Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, vol. 2 of 3, by James Tod

Eulogy of Durgadās.

—Here let us, for a while, suspend the narrative of the chronicler, and take a retrospective glance at the transactions of the Rathors, from the year 1737 [A.D. 1680], the period of Raja Jaswant’s death at Kabul, to the restoration of Ajit, presenting a continuous conflict of thirty years’ duration. In vain might we search the annals of any other nation for such inflexible devotion as marked the Rathor character through this period of strife, during which, to use their own phrase, “hardly a chieftain died on his pallet.” Let those who deem the Hindu warrior void of patriotism read the rude chronicle of this thirty years’ war; let them compare it with that of any other country, and do justice to the magnanimous Rajput. This narrative, the simplicity of which is the best voucher for its authenticity, presents an uninterrupted record of patriotism and disinterested loyalty. It was a period when the sacrifice of these principles was rewarded by the tyrant king with the highest honours of the state; nor are we without instances of the temptation being too strong to be withstood; but they are rare, and serve only to exhibit, in more pleasing colours, the virtues of the tribe which spurned the attempts at seduction. What a splendid example is the heroic Durgadas of all that constitutes the glory of the Rajput! Valour, loyalty, integrity, combined with prudence in all the difficulties which surrounded him, are qualities which entitle him to the admiration which his memory continues to enjoy. The temptations held out to him were almost irresistible: not merely the gold, which he and thousands of his brethren would alike have spurned, but the splendid offer of power in the proffered mansab of five thousand, which would at once have lifted him from his vassal condition to an equality with the [82] princes and chief nobles of the land. Durga had, indeed, but to name his reward; but, as the bard justly says, he was amol, beyond all price, anokha, unique. Not even revenge, so dear to the Rajput, turned him aside from the dictates of true honour. The foul assassination of his brother, the brave Soning, effected through his enemies, made no alteration in his humanity whenever the chance of war placed his foe in his power; and in this, his policy seconded his virtue. His chivalrous conduct, in the extrication of prince Akbar from inevitable destruction had he fallen into his father’s hands, was only surpassed by his generous and delicate behaviour towards the prince’s family, which was left in his care, forming a marked contrast to that of the enemies of his faith on similar occasions. The virtue of the granddaughter of Aurangzeb, in the sanctuary (saran) of Dunara,^[39] was in far better keeping than in the trebly-walled harem of Agra. Of his energetic mind, and the control he exerted over those of his confiding brethren, what a proof is given, in his preserving the secret of the abode of his prince throughout the six first years of his infancy! But, to conclude our eulogy in the words of their bard: he has reaped the immortality destined for good deeds; his memory is cherished, his actions are the theme of constant praise, and his picture on his white horse, old, yet in vigour, is familiar amongst the collections of portraits of Rajputana.^[40]

But there was not a clan, or family, that did not produce men of worth in this protracted warfare, which incited constant emulation; and the bards of each had abundant materials to emblazon the pages of their chronicles. To the recollection of these, their expatriated descendants allude in the memorial ^[41] of their hardships from the cruel policy of the reigning chief, the last lineal descendant of the prince, whose history has just been narrated. We now resume the narrative in the language of the chronicle [83].

In the Janampatri, or horoscope of Abhai Singh (referred to in p. 1011), the 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th houses denote the destinies of the heir of Ajit. In the 4th we have the monster Rahu, the author of eclipses. Of the 7th, or house of heirs, the Moon and Venus have taken possession; of the 8th, or house of strife, the Sun and Mercury. In the 10th is Ketu, brother of Rahu, both signs of evil portent. Mars rides in the house of fate, while Saturn and Jupiter are together in the abode of sovereignty. Like that of every man living, the horoscope of the heir of Maru is filled with good and evil: could the Jotishi or astrological seer have put the parricidal sign in the house of destiny, he might have claimed some merit for superior intelligence. Those who have ever consulted any works on this foolish pursuit will observe that the diagrams of the European astrologers are exact copies of the Hindu, in proof of which I have inserted this; to trace darkness as well as light from the East!

38. There is an anecdote regarding the fountain of this classic field of strife, the Troad of Rajasthan, which well exemplifies the superstitious belief of the warlike Rajput. The emperor Bahadur Shah was desirous to visit this scene of the exploits of the heroes of antiquity, stimulated, no doubt, by his Rajputni queen, or his mother, also of this race. He was seated under a tree which shaded the sacred fount, named after the great leader of the Kauravas, his queen by his side, surrounded by kanats to hide them from profane eyes, when a vulture perched upon the tree with a bone in its beak, which falling in the fountain, the bird set up a scream of laughter. The king looked up in astonishment, which was greatly increased when the vulture addressed him in human accents, saying “that in a former birth she was a Jogini, and was in the field of slaughter of the Great War, whence she flew away with the dissevered arm of one of its mighty warriors, with which she alighted on that very tree, that the arm was encumbered with a ponderous golden bracelet, in which, as an amulet, were set thirteen brilliant symbols of Siva, and that after devouring the flesh, she dropped the bracelet, which fell into the fountain, and it was this awakened coincidence which had caused the scream of laughter.” We must suppose that this, the palada of the field of slaughter, spoke Sanskrit or its dialect, interpreted by his Rajput queen. Instantly the pioneers were commanded to clear the fountain, and behold the relic of the Mahabharata, with the symbolic emblems of the god all-perfect! and so large were they, that the emperor remarked they would answer excellently well for “slaves of the carpet.”^[A] The Hindu princes then present, among whom were the Rajas Ajit and Jai Singh, were shocked at this levity, and each entreated of the king one of the phallic symbols. The Mirza Raja obtained two, and both are yet at Jaipur, one in the Temple of Silah Devi,^[B] the other in that of Govinda. Ajit had one, still preserved and worshipped at the shrine of Girdhari at Jodhpur. My old tutor and friend, the Yati Gyanchandra, who told the story while he read the chronicles as I translated them, has often seen and made homage to all the three relics. There is one, he believed, at Bundi or Kotah, and the Rana by some means obtained another. They are of pure rock crystal, and as each weighs some pounds, there must have been giants in the days of the Bharat, to have supported thirteen in one armlet. Homer’s heroes were pigmies to the Kauravas, whose bracelet we may doubt if Ajax could have lifted. My venerable tutor, though liberal in his opinions, did not choose to dissent from the general belief, for man, he said, had beyond a doubt greatly degenerated since the heroic ages, and was rapidly approximating to the period, the immediate forerunner of a universal renovation, when only dwarfs would creep over the land.

Ajīt Singh attacks Nāhan.

—“In 1768 Ajit was sent against Nahan ^[1] and the chiefs of the snowy mountains, whom he reduced to obedience. Thence he went to the Ganges, where he performed his ablutions, and in the spring he returned to Jodhpur.

“In 1769 Shah Alam ^[2] went to heaven. The torch of discord was lighted by his sons, with which they fired their own dwelling. Azim-ush-shan was slain,^[3] and the umbrella of royalty waved over the head of Muizzu-d-din.^[4] Ajit sent the Bhandari Kaimsi to the presence, who returned with the sanad of the vice-royalty of Gujarat. In the month of Margsir 1769, he prepared an army to take possession of the Sattra-sahas,^[5] when fresh dissensions broke out in the house of the Chagatai. The Sayyids slew Muizzu-d-din, and Farrukhsiyar became king.^[6] Zulfikar Khan was [85] put to death,^[7] and with him departed the strength of the Moguls. Then the Sayyids became headstrong. Ajit was commanded to send his son, Abhai Singh, now seventeen years of age, with his contingent, to court; but Ajit having learned that the traitor Mukund was there and in great favour, sent a trusty band, who slew him even in the middle of Delhi. This daring act brought the Sayyid with an army to Jodhpur.^[8] Ajit sent off the men of wealth to Siwanah, and his son and family to the desert of Rardarra.^[9] The capital was invested, and Abhai Singh demanded as a hostage for the conduct of Ajit, who was also commanded to court. To neither was the Raja inclined, but the advice of the Diwan and still more of Kesar the bard, who gave as a precedent the instance of Rao Ganga when invaded by the Lodi, Daulat Khan, who entrusted his affairs to his son Maldeo, was unanimously approved.^[10] Abhai Singh was recalled from Rardarra, and marched with Husain Ali to Delhi, the end of Asarh 1770. The heir of Maru received the mansab of five thousand from the king.

“Ajit followed his son to the court, then held at Delhi. There the sight of the altars raised over the ashes of chiefs who had perished to preserve him in his infancy, kindled all his wrath, and he meditated revenge on the whole house of Timur. Four distinct causes for displeasure had Ajmall:—

Ajit Singh marries his Daughter to Farrukhsīyar, A.D. 1716.

—Here we must interrupt the narrative, in order to supply an important omission of the bard, who slurs over the hardest of the conditions demanded of Ajit on the invasion of the Sayyid, namely, the giving a daughter to Farrukhsiyar, the important political results of which are already related in the first part of this work.^[13] This compulsory marriage only aggravated Ajit’s desire of vengeance, and he entered into the views of the Sayyids with the true spirit of his father; obtaining meanwhile, as the price of coalition, the compliance with the specified demands, besides others of less moment, such as “that the bell for prayer should be allowed to toll in the [86] quarters of the city allotted to the Rajputs, and that their temples should be held sacred; and last, but not least, the aggrandisement of his hereditary dominions.” Let us again recur to the chronicle.

“In Jeth 1771, having secured all his wishes, Ajit left the court, and with the renewed patent as viceroy of Gujarat, returned to Jodhpur. Through Kaimsi, his minister, the jizya was repealed. The Hindu race owed eternal obligation to the Mor (crown) of Murdhar, the sanctuary of princes in distress.

Ajīt Singh, Viceroy of Gujarāt, A.D. 1715-16.

—“In 1772, Ajit prepared to visit this government: Abhai Singh accompanied his father. He first proceeded to Jalor, where he passed the rainy season. Thence he attacked the Mewasa:^[14] first Nimaj, which he took, when the Deoras paid him tribute. Firoz Khan advanced from Palanpur to meet him. The Rao of Tharad paid a lakh of rupees. Cambay was invested and paid; and the Koli chief, Kemkaran, was reduced. From Patan, Sakta the Champawat, with Bija Bhandari, sent the year preceding to manage the province, came forth to meet him.

“In 1773, Ajit reduced the Jhala of Halwad, and Jam of Nawanagar, who paid as tribute three lacs of rupees, with twenty-five choice steeds;^[15] and having settled the province, he worshipped at Dwarka, and bathed in the Gomati.^[16] Thence he returned to Jodhpur, where he learned that Indar Singh had regained Nagor; but he stood not before Ajit.

Ajīt Singh visits Delhi.

—“The year 1774 had now arrived. The Sayyids and their opponents were engaged in civil strife. Husain Ali was in the Deccan, and the mind of Abdulla was alienated from the king. Paper on paper came, inviting Ajit. He marched by Nagor, Merta, Pushkar, Marot, and Sambhar, whose garrisons he strengthened, to Delhi. From Marot he sent Abhai Singh back to take care of Jodhpur. The Sayyid advanced from Delhi to meet the Dhani (lord) of Marwar, who alighted at Allahwirdi’s sarai. Here the Sayyid and Ajit formed a league to oppose Jai Singh and the Moguls, while the king remained like a snake coiled up in a closed vessel. To get rid of their chief opponent, Zu-l-faqar Khan, was first determined [87].

“When the king heard that Ajit had reached Delhi, he sent the Hara Rao Bhim of Kotah, and Khandauran Khan to introduce him to the presence. Ajit obeyed. Besides his own Rathors, he was accompanied by Rao Bishan Singh of Jaisalmer, and Padam Singh of Derawar, with Fateh Singh, a noble of Mewar, Man Singh, Rathor, chief of Sita Mhau, and the Chandarawat, Gopal of Rampura, besides Udai Singh of Kandela, Sakat Singh of Manoharpur, Kishan of Kalchipur, and many others.^[17] The meeting took place at the Moti Bagh. The king bestowed the mansab of Haft Hazari (seven thousand horse) on Ajit, and added a crore of dams to his rent-roll. He presented him with the insignia of the Mahi Muratib,^[18] with elephants and horses, a sword and dagger, a diamond aigrette (sarpech) and plume, and a double string of pearls. Having left the presence, Ajit went to visit Abdulla Khan. The Sayyid advanced to meet him, and his reception, with his attendants, was distinguished. They renewed their determination to stand or fall together. Their conference caused dismay to the Moguls, who lay in ambush to put Ajit to death.

“On the second day of the bright moon of Pus, 1775 [A.D. 1718], the king honoured Ajit with a visit. Ajit seated the king on a throne formed of bags of rupees to the amount of one lakh,^[19] and presented elephants, horses, and all that was precious. In the month of Phalgun, Ajit and the Sayyid went to visit the king; and after the conference wrote to Husain Ali revealing their plans, and desiring his rapid march to unite with them from the Deccan. Now the heavens assumed portentous appearances; the Disasul ^[20] was red and fiery; jackasses brayed unusually; dogs barked; thunder rolled without a cloud; the court, late so gay, was now sad and gloomy; all were forebodings of change at Delhi. In twenty days, Husain reached Delhi; his countenance was terrific; his drum, which now beat close to the palace, was the knell of falling greatness. He was accompanied by myriads of horse. Delhi was enveloped in the dust raised by his hostile steeds. They encamped in the north of the city, and Husain joined Ajit and his brother. The trembling king sent congratulations and gifts; the Mogul chiefs kept aloof in their abodes; even as the quail cowers in the grass when the falcon hovers over it, so did the Moguls when Husain reached Delhi.^[21] The lord of Amber was like a lamp left without oil [88].

The Revolution at Delhi.

—“On the second day, all convened at Ajit’s tents, on the banks of the Jumna, to execute the plans now determined upon. Ajit mounted his steed; at the head of his Rathors he marched direct to the palace, and at every post he placed his own men: he looked like the fire destined to cause pralaya.^[22] When the sun appears darkness flies; when the oil fails the lamp goes out: so is it with crowns and kings, when good faith and justice, the oil that feeds their power, is wanting. The crash which shivered the umbrella of Delhi reverberated throughout the land. The royal treasures were plundered. None amidst the Moguls came forward to rescue their king (Farrukhsiyar), and Jai Singh fled from the scene of destruction. Another king was set up, but in four months he was seized with a distemper and died. Then Daula ^[23] was placed on the throne. But the Moguls at Delhi set up Neko Shah ^[24] at Agra, and Husain marched against them, leaving Ajit and Abdulla with the king.^[25]

Muhammad Shah, Emperor, A.D. 1719-48.

—“In 1776, Ajit and the Sayyid moved from Delhi; but the Moguls surrendered Neko Shah, who was confined in Salimgarh. At this time the king died, and Ajit and the Sayyids made another, and placed Muhammad Shah on the throne. Many countries were destroyed, and many were made to flourish, during the dethronement of kings by Ajit. With the death of Farrukhsiyar Jai Singh’s views were crushed, and the Sayyids determined to punish him. The lord of Amber was like water carried in a platter.^[26] The king reached the Dargah at Sikri, in progress to Amber, and here the chieftains sought the saran (sanctuary) of Ajit. They said the Kurma ^[27] was lost if he protected them not against the Sayyids. Even as Krishna saved Arjun in the Bharat, so did Ajit take Jai Singh under his protection. He sent the chiefs of the Champawats and his minister to dispel his fears; they returned with the lord of Amber, who felt like one who had escaped the doom (pralaya). Ajit placed one monarch on the throne, and saved another from destruction. The king bestowed upon him the grant of Ahmadabad, and gave him permission to visit his home. With Jai Singh of Amber, and Budh Singh Hara of Bundi, he marched for Jodhpur, and in the way contracted a marriage with the daughter of the Shaikhavat [89] chief of Manoharpur. In the month of Asin he reached Jodhagir, when the lord of Amber encamped at Sur Sagar, and the Hara Rao north of the town.

Ajīt Singh marries his Daughter to Jai Singh.

—“The cold season had fled; the spring (basant) approached. The peacock was intoxicated with the nectar-drops distilled from the sweet-blossomed amba (mango); the rich sap exuded; the humming-bees clustered round the flowers; new leaves budded forth; songs of joy resounded; the hearts of gods, men, and women expanded with mirth. It was then the lord of Amber was bedecked in saffron robes, to espouse the ‘virgin of the sun’ (Surya Kumari), the child of Ajit. On this he had consulted the Champawats, and according to ancient usage, the Ad-Pardhan, or chief minister, the Kumpawat: likewise the Bhandari Diwan, and the Guru. But were I to dwell on these festivities, this book would become too large; I therefore say but little!

The Assassination of the Sayyids. Ajīt Singh asserts his Independence.

—“The rains of 1777 set in, and Jai Singh and Budh Singh remained with Ajit, when a messenger arrived with tidings that the Moguls had assassinated the Sayyids, and were now on the watch for Ajit.^[28] He drew his sword, and swore he would possess himself of Ajmer. He dismissed the lord of Amber. In twelve days after Ajit reached Merta. In the face of day he drove the Muslim from Ajmer and made it his own. He slew the king’s governor and seized on Taragarh.^[29] Once more the bell of prayers was heard in the temple, while the bang^[30] of the Masjid was silent. Where the Koran was read, the Puran was now heard, and the Mandir took the place of the Mosque. The Kazi made way for the Brahman, and the pit of burnt sacrifice (homa) was dug, where the sacred kine were slain. He took possession of the salt lakes of Sambhar and Didwana, and the records were always moist with inserting fresh conquests. Ajit ascended his own throne; the umbrella of supremacy he waved over his head. He coined in his own name, established his own gaz (measure), and ser (weight), his own courts of justice, and a new scale of rank for his chiefs, with nalkis and mace-bearers, naubats and standards, and every emblem of sovereign rule. Ajmall in Ajmer was equal to Aspati in Delhi.^[31] The intelligence spread over the land; it reached even Mecca [90] and Iran, that Ajit had exalted his own faith, while the rites of Islam were prohibited throughout the land of Maru.

Imperialist Attack on Ajmer.

—“In 1778 the king determined to regain Ajmer. He gave the command to Muzaffar, who in the rains advanced towards Marwar. Ajit entrusted the conduct of this war to his son, the ‘shield of Maru,’ the ‘fearless’ (Abhai), with the eight great vassals, and thirty thousand horse; the Champawats on the right, the Kumpawats on the left, while the Karamsots, Mertias, Jodhas, Indhas, Bhattis, Sonigiras, Deoras, Khichis, Dhondals and Gogawats,^[32] composed the main body. At Amber, the Rathors and imperialists came in sight; but Muzaffar disgraced himself, and retired within that city without risking an encounter. Abhai Singh, exasperated at this display of pusillanimous bravado, determined to punish the king. He attacked Shahjahanpur, sacked Narnol, levied contributions on Patan (Tuarvati) and Rewari.^[33] He gave the villages to the flames, and spread conflagration and consternation even to Allahwirdi’s Sarai. Delhi and Agra trembled with affright; the Asurs fled without their shoes at the deeds of Abhai, whom they styled Dhonkal, ‘the exterminator.’ He returned by Sambhar and Ludhana, and here he married the daughter of the chief of the Narukas.^[34]

Muhammad Shah attacks Ajīt Singh.

—“In 1779, Abhai Singh remained at Sambhar, which he strengthened, and hither his father Ajit came from Ajmer. The meeting was like that between ‘Kasyapa and Surya’;^[35] for he had broken the bow of Muzaffar and made the Hindu happy. The king sent his Chela, Nahar Khan, to expostulate with Ajit; but his language was offensive, and the field of Sambhar devoured the tiger lord (Nahar Khan) and his four thousand followers. The son of Churaman the Jat ^[36] now claimed sanctuary with Ajit. Sick of these dissensions, the unhappy Muhammad Shah determined to abandon his crown and retire to Mecca. But, determined to revenge the death of Nahar Khan, he prepared a formidable army. He collected [the contingents of] the twenty-two Satraps ^[37] of the empire, and placed at their head Jai Singh of Amber, Haidar Kuli, Iradat Khan Bangash, etc. In the month of Sawan (July), Taragarh was invested; Abhai Singh marched out and left its defence to [91] Amra Singh. It had held out four months, when through the prince of Amber (Jai Singh), Ajit listened to terms, which were sworn to on the Koran by the nobles of the king; and he agreed to surrender Ajmer.^[38] Abhai Singh then accompanied Jai Singh to the camp. It was proposed that in testimony of his obedience he should repair to the presence. The prince of Amber pledged himself; but the Fearless (Abhai) placed his hand on his sword, saying, ‘This is my surety!’”

Ajīt Singh’s Heir received at the Imperial Court.

—The heir of Marwar was received by the king with the utmost honour; but being possessed of a double portion of that arrogance which forms the chief characteristic of his race (more especially of the Rathor and Chauhan, from which he sprang), his reception nearly produced at Delhi a repetition of the scene recorded in the history of his ancestor Amra at Agra. Knowing that his father held the first place on the king’s right hand, he considered himself, as his representative, entitled to the same honour; and little heeding the unbending etiquette of the proudest court in the world, he unceremoniously hustled past all the dignitaries of the State, and had even ascended a step of the throne, when, checked by one of the nobles, Abhai’s hand was on his dagger, and but for the presence of mind of the monarch, “who threw his own chaplet round his neck” to restrain him, the Divan would have been deluged with blood.

The Murder of Ajīt Singh, A.D. 1724.

—We shall now drop the chronicles, and in recording the murder of Ajit, the foulest crime in the annals of Rajasthan, exemplify the mode in which their poetic historians gloss over such events. It was against Ajit’s will that his son went to court, as if he had a presentiment of the fate which awaited him, and which has been already circumstantially related.^[39] The authors from whose records this narrative is chiefly compiled, were too polite to suffer such a stigma to appear in their chronicles, “written by desire” and under the eye of the parricide, Ajit’s successor. The Surya Prakas merely says, “at this time Ajit went to heaven”; but affords no indication of the person who sent him there. The Raj Rupaka, however, not bold enough to avow the mysterious death of his prince, yet too honest altogether to pass it over, has left an expressive blank leaf at this part of his chronicle, certainly not accidental, as it intervenes between Abhai Singh’s reception at court, and the incidents following his father’s death, which I translate verbatim, as they present an excellent picture of the results of a Rajput potentate’s demise [92].

“Abhai, a second Ajit, was introduced to the Aspati; his father heard the news and rejoiced. But this world is a fable—a lie. Time will sooner or later prey on all things. What king, what raja can avoid the path leading to extinction? The time allotted for our sojourn here is predetermined; prolong it we cannot. The decree penned by the hand of the Creator is engraven upon each forehead at the hour of birth. Neither addition nor subtraction can be made. Fate (honhar) must be fulfilled. It was the command of Govinda ^[40] that Ajit (the Avatar of Indra) should obtain immortality, and leave his renown in the world beneath. Ajit, so long a thorn in the side of his foe, was removed to Parloka.^[41] He kept afloat the faith of the Hindu, and sunk the Muslim in shame. In the face of day, the lord of Maru took the road which leads to Paradise (Vaikuntha). Then dismay seized the city; each looked with dread in his neighbour’s face as he said, ‘Our sun has set!’ But when the day of Yamaraj ^[42] arrives, who can retard it? Were not the five Pandus enclosed in the mansion of Himala?^[43] Harchand escaped not the universal decree; nor will gods, men, or reptiles avoid it, not even Vikrama or Kama; all fall before Yama. How then could Ajit hope to escape?

“On Asarh, the 13th, the dark half of the moon of 1780, seventeen hundred warriors of the eight ranks of Maru, for the last time marched before their lord.^[44] They placed his body in a boat,^[45] and carried him to the pyre,^[46] made of sandal-wood and perfumes, with heaps of cotton, oil, and camphor. But this is a subject of grief: how can the bard enlarge on such a theme? The Nazir went to the Rawala ^[47] and as he pronounced the words ‘Rao siddhi āyē,’ the Chauhani queen, with sixteen damsels in her suite, came forth: ‘This day,’ said she, ‘is one of joy; my race shall be illustrated; our lives have passed together, how then can I leave him?’^[48]