure of his own soul; but I see
that mine is departing” (_Memoirs of Eradut Khan_). See Scott’s _Hist.
of the Dekhan_ [ii. Part iv.]. [This letter, with some variants, is
printed by Bilimoria, 73 f.]
Footnote 4.13.24.A:
Orme [_Fragments_, 119] calls her a Cashmerian; certainly she was not
a daughter of the Rana’s family, though it is not impossible she may
have been of one of the great families of Shahpura or Banera (then
acting independently of the Rana), and her desire to burn shows her to
have been Rajput. [“Such an inference is wrong, because a Hindu
princess on marrying a Muslim king lost her caste and religion, and
received Islamic burial. We read of no Rajputni of the harem of any of
the Mughal emperors having burnt herself with her deceased husband,
for the very good reason that a Muslim’s corpse is buried and not
burnt. Evidently Udipuri meant that she would kill herself in
passionate grief on the death of Aurangzib” (Jadunath Sarkar i. 64,
note).]
Footnote 4.13.25:
The emperor was the adopted brother of Rana Karan.
Footnote 4.13.26:
Two hundred and fifty Rajputs opposed five thousand of the
Imperialists at a pass, till the family of Jaswant escaped.
Footnote 4.13.27:
The Rana received the young Rathor with the most princely hospitality,
and among other gifts a diamond worth ten thousand dinars is
enumerated.
Footnote 4.13.28:
This letter, first made known to Europe by Orme [_Fragments_, Notes,
xciii. ff.], has by him been erroneously attributed to Jaswant Singh
of Marwar, who was dead before the promulgation of the edict, as the
mention of Ramsingh sufficiently indicates, whose father, Jai Singh,
was contemporary with Jaswant, and ruled nearly a year after his
death. My Munshi obtained a copy of the original letter at Udaipur,
where it is properly assigned to the Rana. [Compare the version of
this letter in Jadunath Sarkar (iii. 325 ff.), who remarks that "the
internal evidence and biographical details of the writer apply to
Shivaji and not to Raj Singh. In the penultimate paragraph of the
letter _Rajah Ram Singh_ is given for _Rana Raj Singh_ by ASBMs and
Orme; but no Jaipur chieftain could have been ‘the head of the
Hindus.’"] It were superfluous to give a translation after the elegant
production of Sir W. B. Rouse.
"Letter from Rana Raj Singh to Aurangzeb.
"All due praise be rendered to the glory of the Almighty, and the
munificence of your majesty, which is conspicuous as the sun and moon.
Although I, your well-wisher, have separated from your sublime
presence, I am nevertheless zealous in the performance of every
bounden act of obedience and loyalty. My ardent wishes and strenuous
services are employed to promote the prosperity of the Kings, Nobles,
Mirzas, Rajahs, and Roys of the provinces of Hindostan, and the chiefs
of Æraun, Turaun, Room, and Shawm, the inhabitants of the seven
climates, and all persons travelling by land and by water. This my
inclination is notorious, nor can your royal wisdom entertain a doubt
thereof. Reflecting therefore on my former services, and your
majesty’s condescension, I presume to solicit the royal attention to
some circumstances, in which the public as well as private welfare is
greatly interested.
"I have been informed that enormous sums have been dissipated in the
prosecution of the designs formed against me, your well-wisher; and
that you have ordered a tribute to be levied to satisfy the exigencies
of your exhausted treasury.
"May it please your majesty, your royal ancestor Mahomed Jelaul ul
Deen Akbar, whose throne is now in heaven, conducted the affairs of
this empire in equity and firm security for the space of fifty-two
years, preserving every tribe of men in ease and happiness, whether
they were followers of Jesus or of Moses, of David or Mahomed; were
they Brahmins, were they of the sect of Dharians, which denies the
eternity of matter, or of that which ascribes the existence of the
world to chance, they all equally enjoyed his countenance and favour:
insomuch that his people, in gratitude for the indiscriminate
protection he afforded them, distinguished him by the appellation of
_Juggut Gooroo_ (Guardian of Mankind).
"His majesty Mahomed Noor ul Deen Jehangheer, likewise, whose dwelling
is now in paradise, extended, for a period of twenty-two years, the
shadow of his protection over the heads of his people; successful by a
constant fidelity to his allies, and a vigorous exertion of his arm in
business.
"Nor less did the illustrious Shah Jehan, by a propitious reign of
thirty-two years, acquire to himself immortal reputation, the glorious
reward of clemency and virtue.
"Such were the benevolent inclinations of your ancestors. Whilst they
pursued these great and generous principles, wheresoever they directed
their steps, conquest and prosperity went before them; and then they
reduced many countries and fortresses to their obedience. During your
majesty’s reign, many have been alienated from the empire, and farther
loss of territory must necessarily follow, since devastation and
rapine now universally prevail without restraint. Your subjects are
trampled under foot, and every province of your empire is
impoverished; depopulation spreads, and difficulties accumulate. When
indigence has reached the habitation of the sovereign and his princes,
what can be the condition of the nobles? As to the soldiery, they are
in murmurs; the merchants complaining, the Mahomedans discontented,
the Hindoos destitute, and multitudes of people, wretched even to the
want of their nightly meal, are beating their heads throughout the day
in rage and desperation.
"How can the dignity of the sovereign be preserved who employs his
power in exacting heavy tributes from a people thus miserably reduced?
At this juncture it is told from east to west, that the emperor of
Hindostan, jealous of the poor Hindoo devotee, will exact a tribute
from Brahmins, Sanorahs, Joghies, Berawghies, Sanyasees; that,
regardless of the illustrious honour of his Timurcan race, he
condescends to exercise his power over the solitary inoffensive
anchoret. If your majesty places any faith in those books, by
distinction called divine, you will there be instructed that God is
the God of all mankind, not the God of Mahomedans alone. The Pagan and
the Mussulman are equally in His presence. Distinctions of colour are
of His ordination. It is He who gives existence. In your temples, to
His name the voice is raised in prayer; in a house of images, where
the bell is shaken, still He is the object of adoration. To vilify the
religion or customs of other men is to set at naught the pleasure of
the Almighty. When we deface a picture, we naturally incur the
resentment of the painter; and justly has the poet said, presume not
to arraign or scrutinize the various works of power divine.
“In fine, the tribute you demand from the Hindoos is repugnant to
justice: it is equally foreign from good policy, as it must impoverish
the country: moreover, it is an innovation and an infringement of the
laws of Hindostan. But if zeal for your own religion hath induced you
to determine upon this measure, the demand ought, by the rules of
equity, to have been made first upon Ramsing, who is esteemed the
principal amongst the Hindoos. Then let your well-wisher be called
upon, with whom you will have less difficulty to encounter; but to
torment ants and flies is unworthy of an heroic or generous mind. It
is wonderful that the ministers of your government should have
neglected to instruct your majesty in the rules of rectitude and
honour.”
Footnote 4.13.29:
It is well known that Aurangzeb forbade the continuation of the
history of his life, subsequent to that portion comprehending the
first ten years [the _Ālamgīrnāma_; see Jadunath Sarkar ii. 302].
Footnote 4.13.30:
The epithet by which these Tatar sovereigns affected to call the
indigenous (_bhumia_) princes.
Footnote 4.13.31:
There were no such field trains in Europe as those of the Moguls.
Seventy pieces of heavy ordnance, sixty of horse artillery, and a
dromedary corps three hundred strong, mounting swivels, accompanied
the emperor on an excursion to Kashmir. Bernier, who gives this
detail, describes what he saw [217 f.].
Footnote 4.13.32:
[For this campaign see the account in Jadunath Sarkar, _Life of
Aurangzib_, iii. 365 ff.]
Footnote 4.13.33:
_Pāl_ is the local term for these long defiles, the residence of the
mountaineers: their _chiefs_ are called _Indras_, _Pati_, in Bhakha,
_Pat_.
Footnote 4.13.34:
Chief of the Hindus.
Footnote 4.13.35:
[In the text “Tyber” Khān. His original name was Jān Beg, also known
as Bādshāh Kuli Khān, one of Aurangzeb’s great nobles (Manucci ii.
239, note 3, 247, note). His tragical end is told later on.]
Footnote 4.13.36:
The Saktawat leader, Gharibdas, has the merit of having prompted this
plan. His speech on the advance of Aurangzeb is given in the Annals;
and his advice, “Let the king have free entrance through the passes,
shut him in, and make famine his foe,” was literally followed, with
the hard knocks, which being a matter-of-course accompaniment, the
gallant Saktawat deemed it unnecessary to specify.
Footnote 4.13.37:
Orme, who has many valuable historical details of this period, makes
Aurangzeb in person to have been in the predicament assigned by the
annals to his son, and to have escaped from the operation of those
high and gallant sentiments of the Rajput, which make him no match for
a wily adversary.
“In the meantime Aurengzebe was carrying on the war against the Rana
of Cheetore, and the Raja of Marwar, who on the approach of his army
at the end of the preceding year, 1678, had abandoned the accessible
country, and drew their herds and inhabitants into the vallies, within
the mountains; the army advanced amongst the defiles with incredible
labour, and with so little intelligence, that the division which moved
with Aurengzebe himself was unexpectedly stopped by insuperable
defences and precipices in front; whilst the Rajpoots in one night
closed the streights in his rear, by felling the overhanging trees;
and from their stations above prevented all endeavours of the troops,
either within or without, from removing the obstacle. Udeperri, the
favourite and Circassian wife of Aurengzebe, accompanied him in this
arduous war, and with her retinue and escort was enclosed in another
part of the mountains; her conductors, dreading to expose her person
to danger or public view, surrendered. She was carried to the Rana,
who received her with homage and every attention. Meanwhile the
emperor himself might have perished by famine, of which the Rana let
him see the risque, by a confinement of two days; when he ordered his
Rajpoots to withdraw from their stations, and suffer the way to be
cleared. As soon as Aurengzebe was out of danger, the Rana sent back
his wife, accompanied by a chosen escort, who only requested in return
that he would refrain from destroying the sacred animals of their
religion which might still be left in the plains; but Aurengzebe, who
believed in no virtue but self-interest, imputed the generosity and
forbearance of the Rana to the fear of future vengeance, and continued
the war. Soon after he was again well-nigh enclosed in the mountains.
This second experience of difficulties beyond his age and
constitution, and the arrival of his sons, Azim and Acbar, determined
him not to expose himself any longer in the field, but to leave its
operations to their conduct, superintended by his own instructions
from Azmir; to which city he retired with the households of his
family, the officers of his court, and his bodyguard of four thousand
men, dividing the army between his two sons, who each had brought a
considerable body of troops from their respective governments. They
continued the war each in a different part of the country, and neither
at the end of the year had forced the ultimate passes of the
mountains” [_Historical Fragments_, 119 f.].
Footnote 4.13.38:
[Dilīr Khan, otherwise Jalāl Khān Dā‛ūdzai, died at Aurangābād,
1682-83 (Manucci i. 243). Grant Duff speaks highly of his services in
the Deccan (145 f.).]
Footnote 4.13.39:
Chief of Rupnagar.
Footnote 4.13.40:
Chief of Ghānerāo, in Godwar, now alienated from Mewar.
Footnote 4.13.41:
[Some name is wanting here.]
Footnote 4.13.42:
[Siddhpur, a famous place of pilgrimage in Baroda State (_IGI_, xxii.
358 f.); Modāsa, fifty-two miles north-east of Ahmadābād (_BG_, vi.
346).]
Footnote 4.13.43:
Mokham and Ganga Saktawats, Ratan Chondawat of Salumbar, Chandrasen
Jhala of Sadri, Sabal Singh Chauhan of Bedla, Berisal Punwar of
Bijolia. Four of the chiefs made speeches on the eve preceding the
battle, which are recorded in the Chronicle.
Footnote 4.13.44:
[For Akbar’s rebellion see Jadunath Sarkar ii. 402 ff.; Elliot-Dowson
vii. 298 ff.; Manucci ii. 243 ff.]
Footnote 4.13.45:
A portrait of this Rathor hero was given to the author of the present
work by his descendants. He was chief of Dunara, on the Luni. He saved
his young sovereign’s life from the tyrant, and guarded him during a
long minority, heading the Rathors in all the wars for the
independence of his country. A bribe of forty thousand _gold suns_ was
sent to him by Azam _without stipulation_, when conveying Akbar out of
danger. The object was obvious, yet the Mogul prince dared not even
specify his wishes. It is needless to say that Durga spurned the
offer. [For the flight of Akbar see Jadunath Sarkar ii. 415 ff.]
Footnote 4.13.46:
[For the attempt of Tahawwar Khān to assassinate Aurangzeb see Manucci
ii. 247 ff.; Jadunath Sarkar ii. 411 ff.]
Footnote 4.13.47:
[Palargarh is perhaps Pālanpur (_IGI_, xix. 354). Akbar died in
Persia, 1706.]
Footnote 4.13.48:
“We are not without hopes that some of the many in India who have the
means will supply the portions of information which are deficient in
these fragments, and must otherwise always continue out of our reach.
The knowledge is well worth the inquiry; for, besides the magnitude of
the events and the energy of the characters which arise within this
period, there are no states or powers on the continent of India, with
whom our nation have either connection or concern, which do not owe
the origin of their present condition to the reign of Aurengzebe, or
to its influence on the reigns of his successors” (Orme’s _Fragments_
[Notes i. f.]).
Footnote 4.13.49:
[Orme, _Fragments_, 150 f.]
Footnote 4.13.50:
"_Jawab-sowal_ [treaty, ‘question—answer’] _of Sur_
_Singh (uncle of Rana Raj_ [ ] _Singh) and Narhar Bhat_
_with the_ [Handprint] _Emperor_.
[ ]
_Panja_, or impress of the Em- peror’s hand, with the word
‘_Manzuri)_,’ written by him- self. _Manzuri_ (‘agreed’)
"Your servants, according to your royal pleasure and summons, have
been sent by the Rana to represent what is written underneath. We hope
you will agree to these requests, besides others which will be made by
Padam Singh.
"1. Let Chitor, with the districts adjacent appertaining thereto when
it was inhabited, be restored.
"2. In such temples and places of Hindu religious resort as have been
converted into mosques, the past cannot be recalled, but let this
practice be abolished.
"3. The aid hitherto afforded to the empire by the Rana shall be
continued, but let no additional commands be imposed.
"4. The sons and dependants of the deceased Raja Jaswant Singh so soon
as enabled to perform their duties, we hope will have their country
restored to them.[4.13.50.A]
"Respect prevents inferior demands. May the splendour of your fortune,
like the sun illuminating the world, be for ever increasing and never
set.
“The Arzi (requests) of your servants, Sur Singh and Narhar Bhat.”
Footnote 4.13.50.A:
S. 1737, A.D. 1681.
Footnote 4.13.51:
It was to defend the rights of the heir of Marwar, as well as to
oppose the odious _jizya_, that the Rana took to arms. Ajit was still
under the Rana’s safeguard.
Footnote 4.13.52:
[Orme, _Fragments_, 217 f. A different story is told by Khāfi Khān
(Elliot-Dowson vii. 334).]
Footnote 4.13.53:
[A common error; Gomati, meaning ‘rich in cattle,’ has no connexion
with Hindi _ghūmna_, ‘to twist.’]
Footnote 4.13.54:
Ninety-six lakhs of rupees [Erskine ii. A. 9].
Footnote 4.13.55:
A.D. 1661.
Footnote 4.13.56:
From all I could learn, it was the identical pestilence which has been
ravaging India for the last ten years, erroneously called _cholera
morbus_. About thirty-five years ago the same disease carried off
multitudes in these countries. Orme [_Fragments_, 200] gives notice of
something similar in A.D. 1684, in the imperial camp near Goa, when
five hundred victims daily fell its prey. Mewar was not free from the
last visitation of 1818, and the only son of the Rana was the first
person attacked.
Footnote 4.13.57:
The three months of rain, termed the _Barsat_. [Asārh is the month
June to July, followed by Sāwan and Bhādon.]
Footnote 4.13.58:
The four castes, sacerdotal, military, mercantile, and servile.
Footnote 4.13.59:
From the _Raj Vilas_, the chronicle of the reign of Raj Singh.
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