deeds which should not pass away,
And names that must not wither,
and withhold a sigh for its departed glories? But in vain I dipped my pen to embody my thoughts in language; for, wherever the eye fell, it filled the mind with images of the past, and ideas rushed too tumultuously to be recorded. In this mood I continued for some time, gazing listlessly, until the shades of evening gradually enshrouded the temples, columns, and palaces; and as I folded up my paper till the morrow, the words of the prophetic bard of Israel came forcibly to my recollection: “How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she, that was great among nations, and princess among provinces, how is she become tributary!”
But not to fatigue the reader with reflections, I will endeavour to give him some [757] idea of these ruins.[[6]] I begin with the description of Chitor from the Khuman Raesa, now beside me: “Chitrakot is the chief amongst eighty-four castles, renowned for strength; the hill on which it stands, rising out of the level plain beneath, the tilak on the forehead of Avani (the earth). It is within the grasp of no foe, nor can the vassals of its chief know the sentiment of fear. Ganga flows from its summit; and so intricate are its paths of ascent, that though you might find entrance, there would be no hope of return. Its towers of defence are planted on the rock, nor can their inmates even in sleep know alarm. Its Kothars (granaries) are well filled, and its reservoirs, fountains, and wells are overflowing. Ramachandra himself here dwelt twelve years. There are eighty-four bazars, many schools for children, and colleges for every kind of learning; many scribes (kayasth) of the Bidar[[7]] tribe, and the eighteen varieties of artisans. (Here follows an enumeration of all the trees, shrubs, and flowers within and surrounding the fortress.) Of all, the Guhilot is sovereign (dhani), served by numerous troops, both horse and foot, and by all the ‘thirty-six tribes of Rajputs,’ of which he is the ornament (chhattis kula singar).”
The Khuman Raesa, or story of Rawat Khuman, was composed in the ninth century;[[8]] and the poet has not exaggerated; for of all the royal abodes of India, none could compete with Chitor before she became a “widow.” But we must abandon the Raesa for a simple prose description. Chitor is situated on an isolated rock of the same formation as the Patar, whence it is distant about three miles, leaving a fertile valley between, in which are the estates of Bijaipur, Gwalior, and part of Begun, studded with groves, but all waste through long-continued oppression. The general direction of the rock is from S.S.W. to N.N.E.; the internal length on the summit being three miles and two furlongs, and the greatest central breadth twelve hundred yards. The circumference of the hill at its base, which is fringed with deep woods, extending to the summit, and in which lurk tigers, deer, hogs, and even lions, is somewhere above eight miles, and the angle of ascent to its scarped summit about 45°. The Talaiti, or lower town, is on the west side, which in some places presents a double scarp, and this side is crowded with splendid objects; the triumphal column, the palaces of Chitrang Mori, of Rana Raemall, the huge temple of Rana Mokal, the hundred pinnacles of the acropolis of the Guhilots, and last, not least, the mansions of Jaimall and Patta, built on a projecting point, are amongst the most remarkable monuments overlooking the plain. The great length of Chitor, and the uniformity of the level crest, detract from its height, which in no part exceeds [758] four hundred feet, and that only towards the north. In the centre of the eastern face, at ‘the gate of the sun’ (Surajpol), it is less than three hundred, and at the southern extremity, the rock is so narrow as to be embraced by an immense demi-lune commanding the hill called Chitori, not more than one hundred and fifty yards distant; it is connected with Chitor, but lower, and judiciously left out of its circumvallation. Still it is a weak point, of which the invader has availed himself. On this, Mahadaji Sindhia raised his batteries when called on by the Rana to expel his rebellious vassal of Salumbar (Vol. I. p. [517]). The Mahratta’s batteries, as well as the zigzag lines of his ascent, indicate that, even in S. 1848 (A.D. 1792), he had the aid of no unskilful engineer. From this point the Tatar Ala stormed; and to him they attribute Chitor altogether, alleging that he raised it by artificial means, “commencing with a copper for every basket of earth, and at length ending with a piece of gold.” It would, indeed, have taken the twelve years, assigned by tradition to Ala’s siege, to have effected this, though there cannot be a doubt that he greatly augmented it, and planted there his Manjanikas,[[9]] or balistas, in the same manner as he did to reduce the fortress of Rain, near Ranthambhor.
Having wandered for two or three days amongst the ruins, I commenced a regular plan of the whole, going to work trigonometrically, and laying down every temple or object that still retained a name or had any tradition attached to it. I then descended with the perambulator and made the circuit.
The first lateral cut of ascent is in a line due north, and before another angle you pass through three separate gates; between the last of which, distinctively called the Phuta Dwara, or ‘broken door,’ and the fourth, the Hanuman pol (porte), is a spot for ever sacred in the history of Chitor, where its immortal defenders, Jaimall and Patta, met their death. There is a small cenotaph to the memory of the former, while a sacrificial Jujhar, on which is sculptured the effigy of a warrior on horseback, lance in hand, reminds the Sesodia where fell the stripling chief of Amet. Near these is another cenotaph, a simple dome supported by light elegant columns, and covering an altar to the manes of the martyr Raghudeva, the deified putra of Mewar (see Vol. I. p. [325]). After passing three more barriers, we reach the Rampol, which crowns the whole, and leads into a noble Dari-khana, or ‘hall of assembly,’ where the princes of Chitor met on grand occasions; and it was in this hall that the genius of Chitor is said to have revealed to Rana Arsi that his glory was departing. On a compartment of the Rampol we found an interdict inscribed by the rebel Bhim of [759] Salumbar, who appears to have been determined to place upon his own head the mor[[10]] of Chitor, so nobly renounced by his ancestor Chonda many centuries before. This was, however, set up when he was yet loyal, and in his sovereign’s name as well as his own, “abolishing forced labour from the townspeople, and likewise dand, or contribution”; concluding with a grant of land to a patriotic carpenter of Gosunda, who had, at his own expense, furnished the Rampol with a new gate; the cow and hog are attesting witnesses to the deed. The next building I came to, as I skirted the western face in a southerly direction, was a small antique temple to Tulja Bhavani,[[11]] the divinity of the scribes, adjoining the Top-khana Chaori, a square for the park, where a few old cannon, the relics of the plunder of Chitor, still remain. The habitation of the Purohits, or chief priests of the Ranas, a plain, commodious, and substantial edifice, was the next; and close by was that of the Masani,[[12]] or master of the horse, with several others of the chief household officers. But the first imposing edifice is that termed Naulakha Bhandar. This is a small citadel in itself, with massive, lofty walls, and towers built entirely of ancient ruins. Its name would import that it was a receptacle (bhandar) for treasure, though it is said to have been the residence of the usurper Banbir. At the north-eastern corner, it has a little temple, richly sculptured, called the Singar Chaori.[[13]] From this we pass on to the palace of the Ranas, which, though attributed to Rana Raemall, is of the same character as those of a much higher antiquity. It is plain, capacious, and in excellent taste, the only ornament being its crenated battlements, and gives a good idea of the domestic architecture of the Rajputs, long anterior to the intrusion of the Islamite amongst them. The vaulted chamber, the projecting gaukh or balcony, and the gentle exterior slope or talus of the walls, lend a character of originality to all the ancient structures of Chitor. The industrious Ghasi made sketches for me of all their domestic dwellings, from the ancient abode of Chitrang Mori, down to the mahalls of Jaimall and Patta. A courtyard surrounds the palace, in which there is a small temple to Deoji, through whose interposition Rana Sanga effected all his conquests. This unknown divinity I find is styled one of the eleven kalas, or Mahavidyas, incarnate in the person of a celebrated warrior, named Bhoj, whose father was a Chauhan, and his mother of the Gujar tribe, which originated a new class, called the Bagrawat.[[14]] The story of this Deo will add another to the many tales of superstition which are listened to with reverence, and I imagine generally with belief. The incarnate Bagrawat, while on his way to revenge an ancient feud with the Parihars of Ranbinai [760], approached Chitor, and Rana Sanga, aware of his sanctity, paid him all the dues of hospitality; in return for this, the Deoji bestowed a charm upon Sanga, by means of which, so long as he followed the prescribed injunctions, victory was always to attend his steps. It was placed in a small bag, and to be worn round the neck; but he was warned against allowing it to turn towards the back. The Deo had the power of raising the dead, and in order to show the Rana the value of the gift, he put into his hand a peacock’s feather, with which having touched all who were then lying dead in Chitor, they were restored to life! With this new proof of Deoji’s power, Rana Sanga went forth to pursue his conquests, which had extended to the fortress of Bayana, when one day, while bathing in the Pila Khal,[[15]] the charm slipped round, and straight a voice was heard, saying, his “mortal foe was at hand!” So impressed are the Sesodias with the truth of this tale, that Deoji has obtained a distinguished niche in their Pantheon; nor in all their poverty has oil been wanting for the lamp which is constantly burning before the Bagrawat chieftain, whose effigy, on a horse painted blue and lance in hand, still attracts their homage. To buy golden opinions, I placed three pieces of silver on the altar of the saint, in the name of the brave Sanga, the worthy antagonist of Babur, the “immortal foe,” who at the Pila Khal at Bayana destroyed the charm of the Deoji.
Krishna Temples.
Both these temples are entirely constructed from the wrecks of more ancient shrines, said to have been brought from the ruins of a city of remote antiquity, called Nagari, three coss northward of Chitor.[[18]] Near these temples of Kumbh-Syam are two reservoirs, built of large blocks, each one hundred and twenty-five feet long by fifty [761] wide, and fifty deep, said to have been excavated on the marriage of the ‘Ruby of Mewar’ to Achal Khichi of Gagraun, and filled with oil and ghi, which were served out to the numerous attendants on that occasion.
The Pillar of Victory, or Kīrtti-Khambh. —We are now in the vicinity of the Kirtti-Khambh, the pillar erected by Rana Kumbha on his defeat of the combined armies of Malwa and Gujarat.[[19]] The only thing in India to compare with this is the Kutb Minar at Delhi; but, though much higher, it is of a very inferior character. This column is one hundred and twenty-two feet in height, the breadth of each face at the base is thirty-five feet, and at the summit, immediately under the cupola, seventeen feet and a half. It stands on an ample terrace, forty-two feet square. It has nine distinct stories, with openings at every face of each story, and all these doors have colonnaded porticos; but it is impossible to describe it, and therefore a rough outline, which will show Ghasi’s notions of perspective, must suffice. It is built chiefly of compact limestone and the quartz rock on which it stands, which takes the highest polish; indeed there are portions possessing the hardness and exhibiting the fracture of jasper. It is one mass of sculpture; of which a better idea cannot be conveyed than in the remark of those who dwell about it, that it contains every object known to their mythology. The ninth khand, or ‘story,’ which, as I have stated, is seventeen feet and a half square, has numerous columns supporting a vault, in which is sculptured Kanhaiya in the Rasmandala (celestial sphere), surrounded by the Gopis or muses, each holding a musical instrument, and in a dancing attitude.[[20]] Beneath this is a richly carved scroll fringed with the saras, the phenicopteros[[21]] of ornithology. Around this chamber had been arranged, on black marble tablets, the whole genealogy of the Ranas of Chitor; but the Goths have broken or defaced all, save one slab, containing the two following slokas.