Repose was, however, no boon to the noblest of his race. A mind like Partap’s could enjoy no tranquillity while, from the summit of the pass which guarded Udaipur, his eye embraced the Kunguras of Chitor, to which he must ever be a stranger. To a soul like his, burning for the redemption of the glory of his race, the mercy thus shown him, in placing a limit to his hopes, was more difficult of endurance than the pangs of fabled Tantalus. Imagine the warrior, yet in manhood’s prime, broken with fatigues and covered with scars, from amidst the fragments of basaltic ruin[[41]] (fit emblem of his own condition!), casting a wistful eye to [348] the rock stained with the blood of his fathers; whilst in the ‘dark chamber’ of his mind the scenes of glory enacted there appeared with unearthly lustre. First, the youthful Bappa, on whose head was the ‘mor he had won from the Mori’:[[42]] the warlike Samarsi, arming for the last day of Rajput independence, to die with Prithiraj on the banks of the Ghaggar: again, descending the steep of Chitor, the twelve sons of Arsi, the crimson banner floating around each, while from the embattled rock the guardian goddess looked down on the carnage which secured a perpetuity of sway. Again, in all the pomp of sacrifice, the Deolia chiefs, Jaimall and Patta; and like the Pallas of Rajasthan, the Chondawat dame, leading her daughter into the ranks of destruction: examples for their sons’ and husbands’ imitation. At length clouds of darkness dimmed the walls of Chitor: from her battlements ‘Kungura Rani’[[43]] had fled; the tints of dishonour began to blend with the visions of glory; and lo! Udai Singh appeared flying from the rock to which the honour of his house was united. Aghast at the picture his fancy had portrayed, imagine him turning to the contemplation of his own desolate condition, indebted for a cessation of persecution to the most revolting sentiment that can assail an heroic mind—compassion; compared with which scorn is endurable, contempt even enviable: these he could retaliate; but for the high-minded, the generous Rajput, to be the object of that sickly sentiment, pity, was more oppressive than the arms of his foe.
The Last Days of Rāna Partāp.
On the banks of the Pichola, Partap and his chiefs had constructed a few huts[[44]] (the site of the future palace of Udaipur), to protect them during the inclemency of the rains in the day of their distress. Prince Amra, forgetting the lowliness of the dwelling, a projecting bamboo of the roof caught the folds of his turban and dragged it off as he retired. A hasty emotion, which disclosed a varied feeling, was observed with pain by Partap, who thence adopted the opinion that his son would never withstand the hardships necessary to be endured in such a cause. “These sheds,” said the dying prince, “will give way to sumptuous dwellings, thus generating the love of ease; and luxury with its concomitants will ensue, to which the independence of Mewar, which we have bled to maintain, will be sacrificed: and you, my chiefs, will follow the pernicious example.” They pledged themselves, and became guarantees for the prince, “by the throne of Bappa Rawal,” that they would not permit mansions to be raised till Mewar had recovered her independence. The soul of Partap was satisfied, and with joy he expired.
Thus closed the life of a Rajput whose memory is even now idolized by every Sesodia, and will continue to be so, till renewed oppression shall extinguish the remaining sparks of patriotic feeling. May that day never arrive! yet if such be her destiny, may it, at least, not be hastened by the arms of Britain!
It is worthy the attention of those who influence the destinies of States in more favoured climes, to estimate the intensity of feeling which could arm this prince to oppose the resources of a small principality against the then most powerful empire of the world, whose armies were more numerous and far more efficient than any ever led by the Persian against the liberties of Greece. Had Mewar possessed her Thucydides or her Xenophon, neither the wars of the Peloponnesus nor the retreat of the ‘ten thousand’ would have yielded more diversified incidents for [350] the historic muse, than the deeds of this brilliant reign amid the many vicissitudes of Mewar. Undaunted heroism, inflexible fortitude, that which ‘keeps honour bright,’ perseverance,—with fidelity such as no nation can boast, were the materials opposed to a soaring ambition, commanding talents, unlimited means, and the fervour of religious zeal; all, however, insufficient to contend with one unconquerable mind. There is not a pass in the alpine Aravalli that is not sanctified by some deed of Partap,—some brilliant victory or, oftener, more glorious defeat. Haldighat is the Thermopylae of Mewar; the field of Dawer her Marathon.
[1]. [Partāp Singh is usually called by the Muhammadans Rāna Kīka, Kīka (in Mārwār gīga, in Mālwa Kūka), meaning ‘a small boy’ (Āīn, i. 339; Elliot-Dowson v. 397, 410).]
[2]. Sagarji held the fortress and lands of Kandhar. His descendants formed an extensive clan called Sagarawats, who continued to hold Kandhar till the time of Sawai Jai Singh of Amber, whose situation as one of the great tatraps of the Mogul court enabled him to wrest it from Sagarji’s issue, upon their[their] refusal to intermarry with the house of Amber. The great Mahabat Khan, the most intrepid of Jahangir’s generals, was an apostate Sagarawat. They established many chieftainships in Central India, as Umri Bhadaura, Ganeshganj, Digdoli; places better known to Sindhia’s officers than to the British. [It is remarkable that the author believed that Mahābat Khān was a Rājput. This man, the De Montfort of Jahāngīr, had such close Hindu affinities and associations that he was thought to be a Hindu. He was a Musulmān, Zamāna Beg of Kābul, best known for his arrest of Jahāngīr in 1628. He died in 1644. (Jahāngīr, Memoirs, Rogers-Beveridge i. 24; Āīn, i. 337 f., 347, 371, 414; Elphinstone, Hist. of India, 567.)]
[3]. I have climbed the rocks, crossed the streams, and traversed the plains which were the theatre of Partap’s glory, and conversed with the lineal descendants of Jaimall and Patta on the deeds of their forefathers, and many a time has the tear started in their eye at the tale they recited.
[4]. The first invented drinking cup or eating vessel being made from the leaf (pat) of particular trees, especially the palasa (Butea frondosa) and bar (Ficus religiosa). The cups of a beautiful brown earthenware, made at Kotharia, are chiefly pateras, of a perfectly classical shape. Query, the Roman patera>, or the Greek ποτήρ, or Saxon pot>? [patera, pateo, ‘to lie open’; pot. O.E. pott>, Lat. potus, ‘drinking.’]