Annals of Marwar

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James Tod: Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Volume II,
Publisher: Madras: Higginbotham and Co. 1873.

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Chapter I

Abstract of Chapter I

The various etymons of Marwar- Authorities for its early history- Yati genealogical roll, — The Rahtore race, who inhabit it, descended from the Yavan kings of Parlipoor, — Second roll, — Nayn Pal, — His date, — Conquers Canauj — Utility of Rajpoot genealogies, — The Surya Prakash, or poetic chronicle of the bard Kurnidhan, — The Raj Roopac Akheat or chronicle of Ajit Sing's minority and reign, — The Beejy Vulas, — The Kheat, a biographical treatise, — Other sources, — The Yavanas and Asuras, or Indo-Scythic tribes, — The thirteen Rahtore families bearing the epithet Camd'huj,Raja Jeichund, king of Canoj, — The extent and splendour of that state before the Mahomedan conquest of India -His immense array- Title of Mandalica,— Divine honours paid to him, — Rite of Soenair undertaken by Jeichund, — Its failure and consequences. — Stale of India at that period,The four great Hindu monarchies. — Dehli, — Conouj, — Mewar, — Anhulwarra, — Shabudin, king of Gor, invades India-Overcomes the Chohan king of Dehli, — Attacks Canouj,— Destruction of that monarchy after seven centuries duration, — Death of Jeichund. — Date of this event

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The various etymons of Marwar: Marwar is a corruption of Maroo-war, classically Maroost'hali or Maroost'han, 'the region of death'. It is also called Maroo-desha, whence the unintelligible Mardes of the early Mahomedan writers. The bards frequently style it Mord'hur, which is synonymous with Maroo-desa, or, when it suits their rhyme, simply Maroo, Though now restricted to the country subject to the Rahtore race, its ancient and appropriate application comprehended the entire ' desert,' from the Sutlej to the ocean.

A concise genealogical sketch of the Rahtore rulers of Marwar has already been given ;* we shall therefore briefly pass over those times 'when a genealogical tree would strike root in any soil ;' when the ambition of the Rahtores, whose branches (sac'hce) spread rapidly over 'the region of death' was easily gratified with a solar pedigree. As it is desirable, however, to record their own opinions regarding their origin, we shall make extracts from the chronicles (hereafter enumerated), instead of fusing the whole into one mass, as in the

* See VoL I, p. 80.

[p.2]: Annals of Marwar. The reader will occasionally be presented with simple translations of whatever is most interesting in the Rahtore records.

Authorities for its early history

Let us begin with a statement of the author's authorities ; first, a genealogical roll of the Rahtores, furnished by a Yati, or Jain priest, from the temple of Nadolaye.* This roll is about fifty feet in length, commencing, as usual, with a theogony, followed by the production of the ' first Rahtore from the spine (raht) of Indra' the nominal father being " Yavanaswa, prince of Parlipoor." Of the topography of Parlipoor, the Rahtores have no other notion than that it was in the north ; but in the declared race of their progenitor, a Yavan prince, of the Aswa or Asi tribe,† we have a proof of the Scythic origin of this Rajpoot family.

The chronicle proceeds with the foundation of Kanya-cubja††: or Canouj, and the origin of Cama-dhwaja,§ (vulgo Camd'huj), the titular appellation of its princes, and concludes with the thirteen great sacha, or ramifications of the Rahtores, and their Gotra-acharya, or genealogical creed.||

Another roll, of considerable antiquity, commences in the fabulous age, with a long string of names, without facts ; its sole value consists in the esteem in which the tribe holds it. We may omit all that precedes Nayn Pal, who, in the year S. 526 (A.D. 470), conquered Canouj, slaying its monarch Ajipal ; from which period the race was termed Canoujea Rahtore. The genealogy proceeds to Jeichund, the last monarch of Canouj ; relates the emigration of his nephew Seoji, or Sevaji, and his establishment in the desert (maroowar), with a handful of his brethren (a wreck of the mighty kingdom of Canouj) ; and terminates with the death of Raja Jeswunt Sing, in S. 1735 (A.D. 1679), describing every branch and scion, until we see them spreading over Maroo.

Utility of Rajpoot genealogies

Genealogy ceases to be an uninteresting pursuit, when it enables us to mark the progress of animal vegetation, from the germ to the complete development of the tree, until the land is overshadowed with its branches ; and bare as is. the chronicle to the moralist or

* An ancient town in Marwar. Nadol
†One of the four tribes which overturned the Greek kingdom of Bactria. The ancient Hindu cosmographers claim the Aswar as a grand branch of their early family, and doubtless the Indo-Scythic people, from the Oxus to the Ganges, were one race.
†† From Cubja (the spine) of the virgin (Kanya),
§ Cama-dhwaja 'the banner of Cupid.'
|| Gotama Gotra, Mardwandani Sacha Sookracharya Guru Gar-rapti Agni, Pank'hani Devi,
¶ It is a singular fact, that there is no available date beyond the fourth century for any of the great Rajpoot families, all of whom are brought from the north. This was the period of one of the grand irruptions of the Getic races from Central Asia, who established kingdoms in the Punjab and on the Indus. Pal or Pali the universal adjunct to every proper name, indicates the pastoral race of these invaders.

[p.3]: historian, it exhibits to the observer of the powers of the animal economy, data, which the annals of no other people on earth can furnish. In A.D. 1193, we see the throne of Jeichund overturned ; his nephew, with a handful of retainers, taking service with a petty chieftain in the Indian desert. In less than four centuries, we find the descendants of these exiles of the Ganges occupying nearly the whole of the desert ; having founded three capitals, studded the land with the castles of its feudality, and bringing into the field fifty thousand men, ek bap ca beta, 'the sons of one father,' to combat the emperor of Dehli. What a contrast does their unnoticed growth present to that of the Islamite conquerors of Canouj, of whom five dynasties passed away in ignorance of the renovated existence of the Rahtore, until the ambition of Shere Shah brought him into contact with the descendants of Seoji, whose valour caused him to exclaim " he had nearly lost the crown of India for a handful of barley," in allusion to the poverty of their land !

What a sensation does it not excite, when we know that a sentiment of kindred pervades every individual of this immense affiliated body, who can point out, in the great tree, the branch of his origin, whilst not one is too remote from the main stem to forget its pristine connexion with it ! The moral sympathies created by such a system pass unheeded by the chronicler, who must deem it futile to describe what all sensibly feel, and which renders his page, albeit little more than a string of names, one of paramount interest to the 'sons of Seoji'

The third authority is the Sooraj Prakas (Surya Prakasa), composed by the bard Kurnidhan, during the reign and by command of Raja Abhye Sing. This poetic history, comprised in 7,500 stanzas, was copied from the original manuscript, and sent to me by Raja Man, in the year 1820.* As usual, the kavya (bard) commences with the origin of all things, tracing the Rahtores from the creation down to Soomitra ; from whence is a blank until he recommences with the name of Camd'huj, which appears to have been the title assumed by Nayn Pal, on his conquest of Canouj. Although Kurnidhan must have taken his facts from the royal records, they correspond very well with the roll from Nadolaye. The bard is, however, in a great hurry to bring the founder of the Rahtores into Marwar, and slurs over the defeat and death of Jeichund. Nor does he dwell long on his descendants, though he enumerates them all, and points out the leading events until he reaches the reign of Jeswunt Sing, grand-father of Abhye Sing, who " commanded the bard to write the Sooraj " Prakas:"

The next authority is the Baj Boopac Akheat, or 'the royal relations.' This work commences with a short account of the Suryavansha, from their cradle at Ajodia; then takes up Soil's migration, and in the same strain as the preceding work, rapidly

* This manuscript is deposited in the library of the Royal Asiatic Society.

[p.4]: passes overall events until the death of Raja Jeswunt ; but it becomes a perfect chronicle of events during the minority of his successor Ajit, his eventful reign, and that of Abhye Sing, to the conclusion of the war against Sivbolund Khan, viceroy of Guzzerat. Throwing aside the meagre historical introduction, it is professedly a chronicle of the events from S. 1735 (A.D. 1679), to S. 1787 (A.D. 1734), the period to which the Sooraj Prakas is brought down.

A portion of the Beejy Vulas, a poem of 100,000 couplets, also fell into my hands : it chiefly relates to the reign of the prince whose name it bears, Beejy Sing, the son of Bukht Sing. It details the civil wars waged by Beejy Sing and his cousin Ram Sing (son of Abhye Sing), and the consequent introduction of the Mahrattas into Marwar.

From a biographical work named simply Kheat, or 'Story,' I obtained that portion which relates to the lives of Raja Oodi Sing, the friend of Akber ; his son Raja Guj, and grandson Jeswunt Sing. These sketches exhibit in true colours the character of the Rahtores.

Besides these, I caused to be drawn up by an intelligent man, who had passed his life in office at Jodpoor, a memoir of transactions from the death of Ajit Sing, in A.D. 1629, down to the treaty with the English government in A.D. 1818. The ancestors of the narrator had filled offices of trust in the state, and he was a living chronicle both of the past and present.

From these sources, from conversations with the reigning sovereign, his nobles, his ambassadors, and subjects, materials were collected for this sketch of the Rahtores, — barren, indeed, of events at first, but redundant of them as we advance.

A genealogical table of the Rahtores is added, shewing the grand offsets, whose descendants constitute the feudal frerage of the present day. A glance at this table will shew the claims of each house ; and in its present distracted condition, owing to civil broils, will enable the paramount power to mediate, when necessary, with impartiality, in the conflicting claims of the prince and his feudatories.

We shall not attempt to solve the question, whether the Rahtores are, or are not, Rawud-vansa, 'Children of the Sun' ; nor shall we dispute either the birth or etymon of the first Rahtore (from the raht or spine of Indra), or search in the north for the kingdom of the nominal father ; but be content to conclude that this celestial interference in the household concerns of the Parlipoor prince was invented to cover some disgrace. The name of Yavana with the adjunct Aswa or Asi, clearly indicates the Indo-Scythic ' barbarian' from beyond the Indus. In the genealogy of the Lunar races descended of Budha and Ella (Mercury and the Earth — see Table I, Vol. I), the five sons of Baj-aswa are made to people the countries on and beyond the Indus ; and in the scanty records of Alexander's invasion, mention is made of many races, as the Asasenae and Asacani, still dwelling in these regions.

[p.5]: This period was fruitful in change to the old established dynasties of the Hindu continent, when numerous races of barbarians, viz., Huns, Parthians, and Getes, had fixed colonies on her western and northern frontiers.*

" In S. 526 (A.D. 470), Nayn Pal obtained Canouj, from which period the Rahtores assumed the title of Camd'huj. His son was Pudarut,† his Poonja, from whom sprung the thirteen great families, bearing the patronymic Camd'huj, viz. :

" 1st.— Dhurma Bhumbo ; his descendants styled Danesra Cam-dhuj.

" 2d. — Bhanooda, who fought the Afghans at Kangra, and founded Abhipoor ; hence the Abhipoora Camd'huj,

" 3d. — 'Virachandra, who married the daughter of Hamira Chohan, of Anhulpoor Pattun ; he had fourteen sons, who emigrated to the Dekhan ; his descendants called Kuppolia Camd'huj.

" 4th. — Umrabeejy, who married the daughter of the Pramara prince of Korahgurh on the Ganges ; — slew 16,000 Pramaras, and took possession of Korah, whence the Korah Camd'huj.††

" 5th. — Soojun Binode ; his descendants Jirkhaira Cam-dhuj,

" 6th. — Pudma, who conquered Orissa, and also Bogilana, from Raja Tejmun Yadu.

" 7th. — Aihar, who took Bengal from the Yadus ; hence Aihara Cam-dhuj.

" 8th. — Bardeo ; his elder brother offered him in appanage Benares, and eighty-four townships ; but he preferred founding a city, which he called Paruk-poor :§ his descendants Paruk Cam-dhaj.

" 9th. — Oogra-Prebhoo, who made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Hinglaz Chandel,|| who, pleased with the severity of his penance, caused a sword to ascend from the fountain, with which he conquered the southern countries touching the ocean his descendants Chandaila Camd'huj.

" 10th. — Mookta-Mun, who conquered possessions in the north from Bhan Tuar : his descendants Beera Camd'huj,

" 11th. — Bhurut, at the age of sixty-one, conquered Keneksir, under the northern hills, from Roodra-sen of the Birgoojur tribe : his descendants styled Bhureau Camd'huj,

" 12th — Allunkul founded Khyroda ; fought the Asuras (Moslems) on the banks of the Attok : his descendants Khyrodea Camd'huj,

:* Cosmas. Annals of Mewar. Gete or Jit Inscription, Appendix, Vol I.

† Called Bhurut in the Yati's roll ; an error of one or other of the authorities, in transcribing from the more ancient records.
†† An inscription given in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, (vol ix, p. 440) found at Korah, relates to a branch of the Canouj family.
§ Qu, Parkar, towards the Indus ?
|| On the coast of Mekran.
¶ If we can credit these legends, we seethe Rahtore Rajpoots spreading over all India. I give these bare facts verbatim as some traces may yet remain of the races in those countries.

[p.6]:

" 13th. — Chand obtained Tarrapoor in the north. He married a daughter of the Chohan of Tahera* a city well known to the world : with her he came to Benares.

" And thus the race of Surya multiplied."

" Bhumbo,† or Dherma-Bhumbo, sovereign of Canouj, had a son, Ajy-Chund.†† For twenty-one generations they bore the titles of Rao; afterwards that of Raja, Oodichund, Nirpati, Keneksen, Sehes-sal, Megsen, Birabhadra, Deosen, Bimulsen, Dinsen, Mokund, Bhoodu, Rajsen, Tirpal, Sree-Poonja, Beejy Chund,§ his son Jeichund, who became the Naek of Canouj, with the surname Dul Pangla."

Nothing is related of the actions of these princes, from the conquest of Canouj by Nayn Pal, in A.D. 470, and the establishment of his thirteen grandsons in divers countries, until we reach Jeichund, in whose person (A.D. 1193) terminated the Rahtore sovereignty on the Ganges ; and we have only twenty-one names to fill up the space of seven centuries, although the testimony on which it is given|| asserts there were twenty-one princes bearing the title of Rao prior to the assumption of that of Raja. But the important information is omitted as to who was the first to assume this title.

There are names in the Yati's roll that are not in the Sooraj Prakas, which we have followed ; and one of these, " Rungut D'hwaj," is said to have overcome Jesraj Tuar, king of Dehli, for whose period we have correct data : yet we cannot incorporate the names in the Yati's roll with that just given without vitiating each ; and as we have no facts, it is useless to perplex ourselves with a barren genealogy. But we can assert that it must have been a splendid dynasty, and that their actions, from the conqueror Nayn Pal, to the last prince, Jeichund, were well deserving of commemoration. That they were commemorated in written records, there cannot be a doubt ; for the tirade of the bardic chroniclers in India has flourished in all ages.

Although we have abundant authority to assert the grandeur of the kingdom of Canouj at the period of its extinction, both from the bard Chund and the concurrent testimony of Mahomedan authors, yet are we astonished at the description of the capital, attested not only by the annals of the Rahtores, but by those of their antagonists, the Chohans.

The circumvallation of Canouj covered a space of more than thirty miles ; and its numerous forces obtained for its prince the epithet of " Dul Pangla" meaning that the mighty host (Dul) was lame or had a halt in its movements owing to its numbers, of which Chund

* A city often mentioned by Ferishta, in the early times of the Mahomedans.
† Nayn Pal must have preceded Dherma-Bhumbo by five or six generations.
†† Called Abhechand, in the Sooraj Prakas,
§ Also styled Beeju Pal ; classically Vijy-pala, 'Fosterer of Victory.'
|| The Sooraj Prakas.
¶ See Inscriptions of Jeichund, Yiyachund, and Korah, in the 9th and 14th vols, of the Asiatic Researches.

[p.7]: observes, that in the march " the van had reached their ground ere " the rear had moved off." The Sooraj Prakas gives the amount of this army, which in numbers might compete with the most potent which, in ancient or modern times, was ever sent into the field. "Eighty thousand men in armour; thirty thousand horse covered with pakhur, or quilted mail ; three hundred thousand paeks or infantry ; and of bow-men and battle-axes two hundred thousand ; " besides a cloud of elephants bearing warriors."

This immense army was to oppose the Yavana beyond the Indus ; for, as the chronicle says, "The king of Gor and Irak crossed the Attok. There Jey Sing met the conflict, when the Nilabh changed its name to Soorkhab* There was the Ethiopic (Habshee) king, and the skilful Frank learned in all arts† overcome by the lord of Canouj."

The chronicles of the Chohans, the sworn foe of the Rahtores, repeat the greatness of the monarch of Canouj, and give him the title of " Mandalica" They affirm that he overcame the king of the north,‡ making eight tributary kings prisoners ; that he twice defeated Sidraj, king of Anhulwarra, and extended his dominions south of the Nerbudda, and that at length, in the fulness of his pride, he had divine honours paid him in the rite Soenair. This distinction, which involves the most august ceremony, and is held as a virtual assumption of universal supremacy, had in all ages been attended with disaster. In the rite of Soenair, every office, down to the scullion of the "Rusorah," or banquet-hall, must be performed by royal personages ; nor had it been attempted by any of the dynasties which ruled India since the Pandu : not even Vicrama, though he introduced his own era, bad the audacity to attempt what the Rahtore determined to execute. All India was agitated by the accounts of the magnificence of the preparations, and circular invitations were despatched to every prince, inviting him to assist at the pompous ceremony, which was to conclude with the nuptials of the Raja's only daughter, who, according to the customs of those days, would select her future lord from the assembled chivalry of India. The Chohan bard describes the revelry and magnificence of the scene : the splendour of the Yug-sala, or ' hall of sacrifice,' surpassing all powers of description ; in which was assembled all the princes of India, " save the "lord of the Chohans, and Samara of Mewar," who, scorning this assumption of supremacy, Jeichund made their effigies in gold, assigning to them the most servile posts ; that of the king of the Chohans being Poleah, or 'porter of the hall* Pirthiraj, whose life was one succession of feats of arms and gallantry, had a double motive for action — love and revenge. He determined to

:* The Nilab. or 'blue water,' the Indus, changed its name to the 'Red-stream' Soorkr-ab or 'ensanguined.'

† It is singular that Chund likewise mentions the Frank as being in the army of Shabudin, in the conquest of his sovereign Pirthiraj. If this be true, it most have been a desultory or fugitive band of crusaders.
‡ They thus style the kings west of the Indus.

[p.8]: enjoy both, or perish in the attempt ; " to spoil the sacrifice " and bear away the fair of Canouj from its halls, though beset " by all the heroes of Hind." The details of this exploit form the most spirited of the sixty-nine books of the bard. The Chohan executed his purpose, and, with the elite of the warriors of Dehli, bore off the princess in open day from Canouj. A desperate running-fight of five days took place. To use the words of the bard, " he " preserved his prize ; he gained immortal renown, but he lost the " sinews of Dehli." So did Jeichund those of Canouj ; and each, who had singly repelled all attacks of the kings, fell in turn a prey to the Ghori Sultan, who skilfully availed himself of these international feuds, to make a permanent conquest of India.

We may here briefly describe the state of Hindust'han at this epoch, and for centuries previous to the invasions of Mahmoud.

There were four great kingdoms, viz. :

1st. — Dehli, under the Tuars and Chohans ;

2nd. — Canouj, under the Rahtores ;

3d. — Mewar, under the Ghelotes ;

4th. — Anhulwarra, under the Chauras and Solankhis.

To one or other of these states, the numerous petty princes of India paid homage and feudal service. The boundary between Dehli and Canouj was the Cali-nadi, or ' black stream ;' the Calindi of the Greek geographers. Dehli claimed supremacy over all the countries westward to the Indus, embracing the lands watered by its arms, from the foot of the Himalaya, — the desert, — to the Aravulli chain. The Chohan king, successor to the Tuars, enumerated one hundred and eight great vassals, many of whom were subordinate princes.

The power of Canouj extended north to the foot of the Snowy mountains ; eastward to Casi (Benares) ; and across the Chumbul to the lands of the Chundail (now Bundelkhand) ; on the south its possessions came in contact with Mewar.

Mewar, or Medya-war, the ' central region,' was bounded to the north by the Aravulli, to the south by the Pramaras of Dhar (dependent on Canouj), and westward by |Anhulwarra, which state was bounded by the ocean to the south, the Indus on the west, and the desert to the north.

There are records of great wars amongst all these princes. The Chohans and Ghelotes, whose dominions were contiguous, were generally allies, and the Rahtores and Tuars (predecessors of the Chohans, who were only divided by the Cali-nadi, often dyed it with their blood. Yet this warfare was never of an exterminating kind ; a marriage quenched a feud, and they remained friends until some new cause of strife arose.

If, at the period preceding Mahmoud, the traveller had journeyed through the courts of Europe, and taken the line of route, in sub-


[p.9]: sequent ages pursued by Timoor, by Byzantium, through Ghizni (adorned with the spoils of India), to Dehli, Canouj, and Anhulwara, how superior in all that constitutes civilization would the Rajpoot princes have appeared to him ! — in arts immeasurably so ; in arms by no means inferior. At that epoch, in the west, as in the east, every state was governed on feudal principles. Happily for Europe, the democratical principle gained admittance, and imparted a new character to her institutions ; while the third estate of India, indeed of Asia, remained permanently excluded from all share in the government which was supported by its labour, every pursuit but that of arms being deemed ignoble. To this cause, and the endless wars which feudality engenders, Rajpoot nationality fell a victim, when attacked by the means at command of the despotic kings of the north.

Shabudin, king of Ghor, taking advantage of these dissensions, invaded India. He first encountered Pirthiraj, the Chohan king of Dehli, the outwork and bulwark of India, which fell. Shabudin then attacked Jeichund, who was weakened by the previous struggle. Canouj put forth all her strength, but in vain ; and her monarch was the last son of " the Yavana of Parlipoor," who ruled on the banks of the Ganges. He met a death congenial to the Hindu, being drowned in the sacred stream in attempting to escape.

This event happened in S. 1249 (A.D. 1193), from which period the overgrown, gorgeous Canouj ceased to be a Hindu city, when the " thirty-six races" of vassal princes, from the Himalaya to the Vindhya, who served under the banners of " Bardai Sena,"* retired to their patrimonial estates But though the Rahtore name ceased to exist on the shores of the Ganges, destiny decreed that a scion should be preserved, to produce in a less favoured land a long line of kings ; that in thirty-one generations, his descendant. Raja Man, " Raj, Rajeswara" 'the king, the lord of kings,' should be as vainglorious of the sceptre of Maroo, as either Jeichund when he commanded divine honours, or his still more remote ancestor Nayn Pal fourteen centuries before, when he erected hLis throne in Canouj. The Rahtore may well boast of his pedigree, when he can trace it through a period of 1360 years, in lineal descent from male to male ; and contented with this, may leave to the mystic page of the bard, or the interpolated pages of the Puranas, the period preceding Nayn Pal.

* Another title of the monarch of Canouj, " the bard of the host," from which we are led to understand he was as well versed in the poetic art, as his rival, the Chohan prince of Dehli

Abstract of Chapter II

[p.10]: Emigration of Seoji and Saitram, grandsons of Jeichund. — Their arrival in the Western Desert, — Sketch of the tribes inhabiting the desert to the Indus at that epoch, — Seoji offers his services to the chief of Koloomud, — They are accepted. — He attacks Lakha Phoolana, the famed freebooter of Phoolra, who is defeated, — Saitram killed. — Seoji marries the Solankhis daughter. — Proceeds by Anhukwarra on his route to Dwarica. — Again encounters Lakha Phoolana, whom he slays in single combat, — Massacres the Dabeys of Mehwo, and the Gohils of Kherdhur. -Seoji establishes himself in " the land of Kher" — The Brahmin community of Palli invoke the aid of Seoji against the mountaineers, — Offer him lands, — Accepted, — Birth of a son. — Seoji massacres the Brahmins and usurps their lands, — Death of Seoji, — Leaves three sons, — The elder, Asot'hama, Succeeds, — The second, Soning, obtains Edur, — Ajmal, the third, conquers Okamundala, originates the Badhail tribe of that region. — Asot'thama leaves eight sons, heads of clans, — Doohur succeeds. — Attempts to recover Canouj. — Failure, — Attempts Mundore. — Slain, — Leaves seven sons. — Raepal succeeds. — Revenges his failures death. — His thirteen sons, — Their issues spread over Maroo, — Rao Kanhul succeeds, — Rao Jalhun, — Rao Chado, — Rao Theedo, — Carry on wars with the Bhattis and other tribes, — Conquest of Beenmahl. — Rao Siluk, — Rao Beerumdeo, killed in battle with the Johyas. — Clans, their issue. — Rao Chonda, — Conquers Mundore from the Purihar, — Assaults and obtains Nagore from the Imperialists, — Captures Nadole, capital of Godwar, — Marries the Princess of Mundore. — Fourteen sons and one daughter, who married Lakha Rana of Mewar, — Result of this marriage, — Feud between Irinkowal, fourth son of Chonda, and the Bhatti chieftain of Poogul, — Chonda slain at Nagore,— Rao Rinmul succeeds, — Resides at Cheetore, — Conquers Ajmer for the Rana, — Equalizes the weights and measures of Marwar, which he divides into departments, — Rao Rinmul slain. — Leaves twenty-four sons, whose issue constitute the present frerage of Marwar,— Table of clans.

Emigration of Seoji and Saitram, grandsons of Jeichund

In S. 1268 (A.D. 1212), eighteen years subsequent to the over-throw of Canouj, Seoji and Saitram, grandsons of its last monarch, abandoned the land of their birth, and with two hundred retainers, the wreck of their vassalage, journeyed westward to the desert, with the intent, according to some of the chronicles, of making a pilgrimage to the shrine of Dwarka ; but according to others, and with more probability, to carve their fortunes in fresh fields, unscathed by the luxuries in which they had been tried, and proud in their poverty and sole heritage, the glory of Canouj.

Geography of the tribes

Let us rapidly sketch the geography of the tribes over whom it was destined these emigrants of the Ganges should obtain the mastery, from the Jumna to the Indus, and the Garah river to the Aravulli hills.

  • First, on the east, the Cutchwahas, under Milaisi, whose father, Rao Pujoon, was killed in the war* of Canouj.
  • Ajmer, Sambhur, and the best lands of the Chohans, fell rapidly to the Islamite — though the strong-holds of the Aravulli yet sheltered
[p.11]: some, and Nadole continued for a century more to be governed by a descendant of Beesuldeo.
  • Mansi, Rana of the Eendoh tribe, a branch of the Purihars, still held Mundore, and the various Bhomias around paid him a feudal subjection as the first chief of the desert.
  • North-ward, about Nagore, lived the community of the Mohils (a name now extinct), whose chief place was Aureent, on which depended 1,440 villages.
  • The whole of the tracts now occupied by Bikaner to Bhatnair were partitioned into petty republics of Getes or Jits, whose history will hereafter be related.
  • Thence to the Garah river, the Johyas, Dyas, Cathae, Langahas, and other tribes whose names are now obliterated, partly by the sword, partly by conversion to Islamism.
  • The Bhattis had for centuries been established within the bounds they still inhabit, and little expected that this handful of Rahtores was destined to contract them.
  • The Soda princes adjoined the Bhattis south, and the
  • Jharejas occupied the valley of the Indus and Cutch.
  • The Solankhis intervened between them and the
  • Pramaras of Aboo and Chandravati, which completed the chain by junction with Nadole. Various chieftains of the more ancient races, leading a life of fearless independence, acknowledging an occasional submission to their more powerful neighbours, were scattered throughout this space ; such as the
  • Dabeys of Eedur and Mehwo ;
  • the Gohils of Kherd'hur ;
  • the Deoras of Sanchore ; and
  • Sonigurras of Jhalore ;
  • the Mohils of Aureent ;
  • the Sanklas of Sindli, &;c. ;
all of whom have either had their birth-right seized by the Rahtore, or the few who have survived and yet retain them, are enrolled amongst their allodial vassals.

The exploits of Seoji

The first exploit of Seoji was at Koloomud (twenty miles west of the city of Bikaner, not then in existence), the residence of a chieftain of the Solankhi tribe. He received the royal emigrants with kindness, and the latter repaid it by the offer of their services to combat his enemy, the Jhareja chieftain of Phoolra, well known in all the annals of the period, from the Sutlej to the ocean, as Lakha Phoolana, the most celebrated riever of Maroo, whose castle of Phoolra stood amidst the almost inaccessible sand-hills of the desert. By this timely succour, the Solankhi gained a victory over Lakha, but with the loss of Saitram and several of his band. In gratitude for this service, the Solankhi bestowed upon Seoji his sister in marriage, with an ample dower ; and he continued his route by Anhulwana Patun, where he was hospitably entertained by its prince, the shrine of Dwarica. It was the good fortune of Seoji again to encounter Lakha, whose wandering habits had brought him on a foray into the territory of Anhulwarra. Besides the love of glory and the ambition of maintaining the reputation of his race, he had the stimulus of revenge, and that of a brother's blood. He was successful, though he lost a nephew, slaying Lakha in single combat, which magnified his fame in all these regions, of which Phoolana was the scourge.

Flushed with success, we hear nothing of the completion of Seoji's

[p.12]: pilgrimage ; but obedient to the axiom of the Rajpoot, "get land," we find him on the banks of the Looni, exterminating, at a feast, the Dabeys of Mehwo,* and soon after the Gohils of Kherdhur,† whose chief, Mohesdas, fell by the sword of the grandson of Jeichund. Here, in the " land of Kher," amidst the sand-hills of the Looni, (the salt-river of the desert), from which the Gohils were expelled, Seoji planted the standard of the Rahtores.

At this period, a community of Brahmins held the city and extensive lands about Palli, from which they were termed Palliwal ; and being greatly harassed by the incursions of the mountaineers, the Mairs and Meenas, they called in the aid of Seoji's band, which readily undertook and executed the task of rescuing the Brahmins from their depredations. Aware that they would be renewed, they offered Seoji lands to settle amongst them, which were readily accepted ; and here he had a son by the Solankhani, to whom he gave the name of Asothama. With her, it is recorded, the suggestion originated to make himself lord of Palli ; and it affords another example of the disregard of the early Rajpoots for the sacred order, that on the Holi, or 'Saturnalia,' he found an opportunity to " obtain " land," putting to death the heads of this community, and adding the district to his conquests. Seoji outlived his treachery only twelve months, leaving his acquisitions as a nucleus for further additions to his children.

He had three sons, Asothama, Soning, and Ajmal.

One of the chronicles asserts that it was Asot'hama, the successor of Seoji, who conquered " the land of Kher" from the Gohils.

By the same species of treachery by which his father attained Palli, he lent his aid to establish his brother Soning in Eedur. This small principality, on the frontiers of Guzzerat, then appertained, as did Mehwo, to the Dabey race ; and it was during the maatum, or period of mourning for one of its princes; that the young Rahtore chose to obtain a new settlement. His descendants are distinguished as the Hatondia Rahtores.

The third brother, Uja, carried his forays as far as the extremity of the Saurashtra peninsula, where he decapitated Beekumsi, the Chawara chieftain of Okamundala,‡ and established himself. From this act his branch became known as the "Badlwil" ;§ and the Badhails are still in considerable number in that furthest track of ancient Hinduism called the " World's End."

Asot'hama died, leaving eight sons, who became the heads of clans, viz,, Doohur, Jopsi, Khimpsao, Bhopsoo, Dhandul, Jaitmal, Bandur,

:* The Dabey was one of the thirty-six royal races ; and this is almost the last mention of their holding independent possessions. See Vol. I, p. 105.

† In my last journey through these regions, I visited the chief of the Gohils at Bhaonuggur, in the Gulf of Cambay. I transcribed their defective annals, which trace their migration from " Kherdhur," but in absolute ignorance where it is ! See Vol. I, p. 104.
‡ On the western coast of the Saurashtra peninsula.
§ From bhada, 'to slay.'
Chapter II.

[p.13]: and Oohur ; of which, four, Doohur, Dhandul, Jaitmal, and Oohur, are yet known.

Doohur succeeded Asot'hama. He made an unsuccessful effort to recover Canouj ; and then attempted to wrest Mundore from the Purihars, but " watered their lands with his blood." He left seven sons, viz,, Raepal, Keerutpal, Behur, Peetul, Joogail, Daloo, and Begur.

Raepal succeeded, and revenged the death of his father, slaying the Purihar of Mundore, of which he even obtained temporary possession. He had a progeny of thirteen sons, who rapidly spread their issue over these regions.

He was succeeded by his son Kanhul, whose successor was his son Jalhun ; he was succeeded by his son Chado, whose successor was his son Theedo. All these carried on a desperate warfare with, and made conquests from, their neighboura Chado and Theedo are mentioned as very troublesome neighbours in the annals of the Bhattis of Jessulmer, who were compelled to carry the war against them into the " land of Kher." Rao Theedo took the rich district of Beenmahl from the Sonigurra, and made other additions to his territory from the Deoras and Balechas. He was succeeded by Siluk or Silko. His issue, the Silkavuts, now Bhomias, are yet numeroas both in Mehwo and Rardurro. Silko was succeeded by his son Beerumdeo, who attacked the Johyas of the north, and fell in battle. His descendants, styled Beerumote and Beejawut, from another son Beejo, are numerous at Saitroo, Sewanoh, and Daichoo. Beerumdeo was succeeded by his son Chonda, an important name in the annals of the Rahtores. Hitherto they had attracted notice by their valour and their raids, whenever there was a prospect of success ; but they had so multiplied in eleven generations, that they now essayed a higher flight. Collecting all the branches bearing the name of Rahtore, Chonda assaulted Mundore, slew the Purihar prince, and planted the banners of Canouj on the ancient capital of Maroo.

So fluctuating are the fortunes of the daring Rajpoot, ever courting distinction and coveting bhom, 'land,' that but a short time before this success, Chonda had been expelled from all the lands acquired by his ancestors, and was indebted to the hospitality of a bard of the Charun tribe, at Kaloo ; and they yet circulate the cavit, or quatrain, made by him when, in the days of his greatness, he came and was refused admittance to "the lord of Mundore ;" he took post under the balcony, and improvised a stanza, reminding him of the Charun of Kaloo :

Chonda nuhyn awe chith, Katchur Kaloo tinna? Bhoop bhyo bhy-bhith Mundavur ra malea?
Does not Chonda remember the porridge of Kaloo, now that the lord of the land looks so terrific from his balcony of Mundawur ?"

Once established in Mundore, he ventured to assault the imperial garrison of Nagore. Here he was also successful. Thence he carried his arms south, and placed his garrison in Nadole, the capital of the province of Godwar. He married a daughter of the Purihar prince,* who had the satisfaction

* He was of the Eendo branch of the Purihars, and his daughter is called the "Eendovatani"

[p.14]: to see his grandson succeed to the throne of Mundore.

Chonda was blessed with a progeny of fourteen sons, growing up to manhood around him. Their names were 1. Rinmul* 2. Sittto, 3. Rindheer, 4. Irin-kowal†- 5.Poonja, 6. Bheem, 7. Kana, 8. Ujo, 9. Ramdeo, 10. Beejo, 11. Sehesmul, 12. Bagh, 13. Loombo, 14. Seoraj.

Chonda had also one daughter named Hansa, married to Lakha Rana of Mewar, whose son was the celebrated Koombho. It was this marriage which caused that interference in the affairs of Mewar, which had such fatal results to both states.‡

The feud between his fourth son, Irinkowal, and the Bhatti prince of Poogul, being deemed singularly illustrative of the Rajpoot character, has been extracted from the annals of Jessulmer, in another part of this work.§

The Rahtore chronicler does not enter into details, but merely states the result, as ultimately involving the death of Chonda — simply that " he was slain at Nagore with one " thousand Rajpoots ;" and it is to the chronicles of Jessulmer we are indebted for our knowledge of the manner. Chonda acceded in S. 1438 (A.D. 1382), and was slain in S. 1465.

Rao Rinmul succeeded Chonda

Rinmul succeeded. His mother was of the Gohil tribe. In stature he was almost gigantic, and was the most athletic of all the athletes of his nation. With the death of Chonda, Nagore was again lost to the Rahtores. Rana Lakha presented Rinmul with the township of Durlo and forty villages upon his sister's marriage, when he almost resided at Cheetore, and was considered by the Rana as the first of his chiefs. With the forces of Mewar added to his own, under pretence of conveying a daughter to the viceroy of Ajmer, he introduced his adherents into that renowned fortress, the ancient capital of the Chohans, putting the garrison to the sword, and thus restored it to Mewar. Khemsi Pancholi, the adviser of this measure, was rewarded with a grant of the township of Kaatoh, then lately captured from the Kaim-Khanis. Rinmul went on a pilgrimage to Gaya, and paid the tax exacted for all the pilgrims then assembled.

The bard seldom intrudes the relation of civil affairs into his page, and when he does, it is incidentally. It would be folly to suppose that the princes of Maroo had no legislative recorders ; but with these the poet had no bond of union. He, however, condescends to inform us of an important measure of Rao Rinmul, namely, that he equalized the weights and measures throughout his dominions, which he divided as at present. The last act of Rinmul, in treacherously attempting to usurp the throne of the infant Rana of Mewar, was deservedly punished, and he was slain by the faithful Chonda, as related in the annals of that state.|| This feud originated the line of demarcation of the two states, and which remained unaltered

:* The descendants of those whose names are in italics still exist.

† This is the prince mentioned in the extraordinary feud related (vol. i, p. 539) from the annals of Jessulmer. Incidentally, we have frequent synchronisms in the annals of these states, which, however slight, are of high import.
‡ See Vol. I, p. 231.
§ Page 639.
|| Page 236.
¶ Page 237.

[p.15]: until recent times, when Marwar at length touched the Aravulli. Rao Rinmul left twenty-four sons, whose issue, and that of his eldest son, Joda, found the great vassalage of Marwar. For this reason, however barren is a mere catalogue of names, it is of the utmost value to those who desire to see the growth of the frerage of such a community.*

Names are:

  • 1. Joda (succeeded)
  • 2. Kandul
  • 3. Champa
  • 4. Akhiraj
  • 5. Mandlo
  • 6. Patta
  • 7. Lakha
  • 8. Bala
  • 9. Jaitmul
  • 10. Kurno
  • 11. Koopa
  • 12. Nathoo
  • 13. Doongra
  • 14. Sanda
  • 15. Mando
  • 16. Biroo
  • 17. Jugmal
  • 18. Hampo
  • 19. Sakto
  • 20. Kerimchund
  • 21. Urival
  • 22. Ketsi
  • 23. Sutrosai
  • 24. Tezmal
* It is only by the possession of such knowledge, that we can exercise with justice our right of universal arbitration.

Chapter III

[p.18] (part): Joda had fourteen sons, viz, :

  • 1. Santul, or Satil
  • 2. Soojoh (Sooraj) Succeeded Joda.
  • 3. Gomoh No issue.
  • 4. Doodoh
  • 5. Birsing
  • 6. Beeko
  • 7. Bharmul
  • 8. Seoraj
  • 9. Kunnsi
  • 10. Raemul
  • 11. Samutsi
  • 12. Beeda
  • 13. Bunhur
  • 14. Neembo

[p.19] (part): The sixth son, Beeko, followed the path already trod by his undo Kandul, with whom he united, and conquered the tracts possessed by the six Jit communities. He erected a city, which he called after himself Beekaner, or Bikaner.

Joda outlived the foundation of his new capital thirty years, and beheld his sons and grandsons rapidly peopling and subjugating the regions of Maroo. In S. 1545, aged sixty-one, he departed this life, and his ashes were housed with those of his fathers, in the ancestral abode of Mundore. This prince, the second founder of his race in these regions, was mainly indebted to the adversities of early life for the prosperity his later years enjoyed ; they led him to the discovery of worth in the more ancient, but neglected, allodial proprietors displaced by his ancestors, and driven into the least accessible regions of the desert. It was by their aid he was enabled to redeem Mundore, when expelled by the Gehlotes, and he nobly preserved the remembrance thereof in the day of his prosperity. The warriors whose forms are sculptured from the living rock at Mundore, owe the perpetuity of their fame to the gratitude of Joda ; through them he not only recovered, but enlarged his dominions.† In less than three centuries after their migration from Canouj, the Rahtores, the issue of Seoji, spread over a surface of four degrees of longitude and the same extent of latitude, or nearly 80,000 miles square, and they amount at this day, in spite of the havoc occasioned by perpetual wars and famine, to 500,000 souls. While we thus contemplate the renovation of the Rahtore race, from a single scion of that magnificent tree, whose branches once overehadowed the plains of Ganga, let us withdraw from oblivion some of the many noble names they displaced, which now live only in the poets page. Well may the Rajpoot repeat the ever-recurring simile,

"All is unstable ; life is like the scintillation of the fire-fly ; house and land will depart, but a good name will last for ever !"

What a list of noble tribes could we enumerate now erased from independent existence by the successes of " the children of Seva" (Seva-putra)‡ Puriharas, Eendos, Sanklas, Chohans, Gohils, Dabeys, Sindhils, Mohils, Sonigurras, Cattis, Jits, Hools, &;c., and the few who still exist only as retainers of the Rahtore.

Soojoh§ (Soorajmul) succeeded, and occupied the gadi of Joda during twenty-seven years, and had at least the merit of adding to the stock of Seoji.

* See Vol. I, p. 243.
† See Vol I, p. 624.
‡ Seoji is the Bhaka for Seva ; — the J* is merely an adjunct of respect
§ One of the chronicles makes Satil occupy the gadi after Joda, during three years ; but this appears a mistake — he was killed in defending Satulmer.
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