Treatment of the Rāna by Jahāngīr.

—To have generalized this detail of the royal historian would have been to lessen the interest of this important period in the annals of Mewar. Jahangir merits to have his exultation, his noble and unostentatious conduct, described by his own pen, the extreme minuteness of which description but increases the interest. With his self-gratulation, he bears full testimony to the gallant and long-protracted resistance of the Rajputs; and while he impartially, though rather erroneously, estimates their motives and means of opposition, he does Amra ample justice in the declaration, that he did not yield until he had but the alternative of captivity or exile; and with a magnanimity above all praise, he records the Rajput prince’s salvo for his dignity, “that he would hold himself excused from attending in person.” The simple and naïve declaration of his joy, "his going abroad on ‛Alam Guman," the favourite elephant of the Rana which had been captured, on learning his submission, is far stronger than the most pompous testimony of public rejoicing. But there is a heart-stirring philanthropy in the conduct of the Mogul which does him immortal honour; and in commanding his son “to treat the illustrious one according to his heart’s wishes,” though he so long and so signally had foiled the royal armies, he proved himself worthy of the good fortune he acknowledges, and well shows his sense of the superiority of the chief of all the Rajputs, by placing the heir of Mewar, even above all the princes of his own house, ‘immediately on his right hand.’ Whether he attempts to relieve the shyness of Karan, or sets forth the princely appearance of Jagat Singh, we see the same amiable feeling operating to lighten the chains of the conquered. But the shyness of Karan deserved a worthier term: he felt the degradation which neither the statues raised to them, the right hand of the monarch, the dignity of a ‘commander of five thousand,’ or even the restoration of the long-alienated territory could neutralize, when the kingdom to which he was heir was called a fief (jagir), and himself, ‘the descendant of a hundred kings,’ a vassal (jagirdar) of the empire, under whose banner, which his ancestors had so signally opposed, he was now to follow with a contingent of fifteen hundred Rajput horse.

Seldom has subjugated royalty met with such consideration; yet, to a lofty mind like Amra’s, this courteous condescension but increased the severity of endurance [367]. In the bitterness of his heart he cursed the magnanimity of Khurram, himself of Rajput blood[55] and an admirer of Rajput valour, which circumstance more than the force of his arms had induced him to surrender; for Khurram demanded but the friendship of the Rajput as the price of peace, and to withdraw every Muhammadan from Mewar if the Rana would but receive the emperor’s farman outside of his capital. This his proud soul rejected; and though he visited Prince Khurram as a friend, he spurned the proposition of acknowledging a superior, or receiving the rank and titles awaiting such an admission. The noble Amra, who—

Rather than be less,
Cared not to be at all—

took the resolution to abdicate[56] the throne he could no longer hold but at the will of another. Assembling his chiefs, and disclosing his determination, he made the tīka on his son’s forehead; and observing that the honour of Mewar was now in his hands, forthwith left the capital and secluded himself in the Nauchauki:[57] nor did he from that hour cross its threshold, but to have his ashes deposited with those of his fathers.

Character of Rāna Amar Singh.

—All comment is superfluous on such a character as Rana Amra. He was worthy of Partap and his race. He possessed all the physical as well as mental qualities of a hero, and was the tallest and strongest of all the princes of Mewar. He was not so fair as they usually are, and he had a reserve bordering upon gloominess, doubtless occasioned by his reverses, for it was not natural to him; he was beloved by his chiefs for the qualities they most esteem, generosity and valour, and by his subjects for his justice and kindness, of which we can judge from his edicts, many of which yet live on the column or the rock [368].

1. S. 1653, A.D. 1597.

2. [It has now been established by Mr. V. A. Smith that Akbar died on October 17, O.S., October 27, N.S., 1605 (IA, xliv. November 1915).]

3. The embassy under Sir Thomas Roe was prepared by Elizabeth, but did not proceed till the accession of James. He arrived just as Mewar had bent her head to the Mogul yoke, and speaks of the Rajput prince Karan, whom he saw at court as a hostage for the treaty, with admiration. [The embassy was in India from 1615 to 1619. Roe’s Journal has been edited by W. Foster, Hakluyt Society, 1899.]

4. [The question has been discussed in the Būndi Annals, below.]

5. The Amrasahi pagri, or turban, is still used by the Rana and some nobles on court days, but the foreign nobility have the privilege, in this respect, of conforming to their own tribes.

6. Amara mahall.

7. A small brass ornament placed at the corners of the carpet to keep it steady.

8. This is a signal both of defiance and self-gratulation.

9. S. 1664, A.D. 1608.

10. Phalgun 7th, S. 1666, the spring of A.D. 1610. Ferishta [Dow iii. 37] misplaces this battle, making it immediately precede the invasion under Khurram. The defeats of the Mogul forces are generally styled ‘recalls of the commander.’

11. Dudo, Sangawat of Deogarh, Narayandas, Surajmall, Askarn, all Sesodias of the first rank; Puran Mall, son of Bhan, the chief of the Saktawats; Haridas Rathor, Bhopat the Jhala of Sadri, Kahirdas Kachhwaha, Keshodas Chauhan of Bedla, Mukunddas Rathor, Jaimallot, of the blood of Jaimall.

12. [When Partāp was attacked by Akbar, Sakra, as he is called, paid his respects at court, and was appointed Commander of 200 (Āīn, i. 519).]

13. “Chitor, an antient great kingdom, the chief city so called, which standeth upon a mighty hill flat on the top, walled about at the least ten English miles. There appear to this day above a hundred ruined churches, and divers fair palaces, which are lodged in like manner among the ruins, besides many exquisite pillars of carved stone, and the ruins likewise of a hundred thousand stone houses, as many English by their observation have guessed. There is but one ascent unto it, cut out of a firm rock, to which a man must pass through four (sometime very magnificent) gates. Its chief inhabitants at this day are Ziim and Ohim, birds and wild beasts; but the stately ruins thereof give a shadow of its beauty while it flourished in its pride. It was won from Ramas, an ancient Indian prince, who was forced to live himself ever after on high mountainous places adjoining to that province, and his posterity to live there ever since. Taken from him it was by Achabar Padsha (the father of that king who lived and reigned when I was in these parts) after a very long siege, which famished the besieged, without which it could never have been gotten.” [E. Terry, A Voyage to East-India, 1777, p. 77 f.]

14. An isolated rock in the plain between the confluence of the Parbati and Chambal, and the famous Ranthambhor. The author has twice passed it in his travels in these regions.

15. It was one of his sons who apostatized from his faith, who is well known in the imperial history as Mahabat Khan, beyond doubt the most daring chief in Jahangir’s reign [see p. 386, above]. This is the secret of his bond of union with prince Khurram (Shah Jahan), himself half a Rajput. It was with his Rajputs Mahabat did that daring deed, making Jahangir prisoner in his own camp, in the zenith of his power.

16. Page 175, above.

17. Family priest.

18. I have visited the cenotaphs of Sakta and his successors at the almost insulated Bhainsror on the Chambal. The castle is on a rock at the confluence of the black Bamani and the Chambal.

19. [Idar was not occupied by the Rāthors till 1728 (IGI, xiii. 325).]

20. Probably the identical temple to the Mother, in which I found a valuable inscription of Kumarpal of Anhilwara Patan, dated S. 1207. Palod is in the district of Nimbahera, now alienated from Mewar, and under that upstart Pathan, Amir Khan.

21. One of the five sacred mounts of the Jains, of whose faith was the minister. Of these I shall speak at length in the Personal Narrative. [IGI, xix. 316 ff.]

22. ‘Double gifts, fourfold sacrifice.’ Meaning, with increase of their prince’s favour the sacrifice of their lives would progress; and which, for the sake of euphony probably, preceded the birad won by the founder, ‘the barrier to Khurasan and Multan.’

The Birad of the Chondawats is: Das sahas Mewār ka bar Kewār, ‘the portal of the ten thousand [towns] of Mewār.’ It is related that Sakta, jealous of so sweeping a birad, complained that nothing was left for him: when the master bard replied, he was Kewār ka aggal, the bar which secures the door (Kewār).

23.

  Sakta. —17 sons.  
   
  Bhanji.  
           
Dayāl. Ber. Man. Gokuldās. Pūran Mall.
     
  Sabal Singh.
     
  Mokham Singh.
     
  Amar Singh.
     
  Prithi Singh.

[to whom succeeded in order Hamīr Singh, Madan Singh, Kesari Singh, and Mādho Singh, the present Mahārāja, who succeeded in 1900 (Erskine ii. A. 99).]

24. A.D. 1611.

25. Translated ‘Brampoor’ in Dow’s Ferishta, and transferred to the Deccan; and the pass (bāla-ghāt) rendered the Bālaghāt mountains of the south. There are numerous similar errors. [The Author seems to be mistaken. Dow (iii. 39) speaks of “Brampour, the capital of the Rana’s dominions.” Khāmnor is in W. Mewār, a little distance south of Nāthdwāra.]

26. The details of battles, unless accompanied by exploits of individuals, are very uninteresting. Under this impression, I have suppressed whatever could impair the current of action by amplification, otherwise not only the Rajput bard, but the contemporary Mogul historian, would have afforded abundant matter; but I have deemed both worthy of neglect in such cases. Ferishta’s history is throughout most faulty in its geographical details, rendered still more obscure from the erroneous orthography, often arising from mistaken punctuation of the only translation of this valuable work yet before the public. There is one gentleman (Lieut.-Col. Briggs) well qualified to remedy these defects, and who, with a laudable industry, has made an entire translation of the works of Ferishta, besides collating the best MSS. of the original text. It is to be hoped he will present his performance to the public. [This appeared in four volumes, 1829; reprinted, Calcutta, 1908.]

27. [Memoirs of Jahāngīr, trans. Rogers-Beveridge, p. 70. The incorrect versions of this and other passages in the text have been replaced from the recent translation and that in Elliot-Dowson.]

28. [Memoirs, 256.]

29. [Ibid. 259.]

30. [Ibid. 260.]

31. The giving the hand amongst all nations has been considered as a pledge for the performance or ratification of some act of importance, and the custom amongst the Scythic or Tatar nations, of transmitting its impress as a substitute, is here practically described. I have seen the identical Farman in the Rana’s archives. The hand being immersed in a compost of sandalwood, is applied to the paper, and the palm and five fingers (panja) are yet distinct. In a masterly delineation of Oriental manners (Carne’s Letters from the East) is given an anecdote of Muhammad, who, unable to sign his name to a convention, dipped his hand in ink, and made an impression therewith. It is evident the Prophet of Islam only followed an ancient solemnity, of the same import as that practised by Jahangir.

32. [Memoirs, 272 ff.]

33. [Ibid. 275.]

34. [The Rāna is purposely treated as a mere landowner under the State.]

35. This was to avoid treachery. I have often had the honour to receive the descendant princes, father and son, ‘of these illustrious ones’ together (note by the Author).

36. [Memoirs, 275 f.]

37. [The remaining part of the narrative is fairly correct, and has been allowed to stand, with necessary corrections in transliteration of proper names.]

38. Baz and Tura.

39. [On the famous oxen of Gujarat see Forbes, Rāsmāla, 540; Watt, Comm. Prod. 733 ff.]

40. Of his reign.

41. Such was now the degraded title of the ancient, independent sovereign Mewar. Happy Partap, whose ashes being mingled with his parent earth, was spared his country’s humiliation!

42. [The second month of the Musalmān calendar.]

43. With this the annals state the restoration of many districts: the Kherar, Phulia, Badnor, Mandalgarh, Jiran, Nimach, and Bhainsror, with supremacy over Deolia, and Dungarpur.

44. [The first month of the Muhammadan year.]

45. It must have been this grandson of Amra of whom Sir Thomas Roe thus writes: “The right issue of Porus is here a king in the midst of the Mogul’s dominions, never subdued till last year; and, to say the truth, he is rather bought than conquered: won to own a superior by gifts and not by arms. The pillar erected by Alexander is yet standing at Delhi, the ancient seat of Rama, the successor of Porus” (Extract of a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, dated at Ajmere, January 29, 1615).

Copy of a letter written by the great Mogul unto King James, in the Persian tongue, here faithfully translated, which was as follows:

"Unto a king rightly descended from his ancestors, bred in military affairs, clothed with honour and justice, a commander worthy of all command, strong and constant in the religion which the great prophet Christ did teach, King James, whose love hath bred such an impression in my thoughts as shall never be forgotten; but as the smell of amber, or as a garden of fragrant flowers, whose beauty and odour is still increasing, so, be assured, my love shall still grow and increase with yours.

"The letters which you sent me in the behalf of your merchants I have received, whereby I rest satisfied of your tender love towards me, desiring you not to take it ill, that I have not wrote to you heretofore: this present letter I send to you to renew our loves, and herewith do certifie you, that I have sent forth my firmaunes throughout all my countries to this effect, that if any English ships or merchants shall arrive in any of my ports, my people shall permit and suffer them to do what they please, freely in their merchandising causes, aiding and assisting them in all occasion of injuries that shall be offered them, that the least cause of discourtesie be not done unto them; that they may be as free, or freer than my own people.

"And as now, and formerly, I have received from you divers tokens of your love; so I shall still desire your mindfulness of me by some novelties from your countries, as an argument of friendship betwixt us, for such is the custom of princes here.

"And for your merchants, I have given express order through all my dominions, to suffer them to buy, sell, transport, and carry away at their pleasure, without the lett or hinderance of any person whatsoever, all such goods and merchandises as they shall desire to buy; and let this my letter as fully satisfie you in desired peace and love, as if my own son had been messenger to ratifie the same.

"And if any in my countries, not fearing God, nor obeying their king, or any other void of religion, should endeavour to be an instrument to break this league of friendship, I would send my son Sultan Caroom, a souldier approved in the wars, to cut him off, that no obstacle may hinder the continuance and increase of our affections.

"When your majesty shall open this letter, let your royal heart be as fresh as a small garden, let all people make reverence at your gate. Let your throne be advanced higher. Amongst the greatness of the kings of the prophet Jesus, let your majesty be the greatest; and all monarchs derive their wisdom and counsel from your breast, as from a fountain, that the law of the majesty of Jesus may receive, and flourish under your protection.

“The letters of love and friendship which you sent me, the present tokens of your good affection towards me, I have received by the hands of your ambassadour, Sir Thomas Row, who well deserveth to be your trusty servant, delivered to me in an acceptable and happy hour; upon which mine eyes were so fixed, that I could not easily remove them unto any other objects, and have accepted them with great joy and delight, etc.”

The last letter had this beginning: “How gracious is your majesty, whose greatness God preserve. As upon a rose in a garden, so are mine eyes fixed upon you. God maintain your estate, that your monarchy may prosper and be augmented; and that you may obtain all your desires worthy the greatness of your renown; and as the heart is noble and upright, so let God give you a glorious reign, because you strongly defend the law of the majesty of Jesus, which God made yet more flourishing, for that it was confirmed by miracles, etc.” (Della Valle, p. 473).

46. [Sha’bān, the eighth month.]

47. There are frequent mention of such images (putlis), but I know not which they are. [The word in the original is Shoshpari, ‘golden maces.’]

48. [The fourth month.]

49. [On these statues see Smith, HFA, 426 ff.]

50. Golden suns, value £1 : 12s.

51. [The third month.]

52. [He died in 1620.]

53. Increasing the respect to the Ranas by making a prince the bearer of the farman.

54. [The tenth month.]

55. Khurram was son of a Rajput princess of Amber [whose name, according to Beale, was Balmati] of the Kachhwaha tribe, and hence his name was probably Kurm, synonymous to kachhwa, a tortoise. The bards are always punning upon it. [The Persian word khurram, ‘glad, joyful,’ has, of course, no connexion with Hindi kurm, ‘a tortoise.’]

56. Surrendered S. 1672, A.D. 1616 (according to Dow, S. 1669, A.D.. 1613); died 1621 [1620. There seems to be no corroboration of his abdication.]

57. It must have been here that Sultan Khurram visited the Rana. The remains of this palace, about half a mile without the city wall (north), on a cluster of hills, are yet in existence. It was built by Udai Singh on the banks of a lake, under which are gardens and groves, where the author had the Rana’s permission to pitch his tents in the hottest months. [When Khurram was in revolt against his father, he stayed at first in the Rāna’s palace; but as his followers little respected Rājput prejudices, he removed to the Jagmandir, and the island became his home till shortly before his father’s death (Erskine ii. A. 109).]

CHAPTER 13

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[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.[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.[3]

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] 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,[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,[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,[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.[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,[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.[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).

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.[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.[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.[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;[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,[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,[16] the legitimate heir to the throne, as did nearly the whole Rajput race; but the battle of Fatehabad[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,[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,[19] in which the magnanimity of Dara,[20] the impetuosity of Murad, and the activity of Suja met the same tragical end.