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Another Random Scribd Document
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of Jarda Kinjera, and Budsu. These were surrendered by Raj Singh,
who rented Budsu under its new appellation of Malhargarh.

4. Budsu, etc.

5. Holkar advanced as far as Untala, where Arjun Singh of Kurabar

and the Rana’s foster-brothers met him, and negotiated the payment
of fifty-one lakhs of rupees.

6. S. 1820, A.D. 1764.

7. An autograph letter of this chief’s to the minister of the day I

obtained, with other public documents, from the descendant of the
Pancholi:
“To Jaswant Rao Pancholi, Raj Rana Raghudeo writes. After
compliments. I received your letter—from old times you have been
my friend, and have ever maintained faith towards me, for I am of
the loyal to the Rana’s house. I conceal nothing from you, therefore
I write that my heart is averse to longer service, and it is my
purpose in Asarh to go to Gaya.[A] When I mentioned this to the
Rana, he sarcastically told me I might go to Dwarka.[B] If I stay, the
Rana will restore the villages in my fief, as during the time of Jethji.
My ancestors have performed good service, and I have served since
I was fourteen. If the Darbar intends me any favour, this is the
time.”

A. Gaya is esteemed the proper pilgrimage for the Rajputs.

B. Dwarka, the resort for religious and unwarlike tribes.

8. Salumbar (Chondawat), Bijolia, Amet, Ghanerao, and Badnor.

9. Bhindir (Saktawat), Deogarh, Sadri, Gogunda, Delwara, Bedla,

Kotharia, and Kanor.

10. Agitator, or disturber.

 11. One crore and twenty-five lakhs.

12. [The Sipra River in Mālwa, passes Ujjain, and finally joins the
Chambal (IGI, xxiii. 14 f.).]

13. [Eklinggarh, two miles south of Udaipur city; 2469 feet above
sea-level.]

14. The nose-jewel, which even to mention is considered a breach

of delicacy.

15. To Amra’s credit it is related, that his own brother-in-law was

the first and principal sufferer, and that to his remonstrance and
hope that family ties would save his grain pits, he was told, that it
was a source of great satisfaction that he was enabled through him
to evince his disinterestedness.

16. See grant to this chief’s son, p. 233.

17. Mutasadi kharch [mutasadi, ‘a clerk, accountant’; kharch,

‘expenses’] or douceur to the officers of government, was an
authorized article of every Mahratta mu’āmala, or war contribution.

18. Little Maloni, now Gangapur, with its lands, was the only place
decidedly alienated, being a voluntary gift to Sindhia, to endow the
establishment of his wife, Ganga Bai, who died there.

19. Zalim Singh of Kotah, and Lalaji Belal, both now dead.

20. [In 1382 Rāna Khet Singh was murdered by Lāl Singh of
Banbaoda, brother of Bar Singh, Rāo of Būndi. Rāna Ratan Singh II.
and Rāo Sūrajmall killed each other while shooting at Būndi in 1531.
The feud between the two houses is not yet forgotten (Erskine ii. A.
25).]

21. A heated platter used for baking bread, on which they place
the culprit.
 22. ‘The beloved of Rama.’

23. Amra Chand, it will be recollected, was the name of the

minister.

24. The treaty by which Sindhia holds these districts yet exists,
which stipulates their surrender on the liquidation of the
contribution. The Rana still holds this as a responsible engagement,
and pleaded his rights in the treaty with the British Government in
A.D. 1817-18. But half a century’s possession is a strong bond, which
we dare not break; though the claim now registered may hereafter
prove of service to the family.

25. 1830, Mahadaji Sindhia’s contribution (mu’āmala) on account

of Begun; 1831, Berji Tap’s mu’āmala through Govind and Ganpat
Rao; 1831, Ambaji Inglia, Bapu Holkar, and Daduji Pandit’s joint
mu’āmala.

26. 1. Apaji and Makaji Getia, on Holkar’s account; 2. Tukuji

Holkar’s, through Somji; 3. Ali Bahadur’s, through Somji.

27. The age of eighteen.

28.
Namely, 1808, by Rana Jagat Singh to Lakhs 66
S. Holkar
1820, Partap and Arsi Rana to 51
Holkar
1826, Arsi Rana to Mahadaji 64
Sindhia
Total. 181

29.
S. 1808, Rampura, Bhanpura Lakhs 9
1826, Jawad, Jiran, Nimach, Nimbahera 4½
 1831, Ratangarh Kheri, Singoli, Irnia,
Jath, Nadwai, etc. etc. 6
1831, Godwar 9
Total 28½

CHAPTER 17
Rāna Bhīm Singh, A.D. 1778-1828.—Rana Bhim Singh (the
reigning prince), who succeeded his brother in S. 1834 (A.D. 1778),
was the fourth minor in the space of forty years who inherited
Mewar; and the half century during which he has occupied the
throne has been as fruitful in disaster as any period of her history
already recorded. He was but eight years of age on his accession,
and remained under his mother’s tutelage long after his minority had
expired. This subjection fixed his character; naturally defective in
energy, and impaired by long misfortune, he continued to be swayed
by faction and intrigue. The cause of the Pretender, though
weakened, was yet kept alive; but his insignificance eventually left
him so unsupported, that his death is not even recorded [440].
Feud of Chondāwats and Saktāwats.—In S. 1840 (A.D. 1784)
the Chondawats reaped the harvest of their allegiance and made the
power thus acquired subservient to the indulgence of ancient
animosities against the rival clan of Saktawat. Salumbar with his
relatives Arjun Singh[1] of Kurabar and Partap Singh[2] of Amet, now
ruled the councils, having the Sindi mercenaries under their leaders
Chandan and Sadik at their command. Mustering therefore all the
strength of their kin and clans, they resolved on the prosecution of
the feud, and invested Bhindar, the castle of Mohkam the chief of
the Saktawats, against which they placed their batteries.
Sangram Singh, a junior branch of the Saktawats, destined to play
a conspicuous part in the future events of Mewar, was then rising
into notice, and had just completed a feud with his rival the Purawat,
whose abode, Lawa,[3] he had carried by escalade; and now,
determined to make a diversion in favour of his chief, he invaded the
estate of Kurabar, engaged against Bhindar, and was driving off the
cattle, when Salim Singh the heir of Kurabar intercepted his retreat,
and an action ensued in which Salim[4] was slain by the lance of
Sangram. The afflicted father, on hearing the fate of his son, ‘threw
the turban off his head,’ swearing never to replace it till he had
tasted revenge. Feigning a misunderstanding with his own party he
withdrew from the siege, taking the road to his estate, but suddenly
abandoned it for Sheogarh, the residence of Lalji the father of
Sangram. The castle of Sheogarh, placed amidst the mountains and
deep forests of Chappan, was from its difficulty of access deemed
secure against surprise; and here Sangram had placed the females
and children of his family. To this point Arjun directed his revenge,
and found Sheogarh destitute of defenders save the aged chief; but
though seventy summers had whitened his head, he bravely met the
storm, and fell in opposing the foe; when the children of Sangram
were dragged [441] out and inhumanly butchered, and the widow[5]
of Lalji ascended the pyre. This barbarity aggravated the hostility
which separated the clans, and together with the minority of their
prince and the yearly aggressions of the Mahrattas, accelerated the
ruin of the country. But Bhim Singh, the Chondawat leader, was
governed by insufferable vanity, and not only failed in respect to his
prince, but offended the queen regent. He parcelled out the crown
domain from Chitor to Udaipur amongst the Sindi bands, and whilst
his sovereign was obliged to borrow money to defray his marriage at
Idar, this ungrateful noble had the audacity to disburse upwards of
£100,000 on the marriage of his own daughter. Such conduct
determined the royal mother to supplant the Chondawats, and
calling in the Saktawats to her aid, she invested with power the
chiefs of Bhindar and Lawa. Aware, however, that their isolated
authority was insufficient to withstand their rivals, they looked
abroad for support, and made an overture to Zalim Singh of Kotah,
whose political and personal resentments to the Chondawats, as well
as his connexion by marriage with their opponents, made him
readily listen to it. With his friend the Mahratta, Lalaji Belal, he
joined the Saktawats with a body of 10,000 men. It was determined
to sacrifice the Salumbar chief, who took post in the ancient capital
of Chitor, where the garrison was composed chiefly of Sindis, thus
effacing his claim to his prince’s gratitude, whom he defied, while
the pretender still had a party in the other principal fortress,
Kumbhalmer.
 MAHĀRĀJA BHĪM SINGH, PRINCE OF UDAIPUR.
To face page 512.

Battle of Lālsot, May 1787.—Such was the state of things,

when the ascendancy of Mahadaji Sindhia received a signal check
from the combined forces of Marwar and Jaipur; and the battle of
Lalsot, in which the Mahratta chief was completely defeated, was the
signal for the Rajputs to resume their alienated territory.[6] Nor was
the Rana backward on the occasion, when there appeared a
momentary gleam of the active virtue of past days. Maldas Mehta
was civil minister, with Mauji Ram as his deputy, both men of talent
and energy. They first effected the reduction of Nimbahera and the
smaller garrisons of Mahrattas in its vicinity, who from a sense of
common danger assembled their detachments in Jawad, which was
also invested. Sivaji Nana, the governor, capitulated, and was
allowed to march out with his [442] effects. At the same time, the
‘sons of the black cloud’[7] assembling, drove the Mahrattas from
Begun, Singoli, etc., and the districts on the plateau; while the
Chondawats redeemed their ancient fief of Rampura, and thus for a
while the whole territory was recovered. Elated by success, the
united chiefs advanced to Chardu on the banks of the Rarkia, a
streamlet dividing Mewar from Malwa, preparatory to further
operations. Had these been confined to the maintenance of the
places they had taken, and which had been withheld in violation of
treaties, complete success might have crowned their efforts; but in
including Nimbahera in their capture they drew upon them the
energetic Ahalya Bai, the regent-queen of the Holkar State, who
unluckily for them was at hand and who coalesced with Sindhia’s
partisans to check this reaction of the Rajputs. Tulaji Sindhia and Sri
Bhai, with five thousand horse, were ordered to support the
discomfited Siva Nana, who had taken refuge in Mandasor, where he
rallied all the garrisons whom the Rajputs had unwisely permitted to
capitulate.
Defeat of the Rājputs. Murder of Somji.—On Tuesday, the 4th
of Magh S. 1844,[8] the Rana’s troops were surprised and defeated
with great slaughter, the minister slain, the chiefs of Kanor and Sadri
with many others severely wounded, and the latter made prisoner.[9]
The newly made conquests were all rapidly lost, with the exception
of Jawad, which was gallantly maintained for a month by Dip Chand,
who, with his guns and rockets, effected a passage through the
Mahrattas, and retired with his garrison to Mandalgarh. Thus
terminated an enterprise which might have yielded far different
results but for a misplaced security. All the chiefs and clans were
united in this patriotic struggle except the Chondawats, against
whom the queen-mother and the new minister, Somji, had much
difficulty to contend for the establishment of the minor’s authority. At
length overtures were made to Salumbar, when the fair Rampiyari
was employed to conciliate the obdurate chief, who condescended to
make his appearance at Udaipur and to pay his respects to the
prince. He pretended to enter into the views of the minister and to
coalesce in his plans; but this was only a web to ensnare his victim,
whose talent had diminished his authority, and was a bar to the
prosecution of [443] his ambitious views. Somji was seated in his
bureau when Arjun Singh of Kurabar and Sardar Singh[10] of Badesar
entered, and the latter, as he demanded how he dared to resume his
fief, plunged his dagger into the minister’s breast. The Rana was
passing the day at one of the villas in the valley called the Sahelia
Bari, ‘the garden of nymphs,’ attended by Jeth Singh of Badnor,
when the brothers[11] of the minister suddenly rushed into the
presence to claim protection against the murderers. They were
followed by Arjun of Kurabar, who had the audacity to present
himself before his sovereign with his hands yet stained with the
blood of Somji. The Rana, unable to punish the insolent chief,
branding him as a traitor, bade him begone; when the whole of the
actors in this nefarious scene, with their leader Salumbar, returned
to Chitor. Sheodas and Satidas, brothers to the murdered minister,
were appointed to succeed him, and with the Saktawats fought
several actions against the rebels, and gained one decisive battle at
Akola, in which Arjun of Kurabar commanded. This was soon
balanced by the defeat of the Saktawats at Kheroda. Every triumph
was attended with ruin to the country. The agriculturist, never
certain of the fruits of his labour, abandoned his fields, and at length
his country; mechanical industry found no recompense, and
commerce was at the mercy of unlicensed spoliation. In a very few
years Mewar lost half her population, her lands lay waste, her mines
were unworked, and her looms, which formerly supplied all around,
forsaken. The prince partook of the general penury; instead of
protecting, he required protection; the bonds which united him with
his subjects were snapped, and each individual or petty community
provided for itself that defence which he could not give. Hence arose
a train of evils: every cultivator, whether fiscal or feudal, sought out
a patron, and [444] entered into engagements as the price of
protection. Hence every Rajput who had a horse and lance, had his
clients; and not a camel-load of merchandise could pass the abode
of one of these cavaliers without paying fees. The effects of such
disorder were felt long after the cause ceased to exist, and claims
difficult to adjust arose out of these licentious times, for the having
prescriptive right was deemed sufficient to authorize their
continuance.[12] Here were displayed the effects of a feudal
association, where the powers of government were enfeebled. These
feuds alone were sufficient to ruin the country; but when to such
internal ills shoals of Mahratta plunderers were added, no art is
required to describe the consequences.
Aid sought from Sindhia.—The Rana and his advisers at length
determined to call in Sindhia to expel the rebellious Chondawats
from the ancient capital; a step mainly prompted by Zalim Singh
(now Regent of Kotah), who with the Rana’s ministers was deputed
to the Mahratta chieftain, then enjoying himself at the sacred lake of
Pushkar.[13] Since the overthrow of Lalsot he had reorganized his
brigades under the celebrated De Boigne,[14] through whose conduct
he had redeemed his lost influence in Rajputana by the battles of
Merta and Patan, in which the brave Rathors, after acts of the most
devoted gallantry, were completely overthrown. Sindhia’s plans
coincided entirely with the object of the deputation, and he readily
acquiesced in the Rana’s desire. This event introduced on the
political stage some of the most celebrated men of that day, whose
actions offer a fair picture of manners, and may justify our entering
a little into details.[15]
Negotiations by Zālim Singh.—Zalim Singh had for some years
become regent of Kotah, and though to maintain himself in power,
and the State he controlled in an attitude to compel the respect of
surrounding foes, was no slight task, yet he found the field too
contracted for his ambition, and his secret views had long been
directed to permanent influence in Mewar. His skill in reading
character convinced him that the Rana would be no bar to his
wishes, the attainment of which, by giving him the combined
resources of Haraoti and Mewar, would bestow the lead in
Rajasthan. The Jaipur court he disregarded, whose effeminate army
he had himself defeated single-handed [445] with the Kotah troops,
and the influence he established amongst the leading chiefs of
Marwar held out no fear of counteraction from that quarter. The
stake was high, the game sure, and success would have opened a
field to his genius which might have entirely altered the fate of
Hindustan; but one false move was irretrievable, and instead of
becoming the arbitrator of India, he left only the reputation of being
the Nestor of Rajputana.
The restriction of the Rana’s power was the cloak under which he
disguised all his operations, and it might have been well for the
country had his plans succeeded to their full extent. To re-establish
the Rana’s authority, and to pay the charges of the reduction of
Chitor, he determined that the rebels chiefly should furnish the
means, and that from them and the fiscal lands, mostly in their
hands, sixty-four lakhs should be levied, of which three-fifths should
be appropriated to Sindhia, and the remainder to replenish the
Rana’s treasury. Preliminaries being thus arranged, Zalim was
furnished with a strong corps under Ambaji Inglia; while Sindhia
followed, hanging on the Marwar frontier, to realize the contributions
of that State. Zalim Singh and Ambaji moved towards Chitor, levying
from the estates of those obnoxious to Zalim’s views. Hamirgarh,
whose chief, Dhiraj Singh, a man of talent and courage, was the
principal adviser of Bhim Singh, the Salumbar chief, was besieged,
and stood several assaults during six weeks’ vigorous operations,
when the destruction of the springs of the wells from the concussion
of the guns compelled its surrender, and the estate was
sequestrated. The force continued their progress, and after a trifling
altercation at Basai, a Chondawat fief, also taken, they took up a
position at Chitor, and were soon after joined by the main body
under Sindhia.
Zālim Singh and Sindhia at Udaipur.—Zalim, to gratify
Mahadaji’s vanity, who was desirous of a visit from the Rana, which
even the Peshwa considered an honour, proceeded to Udaipur to
effect this object; when the Rana, placing himself under his
guidance, marched for this purpose, and was met at the Tiger
Mount, within a few miles of his capital, by Sindhia, who received
the Rana, and escorted him to the besieging army. But in this short
interval, Ambaji, who remained with the army at Chitor, intrigued
with the rebel Chondawat to supplant the predominant influence of
his friend Zalim Singh, and seized the opportunity of his absence to
counteract him, by [446] communicating his plans to Salumbar;
aware that, unless he broke with Zalim, he could only hope to play a
secondary part under him. Though the ulterior views of Zalim were
kept to his own breast, they could not escape the penetration of the
crafty Mahratta; his very anxiety to hide them furnished Ambaji with
the means of detection. Had Zalim possessed an equal share of
meanness with his political antagonist, he might have extricated
himself from the snare; but once overreached, he preferred sinking
to grasping at an unworthy support. Bhim Singh (Salumbar) privately
negotiated with Ambaji the surrender of Chitor, engaging to humble
himself before the Rana, and to pay a contribution of twenty lakhs,
levied on the clans, provided Zalim Singh was ordered to retire. This
suggestion, apparently founded on the rebellious chief’s antipathy to
Zalim, but in reality prompted by Ambaji, ensured the approbation,
as it suited the views, of all parties, but especially Sindhia, who was
desirous of repairing to Poona. Zalim, the sole obstacle to this
arrangement, furnished to his enemies the means of escape from
the dilemma, and lost the opportunity of realizing his long-cherished
scheme of wielding the united resources of Mewar and Haraoti.
Zalim had always preserved a strict amity with Ambaji wherever their
interests did not clash, and his regard had the cement of gratitude to
the Mahratta, whose father Trimbakji had saved Zalim’s life and
procured his liberty, when left wounded and a prisoner at the battle
of Ujjain. On Zalim’s return with the Rana, Ambaji touched on the
terms of Bhim Singh’s surrender, hinting that Zalim’s presence was
the sole obstacle to this desirable result; who, the more to mask his
views, which any expressed reluctance to the measure might
expose, went beyond probability in asseverations of readiness to be
no bar to such arrangement, even so far as to affirm that, besides
being tired of the business from the heavy expense it entailed on
him, he had his prince’s wish for his return to Kotah. There is one
ingredient in Zalim’s character, which has never been totally merged
in the vices acquired from the tortuous policy of a long life, and
which in the vigour of youth had full sway—namely, pride, one of the
few virtues left to the Rajput, defrauded of many others by long
oppression. But Zalim’s pride was legitimate, being allied to honour,
and it has retained him an evident superiority through all the mazes
of ambition. Ambaji skilfully availed himself of this defect in his
friend’s political character. "A pretty [447] story, indeed!—you tell
this to me! it might find credit with those who did not know you."
The sarcasm only plunged him deeper into asseveration. “Is it then
really your wish to retire?” “Assuredly.” “Then,” retorted the crafty
Ambaji, “your wish shall be gratified in a few minutes.” Giving him no
time to retract, he called for his horse and galloped to Sindhia’s tent.
Zalim relied on Sindhia not acceding to the proposition; or if he did,
that the Rana, over whom he imagined he had complete influence,
would oppose it. His hopes of Sindhia rested on a promise privately
made to leave troops under his authority for the restoration of order
in Mewar; and a yet stronger claim, the knowledge that without
Zalim he could not realize the stipulated sums for the expulsion of
the Chondawat from Chitor. Ambaji had foreseen and prepared a
remedy for these difficulties, and upon their being urged offered
himself to advance the amount by bills on the Deccan. This
argument was irresistible; money, and the consequent prosecution of
his journey to Poona, being attained, Sindhia’s engagements with
Zalim and the Rana ceased to be a matter of importance. He
nominated Ambaji his lieutenant, with the command of a large force,
by whose aid he would reimburse himself for the sums thus
advanced. Having carried his object with Sindhia, Ambaji proceeded
direct from his tent to that of the Rana’s ministers, Sheodas and
Satidas, with whom, by the promise of co-operation in their views,
and perfect subserviency to the Rana’s interests, he was alike
successful. Ambaji, with the rapidity necessary to ensure success,
having in a few hours accomplished his purpose, hastened back to
Zalim, to acquaint him that his wish to retire had met with general
acquiescence; and so well did he manage, that the Rana’s mace-
bearer arrived at the same moment to announce that the khilat of
leave awaited his acceptance. Zalim being thus outwitted, the
Salumbar chief descended from Chitor, and touched the Rana’s feet.
Sindhia pursued his march to the Deccan, and Ambaji was left sole
arbiter of Mewar. The Saktawats maintained the lead at court, and
were not backward in consigning the estates of their rivals to the
incubus now settled on the country: while the mortified Zalim, on his
retreat, recorded his expenses, to be produced on some fitting
occasion.
Sindhia’s Instructions to Ambaji.—Ambaji remained eight
years in Mewar, reaping its revenues and amassing those hoards of
wealth which subsequently gave him the lead in Hindustan, and
enabled him nearly to assert his independence. Yet, although he
accumulated [448] £2,000,000 sterling from her soil,[16] exacting
one-half of the produce of agricultural industry, the suppression of
feuds and exterior aggressions gave to Mewar a degree of
tranquillity and happiness to which she had long been a stranger.
The instructions delivered to Ambaji were—
1. The entire restoration of the Rana’s authority and resumption
of the crown-lands from rebellious chiefs and mercenary
Sindis.
2. The expulsion of the pretender from Kumbhalmer.
3. The recovery of Godwar from the Raja of Marwar.
4. To settle the Bundi feud for the murder of Rana Arsi.
A schedule (pandhri)[17] for the twenty lakhs stipulated was made
and levied; twelve from the Chondawat estates and eight from the
Saktawats; and the sum of sixty lakhs was awarded, besides the
expense of Ambaji’s army, when the other specified objects should
be attained. Within two years the pretender was expelled
Kumbhalmer, Jahazpur was recovered from a rebellious Ranawat,
and the crown-lands[18] were redeemed from the nobles; the
personal domain of the Rana, agricultural and commercial, still
realized nearly fifty lakhs of rupees. After these services, though
Godwar was still unredeemed, the Bundi feud unappeased, and the
lands mortgaged to the Mahrattas were not restored, Ambaji
assumed the title of Subahdar of Mewar, and identified himself with
the parties of the day. Yet so long as he personally upheld the
interests of the Rana, his memory is done justice to, notwithstanding
he never conformed to the strict letter of his engagements. The
Rana’s ministers, fearing lest their brother’s fate should be theirs in
the event of the Chondawats again attaining power, and deeming
their own and their sovereign’s security dependent on Ambaji’s
presence, made a subsidiary engagement with him, and lands to the
amount of 75,000 rupees monthly, or eight lakhs annually, were
appropriated for his force; but so completely were the resources of
the [449] country diverted from their honest use, that when, in S.
1851, a marriage was negotiated between the Rana’s sister and the
prince of Jaipur, the Rana was obliged to borrow £50,000 from the
Mahratta commander to purchase the nuptial presents. The following
year was marked by a triple event—the death of the queen-mother,
the birth of a son and heir to the Rana, and the bursting of the
embankment of the lake, which swept away a third of the city and a
third of its inhabitants. Superstition attributed this catastrophe to the
Rana’s impiety, in establishing a new festival[19] to Gauri, the Isis of
Rajasthan.
Anarchy in Mewār.—Ambaji, who was this year nominated by
Sindhia his viceroy in Hindustan, left Ganesh Pant as his lieutenant in
Mewar, with whom acted the Rana’s officers, Sawai and Shirji Mehta;
[20]
who applied themselves to make the most of their ephemeral
power with so rapacious a spirit, that Ambaji was compelled to
displace Ganesh Pant and appoint the celebrated Rae Chand. To him
they would not yield, and each party formed a nucleus for disorder
and misrule. It would be uninteresting and nauseating to the reader
to carry him through all the scenes of villainy which gradually
desolated this country; for whose spoil pilfering Mahrattas, savage
Rohillas, and adventurous Franks were all let loose. The now
humbled Chondawats, many of whose fiefs were confiscated, took to
horse, and in conjunction with lawless Sindis scoured the country.
Their estates were attacked, Kurabar was taken, and batteries were
placed against Salumbar, whence the Sindis fled and found refuge in
Deogarh. In this exigence, the Chondawats determined to send an
envoy to Ambaji, who was then engaged in the siege of Datia; and
Ajit Singh, since prominent in the intrigues of Mewar, was the organ
of his clan on this occasion. For the sum of ten lakhs the avaricious
Mahratta agreed to recall his deputy from Mewar,[21] to renounce
Sheodas and the Saktawats, and lend his support to the
Chondawats. The Salumbar chief again took the lead at court, and
with Agarji Mehta[22] as minister, the Saktawats [450] were attacked,
the stipulated ten lakhs raised from their estates, and two fiefs of
note, Hintha and Semari, confiscated [451].
Death of Mahādaji Sindhia, January 12, 1794.—The death of
Mahadaji Sindhia,[23] and the accession of his nephew Daulatrao, his
murder of the Shenvi Brahmans, and his quarrels with the Bais
(‘princesses,’ wives of the deceased Sindhia), all occurred at this
time, and materially influenced the events in Mewar. The power of
Ambaji as Subahdar of Hindustan was strengthened by the minority
of Sindhia, although contested by Lakwa and the Bais, supported by
the Khichi prince, Durjan Sal, and the Datia Raja, who fought and
died for the princesses. Lakwa wrote to the Rana to throw off
Ambaji’s yoke and expel his lieutenant; while Ambaji commanded his
deputy to eject the Shenvi[24] Brahmans, supporters of Lakwa, from
all the lands in Mewar. To this end Ganesh Pant called on the Rana’s
ministers and chiefs, who, consulting thereon, determined to play a
deep game; and while they apparently acquiesced in the schemes of
Ganesh, they wrote the Shenvis to advance from Jawad and attack
him, promising them support. They met at Sawa; Nana was defeated
with the loss of his guns, and retired on Chitor. With a feint of
support, the Chondawats made him again call in his garrison and try
another battle, which he also lost and fled to Hamirgarh; then,
uniting with his enemies, they invested the place with 15,000 men.
Nana bravely maintained himself, making many sallies, in one of
which both the sons of Dhiraj Singh, the chief of Hamirgarh, were
slain. Shortly after, Nana was relieved by some battalions of the new
raised regulars sent by Ambaji under Gulab Rao Kadam, upon which
he commenced his retreat on Ajmer. At Musamusi he was forced to
action, and success had nearly crowned the efforts of the clans,
when a horseman, endeavouring to secure a mare, calling out [452],
"Bhagi! bhagi!" “She flies! she flies!” the word spread, while those
who caught her, exclaiming "Milgayi! milgayi!" “She is taken!” but
equally significant with ‘going over’ to the enemy, caused a general
panic, and the Chondawats, on the verge of victory, disgraced
themselves, broke and fled. Several were slain, among whom was
the Sindi leader Chandan. Shahpura opened its gates to the fugitives
led by the Goliath of the host, the chief of Deogarh.[25] It was an
occasion not to be lost by the bards of the rival clan, and many a
ribald stanza records this day’s disgrace. Ambaji’s lieutenant,
however, was so roughly handled that several chiefs redeemed their
estates, and the Rana much of the fisc, from Mahratta control.
Contest of Ambaji and Lakwa.—Mewar now became the arena
on which the rival satraps Ambaji and Lakwa contested the exalted
office of Sindhia’s lieutenancy in Hindustan. Lakwa was joined by all
the chiefs of Mewar, his cause being their own; and Hamirgarh, still
held by Nana’s party, was reinvested. Two thousand shot had made
a practicable breach, when Bala Rao Inglia, Bapu Sindhia, Jaswant
Rao Sindhia, a brigade under the European ‘Mutta field,’[26] with the
auxiliary battalions of Zalim Singh of Kotah, the whole under the
command of Ambaji’s son, arrived to relieve the lieutenant. Lakwa
raised the siege, and took post with his allies under the walls of
Chitor; whilst the besieged left the untenable Hamirgarh, and joined
the relief at Gosunda. The rival armies were separated only by the
Berach river, on whose banks they raised batteries and cannonaded
each other, when a dispute arose in the victor camp regarding the
pay of the troops, between Bala Rao (brother of Ambaji) and Nana,
and the latter withdrew and retreated to Sanganer. Thus disunited, it
might have been expected that these congregated masses would
have dissolved, or fallen upon each other, when the Rajputs might
have given the coup de grâce to the survivors; but they were
Mahrattas, and their politics were too complicated to end in simple
strife: almost all the actors in these scenes lived to contest with, and
be humiliated by, the British.
George Thomas.—The defection of Nana equalized the parties;
but Bala Rao, never partial to fighting, opportunely recollected a
debt of gratitude to Lakwa, to whose clemency he owed his life
when taken by storm in Gugal Chapra. He also wanted money [453]
to pay his force, which a private overture to Lakwa secured. They
met, and Bala Rao retired boasting of his gratitude, to which, and
the defection of Nana, soon followed by that of Bapu Sindhia, the
salvation of Lakwa was attributed. Sutherland[27] with a brigade was
detached by Ambaji to aid Nana: but a dispute depriving him of this
reinforcement, he called in a partisan of more celebrity, the brave
George Thomas.[28] Ambaji’s lieutenant and Lakwa were once more
equal foes, and the Rana, his chiefs and subjects being distracted
between these conflicting bands, whose leaders alternately paid
their respects to him, were glad to obtain a little repose by
espousing the cause of either combatant, whose armies during the
monsoon encamped for six weeks within sight of each other.[29]
Pillage in Mewār.—Durjan Sal (Khichi), with the nobles of
Mewar, hovered round Nana’s camp with five thousand horse to cut
off his supplies; but Thomas escorted the convoys from Shahpura
with his regulars, and defied all their efforts. Thomas at length
advanced his batteries against Lakwa, on whose position a general
assault was about taking place, when a tremendous storm, with
torrents of rain which filled the stream, cut off his batteries from the
main body, burst the gates of Shahpura, his point d’appui, and laid
the town in ruins.[30] Lakwa seized the moment, and with the Mewar
chiefs stormed and carried the isolated batteries, capturing fifteen
pieces of cannon; and the Shahpura Raja, threatened at once by his
brother-nobles and the vengeance of heaven, refused further
provision to Nana, who was compelled to abandon his position and
retreat to Sanganer. The discomfited lieutenant vowed vengeance
against the estates of the Mewar chieftains, and after the rains,
being reinforced by Ambaji, again took the field. Then commenced a
scene of carnage, pillage, and individual defence. The whole of the
Chondawat estates under the Aravalli range were laid waste, their
castles assaulted, some taken and destroyed, and heavy sums levied
on all. Thomas besieged Deogarh and Amet, and both fought and
paid. Kasital and Lasani were captured, and the latter razed for its
gallant resistance. Thus they were proceeding in the work of
destruction, when Ambaji [454] was dispossessed of the government
of Hindustan, to which Lakwa was nominated,[31] and Nana was
compelled to surrender all the fortresses and towns he held in
Mewar.
Daulat Rāo Sindhia reduces Mewār.—From this period must
be dated the pretensions of Sindhia to consider Mewar as tributary
to him. We have traced the rise of the Mahrattas, and the progress
of their baneful influence in Mewar. The abstractions of territory from
S. 1826 to 1831 [A.D. 1769-74], as pledges for contributions, satisfied
their avarice till 1848 [A.D. 1791], when the Salumbar rebellion
brought the great Sindhia to Chitor, leaving Ambaji as his lieutenant,
with a subsidiary force, to recover the Rana’s lost possessions. We
have related how these conditions were fulfilled; how Ambaji,
inflated with the wealth of Mewar, assumed almost regal dignity in
Hindustan, assigning the devoted land to be governed by his
deputies, whose contest with other aspirants made this unhappy
region the stage for constant struggles for supremacy; and while the
secret policy of Zalim Singh stimulated the Saktawats to cling to
Ambaji, the Chondawats gave their influence and interest to his rival
Lakwa. The unhappy Rana and the peasantry paid for this rivalry;
while Sindhia, whose power was now in its zenith, fastened one of
his desultory armies on Mewar, in contravention of former treaties,
without any definite views, or even instructions to its commander. It
was enough that a large body should supply itself without assailing
him for prey, and whose services were available when required.
Lakwa Dāda Marātha Viceroy.—Lakwa, the new viceroy,
marched to Mewar: Agarji Mehta was appointed minister to the
Rana, and the Chondawats again came into power. For the sum of
six lakhs Lakwa dispossessed the Shahpura of Jahazpur, for the
liquidation of which thirty-six of its towns were mortgaged. Zalim
Singh, who had long been manœuvring to obtain Jahazpur,
administered to the necessities of the Mahratta, paid the note of
hand, and took possession of the city and its villages. A contribution
of twenty-four lakhs was imposed throughout the country, and levied
by force of arms, after which first act of the new viceroy he quitted
Mewar for Jaipur, leaving Jaswant Rao Bhao as his deputy. Mauji
Ram, the deputy of Agarji (the Rana’s minister), determined to adopt
the European mode of discipline, now become general amongst all
the native powers of India. But when the chiefs were [455] called
upon to contribute to the support of mercenary regulars and a field-
artillery, they evinced their patriotism by confining this zealous
minister. Satidas was once more placed in power, and his brother
Sheodas recalled from Kotah, whither he had fled from the
Chondawats, who now appropriated to themselves the most valuable
portions of the Rana’s personal domain.
Holkar defeated at Indore. Plunder of Nāthdwāra: image
removed.—The battle of Indore,[32] in A.D. 1802, where at least
150,000 men assembled to dispute the claim to predatory empire,
wrested the ascendancy from Holkar, who lost his guns, equipage,
and capital, from which he fled to Mewar, pursued by Sindhia’s
victorious army led by Sadasheo and Bala Rao. In his flight he
plundered Ratlam, and passing Bhindar, the castle of the Saktawat
chief, he demanded a contribution, from which and his meditated
visit to Udaipur, the Rana and his vassal were saved by the activity
of the pursuit. Failing in these objects, Holkar retreated on
Nathdwara, the celebrated shrine of the Hindu Apollo.[33] It was here
this active soldier first showed symptoms of mental derangement.
He upbraided Krishna, while prostrate before his image, for the loss
of his victory; and levied three lakhs of rupees on the priests and
inhabitants, several of whom he carried to his camp as hostages for
the payment. The portal (dwara) of the god (Nath) proving no bar
either to Turk or equally impious Mahratta, Damodarji, the high
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