CHAPTER 1
Having never penetrated personally farther into the heart of the desert than Mandor, the ancient capital of all Marusthali, the old castle of Hissar on its north-eastern frontier, and Abu, Nahrwala, and Bhuj, to the south, it may be necessary, before entering upon the details, to deprecate the charge of presumption or incompetency, by requesting the reader to bear in mind that my parties of discovery have traversed it in every direction, adding to their journals of routes living testimonies of their accuracy, and bringing to me natives of every thal from Bhatner to Umarkot, and from Abu to Aror.[[1]] I wish it, however, to be clearly understood, that I look upon this as a mere outline, which, by showing what might be done, may stimulate further research; but in the existing dearth of information on the subject I have not hesitated to send it forth, with its almost inevitable errors, as (I trust) a pioneer to more extended and accurate knowledge.
After premising thus much, let us commence with details, which, but for the reasons already stated, should have been comprised in the geographical portion of the work, and which, though irrelevant to the historical part, are too important to be [290] thrown into notes. I may add, that the conclusions formed, partly from personal observation, but chiefly from the resources described above, have been confirmed by the picture drawn by Mr. Elphinstone of his passage through the northern desert in the embassy to Kabul, which renders perfectly satisfactory to me the views I before entertained. It may be well, at this stage, to mention that some slight repetitions must occur as we proceed, having incidentally noticed many of the characteristic features of the desert in the Annals of Bikaner, which was unavoidable from the position of that State.[State.]
Description of the Desert.
Boundaries of the Desert.
We may here repeat the tradition illustrating the geography of the desert, i.e. that in remote ages it was ruled by princes of the Panwar (Pramara) race, which the sloka, or verse of the bard, recording the names of the nine fortresses (Nau-koti Maru-ki), so admirably adapted by their position to maintain these regions in subjection, further corroborates. We shall divest it of its metrical form, and begin with Pugal, to the north; Mandor, in the centre of all Maru; Abu, Kheralu, and Parkar, to the south; Chhotan, Umarkot, Aror, and Lodorva, to the west; the possession of which assuredly marks the sovereignty of the desert. The antiquity of this legend is supported by the omission of all modern cities, the present capital of the Bhattis not being mentioned. Even Lodorva and Aror, cities for ages in ruins, are names known only to a few who frequent the desert; and Chhotan and Kheralu, but for the traditional stanzas which excited our research, might never have appeared on the map.
Natural Divisions of the Desert.
The whole of Bikaner, and that part of Shaikhavati north of the Aravalli, are comprehended in the desert. If the reader will refer to the map, and look for the town of Kanod,[[2]] within the British frontier, he will see what Mr. Elphinstone considered as the commencement of the desert, in his interesting expedition to Kabul.[[3]] “From Delly to Canound (the Kanorh of my map), a distance of one hundred miles is through the British dominions, and need not be described. It is sufficient to say that the country is sandy, though not ill cultivated. On approaching Canound, we had the first specimen of the desert, to which we were looking forward with anxious curiosity. Three miles before reaching that place we came to sand-hills, which at first were [292] covered with bushes, but afterwards were naked piles of loose sand, rising one after another like the waves of the sea, and marked on the surface by the wind like drifted snow. There were roads through them, made solid by the treading of animals; but off the road our horses sunk into the sand above the knee.” Such was the opening scene; the route of the embassy was by Singhana, Jhunjhunu, to Chum, when they entered Bikaner. Of Shaikhavati, which he had just left, Mr. Elphinstone says: “It seems to lose its title to be included in the desert, when compared with the two hundred and eighty miles between its western frontier and Bahawulpoor, and, even of this, only the last hundred miles is absolutely destitute of inhabitants, water, or vegetation. Our journey from Shekhavati to Poogul was over hills and valleys of loose and heavy sand. The hills were exactly like those which are sometimes formed by the wind on the seashore, but far exceeding them in height, which was from twenty to a hundred feet. They are said to shift their position and alter their shapes according as they are affected by the wind; and in summer the passage is rendered dangerous by the clouds of moving sand; but when I saw the hills (in winter), they seemed to have a great degree of permanence, for they bore grass, besides phoke, the babool, and bair or jujube, which altogether give them an appearance that sometimes amounted to verdure. Amongst the most dismal hills of sand one occasionally meets with a village, if such a name can be given to a few round huts of straw, with low walls and conical roofs, like little stacks of corn.” This description of the northern portion of the desert, by an author whose great characteristics are accuracy and simplicity, will enable the reader to form a more correct notion of what follows.[[4]]
With these remarks, and bearing in mind what has already been said of the physiography of these regions, we proceed to particularize the various thals and oases in this ‘region of death.’ It will be convenient to disregard the ancient Hindu geographical division, which makes Mandor the capital of Marusthali, a distinction both from its character and position better suited to Jaisalmer, being nearly in the centre of what may be termed entire desert. It is in fact an oasis, everywhere insulated by immense masses of thal, some of which are forty miles in breadth, without the trace of man, or aught that could subsist him. From Jaisalmer we shall pass to Marwar, and without crossing the Luni, describe Jalor and Siwanchi; then conduct the [293] reader into the almost unknown Raj of Parkar and Virawah,[[5]] governed by princes of the Chauhan race, with the title of Rana. Thence, skirting the political limits of modern Rajputana, to the regions of Dhat and Umra-sumra, now within the dominion of Sind, we shall conclude with a very slight sketch of Daudputra, and the valley of the Indus. These details will receive further illustration from the remarks made on every town or hamlet diverging from the ‘hill of Jaisal’ (Jaisalmer). Could the beholder, looking westward from this ‘triple-peaked hill,’[[6]] across this sandy ocean to the blue waters (Nilab)[[7]] of the Indus, embrace in his vision its whole course from Haidarabad to Uchh, he would perceive, amidst these valleys of sand-hills, little colonies of animated beings, congregated on every spot which water renders habitable. Throughout this tract, from four hundred to five hundred miles in longitudinal extent, and from one hundred to two hundred of diagonal breadth, are little hamlets, consisting of the scattered huts of the shepherds of the desert, occupied in pasturing their flocks or cultivating these little oases for food. He may discern a long line of camels (called kitar, a name better known than either kafila or karwan), anxiously toiling through the often doubtful path, and the Charan conductor, at each stage, tying a knot on the end of his turban. He may discover, lying in ambush, a band of Sahariyas, the Bedouins of our desert (sahra),[[8]] either mounted on camels or horses, on the watch to despoil the caravan, or engaged in the less hazardous occupation of driving off the flocks of the Rajar or Mangalia shepherds, peacefully tending them about the tars or bawas, or hunting for the produce stored amidst the huts of the ever-green jhal,[[9]] which serve at once as grain-pits and shelter from the sun. A migratory band may be seen flitting with their flocks from ground which they have exhausted, in search of fresh pastures:
And if the following day they chance to find
A new repast, or an untasted spring,
Will bless their stars, and think it luxury!
Or they may be seen preparing the rabri, a mess quite analogous to the kouskous of their Numidian brethren, or quenching their thirst from the Wah of their little oasis, of which they maintain sovereign possession so long as the pasture lasts, or till they come in conflict with some more powerful community.
Oasis.
At the risk of somewhat of repetition, we must here point out the few grand features which diversify this sea of sand, and after defining the difference between rui and thal, which will frequently occur in the itinerary, at once plunge in medias res.
The Lost River of the Desert.
The Lūni River.
The Rann of Cutch.
Thal, Rūi.
Thal of the Luni.
Jālor.
Sonagir, the ‘golden mount,’ is the more ancient name of this castle, and was adopted by the Chauhans as distinctive of their tribe, when the older term, Mallani, was dropped for Sonigira. Here they enshrined their tutelary divinity, Mallinath, ‘god of the Malli,’ who maintained his position until the sons of Siahji entered these regions, when the name of Sonagir was exchanged for that of Jalor, contracted from Jalandharnath, whose shrine is about a coss west of the castle. Whether Jalandharnath [297], the ‘divinity of Jalandhar,’ was imported from the Ganges, or left as well as the god of the Malli by the ci-devant Mallanis, is uncertain: but should this prove to be a remnant of the foes of Alexander, driven by him from Multan,[[19]] its probability is increased by the caves of Jalandhar (so celebrated as a Hindu pilgrimage even in Babur’s time) being in their vicinity. Be this as it may, the Rathors, like the Roman conquerors, have added these indigenous divinities to their own pantheon. The descendants of the expatriated Sonigiras now occupy the lands of Chitalwana, near the furca of the Luni.
Jalor comprehends the inferior districts of Siwanchi, Bhinmal, Sanchor, Morsin, all attached to the khalisa or fisc; besides the great pattayats, or chieftainships, of Bhadrajan, Mewa, Jasola, and Sindari—a tract of ninety miles in length, and nearly the same in breadth, with fair soil, water near the surface, and requiring only good government to make it as productive as any of its magnitude in these regions, and sufficient to defray the whole personal expenses of the Rajas of Jodhpur, or about nine lakhs of rupees; but in consequence of the anarchy of the capital, the corruption of the managers, and the raids of the Sahariyas of the desert and the Minas of Abu and the Aravalli, it is deplorably deteriorated. There are several ridges (on one of which is the castle) traversing the district, but none uniting with the table-land of Mewar, though with breaks it may be traced to near Abu. In one point it shows its affinity to the desert, i.e. in its vegetable productions, for it has no other timber than the jhal, the babul, the karil, and other shrubs of the thal.
The important fortress of Jalor, guarding the southern frontier of Marwar, stands on the extremity of the range extending north to Siwana. It is from three to four hundred feet in height, fortified with a wall and bastions, on some of which cannon are mounted. It has four gates; that from the town is called the Suraj-pol, and to the north-west is the Bal-pol (‘the gate of Bal,’ the sun-god), where there is a shrine of the Jain pontiff, Parsvanath. There are many wells, and two considerable baoris, or reservoirs of good water, and to the north a small lake formed by damming up the streams from the hills; but the water seldom lasts above half the year. The town [298], which contains three thousand and seventeen houses, extends on the north and eastern side of the fort, having the Sukri flowing about a mile east of it. It has a circumvallation as well as the castle, having guns for its defence; and is inhabited by every variety of tribe, though, strange to say, there are only five families of Rajputs in its motley population. The following census was made by one of my parties, in A.D. 1813:
| Houses. | |
| Malis, or gardeners | 140 |
| Telis, or oilmen, here called Ghanchi | 100 |
| Kumhars, or potters | 60 |
| Thatheras, or braziers | 30 |
| Chhipis, or printers | 20 |
| Bankers, merchants, and shopkeepers | 1156 |
| Musalman families | 936 |
| Khatiks, or butchers | 20 |
| Nais, or barbers | 16 |
| Kalals, or spirit-distillers | 20 |
| Weavers | 100 |
| Silk weavers | 15 |
| Yatis (Jain priests) | 2 |
| Brahmans | 100 |
| Gujars | 40 |
| Rajputs | 5 |
| Bhojaks[[20]] | 20 |
| Minas | 60 |
| Bhils | 15 |
| Sweetmeat shops | 8 |
| Ironsmiths and carpenters (Lohars and Sutars) | 14 |
| Churiwalas, or bracelet-manufacturers | 4 |
The general accuracy of this census was confirmed.
Sīwāna.
Machola, Morsin.
Bhīnmāl, Sānchor.
Bhadrājan.
Mewa.
Bālotra, Tīlwāra.
Īndhāvati.
Gūgadeo ka Thal.
Tararoi.
Khawar.
Mallināth, Bārmer.
Kherdhar.
Jūna Chhotan.
Nagar Gurha.
Here terminate our remarks on the thals of western Marwar, which, sterile as it is by the hand of Nature, had its miseries completed by the famine that raged generally throughout these regions in S. 1868 (A.D. 1812), and of which this[[32]] is the third year. The disorders which we have depicted as prevailing at the seat of government for the last thirty years, have left these remote regions entirely to the mercy of the desert tribes [304], or their own scarce less lawless lords: in fact, it only excites our astonishment how man can vegetate in such a land, which has nothing but a few sars, or salt-lakes, to yield any profit to the proprietors, and the excellent camel pastures, more especially in the southern tracts, which produce the best breed in the desert.
[1]. The journals of all these routes, with others of Central and Western India, form eleven moderate-sized folio volumes, from which an itinerary of these regions might be constructed. It was my intention to have drawn up a more perfect and detailed map from these, but my health forbids the attempt. They are now deposited in the archives of the Company, and may serve, if judiciously used, to fill up the only void in the great map of India, executed by their commands.
[2]. [Kānod Mohindargarh in Patiāla State (IGI, xvii. 385).]
[3]. It left Delhi October 13, 1808.
[4]. “Our marches,” says Mr. Elphinstone, “were seldom very long. The longest was twenty-six miles, and the shortest fifteen; but the fatigue which our people suffered bore no proportion to the distance. Our line, when in the closest order, was two miles long. The path by which we travelled wound much, to avoid the sand-hills. It was too narrow to allow of two camels going abreast; and if an animal stepped to one side, it sunk in the sand as in snow,” etc. etc.—Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, ed. 1842, vol. i. p. 11.
[5]. [In Sind, on the N. shore of the Great Rann, about 10 miles from Nagar-Pārkar.]
[6]. Trikuta, the epithet bestowed on the rock on which the castle of Jaisalmer is erected.
[7]. A name often given by Ferishta to the Indus.
[8]. [As has been already stated, Sahariya has no connexion with Arabic Sahra, ‘desert.’]
[9]. [Jhāl, of which there are two varieties, large and small, Salvadora persica and S. oleoides.]
[10]. When I penned this conjectural etymology, I was not aware that any speculation had been made upon this word: I find, however, the late M. Langlés suggested the derivation of oasis (variously written by the Greeks αὔασις, ἴασις and υἅσις, ὄασις, [αὔασις is the only other recognized form]) from the Arabic واح: and Dr. Wait, in a series of interesting etymologies (see Asiatic Journal, May 1830), suggests वसि, vasi from वस, vas, ‘to inhabit.’ Vasi and ὕασις quasi vasis are almost identical. My friend, Sir W. Ouseley, gave me nearly the same signification of وادي, Wadi, as appears in Johnson’s edition of Richardson, namely, a valley, a desert, a channel of a river—a river; وادي, wadi-al-kabir, ‘the great river,’ corrupted into Guadalquiver, which example is also given in d’Herbelot (see Vadi Gehennem), and by Thompson, who traces the word water through all the languages of Europe—the Saxon waeter, the Greek ὔδωρ, the Islandic udr, the Slavonic wod (whence woder and oder, ‘a river’): all appear derivable from the Arabic wad, ‘a river’—or the Sanskrit wah; and if Dr. W. will refer to p. [1322] of the Itinerary, he will find a singular confirmation of his etymology in the word bas (classically vas) applied to one of these habitable spots. The word basti, also of frequent occurrence therein, is from basna, to inhabit; vasi, an inhabitant; or vas, a habitation, perhaps derivable from wah, indispensable to an oasis! [The New English Dict. gives Lat. oasis, Greek ὄασις, apparently of Egyptian origin; cf. Coptic ouahe (whence Egyptian Arabic wāh), ‘dwelling-place, oasis,’ from ouih, ‘to dwell.’]
[11]. [See IGI, xii. 212 f.; E. H. Aitken, Gazetteer of Sind, 4; Calcutta Review, 1874; JRAS, xxv. 49 ff.]
[12]. [The derivation of Pārkar is unknown; that suggested in the text is impossible.]
[13]. [Nārāyansar, an important place of pilgrimage, with interesting temples, is situated at the Kori entrance of the W. Rann (BG, v. 245 ff.).]
[14]. [Or irina, Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 2nd ed. 774.]
[15]. [Equus hemionus (Blanford, Mammalia of India, 470 f.; Job xxxix. 5 ff.).]
[16]. “The greatest breadth of the valley of the Nile is four leagues, the least, one”; so that the narrowest portion of the valley of Sind equals the largest of the Nile. Egypt alone is said to have had eight millions of inhabitants; what then might Sind maintain! The condition of the peasantry, as described by Bourrienne, is exactly that of Rajputana; “The villages are fiefs belonging to any one on whom the prince may bestow them; the peasantry pay a tax to their superior, and are the actual proprietors of the soil; amidst all the revolutions and commotions, their privileges are not infringed.” This right (still obtaining), taken away by Joseph, was restored by Sesostris.
[17]. Another salt river.
[18]. [The Chauhān Rāo Kīrttipāl took it from the Pramāras towards the end of the twelfth century, and Kānardeo Chauhān lost it to Alāu-d-dīn (Erskine iii. A. 199 f.). In Briggs’ translation of Ferishta (i. 370) the place is called Jalwar, and the King Nāhardeo.]
[19]. Multan and Juna (Chhotan, qu. Chauhan-tan?) have the same signification, ‘the ancient abode,’ and both were occupied by the tribe of Malli or Mallani, said to be of Chauhan race; and it is curious to find at Jalor (classically Jalandhar) the same divinities as in their haunts in the Panjab, namely, Mallinath, Jalandharnath, and Balnath. Abu-l-Fazl[Abu-l-Fazl] says, “The cell of Balnath is in the middle of Sindsagar”; and Babur (Elliot-Dowson ii. 450, iv. 240, 415, v. 114, Āīn, ii. 315) places “Balnath-jogi below the hill of Jud, five marches east of the Indus,” the very spot claimed by the Yadus, when led out of India by their deified leader Baldeo, or Balnath.
[20]. [Bhojak, ‘a feeder,’ a term usually applied to those Brāhmans who are fed after a death, in order to pass on the food to the spirit.]
[21]. [Ferishta (i. 369) calls the Rāja Sītaldeo; Amīr Khusru (Elliot-Dowson iii. 78, 550, v. 166) Sutaldeo.]
[22]. [The population of these towns is now respectively 4545 and 2066.]
[23]. [The old name was Srīmāl or Bhillamāla, which Erskine (iii. A. 194) identifies with Pi-lo-mo-lo of Hiuen Tsiang. But Beal (Buddhist Records of the Western World, ii. 270) transliterates this name as Bālmer or Bārmer.]
[24]. [For the Sāchora or Sānchora Brāhmans see BG, ix. Part i. 18; Erskine iii. A. 84.]
[25]. [Tīlwāra is about 10 miles W. of Bālotra.]
[26]. It is asserted by the natives to be caused by a small thread-like worm, which also forms in the eyes of horses. I have seen it in the horse, moving about with great velocity. They puncture and discharge it with the aqueous humour.
[27]. [The name Tararoi seems to have disappeared from the maps, the tract being now known as Sānkra.]
[28]. [Rāmdeora is 12 miles N. of Pokaran. The saint is commonly called Rāmdeoji or Rāmsāh Pīr.]
[29]. [Bārmer, the ancient name of which is said to be Bāhadamer, ‘hill fort of Bāhada,’ is 130 miles W. of Jodhpur city; its present population is 6064. Mallināth was son of Rāo Salkha, eighth in descent from Siāhji, founder of Mārwār State.]
[30]. Named in all probability, from the superabundant tree of the desert termed Khair, and dhar, ‘land.’ It is also called Kheralu, but more properly Kherala, ‘the abode of Khair’; a shrub of great utility in these regions. Its astringent pods, similar in appearance to those of the laburnum, they convert into food. Its gum is collected as an article of trade; the camels browse upon its twigs, and the wood makes their huts. [Kher is a ruined village, not far from Jasol, at the point where the Lūni River turns eastward. Kherālu has disappeared from modern maps, if it be not a mistake for Kerādu, where there are interesting temples (ASR, West Circle, March 31, 1907, pp. 40-43; Erskine iii. A. 201).]
[31]. [Khair, Acacia catechu; Khejra, Prosopis spicigera; Karīl, Capparis aphylla; Khep, Crotolaria burhia; Phog, Calligonum polygonoides.]
[32]. That is, 1814. I am transcribing from my journals of that day, just after the return of one of my parties of discovery from these regions, bringing with them natives of Dhat, who, to use their own simple but expressive phraseology, “had the measure of the desert in the palm of their hands”; for they had been employed as kasids, or messengers, for thirty years of their lives. Two of them afterwards returned and brought away their families, and remained upwards of five years in my service, and were faithful, able, and honest in the duties I assigned them, as jamadars of daks, or superintendents of posts, which were for many years under my charge when at Sindhia’s court, extending at one time from the Ganges to Bombay, through the most savage and little-known regions in India. But with such men as I drilled to aid in these discoveries, I found nothing insurmountable. [The famine of 1812-13 was the most calamitous of the earlier visitations (Erskine iii. A. 125).]