=Rāja Bijai Singh, A.D. 1753-93.=—Bijai Singh, then in his twentieth
year, succeeded his father, Bakhta. His accession was acknowledged not
only by the emperor, but by all the princes around him, and he was
inaugurated at the frontier town of Marot,[5.13.1] when proceeding to
Merta, where he passed the period of _matam_ or mourning. Hither the
independent branches of his family, of Bikaner, Kishangarh, and
Rupnagarh, came simultaneously with their condolence and
congratulations. Thence he advanced to the capital, and concluded the
rites on death and accession with gifts and charities which gratified
all expectations.
=Rām Singh invites Marātha Aid.=—The death of his uncle afforded the
ex-prince, Ram Singh, the chance of redeeming his birthright; and in
conjunction with the prince of Amber, he concluded a treaty[5.13.2] with
the Mahrattas, the stipulations of which were sworn to by their leaders.
The “Southrons” advanced by Kotah and Jaipur, where Ram Singh [122],
with his personal adherents and a strong auxiliary band of Amber, united
their forces, and they proceeded to the object in view, the dethronement
of Bijai Singh.
=The Battle of Merta.=—Bijai Singh was prepared for the storm, and led
his native chivalry to the plains of Merta, where, animated with one
impulse, a determination to repel foreign interference, they awaited the
Mahrattas, to decide the rival claims to the throne of the
desert.[5.13.3] The bard delights to enumerate the clans who mustered
all their strength; and makes particular allusion to the allodial
Pattawats, who were foremost on this occasion. From Pushkar, where the
combined army halted, a summons was sent to Bijai Singh “to surrender
the gaddi of Maru.” It was read in full convention and answered with
shouts of “Battle! Battle!” “Who is this Hapa,[5.13.4] thus to scare us,
when, were the firmament to fall, our heads would be pillars of support
to preserve you?” Such is the hyperbole of the Rajput when excited, nor
does his action fall far short of it. The numerical odds were immense
against the Rathors; but they little esteemed the Kachhwahas, and their
courage had very different aliment to sustain it, from the mercenary
Southron. The encounter was of the most desperate description, and the
bard deals out a full measure of justice to all.
Two accidents occurred during the battle, each sufficient to turn
victory from the standard of Bijai Singh, on the very point of fruition.
One has elsewhere been related,[5.13.5] namely, the destruction of the
“Silahposhians,” or cuirassiers, the chosen cohort of the Rathors, when
returning from a successful charge, who were mistaken for the foe, and
mowed down with discharges of grape-shot. This error, at a moment when
the courage of the Mahrattas was wavering, might have been retrieved,
notwithstanding the superstitious converted the disaster into an omen of
evil. Sindhia had actually prepared to quit the field, when another turn
of the wheel decided the event in his favour: the circumstance exhibits
forcibly the versatile character of the Rajput.
=Treachery of Sardār Singh of Kishangarh.=—The Raja of Kishangarh had
deprived his relative of Rupnagar of his estates; both were junior
branches of Marwar, but held direct from the emperor. Sawant Singh,
chieftain of Rupnagar, either from constitutional indifference or [123]
old age, retired to the sanctuary of Brindaban on the Jumna, and, before
the shrine of the Hindu Apollo, poured forth his gratitude for “his
escape from hell,” in the loss of his little kingdom. But it was in vain
he attempted to inspire young Sardar with the like contempt of mundane
glory; to his exhortations the youth replied, “It is well for you,
Sire,[5.13.6] who have enjoyed life, to resign its sweets so tranquilly;
but I am yet a stranger to them.” Taking advantage of the times, he
determined to seek a stronger auxiliary for the recovery of his rights
than the poetic homilies of Jayadeva. Accordingly, he joined the envoy
of Ram Singh, and returned with the Mahratta army, on whose successful
operations his hope of reconquering his patrimony rested. It was at that
moment of doubt that Apa, the Mahratta commander, thus addressed young
Sardar: “Your star, young man, is united to Ram Singh’s, which fortune
does not favour; what more is to be done before we move off?”
Inexperienced as he was, Sardar knew his countrymen, and their
vacillation when touched by superstition; and he obtained permission to
try a ruse, as a last resort. He dispatched a horseman of his own clan
to the division which pressed them most, who, coming up to the Mainot
minister, as if of his own party, asked “what they were fighting for, as
Bijai Singh lay dead, killed by a cannon-shot in another part of the
field?” Like the ephemeral tribe of diplomacy, the Mainot saw his sun
was set. He left the field, followed by the panic-struck clans, amongst
whom the report circulated like wildfire. Though accustomed to these
stratagems, with which their annals teem, the Rajputs are never on their
guard against them; not a man inquired into the truth of the report, and
Bijai Singh,—who, deeming himself in the very career of victory, was
coolly performing his devotions amidst the clash of swords,—was left
almost alone, even without attendants or horses. The lord of Marwar,
who, on that morning, commanded the lives of one hundred thousand
Rajputs, was indebted for his safety to the mean conveyance of a cart
and pair of oxen.[5.13.7]
Every clan had to erect tablets for the loss of their best warriors; and
as in their civil wars each strove to be foremost in devotion, most of
the chieftains of note [124] were amongst the slain.[5.13.8] The bard
metes out a fair measure of justice to their auxiliaries, especially the
Saktawats of Mewar, whose swords were unsheathed in the cause of the
son-in-law of their prince. Nor is the lance of the Southron passed over
without eulogy, to praise which, indeed, is to extol themselves.
=Results of Rāthor Defeat.=—With the loss of this battle and the
dispersion of the Rathors, the strongholds rapidly fell. The cause of
Ram Singh was triumphing, and the Mahrattas were spreading over the land
of Maru, when foul assassination checked their progress.[5.13.9] But the
death of Jai Apa, which converted his hordes from auxiliaries to
principals in the contest, called aloud for vengeance, that was only to
be appeased by the cession of Ajmer, and a fixed triennial tribute on
all the lands of Maru, both feudal and fiscal. This arrangement being
made, the Mahrattas displayed the virtue common to such mercenary
allies: they abandoned Ram Singh to his ‘evil star,’ and took possession
of this stronghold, which, placed in the very heart of Rajasthan,
perpetuated their influence over its princes.
With this gem, thus rudely torn from her diadem, the independence of
Marwar from that hour has been insecure. She has struggled on, indeed,
through a century of invasions, rebellions, and crimes, all originating,
like the blank leaf on her annals, from the murder of Ajit. In the words
of the Doric stanza of the hostile bards on this memorable chastisement:
_Yād ghana din āvasi,
Āpawāla hel;
Bhāga tinon bhupati,
Māl khajāna mel._[5.13.10]
“For many a day will they remember the time (_hel_) of Apa, when the
three sovereigns fled, abandoning their goods and treasures”: alluding
to the princes of Marwar, Bikaner, and Kishangarh, who partook in the
disasters and disgrace of that day [125].
The youthful heir of Rupnagar claimed, as he justly might, the victory
to himself; and going up to Apa to congratulate him, said, in the
metaphorical language of his country, “You see I sowed mustard-seed in
my hand as I stood”: comparing the prompt success of his stratagem to
the rapid vegetation of the seed. But Sardar was a young man of no
ordinary promise; for when Sindhia, in gratitude, offered immediately to
put him in possession of Rupnagar, he answered, “No; that would be a
retrograde movement,” and told him to act for his master Ram Singh,
“whose success would best insure his own.” But when treachery had done
its worst on Jai Apa, suspicion, which fell on every Rajput in the
Mahratta camp, spared not Sardar: swords were drawn in every quarter,
and even the messengers of peace, the envoys, were everywhere assailed,
and amongst those who fell ere the tumult could be appeased, was Rawat
Kabir Singh, the premier noble of Mewar, then ambassador from the Rana
with the Mahrattas.[5.13.11] With his last breath, Jai Apa protected and
exonerated Sardar, and enjoined that his pledge of restoration to his
patrimony should be redeemed. The body of this distinguished commander
was burned at the Taussar, or ‘Peacock pool,’ where a cenotaph was
erected, and in the care which the descendants even of his enemies pay
to it, we have a test of the merits of both victor and vanquished.
=Death of Rām Singh.=—This was the last of twenty-two battles, in which
Ram Singh was prodigal of his life for the recovery of his honours. The
adversity of his later days had softened the asperity of his temper, and
made his early faults be forgotten, though too late for his benefit. He
died in exile at Jaipur in A.D. 1773. His person was gigantic; his
demeanour affable and courteous; and he was generous to a fault. His
understanding was excellent and well cultivated, but his capricious
temperament, to which he gave vent with an unbridled vehemence,
disgusted the high-minded nobles of Maru, and involved him in exile and
misery till his death. It is universally admitted that, both in exterior
and accomplishments, not even the great Ajit could compare with Ram
Singh, and witchcraft, at the instigation of the chieftain of Asop, is
assigned to account for his fits of insanity, which might be better
attributed to the early and immoderate use of opium. But in spite of his
errors, the fearless courage he displayed, against all odds, kept some
of the [126] most valiant of the clans constant to his fortunes,
especially the brave Mertias, under the heroic Sher Singh of Rian, whose
deeds can never be obliterated from the recollections of the Rathor. Not
the least ardent of his adherents was the allodial chief Rup Singh, of
the almost forgotten clan, Pattawat; who held out in Phalodi against all
attempts, and who, when provisions failed, with his noble associates,
slew and ate their camels. The theme is a favourite one for the
Kamarya[5.13.12] minstrel of Maru, who sings the fidelity of Rupa and
his band to the notes of his rabab,[5.13.13] to their ever attentive
descendants.
=The Character of Rāja Rām Singh.=—We may sum up the character of Ram
Singh in the words of the bard, as he contrasts him with his rival.
“Fortune never attended the stirrup of Bijai Singh, who never gained a
battle, though at the head of a hundred thousand men; but Ram Singh, by
his valour and conduct, gained victories with a handful.”
The death of Ram Singh was no panacea to the griefs of Marwar or of its
prince. The Mahrattas, who had now obtained a _point-d’appui_ in
Rajwara, continued to foster disputes which tended to their advantage,
or when opportunity offered, to scour the country in search of pay or
plunder. Bijai Singh, young and inexperienced, was left without
resources; ruinous wars and yet more ruinous negotiations had dissipated
the hoards of wealth accumulated by his predecessors. The crown-lands
were uncultivated, the tenantry dispersed; and commerce had diminished,
owing to insecurity and the licentious habits of the nobles, who
everywhere established their own imposts, and occasionally despoiled
entire caravans. While the competitor for the throne was yet living, the
Raja was compelled to shut his eyes on these inroads upon his proper
power, which reduced him to insignificance even in his own palace.
=Power of the Aristocracy of Mārwār.=—The aristocracy in Marwar has
always possessed more power than in any of the sister principalities
around. The cause may be traced to their first settlement in the desert;
and it has been kept in action by the peculiarities of their condition,
especially in that protracted struggle for the rights of the minor Ajit,
against the despotism of the empire. There was another cause, which, at
the present juncture, had a very unfortunate influence on the increase
of this preponderance, and which arose out of the laws of adoption.
=The Pokaran Fief.=—The fief of Pokaran, the most powerful (although a
junior) branch of the Champawat clan, adopted a son of Raja Ajit as
their chief; his name was Devi Singh [127]. The right of adoption, as
has been already explained, rests with the widow of the deceased and the
elders of the clan. Why they exercised it as they did on this occasion
does not appear; but not improbably at the suggestion of the dying
chief, who wished to see his sovereign’s large family provided for,
having no sons of his own: or, the immediate claimants may not have
possessed the qualities necessary to lead a clan of Maru. Although the
moment such adoption takes place, when “the turban of the late incumbent
encircled the new lord of Pokaran,” he ought to forget he had any other
father than him he succeeded, yet we can easily imagine that, in the
present case, his propinquity to the throne, which under other
circumstances he might soon have forgotten, was continually forced upon
his recollection by the contentions of his parricidal brothers and their
offspring for the ‘cushion’ of Marwar. It exemplifies another feature in
Rajput institutions, which cut off this son (guiltless of all
participation in the treason) from succession, because he was identified
with the feudality; while the issue of another, and junior brother, at
the same period adopted into the independent house of Idar,[5.12.14]
were heirs presumptive to Marwar; nay, must supply it with a ruler on
failure of heirs, though they should have but one son and be compelled
to adopt in his room.[5.12.15]
=Mercenaries enrolled.=—The Champawats determined to maintain their
influence over the sovereign and the country; and Devi Singh leagued
with Awa and the other branches of this clan to the exclusion of all
competitors. They formed of their own body a guard of honour for the
person of the prince, one half remaining on duty in the castle, the
other half being in the town below. While the Raja would lament the
distracted state of his country, the inroads of the hill tribes, and the
depredations of his own chiefs, Devi Singh of Pokaran would reply, “Why
trouble yourself about Marwar? it is in the sheath of my dagger.” The
young prince used to unburthen his griefs to his foster-brother Jaga, a
man of caution and experience, which qualities he instilled into his
sovereign. By dissimulation, and an apparent acquiescence in their
plans, he not only eluded suspicion, but, availing himself of their
natural indolence of character, at length obtained leave not only to
entertain some men of Sind as guards for the town, but to provide
supplies for their subsistence: the first approximation towards a
standing mercenary force, till then unknown in their annals [128]. We do
not mean that the Rajput princes never employed any other than their own
feudal clans; they had foreign Rajputs in their pay, but still on the
same tenure, holding lands for service; but never till this period had
they soldiers entertained on monthly stipend. These hired bands were
entirely composed of infantry, having a slight knowledge of European
tactics, the superiority of which, even over their high-minded
cavaliers, they had so severely experienced in their encounters with the
Mahrattas. The same causes had operated on the courts of Udaipur and
Jaipur to induce them to adopt the like expedient; to which, more than
to the universal demoralization which followed the breaking up of the
empire, may be attributed the rapid decay of feudal principles
throughout Rajputana. These guards were composed either of
Purbia[5.12.16] Rajputs, Sindis, Arabs, or Rohillas. They received their
orders direct from the prince, through the civil officers of the State,
by whom they were entrusted with the execution of all duties of
importance or dispatch. Thus they soon formed a complete barrier between
the prince and his vassals, and consequently became objects of jealousy
and of strife. In like manner did all the other States make approaches
towards a standing army; and though the motive in all cases was the
same, to curb, or even to extinguish, the strength of the feudal chiefs,
it has failed throughout, except in the solitary instance of Kotah,
where twenty well-disciplined battalions, and a hundred pieces of
artillery, are maintained chiefly from the feudal sequestrations.
To return: the Dhabhai, having thus secured a band of seven hundred men,
and obtained an aid (which we may term scutage) from the chiefs for
their maintenance, gradually transferred them from their duties above to
the gates of the castle. Somewhat released from the thraldom of faction,
the Raja concerted with his foster-brother and the Diwan, Fateh Chand,
the means of restoring prosperity and order. So destitute was the prince
of resources, that the Dhabhai had recourse to threats of suicide to
obtain 50,000 rupees from his mother, acquired as the nurse (_dhai_) of
his sovereign; and so drained was the country of horses, that he was
compelled to transport his cavaliers (who were too proud to walk) on
cars to Nagor. There, under the pretence of curbing the hill tribes, he
formed an army, and dismounting the guns from the walls of the town,
marched an ill-equipped force against the border-mountaineers, and being
successful he attacked on his return [129] the castle of Silbakri. This
was deemed a sufficient indication of his views; the whole feudality of
Maru took alarm, and united for mutual safety at Bisalpur, twenty miles
east of the capital.
=Gordhan Singh negotiates with the Chiefs.=—There was a foreign Rajput,
whose valour, fidelity, and conduct had excited the notice and regard of
Bakhta Singh, who, in his dying hour, recommended him to the service of
his son. To Gordhan, the Khichi, a name of no small note in the
subsequent history of this reign, did the young Raja apply in order to
restrain his chiefs from revolt. In the true spirit of Rajput sentiment,
he advised his prince to confide in their honour, and, unattended, to
seek and remonstrate with them, while he went before to secure him a
good reception. At daybreak, Gordhan was in the camp of the
confederates; he told them that their prince, confiding in their
loyalty, was advancing to join them, and besought them to march out to
receive him. Deaf, however, to entreaty and to remonstrance, not a man
would stir, and the prince reached the camp uninvited and unwelcomed.
Decision and confidence are essential in all transactions with a Rajput.
Gordhan remained not a moment in deliberation, but instantly carried his
master direct to the tent of the Awa chief, the premier noble of Marwar.
Here the whole body congregated, and silence was broken by the prince,
who demanded why his chiefs had abandoned him?
“Maharaja,” replied the Champawat, “our bodies have but one pinnacle;
were there a second, it should be at your disposal.” A tedious
discussion ensued; doubts of the future, recriminations respecting the
past; till wearied and exhausted, the prince demanded to know the
conditions on which they would return to their allegiance, when the
following articles were submitted:
1. To break up the force of the Dhabhai;
2. To surrender to their keeping the records of fiefs (_pattabahi_);
3. That the court should be transferred from the citadel to the town.
There was no alternative but the renewal of civil strife or compliance;
and the first article, which was a _sine qua non_, the disbanding of the
obnoxious guards, that anomalous appendage to a Rajput prince’s person,
was carried into immediate execution. Neither in the first nor last
stipulation could the prince feel surprise or displeasure; but the
second sapped the very foundation of his rule, by depriving the crown of
its dearest prerogative, the power of dispensing favour. This shallow
reconciliation being effected, the malcontent nobles dispersed, some to
their estates [130], and the Chondawat oligarchy to the capital with
their prince, in the hope of resuming their former influence over him
and the country.
=Massacre of the Chiefs.=—Thus things remained, when Atmaram, the Guru
or ‘ghostly comforter’ of Bijai Singh, fell sick, and as he sedulously
attended him, the dying priest would tell him to be of good cheer, for
when he departed, he “would take all his troubles with him.” He soon
died, and his words, which were deemed prophetic, were interpreted by
the Dhabhai. The Raja feigned immoderate grief for the loss of his
spiritual friend, and in order to testify his veneration, an ordinance
was issued commanding that the Kiryakarma, or ‘rites for the dead,’
should be performed in the castle, while the queens, on pretence of
paying their last duty to his remains, descended, carrying with them the
guards and retainers as their escort. It was an occasion on which
suspicion, even if awake, could not act, and the chiefs ascended to join
in the funeral rites to the saint. As they mounted the steps cut out of
the rock which wound round the hill of Jodha, the mind of Devi Singh
suddenly misgave him, and he exclaimed that “the day was unlucky”; but
it passed off with the flattering remark, “you are the pillar of Maru;
who dare even look at you?” They paced slowly through the various
barriers, until they reached the Alarum Gate.[5.12.17] It was shut!
“Treachery!” exclaimed the chief of Awa, as he drew his sword, and the
work of death commenced. Several were slain; the rest were overpowered.
Their captivity was a sufficient presage of their fate; but, like true
Rajputs, when the Dhabhai told them they were to die, their last request
was, “that their souls might be set at liberty by the sword, not by the
unsanctified ball of the mercenary.” The chronicle does not say whether
this wish was gratified, when the three great leaders of the Champawats,
with Jeth Singh of Awa; Devi Singh of Pokaran; the lord of Harsola;
Chhattar Singh, chief of the Kumpawats; Kesari Singh of Chandren; the
heir of Nimaj; and the chief of Ras,[5.12.18] then the principal fief of
the Udawats, met their fate. The last hour of Devi Singh was marked with
a distinguished peculiarity. Being of the royal line of Maru, they would
not spill his blood, but sent him his death-warrant in a jar of opium.
On receiving it, and his prince’s command to make his own departure from
life, “What!” said the noble spirit, as they presented the jar, “shall
Devi [131] Singh take his _amal_ (opiate) out of an earthen vessel? Let
his gold cup be brought, and it shall be welcome.” This last vain
distinction being denied, he dashed out his brains against the walls of
his prison. Before he thus enfranchised his proud spirit, some
ungenerous mind, repeating his own vaunt, demanded, “where was then the
sheath of the dagger which held the fortunes of Marwar?” “In Subhala’s
girdle at Pokaran,” was the laconic reply of the undaunted Chondawat.
This was a tremendous sacrifice for the maintenance of authority, of men
who had often emptied their veins in defence of their country. But even
ultra patriotism, when opposed to foreign aggression, can prove no
palliative to treason or mitigate its award, when, availing themselves
of the diminished power of the prince, an arrogant and imperious
oligarchy presumes to enthral their sovereign. It is the mode in which
vengeance was executed at which the mind recoils, and which with other
instances appears to justify the imputation of perfidy amongst the
traits of Rajput character. But if we look deeply into it, we shall find
reason to distrust such conclusion. The Rajput abhors, in the abstract,
both perfidy and treason; but the elements of the society in which he
lives and acts, unfortunately too often prompt the necessity of
sacrificing principles to preservation: but this proceeds from their
faulty political constitution; it is neither inculcated in their moral
code, nor congenial to their moral habits.
=Right of Primogeniture.=—The perpetual struggle between the aristocracy
and the sovereign, which is an evil inherent in all feudal associations,
was greatly aggravated in Marwar, as well as in Mewar, by the sacrifice
of that corner-stone even of constitutional monarchy, the rights of
primogeniture. But in each case the deviation from custom was a
voluntary sacrifice of the respective heirs-apparent to the caprices of
parental dotage. In no other country in the world could that article of
the Christian decalogue, “Honour thy father and thy mother,” be better
illustrated than in Rajputana, where, if we have had to record two
horrid examples of deviation from, we have also exhibited splendid
proofs of, filial devotion, in Chonda of Mewar, and Champa of Marwar,
who resigned the “rods” they were born to wield; and served, when they
should have swayed, to gratify their father’s love for the fruit of
their old age. These are instances of self-denial hardly to be credited;
from such disinterested acts, their successors claimed an importance
which, though natural, was totally unforeseen, and which the extent of
compensation contributed [132] to foster. They asserted the right, as
hereditary premiers of the State, to be the advisers, or rather the
tutors, of their sovereigns, more especially in non-age, and in allusion
to this surrender of their birthright, arrogantly applied the well-known
adage, _Pat ka malik main ho, Raj ka malik uha_, ‘He is sovereign of the
State, but I am the master of the Throne’; and insisted on the privilege
of being consulted on every gift of land, and putting their autograph
symbol to the deed or grant.[5.12.19] These pretensions demanded the
constant exertions of the sovereign to resist them; for this purpose, he
excited the rivalry of the less powerful members of the federated
vassalage, and thus formed a kind of balance of power, which the
monarch, if skilful, could always turn to account. But not even the
jealousies thus introduced would have so depreciated the regal influence
in Marwar, nor even the more recent adoption of a son of the crown into
the powerful fief of Pokaran, had not the parricidal sons of Ajit
degraded the throne in the eyes of their haughty and always overreaching
vassals, who, in the civil strife which followed, were alternately in
favour or disgrace, as they adhered to or opposed the successful
claimant for power. To this foul blot, every evil which has since
overtaken this high-minded race may be traced, as well as the
extirpation of that principle of devoted obedience which, in the
anterior portion of these annals, has been so signally recorded. To this
hour it has perpetuated dissensions between the crown and the oligarchy,
leading to deposal and violence to the princes, or sequestration,
banishment, and death to the nobles. To break the bonds of this
tutelage, Ram Singh’s intemperance lost him the crown, which sat uneasy
on the head of his successor, who had no other mode of escape but by the
severity which has been related. But though it freed him for a time, the
words of the dying chief of Pokaran continued to ring in his ears; and
“the dagger left in the girdle of his son” disturbed the dreams of his
rest throughout a long life of vicissitudes, poisoning the source of
enjoyment until death itself was a relief.
The nuncupatory testament of the Champawat was transmitted across the
desert to his son at Pokaran, and the rapidity of its transmission was
only equalled by the alacrity of Sabhala, who at the head of his vassals
issued forth to execute the vengeance thus bequeathed. First, he
attempted to burn and pillage the mercantile town of Pali; foiled in
which, he proceeded to another wealthy city of the fisc [133], Bhilwara
on the Luni; but here terminated both his life and his revenge. As he
led the escalade, he received two balls, which hurled him back amongst
his kinsmen, and his ashes next morning blanched the sandy bed of the
Luni.
=Suppression of Aristocratic Influence.=—For a time the feudal interest
was restrained, anarchy was allayed, commerce again flourished, and
general prosperity revived: to use the words of the chronicle, “the
subject enjoyed tranquillity, and the tiger and the lamb drank from the
same fountain.” Bijai Singh took the best means to secure the fidelity
of his chiefs, by finding them occupation. He carried his arms against
the desultory hordes of the desert, the Khosas and Sahariyas, which
involved him in contests with the nominal sovereign of Sind, and ended
in the conquest of Umarkot, the key to the valley of the Indus, and
which is now the most remote possession of Marwar. He also curtailed the
territories of Jaisalmer, on his north-west frontier. But more important
than all was the addition of the rich province of Godwar, from the Rana
of Mewar. This tract, which nearly equals in value the whole fiscal
domain of Maru, was wrested from the ancient princes of Mandor, prior to
the Rathors, and had been in the possession of the Sesodias for nearly
five centuries, when civil dissension made the Rana place it for
security under the protection of Raja Bijai Singh; since which it has
been lost to Mewar.
=Rājput Confederation against the Marāthas. Battle of Tonga A.D. 1787.
Battles of Pātan and Merta, 20th June, 10th, 12th September
1790.=—Marwar had enjoyed several years of peace, when the rapid strides
made by the Mahrattas towards universal rapine, if not conquest,
compelled the Rajputs once more to form an union for the defence of
their political existence. Partap Singh, a prince of energy and
enterprise, was now on the _gaddi_ of Amber. In S. 1843 (A.D. 1787), he
sent an ambassador to Bijai Singh, proposing a league against the common
foe, and volunteering to lead in person their conjoined forces against
them. The battle of Tonga ensued, in which Rathor valour shone forth in
all its glory. Despising discipline, they charged through the dense
battalions of De Boigne, sabring his artillerymen at their guns, and
compelling Sindhia to abandon not only the field, but all his conquests
for a time.[5.12.20] Bijai Singh, by this victory, redeemed the castle
of Ajmer, and declared his tributary alliance null and void. But the
genius of Sindhia, and the talents of De Boigne, soon recovered this
loss; and in four years the Mahratta marched with a force such as Indian
warfare was stranger to, to redeem that day’s disgrace. In S. 1847 (A.D.
1791), the murderous [134] battles of Patan and Merta took place, in
which Rajput courage was heroically but fruitlessly displayed against
European tactics and unlimited resources, and where neither intrigue nor
treason was wanting. The result was the imposition of a contribution of
sixty lakhs of rupees, or £600,000; and as so much could not be drained
from the country, goods and chattels were everywhere distrained, and
hostages given for the balance.
=Ajmer lost to Mārwār.=—Ajmer, which had revolted on the short-lived
triumph of Tonga, was once more surrendered, and lost for ever to
Marwar. When invested by De Boigne, the faithful governor, Damraj,
placed in the dilemma of a disgraceful surrender, or disobedience to his
prince’s summons, swallowed diamond-powder.[5.12.21] “Tell the raja,”
said this faithful servant, “thus only could I testify my obedience; and
over my dead body alone could a Southron enter Ajmer.”[5.12.22]
=Influence of Court Morals.=—The paramount influence which the morals
and manners of a court exert upon a nation, is everywhere admitted. In
constitutional governments, there is a barrier even to court influence
and corruption, in the vast portion of wealth and worth which cannot be
engulphed in their vortex. But in these petty sovereignties no such
check is found, and the tone of virtue and action is given from the
throne. The laws of semi-barbarous nations, which admit of licentious
concubinage, have ever been peculiar to orientals, from the days of the
wise king of the Jews to those of Bijai Singh of Marwar; and their
political consequence has been the same, the sacrifice of the rights of
lawful inheritance to the heirs of illicit affection. The last years of
the king of Maru were engrossed by sentimental folly with a young beauty
of the Oswal tribe, on whom he lavished all the honours due only to his
legitimate queens. Scandal affirms that she frequently returned his
passion in a manner little becoming royal dignity, driving him from her
presence with the basest of missiles—her shoes. As the effects of this
unworthy attachment completed the anarchy of Marwar, and as its
consequences on deviating from the established rules of succession have
entailed a perpetuity of crime and civil war, under which this
unfortunate State yet writhes, we shall be minute, even to dullness, in
the elucidation [135] of this portion of their annals, to enable those
who have now to arbitrate these differences to bring back a current of
uncontaminated blood to sway the destinies of this still noble race.
Raja Ajit had fourteen sons:
┌───────────┬────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐
│ │ │ │ │
Abhai Singh. Bakht Singh. Anand Singh, Rasa, Devi Singh,
│ │ adopted into the adopted into adopted into
│ │ Idar house. Jhabua Pokaran.
Ram Singh. Bijai Singh. (in Malwa).
│
┌─────────┬───┴─┬─────────┬─────────┬────────┬──────────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
Fateh Singh, │ Sawant Singh. │ Bhum Singh. │ Sardar Singh,
died of smallpox │ │ Sher Singh. │ Guman Singh. killed by
in infancy. │ Sur Singh. │ Bhim Singh. │ Bhim.
│ adopted │ Man Singh.
Zalim Singh, Man Singh. │
of Mewar, the │
rightful heir of Dhonkal Singh
by a princess (Pretender).
of Mewar, the
rightful heir of
Bijai Singh.
=Influence of his Concubine on Bijai Singh.=—So infatuated was Bijai
Singh with the Pasbani[5.12.23] concubine, that on losing the only
pledge of their amours, he ‘put into her lap’ (adopted) his own
legitimate grandchild, Man Singh. To legalize this adoption, the
chieftains were ordained to present their _nazars_ and congratulations
to the declared heir of Marwar; but the haughty noblesse refused ‘to
acknowledge the son of a slave’ as their lord, and the Raja was
compelled to a fresh adoption to ensure such token of sanction. Content
at having by this method succeeded in her wishes, the Pasbani sent off
young Man to the castle of Jalor; but fearing lest the experience of
Sher Singh, his adopted father, might prove a hindrance to her control,
he was recalled, and her own creatures left to guide the future
sovereign of Marwar. The dotage of Bijai Singh, and the insolence of his
concubine, produced fresh discord, and the clans assembled at
Malkosni[5.12.24] to concert his deposal.
=Rebellion of the Clansmen against Bijai Sīngh.=—Recollecting the
success of his former measures to recall them to their duty, Bijai Singh
proceeded to their camp; but while he was negotiating, and as he
supposed successfully, the confederates wrote to the chieftain of Ras,
whose tour of duty was in the castle, to descend with Bhim Singh. The
chief acquainted the Pasbani that her presence was required at the camp
by the Raja, and that a guard of honour was ready to attend her. She was
thrown off her guard, and at the moment she entered her litter, a blow
from an unseen hand ended her existence. Her effects were instantly
confiscated, and the chief of Ras descended with Bhim, whose tents were
pitched at the Nagor barrier of the city. If, instead of encamping
there, they had proceeded to the camp of the confederates, his arrival
and the dethronement of Bijai Singh would have been simultaneous: but
the Raja received the intelligence as soon as the chiefs. Hastening
back, he obtained the person of the young aspirant, to whom, to
reconcile him to his disappointment, he gave in appanage the districts
of Sojat and Siwana, and sent him off to the latter stronghold; while to
restrain the resentment of his eldest son, Zalim Singh, whose birthright
he had so unworthily sacrificed, he enfeoffed him with the rich district
of Godwar, giving him private orders to attack his brother Bhim, who,
though apprised of the design in time to make head against his uncle,
was yet defeated and compelled to fly. He found refuge at Pokaran,
whence he went to Jaisalmer.
=Death of Rāja Bijai Singh.=—In the midst of this conflict, his
dominions curtailed, his chiefs in rebellion, his sons and grandsons
mutually opposed to each other, and the only object which attached him
to life thus violently torn from him, Bijai Singh died, in the month
Asarh S. 1850, after a reign of thirty-one years [136].
-----
Footnote 5.13.1:
[On the N. frontier of Jodhpur.]
Footnote 5.13.2:
This treaty is termed _haldi_, or _balpatra_, ‘a strong deed’ [_haldi_
means ‘turmeric,’ with which the hand-marks on the treaty were made].
The names of the chiefs who signed it were Jankoji Sindhia, Santoji
Bolia, Danto Patel, Rana Bhurtiya, Ato Jaswant Rae, Kano, and Jiwa,
Jadons; Jiwa Punwar, Piluji and Satwa, Sindhia Malji, Tantia Chitu,
Raghu Pagia, Ghusalia Jadon, Mulla Yar Ali, Firoz Khan; all great
leaders amongst the ‘Southrons’ of that day.
Footnote 5.13.3:
[The date of the battle is uncertain. According to Erskine (iii. A.
66) it was fought “about 1756”.]
Footnote 5.13.4:
The _A_, to the Rajput of the north-west, is as great a Shibboleth as
to the Cockney—thus _Apa_ becomes _Hapa_.
Footnote 5.13.5:
See p. 868.
Footnote 5.13.6:
_Bapji._
Footnote 5.13.7:
The anecdote is related, p. 870. The Bijai Vilas states that the
prince rewarded the peasant with five hundred bighas of land in
perpetuity, which his descendants enjoy, saddled with the petite
serjanterie of “curds and bajra cakes,” in remembrance of the fare the
Jat provided for his prince on that emergency.
Footnote 5.13.8:
Rae Singh, chief of the Kumpawats, the second noble in rank of Marwar;
Lal Singh, head of the Sisawats, with the leader of the Kutawats, are
especially singled out as sealing their fidelity with their blood; but
all the _ots_ and _awats_ of the country come in for a share of glory.
Footnote 5.13.9:
This occurrence has been related in the Personal Narrative, p. 873,
but it is more amply narrated in the chronicle, the Bijai Vilas, from
which I am now compiling. In this it is said that Jai Apa, during the
siege, having fallen sick, the Rathor prince sent his own physician,
Surajmall, to attend him; that the doctor at first refused the
mission, saying, “You may “On the contrary,” ur, and I shall favour
you”; but what was far more strange, Apa objected not, took the
medicines of the _baid_, and recovered.
Footnote 5.13.10:
[_Hel_, _halla_, ‘onset,’ the Marātha invasion.]
Footnote 5.13.11:
I have many original autograph letters of this distinguished Rajput on
the transactions of this period; for it was he who negotiated the
treaty between Raja Madho Singh, of Jaipur, the ‘nephew of Mewar,’ and
the Mahrattas. At this time, his object was to induce Jai Apa to raise
the siege of Nagor.
Footnote 5.13.12:
[A class of minstrels and buffoons (_Census Report, Mārwār, 1891_, ii.
178).]
Footnote 5.13.13:
[_Rabāb_, ‘a viol’.]
Footnote 5.12.14:
It will be remembered that Idar was conquered by a brother of
Siahji’s.
Footnote 5.12.15:
We shall explain this by a cutting of the genealogical tree: it may be
found useful should we be called on to arbitrate in these matters.
Footnote 5.12.16:
Purbias, ‘men of the east,’ as the Maghrabis are ‘of the west.’
Footnote 5.12.17:
The Nakkara Darwaza, where the grand kettledrum is stationed, to give
the alarm or summons to the chieftains to repair to the Presence. To
this gate Raja Man advanced to meet the Author, then the
representative of the Governor-General of India.
Footnote 5.12.18:
[Rās, 70 miles E. of Jodhpur city.]
Footnote 5.12.19:
See Vol. I. p. 235.
Footnote 5.12.20:
See p. 875 for the details of this battle.
Footnote 5.12.21:
[It is commonly believed in India that diamond dust is poisonous
(Chevers, _Manual of Medical Jurisprudence in India_, 289 ff.).
Powdered glass is used in the same way, as in a recent case at Agra
(_The Times_, 19th December 1912; Labanés, _Les Curiosities de la
Medicine_, 146 ff.).]
Footnote 5.12.22:
Damraj was not a Rajput, but of the Singhi tribe, one of the civil
officers; though it is a curious and little-known fact, that almost
all the mercantile tribes of Western India are of Rajput origin, and
sank the name and profession of arms when they became proselytes to
Jainism, in the reign of Raja Bhim Pramar. The Chitor inscription (see
p. 919 and note 7, p. 921) records the name of this prince. He was
ancestor of Raja Man, whose date S. 770 (A.D. 714) allows us to place
this grand conversion prior to A.D. 650. [The Singhis were originally
Brāhmans converted to Jainism (_Census Report, Mārwār, 1891_, ii.
116).]
Footnote 5.12.23:
[Pāsbāni, meaning ‘guarding, protecting,’ is a synonym for Gola, the
hereditary slave class, illegitimate offspring by Rājputs of women
attendants in the Zanāna; they are also known as Dārogha, Khawāss, or
Chela (_Census Report, Mārwār_, 1891, ii. 181).]
Footnote 5.12.24:
[In the Bhīlāra Hakūmat, in the centre of Jodhpur State.]
-----