=Rāja Jaswant Singh, A.D. 1638-78.=—Raja Jaswant, who obtained, by the
banishment of Amra, the “cushion” of Marwar, was born of a princess of
Mewar; and although this circumstance is not reported to have influenced
the change of succession, it will be borne in mind that, throughout
Rajputana, its princes regarded a connexion with the Rana’s family as a
primary honour.
“Jaswant (says the Bardai) was unequalled amongst the princes of his
time. Stupidity and ignorance were banished; and science flourished
where he ruled: many were the books composed under his auspices.”[5.6.1]
The south continued to be the arena in which the martial Rajput sought
renown, and the emperor had only rightly to understand his character to
turn the national emulation to account. Shah Jahan, in the language of
the chronicler, “became a slave to the seraglio,” and sent his sons, as
viceroys, to govern the grand divisions of the empire. The first service
of Jaswant was in the war of Gondwana, when he led a body composed of
“twenty-two different contingents” in the army under Aurangzeb.[5.6.2]
In this and various other services (to enumerate which would be to go
[48] over the ground already passed),[5.6.3] the Rathors were
conspicuous. Jaswant played a comparatively subordinate part, until the
illness of the emperor, in A.D. 1658, when his elder son Dara was
invested with the powers of regent.[5.6.4] Prince Dara increased the
mansab of Jaswant to a leader of “five thousand,” and nominated him his
viceroy in Malwa.
=The War of Succession.=—In the struggle for empire amongst the sons of
Shah Jahan, consequent upon this illness, the importance of the Rajput
princes and the fidelity we have often had occasion to depict, were
exhibited in the strongest light. While Raja Jai Singh was commanded to
oppose prince Shuja, who advanced from his viceroyalty of Bengal,
Jaswant was entrusted with means to quash the designs of Aurangzeb, then
commanding in the south, who had long cloaked, under the garb of
hypocrisy and religion, views upon the empire.
=Campaign against Aurangzeb, A.D. 1657-58—The Battle of Dharmātpur.=—The
Rathor prince was declared generalissimo of the army destined to oppose
Aurangzeb, and he marched from Agra at the head of the united
contingents of Rajputana, besides the imperial guards, a force which, to
use the hyperbole of the bard, “made Shesnag[5.6.5] writhe in agony.”
Jaswant marched towards the Nerbudda, and had encamped his army in a
position fifteen miles south of Ujjain, when tidings reached him of his
opponent’s approach. In that field on which the emperor erected a town
subsequently designated Fatehabad, or ‘abode of victory,’ Jaswant
awaited his foes.[5.6.6] The battle which ensued, witnessed and so
circumstantially related by Bernier, as has been already noticed in this
work,[5.6.7] was lost by the temerity of the Rathor commander-in-chief,
who might have crushed the rebellious hopes of Aurangzeb, to whom he
purposely gave time to effect a junction with his brother Murad, from
the vainglorious desire “to conquer two princes at once.” Dearly did he
pay for his presumption; for he had given time to the wily prince to sow
intrigues in his camp, which were disclosed as soon as the battle
joined, when the Mogul horse deserted and left him at the head of his
thirty thousand Rajputs, deemed, however, by their leader and
themselves, sufficient against any odds. “Jaswant, spear in hand,
mounted his steed Mahbub, and charged the imperial brothers; ten
thousand Muslims fell in the onset, which cost seventeen hundred Rathors
[49], besides Guhilots, Haras, Gaurs, and some of every clan of Rajwara.
Aurang and Murad only escaped because their days were not yet numbered.
Mahbub and his rider were covered with blood; Jasa looked like a
famished lion, and like one he relinquished his prey.” The bard is fully
confirmed in his relation of the day, both by the Mogul historian and by
Bernier, who says, that notwithstanding the immense superiority of the
imperial princes, aided by a numerous artillery served by Frenchmen,
night alone put a stop to the contest of science, numbers, and
artillery, against Rajput courage. Both armies remained on the field of
battle, and though we have no notice of the anecdote related by the
first translator of Ferishta, who makes Jaswant “in bravado drive his
car round the field,”[5.6.8] it is certain that Aurangzeb was too
politic to renew the combat, or molest the retreat which took place next
day towards his native dominions. Although, for the sake of
alliteration, the bard especially singles out the Guhilots and Gaurs,
the tribes of Mewar and Sheopur, all and every tribe was engaged; and if
the Rajput ever dared to mourn the fall of kindred in battle, this day
should have covered every house with the emblems of grief; for it is
stated by the Mogul historian that fifteen thousand fell, chiefly
Rajputs. This was one of the events glorious to the Rajput, showing his
devotion to whom fidelity (_swamidharma_) had been pledged—the aged and
enfeebled emperor Shah Jahan, whose “salt they ate”—against all the
temptations offered by youthful ambition. It is forcibly contrasted with
the conduct of the immediate household troops of the emperor, who, even
in the moment of battle, worshipped the rising sun, whilst the Rajput
sealed his faith in his blood; and none more liberally than the brave
Haras of Kotah and Bundi. The annals of no nation on earth can furnish
such an example, as an entire family, six royal brothers, stretched on
the field, and all but one in death.[5.6.9]
Of all the deeds of heroism performed on this day, those of Ratna of
Ratlam, by universal consent, are pre-eminent, and “are wreathed into
immortal rhyme by the bard” in the Raesa Rao Ratna.[5.6.10] He also was
a Rathor, the great-grandson of Udai Singh, the first raja of Maru; and
nobly did he show that the Rathor blood had not degenerated on the
fertile plains of Malwa. If aught were wanting to complete the fame of
this memorable day, which gave empire to the scourge of Rajputana [50],
it is found in the conduct of Jaswant’s queen, who, as elsewhere
related,[5.6.11] shut the gates of his capital on her fugitive lord,
though he “brought back his shield” and his honour.
=Battle of Jājau.=—Aurangzeb, on Jaswant’s retreat, entered the capital
of Malwa in triumph, whence, with all the celerity requisite to success,
he pursued his march on the capital. At the village of Jajau, thirty
miles south of Agra, the fidelity of the Rajputs again formed a barrier
between the aged king and the treason of his son; but it served no other
purpose than to illustrate this fidelity. The Rajputs were overpowered,
Dara was driven from the regency, and the aged emperor deposed.[5.6.12]
=Battle of Khajwa.=—Aurangzeb, soon after usurping the throne, sent,
through the prince of Amber, his assurances of pardon to Jaswant, and a
summons to the presence, preparatory to joining the army forming against
his brother Shuja, advancing to vindicate his claims to empire. The
Rathor, deeming it a glorious occasion for revenge, obeyed, and
communicated to Shuja his intentions. The hostile armies met at Khajwa,
thirty miles north of Allahabad.[5.6.13] On the first onset, Jaswant,
wheeling about with his Rathor cavaliers, attacked the rearward of the
army under prince Muhammad, which he cut to pieces, and plundering the
imperial camp (left unprotected), he deliberately loaded his camels with
the most valuable effects, which he despatched under part of the force,
and leaving the brothers to a contest, which he heartily wished might
involve the destruction of both, he followed the cortège to Agra. Such
was the panic on his appearance at that capital, joined to the rumours
of Aurangzeb’s defeat, which had nearly happened, that the wavering
garrison required only a summons to have surrendered, when he might have
released Shah Jahan from confinement, and with this “tower of strength”
have rallied an opposition fatal to the prince.
=Policy of Jaswant Singh.=—That this plan suggested itself to Jaswant’s
sagacity we cannot doubt; but besides the manifest danger of locking up
his army within the precincts of a capital, if victory was given to
Aurangzeb, he had other reasons for not halting at Agra. All his designs
were in concert with prince Dara, the rightful heir to the throne, whom
he had instructed to hasten to the scene of action; but while Jaswant
remained hovering in the rear of Aurangzeb, momentarily expecting the
junction of the prince, the latter loitered on the southern frontier of
Marwar, and thus lost, for [51] ever, the crown within his grasp.
Jaswant continued his route to his native dominions, and had at least
the gratification of housing the spoils, even to the regal tents, in the
castle of Jodha. Dara tardily formed a junction at Merta; but the
critical moment was lost, and Aurangzeb, who had crushed Shuja’s force,
rapidly advanced, now joined by many of the Rajput princes, to overwhelm
this last remnant of opposition. The crafty Aurangzeb, however, who
always preferred stratagem to the precarious issue of arms, addressed a
letter to Jaswant, not only assuring him of his entire forgiveness, but
offering the vice-royalty of Gujarat, if he would withdraw his support
from Dara, and remain neuter in the contest. Jaswant accepted the
conditions, and agreed to lead the Rajput contingents, under prince
Muazzam, in the war against Sivaji, bent on reviving the independence of
Maharashtra. From the conduct again pursued by the Rathor, we have a
right to infer that he only abandoned Dara because, though possessed of
many qualities which endeared him to the Rajput, besides his title to
the throne, he wanted those virtues necessary to ensure success against
his energetic brother. Scarcely had Jaswant reached the Deccan when he
opened a communication with Sivaji, planned the death of the king’s
lieutenant, Shaista Khan, on which he hoped to have the guidance of the
army, and the young viceroy. Aurangzeb received authentic intelligence
of this plot, and the share Jaswant had in it; but he temporized, and
even sent letters of congratulation on his succeeding to the command in
chief. But he soon superseded him by Raja Jai Singh of Amber, who
brought the war to a conclusion by the capture of Sivaji.[5.6.14] The
honour attending this exploit was, however, soon exchanged for disgrace;
for when the Amber prince found that the tyrant had designs upon the
life of his prisoner, for whose safety he had pledged himself, he
connived at his escape.[5.6.15] Upon this, Jaswant was once more
declared the emperor’s lieutenant, and soon inspired prince Muazzam with
designs, which again compelled the king to supersede him, and Diler Khan
was declared general-in-chief. He reached Aurangabad, and the night of
his arrival would have been his last, but he received intimation and
rapidly retreated, pursued by the prince and Jaswant to the Nerbudda.
The emperor saw the necessity of removing Jaswant from this dangerous
post, and he sent him the farman as viceroy of Gujarat, to which he
commanded him to repair without delay. He obeyed, reached Ahmadabad, and
found the king had outwitted him and his [52] successor in command; he
therefore continued his course to his native dominions, where he arrived
in S. 1726 (A.D. 1670).
The wily tyrant had, in all these changes, used every endeavour to
circumvent Jaswant, and, if the annals are correct, was little
scrupulous as to the means. But the Raja was protected by the fidelity
of his kindred vassalage. In the words of the bardic chronicler, “The
Aswapati,[5.6.16] Aurang, finding treachery in vain, put the collar of
simulated friendship round his neck, and sent him beyond the Attock to
die.”
The emperor saw that the only chance of counteracting Jaswant’s
inveterate hostility was to employ him where he would be least
dangerous. He gladly availed himself of a rebellion amongst the Afghans
of Kabul; and with many promises of favour to himself and his family,
appointed him to the chief command,[5.6.17] to lead his turbulent
Rajputs against the equally turbulent and almost savage Afghans. Leaving
his elder son, Prithi Singh, in charge of his ancestral domains, with
his wives, family, and the chosen bands of Maru, Jaswant departed for
the land of the “barbarian,” from which he was destined never to return.
=Treatment of Prithi Singh by Aurangzeb.=—It is related, in the
chronicles of Maru, that Aurangzeb having commanded the attendance at
court of Jaswant’s heir, he obeyed, and was received not only with the
distinctions which were his due, but with the most specious courtesy;
that one day, with unusual familiarity, the king desired him to advance,
and grasping firmly his folded hands (the usual attitude of deference)
in one of his own, said, “Well, Rathor, it is told me you possess as
nervous an arm as your father; what can you do now?” “God preserve your
majesty!” replied the Rajput prince, “when the sovereign of mankind lays
the hand of protection on the meanest of his subjects, all his hopes are
realized; but when he condescends to take both of mine, I feel as if I
could conquer the world.” His vehement and animated gesture gave full
force to his words, and Aurangzeb quickly exclaimed, “Ah! here is
another Khatan”[5.6.18] (the term he always applied to Jaswant); yet,
affecting to be pleased with the frank boldness of his speech, he
ordered him a splendid dress, which, as customary, he put on, and,
having made his obeisance, left the presence in the certain assurance of
exaltation.
That day was his last!—he was taken ill soon after reaching his
quarters, and [53] expired in great torture, and to this hour his death
is attributed to the poisoned robe of honour presented by the
king.[5.6.19]
Prithi Singh was the staff of his father’s age, and endowed with all the
qualities required to lead the swords of Maru. His death, thus reported,
cast a blight on the remaining days of Jaswant, who, in this cruel
stroke, saw that his mortal foe had gone beyond him in revenge. The
sacrifice of Prithi Singh was followed by the death of his only
remaining sons, Jagat Singh and Dalthamman, from the ungenial climate of
Kabul, and grief soon closed the existence of the veteran Rathor. He
expired amidst the mountains of the north, without an heir to his
revenge, in S. 1737 (A.D. 1681), having ruled the tribes of Maru for
two-and-forty years. In this year, death released Aurangzeb from the
greatest terrors of his life; for the illustrious Sivaji and Jaswant
paid the debt to nature within a few months of each other.[5.6.20] Of
the Rathor, we may use the words of the biographer of his contemporary,
Rana Raj Singh of Mewar: “Sighs never ceased flowing from Aurang’s heart
while Jaswant lived.”
=Character of Jaswant Singh.=—The life of Jaswant Singh is one of the
most extraordinary in the annals of Rajputana, and a full narrative of
it would afford a perfect and deeply interesting picture of the history
and manners of the period. Had his abilities, which were far above
mediocrity, been commensurate with his power, credit, and courage, he
might, with the concurrent aid of the many powerful enemies of
Aurangzeb, have overturned the Mogul throne. Throughout the long period
of two-and-forty years, events of magnitude crowded upon each other,
from the period of his first contest with Aurangzeb, in the battle of
the Nerbudda, to his conflicts with the Afghans amidst the snows of
Caucasus. Although the Rathor had a preference amongst the sons of Shah
Jahan, esteeming the frank Dara above the crafty Aurangzeb, yet he
detested the whole race as inimical to the religion and the independence
of his own; and he only fed the hopes of any of the brothers, in their
struggles for empire, expecting that they would end in the ruin of all.
His blind [54] arrogance lost him the battle of the Nerbudda, and the
supineness of Dara prevented his reaping the fruit of his treachery at
Khajwa. The former event, as it reduced the means and lessened the fame
of Jaswant, redoubled his hatred to the conqueror. Jaswant neglected no
opportunity which gave a chance of revenge. Impelled by this motive,
more than by ambition, he never declined situations of trust, and in
each he disclosed the ruling passion of his mind. His overture to Sivaji
(like himself the implacable foe of the Mogul), against whom he was sent
to act; his daring attempt to remove the imperial lieutenants, one by
assassination, the other by open force; his inciting Muazzam, whose
inexperience he was sent to guide, to revolt against his father, are
some among the many signal instances of Jaswant’s thirst for vengeance.
The emperor, fully aware of this hatred, yet compelled from the force of
circumstances to dissemble, was always on the watch to counteract it,
and the artifices this mighty king had recourse to in order to
conciliate Jaswant, perhaps to throw him off his guard, best attest the
dread in which he held him. Alternately he held the vice-royalty of
Gujarat, of the Deccan, of Malwa, Ajmer, and Kabul (where he died),
either directly of the king, or as the king’s lieutenant, and second in
command under one of the princes. But he used all these favours merely
as stepping-stones to the sole object of his life. Accordingly, if
Jaswant’s character had been drawn by a biographer of the court, viewed
merely in the light of a great vassal of the empire, it would have
reached us marked with the stigma of treachery in every trust reposed in
him; but, on the other hand, when we reflect on the character of the
king, the avowed enemy of the Hindu faith, we only see in Jaswant a
prince putting all to hazard in its support. He had to deal with one who
placed him in these offices, not from personal regard, but because he
deemed a hollow submission better than avowed hostility, and the raja,
therefore, only opposed fraud to hypocrisy, and treachery to superior
strength. Doubtless the Rathor was sometimes dazzled by the baits which
the politic king administered to his vanity; and when all his brother
princes eagerly contended for royal favour, it was something to be
singled out as the first amongst his peers in Rajputana. By such
conflicting impulses were both parties actuated in their mutual conduct
throughout a period in duration nearly equal to the life of man; and it
is no slight testimony to Aurangzeb’s skill in managing such a subject,
that he was able to neutralize the hatred and the power of Jaswant
throughout this lengthened [55] period. But it was this vanity, and the
immense power wielded by the kings who could reward service by the
addition of a vice-royalty to their hereditary domains, that made the
Rajput princes slaves; for, had all the princely contemporaries of
Jaswant—Jai Singh of Amber, the Rana Raj of Mewar, and Sivaji—coalesced
against their national foe, the Mogul power must have been extinct.
Could Jaswant, however, have been satisfied with the mental wounds he
inflicted upon the tyrant, he would have had ample revenge; for the
image of the Rathor crossed all his visions of aggrandizement. The cruel
sacrifice of his heir, and the still more barbarous and unrelenting
ferocity with which he pursued Jaswant’s innocent family, are the surest
proofs of the dread which the Rathor prince inspired while alive.
=The Tale of Nāhar Khān.=—Previous, however, to entering on this and the
eventful period which followed Jaswant’s death, we may record a few
anecdotes illustrative of the character and manners of the vassal
chieftains, by whose aid he was thus enabled to brave Aurangzeb. Nor can
we do better than allow Nahar Khan, chief of the Kumpawats and premier
noble, to be the representative portrait of the clans of Maru. It was by
the vigilance of this chief, and his daring intrepidity, that the many
plots laid for Jaswant’s life were defeated; and in the anecdote already
given, when in order to restore his prince from a fit of mental
delusion,[5.6.21] he braved the superstitions of his race, his devotion
was put to a severer test than any which could result from personal
peril. The anecdote connected with his _nom de guerre_ of Nahar
(_tiger_) Khan, exemplifies his personal, as the other does his mental,
intrepidity. The real name of this individual, the head of the Kumpawat
clan, was Mukunddas. He had personally incurred the displeasure of the
emperor, by a reply which was deemed disrespectful to a message sent by
the royal Ahadi,[5.6.22] for which the tyrant condemned him to enter a
tiger’s den, and contend for his life unarmed. Without a sign of fear he
entered the arena, where the savage beast was pacing, and thus
contemptuously accosted him: “Oh, tiger of the Miyan,[5.6.23] face the
tiger of Jaswant”; exhibiting to the king of the forest a pair of eyes,
which anger and opium had rendered little less inflamed than his own.
The animal, startled by so unaccustomed a salutation, for a moment
looked at his visitor, put down his head, turned round and [56] stalked
from him. “You see,” exclaimed the Rathor, “that he dare not face me,
and it is contrary to the creed of a true Rajput to attack an enemy who
dares not confront him.” Even the tyrant, who beheld the scene, was
surprised into admiration, presented him with gifts, and asked if he had
any children to inherit his prowess. His reply, “How can we get
children, when you keep us from our wives beyond the Attock?” fully
shows that the Rathor and fear were strangers to each other. From this
singular encounter he bore the name of Nahar Khan, ‘the tiger lord.’
On another occasion, from the same freedom of speech, he incurred the
displeasure of the Shahzada, or prince-royal, who, with youthful levity,
commanded the ‘tiger lord’ to attempt a feat which he deemed
inconsistent with his dignity, namely, gallop at speed under a
horizontal branch of a tree and cling to it while the steed passed on.
This feat, requiring both agility and strength, appears to have been a
common amusement, and it is related in the Annals of Mewar that the
chief of Banera broke his spine in the attempt; and there were few who
did not come off with bruises and falls, in which consisted the sport.
When Nahar heard the command, he indignantly replied, he “was not a
monkey”; that “if the prince wished to see his feats, it must be where
his sword had play”; on which he was ordered against Surthan, the Deora
prince of Sirohi, for which service he had the whole Rathor contingent
at his disposal. The Deora prince, who could not attempt to cope against
it in the field, took to his native hills; but while he deemed himself
secure, Mukund, with a chosen band, in the dead of night, entered the
glen where the Sirohi prince reposed, stabbed the solitary sentinel,
bound the prince with his own turban to his pallet, while, environing
him with his clansmen, he gave the alarm. The Deoras starting from their
rocky beds, collected round their prince, and were preparing for the
rescue, when Nahar called aloud, “You see his life is in my hands; be
assured it is safe if you are wise; but he dies on the least opposition
to my determination to convey him to my prince. My sole object in giving
the alarm was that you might behold me carry off my prize.” He conveyed
Surthan to Jaswant, who said he must introduce him to the king. The
Deora prince was carried to court, and being led between the proper
officers to the palace, he was instructed to perform that profound
obeisance, from which none were exempted. But the haughty Deora replied,
“His life was in the king’s hands, his [57] honour in his own; he had
never bowed the head to mortal man, and never would.” As Jaswant had
pledged himself for his honourable treatment, the officers of the
ceremonies endeavoured by stratagem to obtain a constrained obeisance,
and instead of introducing him as usual, they showed him a wicket, knee
high, and very low overhead, by which to enter, but putting his feet
foremost, his head was the last part to appear.[5.6.24] This stubborn
ingenuity, his noble bearing, and his long-protracted resistance, added
to Jaswant’s pledge, won the king’s favour; and he not only proffered
him pardon, but whatever lands he might desire. Though the king did not
name the return, Surthan was well aware of the terms, but he boldly and
quickly replied, “What can your majesty bestow equal to Achalgarh? let
me return to it is all I ask.” The king had the magnanimity to comply
with his request; Surthan was allowed to retire to the castle of
Abu,[5.6.25] nor did he or any of the Deoras ever rank themselves
amongst the vassals of the empire; but they have continued to the
present hour a life of almost savage independence.
From such anecdotes we learn the character of the tiger lord of Asop;
and his brother Rathors of Marwar; men reckless of life when put in
competition with distinction and fidelity to their prince, as will be
abundantly illustrated in the reign we are about to describe.
-----
Footnote 5.6.1:
[See Grierson, _Vernacular Literature of Hindustān_, Index sv.
“Jaswant Singh.”]
Footnote 5.6.2:
[The Bundela Campaign of 1635 against Jujhār Singh (Jadunāth Sarkar,
_Life of Aurangzib_, i. 14 ff.).]
Footnote 5.6.3:
The new translation of Ferishta’s _History_, by Lieut.-Col. Briggs, a
work much wanted, may be referred to by those who wish to see the
opinion of the Muhammadan princes of their Rajput vassalage.
Footnote 5.6.4:
[It is a mistake to call him Dāra, his name being Dāra Shukoh,
‘majesty like that of Darius.’ He was appointed regent in 1657, when
Shāh Jahān fell ill (_ibid._ i. 304 ff.).]
Footnote 5.6.5:
[The serpent which upholds the world.]
Footnote 5.6.6:
[The battle fought at Dharmātpur, 14 miles S.W. of Ujjain, April 15 or
25, 1658. See a full account by Jadunāth Sarkar, ii. 3 ff., who
remarks that the description in Bernier (p. 36 ff.) is untrustworthy,
while Tod “merely records the wild fictions of the Rajput bards” (ii.
13 note). Fatehābād was the name given to Samūgarh, fought June 8,
following.]
Footnote 5.6.7:
p. 724.
Footnote 5.6.8:
[Dow, 2nd ed. iii. 206.]
Footnote 5.6.9:
See Kotah annals, which state that that prince and five brothers all
fell in this field of carnage.
Footnote 5.6.10:
Amongst the MSS. presented by the author to the Royal Asiatic Society,
is this work, the Raesa Rao Ratna. [“To Ratan Singh of Ratlam a noble
monument was raised by his descendants on the spot where his corpse
was burnt. Time overwhelmed it, but in 1909 its place was taken by a
lofty structure of white marble, decorated with relief-work of a bold
but conventional type, and surmounted with a stone horse” (Jadunāth
Sarkar ii. 27).]
Footnote 5.6.11:
See p. 724.
Footnote 5.6.12:
[The battle of Samūgarh, nine miles E. of Agra, fought June 8, 1658,
or, according to Jadunāth Sarkar (ii. 32) on May 29, 1658.]
Footnote 5.6.13:
[The battle of Khajwa or Khajuha, in the Fatehpur District, nearly 100
miles N.W. of Allāhābād, on January 14, 1659, or, according to
Jadunāth Sarkar, on January 4-5, 1659. The dates fixed by Irvine
(_IA_, xl. 69 ff.) are probably correct, and have been followed in the
notes.]
Footnote 5.6.14:
[June 23, 1665.]
Footnote 5.6.15:
[Jai Singh seems to have had no direct part in the escape of Sivaji
from Delhi, August 29, 1666 (Grant Duff, _Hist. Mahrattas_, 96).]
Footnote 5.6.16:
The common epithet of the Islamite emperors, in the dialect of the
bard, is _Aspat_, classically _Aswapati_, ‘lord of horses.’
Footnote 5.6.17:
[He was appointed Faujdār of Jamrūd at the mouth of the Khaibar Pass.]
Footnote 5.6.18:
[A near relation by marriage.]
Footnote 5.6.19:
This mode of being rid of enemies is firmly believed by the Rajputs,
and several other instances of it are recorded in this work. Of
course, it must be by porous absorption; and in a hot climate, where
only a thin tunic is worn next the skin, much mischief might be done,
though it is difficult to understand how death could be accomplished.
[See p. 728. ] That the belief is of ancient date we have only to
recall the story of Hercules put into doggerel by Pope:
——“He, whom Dejanire
Wrapp’d in th’ envenom’d shirt, and set on fire.”
[“The Wife of Bath,” 380-1. The tragical death of Prithi Singh is
still the subject for songs of the bards (Temple, _Legends of the
Panjāb_, iii. 252 ff.).]
Footnote 5.6.20:
[This is an error. Jaswant Singh died December 18, 1678 (Irvine’s note
on Manucci ii. 233, _IA_, xl. 77). Sivaji died probably on April 17,
1680 (Fryer, _New Account of East India and Persia_, ed. Hakluyt
Society, iii. 167).]
Footnote 5.6.21:
See p. 967.
Footnote 5.6.22:
[See p. 784.]
Footnote 5.6.23:
_Miyān_ is a term used by the Hindu to a Muslim, who himself generally
applies it to a pedagogue: the village schoolmaster has always the
honourable epithet of _Miyān-ji_!
Footnote 5.6.24:
[This is a common legend, told of the Nikumbh Rājputs of the United
Provinces (Crooke, _Tribes and Castes_, iv. 87); by Bernier of Shāh
Jahān and the Persian ambassador (p. 151 f.); of the Hatkars of the
Deccan (_BG_, xvi. 56 note; Russell, _Tribes and Castes of Central
Provinces_, i. 37 f.).]
Footnote 5.6.25:
Achalgarh, or ‘the immovable castle,’ is the name of the fortress of
the Deora princes of Abu and Sirohi, of which wonderful spot I purpose
in another work to give a detailed account [58].
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