It was the scene of a gallant exploit in S. 1812, when ten thousand Mahrattas, led by Satwa, invaded Mewar. Raj Singh, of the Jhala tribe, the chief of Sadri,[[14]] and descendant of the hero who rescued that first of Rajput princes, Rana Partap, had reached the town of Hinta in his passage from court to Sadri, when he received intelligence that the enemy was at Salera, only three miles distant. He was recommended to make a slight detour and go by Bhindar; but having no reason for apprehension, he rejected the advice, and proceeded on his way. He had not travelled half-a-mile, when they fell in with the marauders, who looked upon his small but well-mounted band as legitimate prey. But, in spite of the odds, they preferred death to the surrender of their equipments, and an action ensued, in which the Raj, after performing miracles of valour, regained the fort, with eight only of his three hundred and fifty retainers. The news reaching Kushal Singh, the chief of Bhindar, who, besides the [601] sufficient motive of Rajputi, or ‘chivalry,’ was impelled by friendship and matrimonial connexion, he assembled a trusty band, and marched to rescue his friend from captivity and his estate from mortgage for his ransom. This little phalanx amounted only to five hundred men, all Saktawats, and of whom three-fourths were on foot. They advanced in a compact mass, with lighted matches, the cavaliers on either flank, with Kushal at their head, denouncing death to the man who quitted his ranks, or fired a shot without orders. They were soon surrounded by the cloud of Mahratta horse; but resolve was too manifest in the intrepid band even for numbers to provoke the strife. They thus passed over the immense plain between Bhindar and Hinta, the gates of which they had almost reached, when, as if ashamed at seeing their prey thus snatched from their grasp, the word was given, “Barchhi de!” and a forest of Mahratta lances, each twelve feet long, bristled against the Saktawats. Kushal called a halt, wheeled his cavaliers to the rear, and allowed the foe to come within pistol-shot, when a well-directed volley checked their impetuosity, and threw them into disorder. The little band of cavalry seized the moment and charged in their turn, gave time to load again, and returned to their post to allow a second volley. The gate was gained, and the Sadri chief received into the ranks of deliverers. Elated with success, the Maharaja promptly determined rather to fight his way back than coop himself up in Hinta, and be starved into surrender; all seconded the resolution of their chief, and with little comparative loss they regained Bhindar. This exploit is universally known, and related with exultation, as one of the many brilliant deeds of “the sons of Sakta,” of whom the Maharaja Kushal Singh was conspicuous for worth, as well as gallantry.
Morwan,[[15]] January 31.—The last day of January (with the thermometer 50° at daybreak) brought us to the limits of Mewar. I could not look on its rich alienated lands without the deepest regret, or see the birthright of its chieftains devolve on the mean Mahratta or ruthless Pathan, without a kindling of the spirit towards the heroes of past days, in spite of the vexations their less worthy descendants occasion me; less worthy, yet not worthless, for having left my cares behind me with the court, where the stubbornness of some, the voices and intrigues of others, and the apathy of all, have deeply injured my health. There is something magical in absence; it throws a deceitful medium between us and the objects we have quitted, which exaggerates their amiable qualities, and curtails the proportions of their vices. I look upon Mewar as the land of my adoption, and, linked with all the associations of my early hopes and [602] their actual realization, I feel inclined to exclaim with reference to her and her unmanageable children,
Mewar, with all thy faults, I love thee still.
The virtues owe an immense debt to the present feudal nobility, not only of Mewar but of Rajputana, and it is to be hoped that the rising generation will pay to it what has been withheld by the past; that energy and temperance will supersede opium and the juice of the mahua,[[16]] and riding in the ring, replace the siesta, and the tabor (tabla) and lute. I endeavoured to banish some of these incentives to degeneracy; nor is there a young chieftain, from the heir-apparent to the throne to the aspirant to a skin of land (when opportunity was granted), from whom I have not exacted a promise, never to touch that debasing drug, opium. Some may break this pledge, but many will keep it; especially those whose minority I protected against court-faction and avarice: such a one as Arjun Singh, the young chief of Basai, of the Sangawat branch of the Chondawat clan. His grandfather (for his father was dead) had maintained the old castle and estate, placed on the elevated Uparmal, against all attempts of the Mahrattas, but had incurred the hatred of Bhim Singh of Salumbar, the head of his clan, who in S. 1846 dispossessed him, and installed a junior branch in the barony of Basai. But the energetic Takht Singh regained his lost rights, and maintained them, until civil broils and foreign foes alike disappeared, on their connexion with the British in 1818. Then the veteran chief, with his grandson, repaired to court, to unite in the general homage to their prince with the assembled chiefs of Mewar. But poverty and the remembrance of old feuds combined to dispossess the youth, and the amount of fine (ten thousand rupees) had actually been fixed for the installation of the interloper, who was supported by all the influence of the chief of Salumbar. This first noble of Mewar tried to avail himself of my friendship to uphold the cause of his protégé, Barad Singh, whom he often brought me to visit, as did old Takhta his grandson. Both were of the same age, thirteen; the aspirant to Basai, fair and stout, but heavy in his looks; while the possessor, Arjun, was spare, dark, and beaming with intelligence. Merit and justice on one side; stupidity and power on the other. But there were duties to be performed; and the old Thakur’s appeal was not heard in vain. “Swamidharma and this” (putting his hand to his sword), said the aged chief, “have hitherto preserved our rights; now, the cause of [603] the child is in his sovereign’s hands and yours; but here money buys justice, and right yields to favour.” The Rana, though he had assented to the views of Salumbar, left the case to my adjudication. I called both parties before me, and in their presence, from their respective statements, sketched the genealogical tree, exhibiting in the remote branches the stripling’s competitors, which I showed to the Rana. Ever prone to do right when not swayed by faction, he confirmed Arjun’s patent, which he had given him three years previously, and girt him with the sword of investiture. This contest for his birthright was of great advantage to the youth; for his grandfather was selected to command the quotas for the defence of the frontier fortress of Jahazpur, a duty which he well performed; and his grandson accompanied him and was often left in command while he looked after the estate. Both came to visit me at Chitor. Arjun was greatly improved during his two years’ absence from the paternal abode, and promises to do honour to the clan he belongs to. Amongst many questions, I asked “If he had yet taken to his amal?” to which he energetically replied, “My fortunes will be cracked indeed, if ever I forget any injunction of yours.”
But a truce to digression: the whole village Panchayat has been waiting this half hour under the spreading bar[[17]] tree, to tell me, in the language of homely truth, khush hain Compani sahib ke partap se, that “by the auspices of Sir Company they are happy; and that they hope I may live a thousand years.”
I must, therefore, suspend my narrative, whilst I patiently listen till midnight to dismal tales of sterile fields, exhausted funds, exiles unreturned, and the depredations of the wild mountain Bhil [604].
[1]. [Twenty-four miles E. of Udaipur city.]
[2]. See treaty between the Rana and his chiefs, Vol. I. p. [243]. [Signed A.D. 1818.]
[3]. The sequel of this feud has been related, Vol. I. p. [511].