_Rajput, Bundela._--A well-known clan of Rajputs of somewhat
inferior position, who have given their name to Bundelkhand, or
the tract comprised principally in the Districts of Saugor, Damoh,
Jhansi, Hamirpur and Banda, and the Panna, Orchha, Datia and other
States. The Bundelas are held to be derived from the Gaharwar or
Gherwal Rajputs, and there is some reason for supposing that these
latter were originally an aristocratic section of the Bhar tribe with
some infusion of Rajput blood. But the Gaharwars now rank almost with
the highest clans. According to tradition one of the Gaharwar Rajas
offered a sacrifice of his own head to the Vindhya-basini Devi or
the goddess of the Vindhya hills, and out of the drops (_bund_) of
blood which fell on the altar a boy was born. He returned to Panna
and founded the clan which bears the name Bundela, from _bund_,
a drop. [504] It is probable that, as suggested by Captain Luard,
the name is really a corruption of Vindhya or Vindhyela, a dweller in
the Vindhya hills, where, according to their own tradition, the clan
had its birth. The Bundelas became prominent in the thirteenth or
fourteenth century, after the fall of the Chandels. "Orchha became
the chief of the numerous Bundela principalities; but its founder
drew upon himself everlasting infamy, by putting to death the wise
Abul Fazl, the historian and friend of the magnanimous Akbar, and the
encomiast and advocate of the Hindu race. From the period of Akbar
the Bundelas bore a distinguished part in all the grand conflicts,
to the very close of the monarchy." [505]
The Bundelas held the country up to the Nerbudda in the Central
Provinces, and, raiding continually into the Gond territories south
of the Nerbudda on the pretence of protecting the sacred cow which
the Gonds used for ploughing, they destroyed the castle on Chauragarh
in Narsinghpur on a crest of the Satpuras, and reduced the Nerbudda
valley to subjection. The most successful chieftain of the tribe was
Chhatarsal, the Raja of Panna, in the eighteenth century, who was
virtually ruler of all Bundelkhand; his dominions extending from Banda
in the north to Jubbulpore in the south, and from Rewah in the east
to the Betwa River in the west. But he had to call in the help of the
Peshwa to repel an invasion of the Mughal armies, and left a third
of his territory by will to the Marathas. Chhatarsal left twenty-two
legitimate and thirty illegitimate sons, and their descendants now
hold several small Bundela States, while the territories left to the
Peshwa subsequently became British. The chiefs of Panna, Orchha, Datia,
Chhatarpur and numerous other small states in the Bundelkhand agency
are Bundela Rajputs. [506] The Bundelas of Saugor do not intermarry
with the good Rajput clans, but with an inferior group of Panwars and
another clan called Dhundhele, perhaps an offshoot of the Panwars, who
are also residents of Saugor. Their character, as disclosed in a number
of proverbial sayings and stories current regarding them, somewhat
resembles that of the Scotch highlanders as depicted by Stevenson. They
are proud and penurious to the last degree, and quick to resent the
smallest slight. They make good _shikaris_ or sportsmen, but are
so impatient of discipline that they have never found a vocation by
enlisting in the Indian Army. Their characteristics are thus described
in a doggerel verse: "The Bundelas salute each other from miles apart,
their _pagris_ are cocked on the side of the head till they touch the
shoulders. A Bundela would dive into a well for the sake of a cowrie,
but would fight with the Sardars of Government." No Bania could go
past a Bundela's house riding on a pony or holding up an umbrella;
and all low-caste persons who passed his house must salute it with
the words, _Diwan ji ko Ram Ram_. Women must take their shoes off to
pass by. It is related that a few years ago a Bundela was brought up
before the Assistant Commissioner, charged with assaulting a tahsil
process-server, and threatening him with his sword. The Bundela, who
was very poor and wearing rags, was asked by the magistrate whether
he had threatened the man with his sword. He replied "Certainly not;
the sword is for gentlemen like you and me of equal position. To him,
if I had wished to beat him I would have taken my shoe." Another story
is that there was once a very overbearing Tahsildar, who had a shoe 2
1/2 feet long with which he used to collect the land revenue. One day
a Bundela malguzar appeared before him on some business. The Tahsildar
kept his seat. The Bundela walked quietly up to the table and said,
"Will the Sirkar step aside with me for a moment, as I have something
private to say." The Tahsildar got up and walked aside with him, on
which the Bundela said, 'That is sufficient, I only wished to tell you
that you should rise to receive me.' When the Bundelas are collected
at a feast they sit with their hands folded across their stomachs and
their eyes turned up, and remain impassive while food is being put on
their plates, and never say, 'Enough,' because they think that they
would show themselves to be feeble men if they refused to eat as much
as was put before them. Much of the food is thus ultimately wasted,
and given to the sweepers, and this leads to great extravagance at
marriages and other ceremonial occasions. The Bundelas were much
feared and were not popular landlords, but they are now losing their
old characteristics and settling down into respectable cultivators.