SUPPLEMENT TO THE ACCOUNT OF NEPAL.
some information respecting the petty chiefs who still remain independent to the west of the dominions of nepal or gorkha.
Kangra.—History.—State.—Kahalur.—Bhomor.—Kottahar.—Yasawal.—Datarpur.—Gular.—Nurpur.—Chamba.—Kullu.—Mundi.—Sukhet.
The intelligence procured from Hariballabh extending somewhat farther west than the present dominions of Gorkha, but to no great distance, it may be given as a Supplement to the foregoing Account.
The country between the Satadru or Sutluj and Kasmira in ancient times belonged to Susarma, a chief of the family of the Moon, who was a principal ally (Paksha) of Durjadhan, competitor for the kingdom of India, at the commencement of this iron age. In the terrible battle, which settled the succession in the family of his adversaries, Susarma escaped, and his descendants long governed his country. The genealogy of this family is said to be contained in the Mahabharat, but is not to be found in the Sri Bhagwat, or other books from which I have had the Indian genealogies extracted. The Raja of Kangra pretends to be descended of this family, which, he alleges, has enjoyed uninterrupted possession of at least a part of its original estate, until the present day. The late Rajas, however,
have been called Katauch Rajputs, for what reason I do not know; and the present chief is said to be desirous of being called a Chandel, for this tribe is generally admitted to be descended of the family of the Moon. Many others, however, allege, that the Katauch tribe sprang from the sweat of the goddess, spouse to Siva, when she was cut to pieces; and, when these were scattered by her husband and Vishnu, her thorax fell at Kangra, which has ever since been considered as holy; and once, probably, this descent was considered more honourable than that from the family of the Moon. No one, in fact, knows the real origin of the family, which, however, is generally admitted to be old, and to have consisted of fifty or sixty chiefs, of whom the first is usually said to have been a Bhup Chandra. Hariballabh does not remember any of his successors, until the time of Abhay Chandra. He had three sons, the eldest named Nirbhag C., and the youngest Gharnan Singha. The former had no son, and, when he died, his youngest brother was in the service of Pradipa of Garhawal, who was then at war with Siva Dev’, the general of Kumau. This crafty Brahman gave the needy chief 700 Ashrufies of gold, and induced him to withdraw his men, and return to his own country. On his arrival he found his brother just dead, and nine or ten of his kinsmen squabbling about the succession. He therefore took off their heads, and ascended the throne, (Gadi.) He subdued several Rajas, such as Kottahar and Ghowasin, became a terror to all the petty chiefs in the vicinity, and removed the seat of government from Jaya Singhapur to Sujanpur, which he founded; for the fortress and town of Kangra had been long in the hands of the Muhammedans. He was succeeded by his son Tikayit Chandra, who, in his fourteenth year of age, had a son named Sangsar Chandra, the present chief. When eighteen years of age, Tikayit C. was caught by Khan Bahadur, who
was Subahdar of Lahaur under Muhammed Shah. He was confined for some years, and then restored to liberty, but died at the age of twenty-five years, leaving the country to his young son. This youth became the most violent and formidable chief of his family, and recovered Kangra from the Muhammedans. All the neighbouring chiefs were then afraid, and he extended his conquests on the plains by seizing on the estate called Rajawara, which belonged to the king of Dilli. He removed the seat of government to Nadaun, but has many places of residence, especially a fine fortified garden at Alumnagar. I have already mentioned his dispute with Gorkha, during which Amar Singha besieged, or rather blockaded, the citadel of Kangra, for he was in possession of the town. He was opposed by Anirudha, the son of Sangsar. Bhakti Thapa besieged Sujanpur, which was defended by Man Singha, brother of Sangsar, and by Harsha Dev’, the warlike Brahman of Kumau, often already mentioned. Sangsar himself, with a small body of chosen men, hovered round the besieging armies; but, these being likely to prevail, he invited to his assistance Ranjit Singha, who affects to be called king of Lahaur; and with his assistance the forces of Gorkha were repulsed with great loss. For this assistance, however, he paid dearly, as he ceded to Ranjit the fort and city of Kangra, and the fort of Kotta, with a territory of 50,000 rupees a-year, and all the petty chiefs now despise his authority, and respect the power of Lahaur. He still, nevertheless, retains a territory yielding from 900,000 to 1,000,000 rupees a-year.
The town of Kangra is open, and, before the attack by Amar Singha, contained about 2000 houses. Near it is the temple of the goddess, which is supposed to contain many rich ornaments of gold. The fort is the strongest in these parts. The
situation is rather warm. Kotta, although inferior to Kangra, is considered as a stronghold of importance.
Sujanpur, which remains to Sangsar, contains about 2000 houses, and is surrounded by lines, which are said to be twelve coses in circumference, and besides the town, contain twenty-four villages, in which there may be 3000 houses.
Nadaun, the present capital, contains about 500 houses. Jwalamukhi was a considerable town, where many Gosaing merchants had settled; but during the disturbances it was plundered by the Raja of Gular, who had joined Amar Singha. At this place, where the tongue of the Goddess fell, in the dispersion of her members, above-mentioned, there is a small temple, perhaps twenty feet square. It is paved with large stones, and from a hole in one corner, perhaps two inches in diameter, there issues a constant flame, that at the lowest ebb rises about eighteen inches, but in the rainy season it issues with great violence, and flame bursts from several parts of the floor, and also from some places without the temple.