On the union of the imperial house with that of Jodhpur, by the marriage of Jodh Bai to Akbar,[[8]] the emperor not only restored all the possessions he had wrested from Marwar, with the exception of Ajmer, but several rich districts in Malwa, whose revenues doubled the resources of his own fiscal domain. With the aid of his imperial brother-in-law, he greatly diminished the power of the feudal aristocracy [35], and clipped the wings of almost all the greater vassals, while he made numerous sequestrations of the lands of the ancient allodiality and lesser vassals; so that it is stated, that, either by new settlement or confiscation, he added fourteen hundred villages to the fisc. He resumed almost all the lands of the sons of Duda, who, from their abode, were termed Mertia; took Jaitaran from the Udawats, and other towns of less note from the sons of Champa and Kumpa.
Udai Singh was not ungrateful for the favours heaped upon him by the emperor, for whom his Rathors performed many signal services: for the raja was latterly too unwieldy for any steed to bear him to battle. The “king of the Desert” (the familiar epithet applied to him by Akbar) had a numerous progeny; no less than thirty-four legitimate sons and daughters, who added new clans and new estates to the feudal association of Maru: of these the most conspicuous are Govindgarh and Pisangan; while some obtained settlements beyond its limits which became independent and bear the name of the founders. Of these are Kishangarh and Ratlam in Malwa.
Death of Rāo Udai Singh.
Brāhman sacrifices his Daughter.
Superstition is sometimes made available for moral ends; and the shade of the Ayapanthi Brahman of Bhilara has been evoked, in subsequent ages, to restrain and lead unto virtue libidinous princes, when all other control has been unavailing. The celebrated Jaswant Singh, the great-grandson of Udai, had an amour with the daughter of one of his civil officers, and which he carried on at the Dabhi Baori.[[11]] But the avenging ghost of the Brahman interposed between him and his wishes. A dreadful struggle ensued, in which Jaswant lost his senses, and no effort could banish the impression from his mind. The ghost persecuted his fancy, and he was generally believed to be possessed with a wicked spirit, which, when exorcised, was made to say he would only depart on the self-sacrifice of a chief equal in dignity to Jaswant. Nahar Khan, “the tiger lord,” chief of the Kumpawat clan, who led the van in all his battles, immediately offered his head in expiation for his prince; and he had no sooner expressed this loyal determination, than the holy men who exorcised the spirit caused it to descend into a vessel of water, and having waved it thrice round his head, they presented it to Nahar Khan, who drank it off, and Jaswant’s senses were instantly restored. This miraculous transfer of the ghost is implicitly believed by every chief of Rajasthan, by whom Nahar was called “the faithful of the faithful.” Previous to dying, he called his son, and imposed on him and his descendants, by the solemnity of an oath, the abjuration of the office of Pardhan, or hereditary premier of Marwar, whose dignity involved such a sacrifice [37]; and from that day the Champawats of Awa succeeded the Kumpawats of Asop, who renounced the first seat on the right for that on the left of their princes.
We shall conclude the reign of Udai Singh with the register of his issue from “the Book of Kings.” It is by no means an unimportant document to such as are interested in these singular communities, and essentially useful to those who are called upon to interfere in their national concerns. Here we see the affinities of the branch (sakha) to the parent tree, which in one short century has shaded the whole land; and to which the independents of Kishangarh, Rupnagarh, and Ratlam, as well as the feudal chiefs of Govindgarh, Khairwa, and Pisangan, all issues from Udai Singh, look for protection.
Issue of Raja Udai Singh:—
| 1. | Sur Singh, succeeded. | ||
| 2. | Akhairaj. | ||
| 3. | Bhagwandas; had issue Bala, Gopaldas, Govinddas, who founded Govindgarh. | ||
| 4. | Narardas | ┐ | |
| 5. | Sakat Singh | ├ | had no issue attaining eminence. |
| 6. | Bhopat | ┘ | |
| 7. | Dalpat had four sons: 1. Maheshdas, whose son, Ratna, founded Ratlam;[[12]] 2. Jaswant Singh; 3. Partap Singh; 4. Kaniram. | ||
| 8. | Jeth had four sons: 1. Har Singh; 2. Amra; 3. Kaniram; 4. Premraj, whose descendants held lands in the tract called Balati and Khairwa. | ||
| 9. | Kishan, in S. 1669 (A.D. 1613), founded Kishangarh; he had three sons, Sahasmall, Jagmall, Biharmall, who had Hari Singh, who had Rup Singh, who founded Rupnagarh. | ||
| 10. | Jaswant, his son Man founded Manpura, his issue called Manpura Jodha. | ||
| 11. | Kesho founded Pisangan. | ||
| 12. | Ramdas. | ┐ | |
| 13. | Puranmall. | │ | |
| 14. | Madhodas. | ├ | No mention of them. |
| 15. | Mohandas. | │ | |
| 16. | Kirat Singh. | │ | |
| 17. | —— | ┘ | |
And seventeen daughters not registered in the chronicle [38].