CHAPTER 4
Rāthor Settlement at Jaisalmer. Dūda Rāwal, A.D. 1295-1306.
Gharsi Rāwal, A.D. 1306-35. Jaisalmer restored.
The Adoption of Kehar. Rāwal Gharsi assassinated.
The coco-nut was sent by Kumbha, Rana of Chitor, to Jetha. The Bhatti prince marched for Mewar, and when within twelve coss of the Aravalli hills, was joined by the famous Sankhla Miraj, chief of Salbahni. Next morning, when about to resume the march, a partridge began to call from the right; a bad omen, which was interpreted by the brother-in-law of the Sankhla, deeply versed in the science of the Suguni and the language of birds.[[6]] Jetha drew the rein of his horse, and to avert the evil, halted that day. Meanwhile, the partridge was caught and found to be blind of an eye, and its ovary quite filled. The next morning, as soon as they had taken horse, a tigress began to roar, and the Suguni chieftain was again called upon to expound the omen. He replied that the secrets of great houses should not be divulged, but he desired them to dispatch a youth, disguised as a female Nai (barber class), to Kumbhalmer, who there would learn the cause. The youth gained admission to ‘the ruby of Mewar’ (Lala Mewari), who was anointing for the nuptials. He saw things were not right, and returning made his report; upon hearing which, the Bhatti prince married Marad, the daughter of the Sankhla chief. The Rana was indignant at this insult, but a sense of shame prevented his resenting it; and instead of proclaiming the slight, he offered his daughter’s hand to the famous Khichi prince, Achaldas of Gagraun, and it was accepted.[[7]] Jetha met his death, together with his brother Lunkaran, and his brother-in-law, in an attempt to surprise Pugal: he fell with a hundred and twenty followers. When the old Rao, Raningdeo, discovered against whom he had thus successfully defended himself, he clad himself in black garments [256], and in atonement performed pilgrimage to all the shrines in India.[[8]] On his return, he was forgiven and condoled with by Kehar.
Lachhman Rāwal, c. A.D. 1402.
When the sons of Raningdeo became converts to Islam, in order to avenge their father’s feud with the Rathor prince of Nagor, they forfeited their inheritance of Pugal and Marot, and thenceforward mixed with the Aboharia Bhattis, and their descendants are termed Mumin Musalman Bhatti. On this event, Kailan, the third son of the Rawal, took possession of the forfeited lands, and besides Bikampur, regained Derawar, which had been conquered by their ancient foes, the Dahya Rajputs.
Kailan built a fort on the Bias, called, after his father, Kara, or Karor, which again brought the Bhattis into collision with the Johyas and Langahas, whose chief, Amir Khan Korai, attacked him, but was defeated. Kailan became the terror of the Chahils,[[11]] the Mohils,[[11]] and Johyas,[[11]] who lived in this quarter, and his authority extended as far as the Panjnad. Kailan married into the Samma family of Jam,[[12]] and [257] arbitrated their disputes on succession, which had caused much bloodshed. Shujaat Jam, whom he supported, accompanied him to Marot, on whose death, two years after, Kailan possessed himself of all the Samma territory, when the Sind River became the boundary of his dominion. Kailan died at the age of seventy-two, and was succeeded by[[13]]
Chāchakdeo Rāwal, c. A.D. 1448.
War with the Khokhars.
Heroic Death of Rāwal Chachakdeo.
The battle lasted four gharis (two hours), and the Jadon prince fell with all his kin after performing prodigies of valour. Two thousand Khans fell beneath their swords; rivers of blood flowed in the field; but the Bhatti gained the abode of Indra, who shared his throne with the hero. The king crossed the Bias, and returned to Multan.
While Randhir was performing at Derawar the rites of the twelve days of matam, or ‘mourning,’ his elder brother, Kumbha, afflicted with insanity, rushed into the assembly and swore to avenge his father’s death. That day he departed, accompanied by a single slave, and reached the prince’s camp. It was surrounded by a [260] ditch eleven yards wide, over which the Bhatti leaped his horse in the dead of night, reached the harem, and cut off the head of Kalu Shah, with which he rejoined his brethren at Derawar. Barsal re-established Dhuniapur, and then went to Kahror. His old foes, the Langahas, under Haibat Khan, again attacked him, but they were defeated with great slaughter. At the same time, Husain Khan Baloch invaded Bikampur.[[26]]
Rāwal Bersi, c. A.D. 1436-40.
We may, in this place, desert the literal narrative of the chronicle; what follows is a record of similar border-feuds and petty wars, between ‘the sons of Kailan’[[28]] and the chiefs of the Panjab, alternately invaders and invaded, which is pregnant with mighty words and gallant deeds, but yielding no new facts of historical value. At length the numerous offspring of Kailan separated, and divided amongst them the lands on both sides of the Gara; and as Sultan Babur soon after this period made a final conquest of Multan from the Langahas, and placed therein his own governor, in all probability the Bhatti possessors of Kahrorkot and Dhuniapur, as well as Pugal and Marot (now Muhammadans), exchanged their faith (sanctioned even by Manu) for the preservation of their estates.[[29]] The bard is so much occupied with this Pugal branch that the chronicle appears almost devoted solely to them.
He passes from the main stem, Rawal Bersi, to Rawals Jeth, Nunkaran, Bhim, Manohardas, to Sabal Singh, five generations, with little further notice than the mere enumeration of their issue. With this last prince, Sabal Singh, an important change occurred in the political condition of the Bhattis [261].
[1]. [If the dates are approximately correct, this was Jalālu-d-dīn Fīroz Shāh, Sultān of Delhi, A.D. 1290-96.]
[2]. The Rajputs, by their exterminating sakhas, facilitated the views of the Muhammadans. In every State we read of these horrors.
[3]. The mere act of being betrothed disqualifies from a second marriage; the affianced becomes a rand (widow), though a kumari (maid).
[4]. Even these anachronisms are proofs of the fidelity of these Annals. Ignorant native scribes, aware but of one great Moghul invasion, consider the invader to be Timur; but there were numerous Moghul invasions during the reign of Alau-d-din. In all probability that for which the services of the Bhatti prince obtained him the restoration of his dominions was that of Ibak Khan, general of the king of Transoxiana, who invaded India in A.H. 705 (A.D. 1305), and was so signally defeated that only three thousand out of fifty-seven thousand horse escaped the sword, and these were made prisoners and trod to death by elephants, when pillars of skulls were erected to commemorate the victory.—See Briggs’ Ferishta, vol. i. p. 363 f. [Elliot-Dowson iii. 199.]
[5]. [Another version of a common folk-tale (Vol. I. [342]).]
[6]. It is scarcely necessary to repeat that this is a free translation of the chronicle.
[7]. The Khichi prince, we may suppose, had no follower skilled in omens—they lived very happily, as appears by the Khichi chronicle, and she bore him a son, who was driven from Gagraun. The scandal propagated against the ‘ruby of Mewar’ was no doubt a ruse of the Sankhla chief, as the conclusion shows. However small the intrinsic worth of these anecdotes, they afford links of synchronisms, which constitute the value of the annals of all these States.
[8]. Sadhu was the son and heir of Raningdeo, and it was from this portion of the Bhatti annals I extracted that singular story, related at p. 730, to illustrate the influence which the females of Rajputana have on national manners. The date of this tragical event was S. 1462, according to the Bhatti annals; and Rana Mokal, the contemporary of Rawal Jeth and Rao Raningdeo, was on the throne of Mewar from S. 1454 to S. 1475. The annals of this State (Vol. I. p. [331]) notice the marriage of the ‘Ruby’ to Dhiraj, son of Achaldas, but say nothing on the other point. A vague recollection of some matrimonial insult being offered evidently yet prevails, for when a marriage was contracted in A.D. 1821, through the Author’s intervention, between the Rana of Udaipur’s daughter and the present Rawal Gaj Singh of Jaisalmer, it was given out that there was no memorial of any marriage-alliance between the two houses. After all, it may be a vainglorious invention of the Bhatti annalist.
[9]. [The date of Lachhman Rāwal is uncertain. Inscriptions at Jaisalmer mention him as reigning in A.D. 1402 and 1416 (Erskine iii. B. 9).]
[10]. The term basai has been explained in Vol. I. p. [206]. The Basai is a slave in the mildest sense; one who in distress sells his liberty. His master cuts the choti, or lock of hair, from the centre of the head, as a mark of bondage. They are transferable, like cattle. This custom prevails more in the desert States than in central Rajwara; there every great man has his Basai. Shyam Singh Champawat of Pokaran had two hundred when he fled to Jaipur, and they all fell with him fighting against the Mahrattas. All castes, Brahmans and Rajputs, become Basais; they can redeem their liberty by purchase.
[11]. These three tribes are either extinct, or were lost on becoming proselytes to Islam.
[12]. The Sama or Samma tribe, which is well known in Muhammadan history, as having given a dynasty to Sind in modern times, is a great branch of the Yadus, and descended from Samba, son of Krishna; and while the other branch colonized Zabulistan, maintaining the original name of Yadus, the sons of Samba made his name the patronymic in Seistan and the lower valley of the Indus. Samma-ka-kot, or Sammanagari, was the capital, which yet exists, and doubtless originated the Minnagara of the Greeks. Sambos, the opponent of Alexander, it is fair to infer, was the chief of the Samma tribe. Samba, meaning ‘of, or belonging to, Sham or Syama’ (an epithet of Krishna, from his dark complexion), was son of Jambuvati, one of the eight wives of this deified Yadu. The Jarejas of Cutch and Jams of Sind and Saurashtra are of the same stock. The Sind-Samma dynasty, on the loss of their faith and coming into contact with Islam, to which they became proselytes, were eager to adopt a pedigree which might give them importance in the eyes of their conquerors; Sam was transformed into Jam, and the Persian king, Jamshīd, was adopted as the patriarch of the Sammas, in lieu of the legitimate Samba. Ferishta gives an account of this dynasty, but was ignorant of their origin. He says, “The Zemindars of Sinde were originally of two tribes or families, Somuna and Soomura; and the chief of the former was distinguished by the appellation of Jam.”—Briggs’ Ferishta, vol. iv. p. 424. The historian admits they were Hindus until A.H. 782 (A.D. 1380, S. 1436); a point of little doubt, as we see the Bhatti prince intermarrying with this family about twenty years subsequent even to the date assigned by Ferishta for their proselytism. I may here again state, once for all, that I append these notes in order not to interfere with the text, which is abridged from the original chronicle.
[13]. It is said that Ranmall succeeded; but this was only to the northern portion, his appanage: he lived but two months.
[14]. Probably a branch of the Panwārs (Rose, Glossary, ii. 240).
[15]. Position unknown, unless it be the Tchin-kot of D’Anville at the confluence of the river of Kabul with the Indus. There is no doubt that this castle of the Bhatti prince was in the Panjab; and coupled with his alliance with the chief of Sehat or Swat, that it is the Tchin-kot, or Ashnagar of that celebrated geographer, whence the Acesines of the Greeks. [The Acesines or Chīnāb is the Vedik Asikni.]
[16]. I may here repeat that the Janjūa or Janjūba and Johya were no doubt branches of the same race; the Janjūha of Babur, who locates them about the mountains of Jud. [(Rose,[(Rose,] Glossary, ii. 353 f.; ASR, ii. 17).]
[17]. Now belonging to Marwar, and on its north-western frontier; but I believe in ruins. [Near Pokaran, 85 miles N.W. of Jodhpur city. It is in ruins.]
[18]. Most likely the Swatis, or people of Swat, described by Mr. Elphinstone (Vol. I. p. [506]) as of Indian origin, and as possessing a kingdom from the Hydaspes to Jalalabad, the Souastene of Ptolemy. [Souastēnē is the basin of the Souastos, the river of Swāt, the original form of the name being Subhavastu, which, by the usual mode of contraction, becomes Subhāstu or Suvāstu (McCrindle, Ptolemy, 106 f.). It seems hardly likely that this tribe interfered in the politics of the Indian desert.]
[19]. It must not be forgotten that Satalmer was one of the Bhatti castles wrested from them by the Rathors, who have greatly curtailed their frontiers.
[20]. From this and many other instances we come to the conclusion that the Tatar or Indo-Scythic title of Khan is by no means indicative of the Muhammadan faith. Here we see the daughter of the prince of Swat, or Suvat, with a genuine Hindi name.
[21]. The position of Pilibanga is unknown; in all probability it has undergone a metamorphosis with the spread of ‘the faith’ over these regions. As before mentioned, I believe this race called Khokhar to be the Gakkhar, so well known to Babur, and described as his inveterate foes in all his irruptions into India. Their manners, especially that distinctive mark, polyandry, mentioned by Ferishta, mark the Ghakkars as Indo-Scythic. The names of their chiefs are decidedly Hindu. They were located with the Judis in the upper part of the Panjab, and, according to Elphinstone, they retain their old position, contiguous to the Yusufzai Jadons. [See Rose, Glossary, ii. 540. They have no connexion with the Rājput Jādons.]
[22]. Dhuniapur is not located.
[23]. In this chivalrous challenge, or demand of the Juddhdan, we recognize another strong trait of Scythic manners, as depicted by Herodotus. The ancient Getae of Transoxiana could not bear the idea of dying of disease; a feeling which his offspring carried with them to the shores of the Baltic, to Yeut-land, or Jutland! [?]
[24]. This fortress, erected by Rao Kailan, is stated to be twenty-two coss, about forty miles, from Bahawalpur; but though the direction is not stated, there is little doubt of its being to the northward, most probably in that duab called Sind-Sagar. [Probably Kahror in Multān District, about 20 miles from Bahāwalpur.]
[25]. Couple this martial rite with the demand of Juddhdan, and there is an additional reason for calling these Yadus Indo-Scythic. See p. [680] for an account of the worship of the sword, or Khadga-sthapna.
[26]. The foregoing (from p. [1219]), including the actions of Kailan, Chachak, and Barsal, must be considered as an episode, detailing the exploits of the Raos of Pugal, established by Kailan, third son of Rawal Kehar of Jaisalmer. It was too essential to the annals to be placed in a note.
[27]. [Rāwal Bersi, son of Lachhman, son of Kehar, is mentioned in inscriptions as Chief of Jaisalmer, A.D. 1436, and 1440 (Erskine iii. B. 9)].]
[28]. Rao Kailan had established his authority over nine castles, heads of districts, namely, Asini, or Aswinikot, Bikampur, Marot, Pugal, Derawar, Kahror (twenty-two coss, or about forty miles, from Bahawalpur), Guman, Bahan, Nadno, and Matela, on the Indus.
[29]. There never was anything so degrading to royalty as the selfish protection guaranteed to it by this Lycurgus of the Hindus, who says, “Against misfortune, let him preserve his wealth; at the expense of his wealth, let him preserve his wife; but let him at all events preserve himself, even at the hazard of his wife and riches.”—Manu, Laws, vii. 213. The entire history of the Rajputs shows they do not pay much attention to such unmanly maxims.