Chapter XXXIII: Section II: Mughals (a.d. 1570-1720) and Maráthás (1)

(A.D. 1720-1820).

About A.D. 1590 Akbar's historian, the great Abul Fazl, described Mándu as a large city whose fortress is twenty-four miles (twelve kos) in circuit. He notices that besides in the centre of the hill where stands an eight-storeyed minaret, the city had many monuments of ancient magnificence, among them the tombs of the Khilji Sultáns. And that from the dome which is over the sepulchre of Sultán Mehmúd, the son of Hoshang (this should be the sepulchre of Hoshang built by his successor Sultán Mehmúd) water drops in the height of summer to the astonishment of the ignorant. But, he adds, men of understanding know how to account for the water-drops. [977] Abul Fazl further notices that on Mándu Hill is found a species of tamarind whose fruit is as big as the cocoanut, the pulp of which is very white. This is the African baobab or Adansonia digitata, known in Hindustáni as goramli or white tamarind, whose great fruit is about the size of a cocoanut. Its monster baobabs are still a feature of Mándu. Some among them look old enough to have been yielding fruit 300 years ago. Finally Abul Fazl refers to Mándu as one of twenty-eight towns where Akbar's copper coins were struck. [978] About twenty years later (A.D. 1610) the historian Farishtah [979] thus describes the hill. The fort of Mándu is a work of solid masonry deemed to be one of the strongest fortifications in that part of the world. It is built on an insulated mountain thirty-eight miles in circumference. [980] The place of a ditch round the fortification is supplied by a natural ravine so deep that it seems impossible to take the fort by regular approaches. Within the fort is abundance of water and forage, but the area is not large enough to grow a sufficient store of grain. The hill cannot be invested. The easiest access is from the north by the Dehli Gate. The south road with an entrance by the Tárápúr Gate is so steep that cavalry can with difficulty be led up. Like Abul Fazl Farishtah notices that, except during the rains, water constantly oozes from between the chinks in the masonry of the dome of Sultán Hoshang's tomb. He says the natives of India attribute this dropping to universal veneration for Sultán Hoshang, for whose death, they say, the very stones shed tears.

Except that copper coins continued to be minted and that it was nominally one of the four capitals of the empire, during the emperor Akbar's reign Mándu was practically deserted. The only traces of Akbar's presence on the hill are in two of the five inscriptions already quoted from the Nílkanth pleasure-house, dated A.D. 1591 and A.D. 1600.

After about fifty years of almost complete neglect the emperor Jehángír, during a few months in A.D. 1617, enabled Mándu once more to justify its title of Shádiábád, the Abode of Joy. Early in March A.D. 1617, in the eleventh year of his reign, the emperor Jehángír after spending four months in travelling the 189 miles from Ajmír by way of Ujjain, arrived at Naâlchah on the main land close to the north of Mándu. The emperor notices that most of the forty-six marches into which the 189 miles were divided ended on the bank of some lake stream or great river in green grass and woody landscape, brightened by poppy fields. We came, he writes, enjoying the beauty of the country and shooting, never weary, as if we were moving from one garden to another.

Of the country round Naâlchah Jehángír says: [981] What can be written worthy of the beauty and the pleasantness of Naâlchah. The neighbourhood is full of mango trees. The whole country is one unbroken and restful evergreen. Owing to its beauty I remained there three days. I granted the place to Kamál Khán, taking it from Keshava Márú, and I changed its name to Kamálpúr. I had frequent meetings with some of the wise men of the jogis, many of whom had assembled here. Naâlchah is one of the best places in Málwa. It has an extensive growth of vines, and among its mango groves and vineyards wander streamlets of water. I arrived at a time when, contrary to the northern climes, the vines were in blossom and fruit, and so great was the vintage that the meanest boor could eat grapes to his fill. The poppy was also in flower, and its fields delighted the eye with their many-coloured beauty.

Of the emperor's entrance into Mándu the Memoirs have the following note: On Monday the 23rd of Ispandád, the last month of the Persian year, that is according to Sir Thomas Roe's account on the 6th of March 1617, when one quarter of the day had passed, I mounted my elephant, and, in good fortune and under kindly influences, made my happy entry into the fort of Mándu. About an hour (three ghadis) later I entered the quarters which had been prepared to receive me. During my passage across the hill-top I scattered Rs. 1500. Before my arrival Abdul Karím the engineer had been sent by me to repair the buildings of the former kings of Mándu. While my fortunate standards were at Ajmír Abdul Karím repaired such of the old Mándu buildings as were fit to be repaired and built others anew. On the whole he had provided quarters for me, the like of which have probably never been built in any other place. Three lákhs of rupees were spent on these repairs and buildings. I wish it had been possible to construct buildings like these in all cities likely to be visited by royalty. This fortress, he continues, stands on the top of a hill about thirty-six miles (18 kos) in circumference. They say that before the days of Rája Bikramájit a king was reigning over these parts whose name was Jaisingh Deva. In his time a man went to the forest to cut grass. When he brought the grass back he found that the blade of his sickle had turned yellow. The grasscutter in his surprise went to Mándan, an ironsmith. Mándan knew that the sickle was gold. He had heard that in those parts was to be found the philosopher's stone, whose touch turns iron and copper into gold. He told the grasscutter to lead him to the place where the sickle had turned yellow, and there he found the philosopher's stone. The smith presented this treasure to his king. The king amassed untold wealth, part of which he spent in building Mándu fortress which he completed in twelve years. At the request of the smith on most of the stones in the walls a mark was cut in the form of an anvil. Towards the close of his life, when king Jaisingh Deva withdrew his heart from the world, he called many Bráhmans together on the bank of the Narbada close to Mándu. He gave each Bráhman a share of his wealth. And to the Bráhman in whom he had the greatest faith he gave the philosopher's stone. Enraged at the gift of a paltry stone the Bráhman threw it into the Narbada, and there the philosopher's stone still lies. The emperor continues: On the 20th of Farwardín, five weeks after my arrival (11th April 1617) in reward for his services in repairing the buildings of Mándu, I conferred on my engineer Abdul Karím the command of 1200 horse, with the title of Maámúr Khán.

Mándu had for the emperor the strong attraction of abundance of game. Among numerous entries of nílgái or blue-bull shooting the following occur: On the 4th of the first month of Farwardín (16th) March the watchmen of the chase brought word that they had marked down a lion near the Ságar Lake, which is a construction of the ancient rulers of Mándu. I mounted and proceeded towards the lake. When the lion broke cover he attacked and wounded ten or twelve of the Ahádís [982] and other men of my retinue. In the end I brought him down with three gun shots and saved God's creatures from his evil. On the 22nd of the same month (April 3rd, 1617) the watchmen brought news of a tiger. I mounted forthwith and despatched him with three bullets. On the 7th of Ardí Bihisht (April 18th, 1617) the watchmen brought word that they had marked down four tigers. At one in the afternoon I started for the place with Núr Jehán Begam. Núr Jehán asked my leave to shoot the tigers with her gun. I said "Be it so." In a trice she killed these four tigers with six bullets. I had never seen such shooting. To shoot from the back of an elephant from within a closed howdah and bring down with six bullets four wild beasts without giving them an opportunity of moving or springing is wonderful. In acknowledgment of this capital marksmanship I ordered a thousand ashrafis (Rs. 4500) to be scattered [983] over Núr Jehán and granted her a pair of ruby wristlets worth a lákh of rupees. [984]

Of the mangoes of Mándu Jehángír says: In these days many mangoes have come into my fruit stores from the Dakhan, Burhánpur, Gujarát, and the districts of Málwa. This country is famous for its mangoes. There are few places the mangoes of which can rival those of this country in richness of flavour, in sweetness, in freedom from fibre, and in size. [985]

The rains set in with unusual severity. Rain fell for forty days continuously. With the rain were severe thunderstorms accompanied by lightning which injured some of the old buildings. [986] His account of the beauty of the hill in July, when clear sunshine followed the forty days of rain, is one of the pleasantest passages in Jehángír's Memoirs: What words of mine can describe the beauty of the grass and of the wild flowers! They clothe each hill and dale, each slope and plain. I know of no place so pleasant in climate and so pretty in scenery as Mándu in the rainy season. This month of July which is one of the months of the hot season, the sun being in Leo, one cannot sleep within the house without a coverlet, and during the day there is no need for a fan. What I have noticed is but a small part of the many beauties of Mándu. Two things I have seen here which I had seen nowhere in India. One of them is the tree of the wild plantain which grows all over the hill top, the other is the nest of the mamolah or wagtail. Till now no bird-catcher could tell its nest. It so happened that in the building where I lodged we found a wagtail's nest with two young ones.

The following additional entries in the Memoirs belong to Jehángír's stay at Mándu. Among the presents submitted by Mahábat Khán, who received the honour of kissing the ground at Mándu, Jehángír describes a ruby weighing eleven miskáls. [987] He says: This ruby was brought to Ajmír last year by a Frankish jeweller who wanted two lákhs of rupees for it. Mahábat Khán bought it at Burhánpur for one lákh of rupees. [988]

On the 1st of Tír, the fourth month of the Persian year (15th May 1617), the Hindu chiefs of the neighbourhood came to pay their respects and present their tribute. The Hindu chief of Jítpúr in the neighbourhood of Mándu, through his evil fortune, did not come to kiss the threshold. [989] For this reason I ordered Fidáíkhán to pillage the Jítpúr country at the head of thirteen officers and four or five hundred matchlockmen. On the approach of Fidáíkhán the chief fled. He is now reported to regret his past conduct and to intend to come to Court and make his submission. On the 9th of Yúr, the sixth month of the Persian calendar (late July, A.D. 1617), I heard that while raiding the lands of the chief of Jítpúr, Rúh-ul-láh, the brother of Fidáíkhán, was slain with a lance in the village where the chief's wives and children were in hiding. The village was burned, and the women and daughters of the rebel chief were taken captives. [990]

The beautiful surroundings of the Ságar lake offered to the elegant taste of Núr Jehán a fitting opportunity for honouring the Shab-i-Barát or Night of Jubilee with special illuminations. The emperor describes the result in these words: On the evening of Thursday the 19th of Amardád, the fifth month of the Persian year (early July, A.D. 1617), I went with the ladies of the palace to see the buildings and palaces on the Ságar lake which were built by the old kings of Mándu. The 26th of Amardád (about mid-July) was the Shab-i-Barát holiday. I ordered a jubilee or assembly of joy to be held on the occasion in one of the palaces occupied by Núr Jehán Begam in the midst of the big lake. The nobles and others were invited to attend this party which was organized by the Begam, and I ordered the cup and other intoxicants with various fruits and minced meats to be given to all who wished them. It was a wonderful gathering. As evening set in the lanterns and lamps gleaming along the banks of the lake made an illumination such as never had been seen. The countless lights with which the palaces and buildings were ablaze shining on the lake made the whole surface of the water appear to be on fire. [991]

The Memoirs continue: On Sunday the 9th of Yúr, the sixth Persian month (late July), I went with the ladies of the palace to the quarters of Ásaf Khán, Núr Jehán's brother, the second son of Mirza Ghiás Beg. I found Ásaf Khán lodged in a glen of great beauty surrounded by other little vales and dells with waterfalls and running streamlets and green and shady mango groves. In one of these dells were from two to three hundred sweet pandanus or kewda trees. I passed a very happy day in this spot and got up a wine party with some of my lords-in-waiting, giving them bumpers of wine. [992] Two months later (early September) Jehángír has the following entry [993] regarding a visit from his eldest son and heir prince Khurram, afterwards the emperor Shah Jehán, who had lately brought the war in the Dakhan to a successful close. On the 8th of the month of Máh (H. 1026: according to Roe September 2nd, 1617), my son of exalted name obtained the good fortune of waiting upon me in the fort of Mándu after three-quarters and one ghadi of the day had passed, that is about half an hour after sunrise. He had been absent fifteen months and eleven days. After he had performed the ceremonies of kissing the ground and the kurnish or prostration, I called him up to my bay window or jharokah. In a transport of affection I could not restrain myself from getting up and taking him into my arms. The more I increased the measure of affection and honours the more humility and respect did he show. I called him near me and made him sit by me. He submitted a thousand ashrafis (= Rs. 4500) and a thousand rupees as a gift or nazar and the same amount as sacrifice or nisár. As there was not time for me to inspect all his presents he produced the elephant Sarnák, the best of the elephants of Ádil Khán of Bijápur. He also gave me a case full of the rarest precious stones. I ordered the military paymasters to make presents to his nobles according to their rank. The first to come was Khán Jehán, whom I allowed the honour of kissing my feet. For his victory over the Rána of Chitor I had before granted to my fortunate child Kurram the rank of a commander of 20,000 with 10,000 horse. Now for his service in the Dakhan I made him a commander of 30,000 and 20,000 horse with the title of Sháh Jehán. I also ordered that henceforward he should enjoy the privilege of sitting on a stool near my throne, an honour which did not exist and is the first of its kind granted to anyone in my family. I further granted him a special dress. To do him honour I came down from the window and with my own hand scattered over his head as sacrifice a trayfull of precious stones as well as a large trayfull of gold.

Jehángír's last Mándu entry is this: On the night of Friday in the month of Abán (October 24th, 1617) in all happiness and good fortune I marched from Mándu and halted on the bank of the lake at Naâlchah.

Jehángír's stay at Mándu is referred to by more than one English traveller. In March 1617, the Rev. Edward Terry, chaplain to the Right Honourable Sir T. Roe Lord Ambassador to the Great Mughal, came to Mándu from Burhánpur in east Khándesh. [994] Terry crossed a broad river, the Narbada, at a great town called Anchabarpur (Akbarpur) [995] in the Nímár plain not far south of Mándu hill. The way up, probably by the Bhairav pass a few miles east of Mándu, seemed to Terry exceeding long. The ascent was very difficult, taking the carriages, apparently meaning coaches and wagons, two whole days. [996] Terry found the hill of Mándu stuck round with fair trees that kept their distance so, one from and below the other, that there was much delight in beholding them from either the bottom or the top of the hill. From one side only was the ascent not very high and steep. The top was flat plain and spacious with vast and far-stretching woods in which were lions tigers and other beasts of prey and many wild elephants. Terry passed through Mándu a few days' march across a plain and level country, apparently towards Dhár, where he met the Lord Ambassador Sir Thomas Roe, who had summoned Terry from Surat to be his chaplain. Sir Thomas Roe was then marching from Ajmír to Mándu with the Court of the emperor Jehángír, whom Terry calls the Great King.

On the 3rd of March, says Roe, the Mughal was to have entered Mándu. But all had to wait for the good hour fixed by the astrologers. From the 6th of March, when he entered Mándu, till the 24th of October, the emperor Jehángír, with Sir Thomas Roe in attendance, remained at Mándu. [997] According to Roe before the Mughal visited Mándu the hill was not much inhabited, having more ruins by far than standing houses. [998] But the moving city that accompanied the emperor soon overflowed the hill-top. According to Roe Jehángír's own encampment was walled round half a mile in circuit in the form of a fortress, with high screens or curtains of coarse stuff, somewhat like Aras hangings, red on the outside, the inside divided into compartments with a variety of figures. This enclosure had a handsome gateway and the circuit was formed into various coins and bulwarks. The posts that supported the curtains were all surmounted with brass tops. [999] Besides the emperor's encampment were the noblemen's quarters, each at an appointed distance from the king's tents, very handsome, some having their tents green, others white, others of mixed colours. The whole composed the most curious and magnificent sight Roe had ever beheld. [1000] The hour taken by Jehángír in passing from the Dehli Gate to his own quarters, the two English miles from Roe's lodge which was not far from the Dehli Gate to Jehángír's palace, and other reasons noted below make it almost certain that the Mughal's encampment and the camps of the leading nobles were on the open slopes to the south of the Sea Lake between Báz Bahádur's palace on the east and Songad on the west. And that the palace at Mándu from which Jehángír wrote was the building now known as Báz Bahádur's palace. [1001] A few months before it reached Mándu the imperial camp had turned the whole valley of Ajmír into a magnificent city, [1002] and a few weeks before reaching Mándu at Thoda, about fifty miles south-east of Ajmír, the camp formed a settlement not less in circuit than twenty English miles, equalling in size almost any town in Europe. [1003] In the middle of the encampment were all sorts of shops so regularly disposed that all persons knew where to go for everything.

The demands of so great a city overtaxed the powers of the deserted Mándu. The scarcity of water soon became so pressing that the poor were commanded to leave and all horses and cattle were ordered off the hill. [1004] Of the scarcity of water the English traveller Corryat, who was then a guest of Sir Thomas Roe, writes: On the first day one of my Lord's people, Master Herbert, brother to Sir Edward Herbert, found a fountain which, if he had not done, he would have had to send ten course (kos) every day for water to a river called Narbada that falleth into the Bay of Cambye near Broach. The custom being such that whatsoever fountain or tank is found by any great man in time of drought he shall keep it proper to his without interruption. The day after one of the king's Hadis (Ahádis) finding the same and striving for it was taken by my Lord's people and bound. [1005] Corryat adds: During the time of the great drought two Moor nobles daily sent ten camels to the Narbada and distributed the water to the poor, which was so dear they sold a little skin for 8 pies (one penny). [1006]

Terry notices that among the piles of buildings that held their heads above ruin were not a few unfrequented mosques or Muhammadan churches. Though the people who attended the king were marvellously straitened for room to put their most excellent horses, none would use the churches as stables, even though they were forsaken and out of use. This abstinence seems to have been voluntary, as Roe's servants, who were sent in advance, took possession of a fair court with walled enclosure in which was a goodly temple and a tomb. It was the best in the whole circuit of Mándu, the only drawback being that it was two miles from the king's house. [1007] The air was wholesome and the prospect was pleasant, as it was on the edge of the hill. [1008] The emperor, perhaps referring rather to the south of the hill, which from the elaborate building and repairs carried out in advance by Abdul Karím seems to have been called the New City, gives a less deserted impression of Mándu. He writes (24th March 1617): Many buildings and relics of the old kings are still standing, for as yet decay has not fallen upon the city. On the 24th I rode to see the royal edifices. First I visited the Jámá Masjid built by Sultán Hoshang Ghori. It is a very lofty building and erected entirely of hewn stone. Although it has been standing 180 years it looks as if built to-day. Then I visited the sepulchres of the kings and rulers of the Khilji dynasty, among which is the sepulchre of the eternally cursed Násir-ud-dín. [1009] Sher Sháh to show his horror of Násir-ud-dín, the father-slayer, ordered his people to beat Násir-ud-dín's tomb with sticks. Jehángir also kicked the grave. Then he ordered the tomb to be opened and the remains to be taken out and burnt. Finally, fearing the remains might pollute the eternal light, he ordered the ashes to be thrown into the Narbada. [1010]

The pleasant outlying position of Roe's lodge proved to be open to the objection that out of the vast wilderness wild beasts often came, seldom returning without a sheep, a goat, or a kid. One evening a great lion leapt over the stone wall that encompassed the yard and snapped up the Lord Ambassador's little white neat shock, that is as Roe explains a small Irish mastiff, which ran out barking at the lion. Out of the ruins of the mosque and tomb Roe built a lodge, [1011] and here he passed the rains with his "family," including besides his secretary, chaplain, and cook twenty-three Englishmen and about sixty native servants, and during part of the time the sturdy half-crazed traveller Tom Coryate or Corryat. [1012] They had their flock of sheep and goats, all necessaries belonging to the kitchen and everything else required for bodily use including bedding and all things pertaining thereto. [1013] Among the necessaries were tables [1014] and chairs, since the Ambassador refused to adopt the Mughal practice of sitting cross-legged on mats "like taylors on their shopboards." Roe's diet was dressed by an English and an Indian cook and was served on plate by waiters in red taffata cloaks guarded with green taffata. The chaplain wore a long black cassock, and the Lord Ambassador wore English habits made as light and cool as possible. [1015]

On the 12th of March, a few days after they were settled at Mándu, came the festival of the Persian New Year. Jehángír held a great reception seated on a throne of gold bespangled with rubies emeralds and turquoises. The hall was adorned with pictures of the King and Queen of England, the Princess Elizabeth, Sir Thomas Smith and others, with beautiful Persian hangings. On one side, on a little stage, was a couple of women singers. The king commanded that Sir T. Roe should come up and stand beside him on the steps of the throne where stood on one side the Persian Ambassador and on the other the old king of Kandahár with whom Sir T. Roe ranked. The king called the Persian Ambassador and gave him some stones and a young elephant. The Ambassador knelt and knocked his head against the steps of the throne to thank him. [1016] From time to time during Terry's stay at Mándu, the Mughal, with his stout daring Persian and Tartarian horsemen and some grandees, went out to take young wild elephants in the great woods that environed Mándu. The elephants were caught in strong toils prepared for the purpose and were manned and made fit for service. In these hunts the king and his men also pursued lions and other wild beasts on horseback, killing some of them with their bows carbines and lances. [1017]

The first of September was Jehángír's birthday. The king, says Corryat, [1018] was forty-five years old, of middle height, corpulent, of a seemly composition of body, and of an olive coloured skin. Roe went to pay his respects and was conducted apparently to Báz Bahádur's Gardens to the east of the Rewa Pool. This tangled orchard was then a beautiful garden with a great square pond or tank set all round with trees and flowers and in the middle of the garden a pavilion or pleasure-house under which hung the scales in which the king was to be weighed. [1019] The scales were of beaten gold set with many small stones as rubies and turquoises. They were hung by chains of gold, large and massive, but strengthened by silken ropes. The beam and tressels from which the scales hung were covered with thin plates of gold. All round were the nobles of the court seated on rich carpets waiting for the king. He came laden with diamonds rubies pearls and other precious vanities, making a great and glorious show. His swords targets and throne were corresponding in riches and splendour. His head neck breast and arms above the elbows and at the wrist were decked with chains of precious stones, and every finger had two or three rich rings. His legs were as it were fettered with chains of diamonds and rubies as large as walnuts and amazing pearls. He got into the scales crouching or sitting on his legs like a woman. To counterpoise his weight bags said to contain Rs. 9000 in silver were changed six times. After this he was weighed against bags containing gold jewels and precious stones. Then against cloth of gold, silk stuffs, cotton goods, spices, and all commodities. Last of all against meal, butter, and corn. Except the silver, which was reserved for the poor, all was said to be distributed to Baniahs (that is Bráhmans). [1020] After he was weighed Jehángír ascended the throne and had basons of nuts almonds and spices of all sorts given him. These the king threw about, and his great men scrambled prostrate on their bellies. Roe thought it not decent that he should scramble. And the king seeing that he stood aloof reached him a bason almost full and poured the contents into his cloak. [1021] Terry adds: The physicians noted the king's weight and spoke flatteringly of it. Then the Mughal drank to his nobles in his royal wine and the nobles pledged his health, The king drank also to the Lord Ambassador, whom he always treated with special consideration, and presented him with the cup of gold curiously enamelled and crusted with rubies turkesses and emeralds. [1022]

Of prince Khurram's visit Roe writes: A month later (October 2nd) the proud prince Khurram, afterwards the emperor Sháh Jehán (A.D. 1626-1657), returned from his glorious success in the Dakhan, accompanied by all the great men, in wondrous triumph. [1023] A week later (October 9th), hearing that the emperor was to pass near his lodging on his way to take the air at the Narbada, in accordance with the rule that the masters of all houses near which the king passes must make him a present, Roe took horse to meet the king. He offered the king an Atlas neatly bound, saying he presented the king with the whole world. The king was pleased. In return he praised Roe's lodge, which he had built out of the ruins of the temple and the ancient tomb, and which was one of the best lodges in the camp. [1024] Jehángír left Mándu on the 24th October. On the 30th when Roe started the hill was entirely deserted. [1025]

Terry mentions only two buildings at Mándu. One was the house of the Mughal, apparently Báz Bahádur's palace, which he describes as large and stately, built of excellent stone, well squared and put together, taking up a large compass of ground. He adds: We could never see how it was contrived within, as the king's wives and women were there. [1026] The only other building to which Terry refers, he calls "The Grot." Of the grot, which is almost certainly the pleasure-house Nílkanth, whose Persian inscriptions have been quoted above, Terry gives the following details: To the Mughal's house, at a small distance from it, belonged a very curious grot. In the building of the grot a way was made into a firm rock which showed itself on the side of the hill canopied over with part of that rock. It was a place that had much beauty in it by reason of the curious workmanship bestowed on it and much pleasure by reason of its coolness. [1027] Besides the fountain this grot has still one of the charmingly cool and murmuring scallopped rillstones where, as Terry says, water runs down a broad stone table with many hollows like to scallop shells, in its passage over the hollows making so pretty a murmur as helps to tie the senses with the bonds of sleep.

Sháh Jehán seems to have been pleased with Mándu. He returned in A.D. 1621 and stayed at Mándu till he marched north against his father in A.D. 1622. [1028] In March A.D. 1623, Sháh Jehán came out of Mándu with 20,000 horse, many elephants, and powerful artillery, intending to fight his brother Sháh Parwíz. [1029] After the failure of this expedition Sháh Jehán retired to Mándu. [1030] At this time (A.D. 1623) the Italian traveller Dela Valle ranks Mándu with Agra Láhor and Ahmedábád, as the four capitals, each endowed with an imperial palace and court. [1031] Five years later the great general Khán Jehán Lodi besieged Mándu, but apparently without success. [1032] Khán Jehán Lodi's siege of Mándu is interesting in connection with a description of Mándu in Herbert's Travels. Herbert, who was in Gujarát in A.D. 1626, says Mándu is seated at the side of a declining hill (apparently Herbert refers to the slope from the southern crest northwards to Ságar Lake and the Grot or Nílkanth) in which both for ornament and defence is a castle which is strong in being encompassed with a defensive wall of nearly five miles (probably kos that is ten miles): the whole, he adds, heretofore had fifteen miles circuit. But the city later built is of less time yet fresher beauty, whether you behold the temples (in one of which are entombed four kings), palaces or fortresses, especially that tower which is elevated 170 steps, supported by massive pillars and adorned with gates and windows very observable. It was built by Khán Jehán, who there lies buried. The confusedness of these details shows that Herbert obtained them second-hand, probably from Corryat's Master Herbert on Sir T. Roe's staff. [1033] The new city of fresher beauty is probably a reference to the buildings raised and repaired by Abdul Karím against Jehángír's coming, among which the chief seems to have been the palace now known by the name of Báz Bahádur. The tower of 170 steps is Mehmúd Khilji's Tower of Victory, erected in A.D. 1443, the Khán Jehán being Mehmúd's father, the great minister Khán Jehán Aâzam Humáyún.

[The Maráthás, A.D. 1720-1820.] In A.D. 1658 a Rája Shívráj was commandant of Mándu. [1034] No reference has been traced to any imperial visit to Mándu during Aurangzíb's reign. But that great monarch has left an example of his watchful care in the rebuilding of the Âlamgír or Aurangzíb Gate, which guards the approach to the stone-crossing of the great northern ravine and bears an inscription of A.D. 1668, the eleventh year of Âlamgír's reign. In spite of this additional safeguard thirty years later (A.D. 1696) Mándu was taken and the standard of Udáji Pavár was planted on the battlement. [1035] The Maráthás soon withdrew and Málwa again passed under an imperial governor. In A.D. 1708 the Shía-loving emperor Bahádur Sháh I. (A.D. 1707-1712) visited Mándu, and there received from Ahmedábád a copy of the Kurâán written by Imám Âli Taki, son of Imám Músa Raza (A.D. 810-829), seventh in descent from Âli, the famous son-in-law of the Prophet, the first of Musalmán mystics. In A.D. 1717 Ásaph Jáh Nizám-ul-Mulk was appointed governor of Málwa and continued to manage the province by deputy till A.D. 1721. In A.D. 1722 Rája Girdhar Bahádur, a Nágar Bráhman, was made governor and remained in charge till in A.D. 1724 he was attacked and defeated by Chimnáji Pandit and Udáji Pavár. [1036] Rája Girdhar was succeeded by his relation Dia Bahádur, whose successful government ended in A.D. 1732, when through the secret help of the local chiefs Malhárráo Holkar led an army up the Bhairav pass, a few miles east of Mándu, and at Tirellah, between Amjera and Dhár, defeated and slew Dia Bahádur. As neither the next governor Muhammad Khán Bangash nor his successor Rája Jai Singh of Jaipúr were able to oust the Maráthás, their success was admitted in A.D. 1734 by the appointment of Peshwa Bájiráo (A.D. 1720-1740) to be governor of Málwa. On his appointment (A.D. 1734) the Peshwa chose Anand Ráo Pavár as his deputy. Anand Ráo shortly after settled at Dhár, and since A.D. 1734 Mándu has continued part of the territory of the Pavárs of Dhar. [1037] In A.D. 1805 Mándu sheltered the heroic Mína Bái during the birth-time of her son Rámchundra Ráo Pavár, whose state was saved from the clutches of Holkar and Sindhia by the establishment of British overlordship in A.D. 1817. [1038]

[Notices, A.D. 1820-1895.] In A.D. 1820 Sir John Malcolm [1039] describes the hill-top as a place of religious resort occupied by some mendicants. The holy places on the hill are the shrine of Hoshang Ghori, whose guardian spirit still scares barrenness and other disease fiends [1040] and the Rewa or Narbada Pool, whose holy water, according to common belief, prevents the dreaded return of the spirit of the Hindu whose ashes are strewn on its surface, or, in the refined phrase of the Bráhman, enables the dead to lose self in the ocean of being. [1041] In A.D. 1820 the Jámá Mosque, Hoshang's tomb, and the palaces of Báz Bahádur were still fine remains, though surrounded with jungle and fast crumbling to pieces. [1042] In A.D. 1827 Colonel Briggs says [1043]: Perhaps no part of India so abounds with tigers as the neighbourhood of the once famous city of Mándu. The capital now deserted by man is overgrown by forest and from being the seat of luxury, elegance, and wealth, it has become the abode of wild beasts and is resorted to by the few Europeans in that quarter for the pleasure of destroying them. Instances have been known of tigers being so bold as to carry off troopers riding in the ranks of their regiments. Twelve years later (A.D. 1839) Mr. Fergusson [1044] found the hill a vast uninhabited jungle, the rank vegetation tearing the buildings of the city to pieces and obscuring them so that they could hardly be seen. [1045] Between A.D. 1842 and 1852 tigers are described as prowling among the regal rooms, the half-savage marauding Bhíl as eating his meal and feeding his cattle in the cloisters of its sanctuaries and the insidious pípal as levelling to the earth the magnificent remains. [1046] So favourite a tiger retreat was the Jaház Palace that it was dangerous to venture into it unarmed. Close to the very huts of the poor central village, near the Jámá Mosque, cattle were frequently seized by tigers. In the south tigers came nightly to drink at the Ságar lake. Huge bonfires had to be burnt to prevent them attacking the houses. [1047] In A.D. 1883 Captain Eastwick wrote: At Mándu the traveller will require some armed men, as tigers are very numerous and dangerous. He will do well not to have any dogs with him, as the panthers will take them even from under his bed. [1048] If this was true of Mándu in A.D. 1883--and is not as seems likely the repetition of an old-world tale--the last ten years have wrought notable changes. Through the interest His Highness Sir Anand Ráo Pavár, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., the present Mahárája of Dhár takes in the old capital of his state, travelling in Mándu is now as safe and easier than in many, perhaps than in most, outlying districts. A phæton can drive across the northern ravine-moat through the three gateways and along the hill-top, at least as far south as the Sea Lake. Large stretches of the level are cleared and tilled, and herds of cattle graze free from the dread of wild beasts. The leading buildings have been saved from their ruinous tree-growth, the underwood has been cleared, the marauding Bhíl has settled to tillage, the tiger, even the panther, is nearly as rare as the wild elephant, and finally its old wholesomeness has returned to the air of the hill-top.

This sketch notices only the main events and the main buildings. Even about the main buildings much is still doubtful. Many inscriptions, some in the puzzling interlaced Tughra character, have still to be read. They may bring to light traces of the Mándu kings and of the Mughal emperors, whose connection with Mándu, so far as the buildings are concerned, is still a blank. The ruins are so many and so widespread that weeks are wanted to ensure their complete examination. It may be hoped that at no distant date Major Delasseau, the Political Agent of Dhár, whose opportunities are not more special than his knowledge, may be able to prepare a complete description of the hill and of its many ruins and writings.

MARÁTHA HISTORY
OF
GUJARÁT:

A.D. 1760-1819.

BY
J. A. BAINES Esquire, C.S.I.,
LATE OF H.M.'s BOMBAY CIVIL SERVICE.

[Contributed in 1879.]

HISTORY OF GUJARÁT.

MARÁTHA PERIOD.

A.D. 1760-1819.

It will be evident from what has been related in the Musalmán portion of this history that long before 1760, the Maráthás had a firm foothold in Gujarát, and were able to dictate to the local chiefs the policy of the Dakhan Court. Long before 1819 too, Marátha influence was on the wane before the rising fortunes of the British. Between these two dates however is comprised the whole or nearly the whole of the period during which the Maráthás were virtually paramount in Gujarát. From each of these two dates the political history took a new departure, and on this account they serve respectively to denote the starting point and terminus of Marátha supremacy. Most of what took place before 1760 is so interwoven with the interests and intrigues of the Muhammadan delegates of the court of Dehli that it has been fully described in the history of the Musalmán Period. It is however necessary, in order to trace the growth of Marátha power, to briefly set forth in a continuous narrative the events in which this race was principally concerned, adding such as transpired independently of Musalmán politics. This task is rendered easier by the very nature of Marátha policy, which has left little to be recorded of its action in Gujarát beyond the deeds and fortunes of its initiators and their adherents.

The connection of the Maráthás with Gujarát can be divided by the chronicler into the following periods. First, the time of predatory inroads from 1664 to 1743, before the leaders of these expeditions had permanently established themselves within the province. Secondly, what may be termed the mercenary period, when the Maráthás partly by independent action, but far more by a course of judicious interference in the quarrels of the Muhammadan officials and by loans of troops, had acquired considerable territorial advantages. Towards the end of this period, as has been already seen, their aid was usually sufficient to ensure the success of the side which had managed to secure it, and at last the capital itself was claimed and held by them. Then came the time of domination, from 1760 to 1801, during which period the Gáikwár influence was occasionally greater than that of the Peshwa. From 1802, internal dissensions at the courts of Poona and Baroda weakened the hold the Maráthás had on the province, and the paramount power had to all intents and purposes passed over to the British long before the downfall of Bájiráv Peshwa and the final annexation of his rights and territory in 1819. Shortly after, when the Gáikwár made over to the British the work of collecting the tribute from Káthiáváda, Marátha supremacy came to an end.

[Siváji's First Inroad, 1664.] The first Marátha force that made its appearance in Gujarát was led there early in 1664 by Siváji. This leader was at the time engaged in a warfare with the Mughals, which, however desultory, required him to keep up a much larger force than could be supported out of the revenues of his dominions. He therefore looked to plunder to supply the deficiency, and Surat, then the richest town of Western India, was marked down by him as an easy prey. His mode of attack was cautious. He first sent one Bahirji Náik to spy out the country and report the chances of a rich booty, whilst he himself moved a force up to Junnar on pretence of visiting some forts in that direction recently acquired by one of his subordinates. On receiving a favourable report from Bahirji, Siváji gave out that he was going to perform religious ceremonies at Násik, and taking with him 4000 picked horsemen, he marched suddenly down the Gháts and through the Dáng jungles, and appeared before Surat. There he found an insignificant garrison, so he rested outside the city six days whilst his men plundered at their leisure. On hearing of the tardy approach of a relieving force sent by the governor of Ahmedábád, Siváji beat a retreat with all his booty to the stronghold of Ráygad. By the time the reinforcement reached Surat, the only trace of the invaders was the emptied coffers of the inhabitants. About the same time, or shortly after, the fleet which Siváji had equipped at Alibág about two years before came up to the mouth of the gulf of Cambay and carried off one or two Mughal ships which were conveying to Makka large numbers of pilgrims with their rich oblations. [1049]

[Siváji's Second Attack, 1670.] This insult to the Muhammadan religion was enough to incense the bigoted Aurangzeb, apart from the additional offences of the sack of Surat and the assumption in 1665 of royal insignia by Siváji. He therefore sent an expedition to the Dakhan strong enough to keep the Maráthás for some time away from Gujarát. One of Siváji's officers, however, seems to have attacked a part of the Surat district in 1666, and to have got off safely with his spoils. In 1670, Siváji again descended upon that city with about 15,000 men. The only serious resistance he experienced was, as before, from the English factors. He plundered the town for three days, and only left on receiving some information about the Mughals' movements in the Dakhan, which made him fear lest he should be intercepted on his way back to the country about the Gháts.

[1671.] Siváji left a claim for twelve lákhs of rupees to be paid as a guarantee against future expeditions. It is possible, however, that as he does not appear to have taken any immediate steps to recover this sum, the demand was made only in accordance with Marátha policy, which looked upon a country once overrun as tributary, and assumed a right to exercise paramount authority over it by virtue of the completed act of a successful invasion. In 1671 the Marátha fleet was ordered to sail up the gulf and plunder Broach, and it is probable that Siváji intended at the same time to levy tribute from Surat, but the whole expedition was countermanded before the ships sailed.

The conduct of the military authorities in Gujarát with regard to this expedition of 1670 was such as to render it highly probable that the Mughal leaders were in complicity with the Maráthás in order to gain the favour and support of their leader. Shortly before Siváji's arrival there had been a large garrison in Surat, apparently kept there by the governor, who suspected that some attempt on the town would soon be made. This garrison was withdrawn before Siváji's attack, and almost immediately after his departure 5000 men were sent back again. The commanders of the Mughal army in the Dakhan were Jasvant Singh the Ráhtor chief of Jodhpur and prince Muazzam. Jasvant Singh had been viceroy of Gujarát from A.D. 1659 to 1662, and in A.D. 1671 shortly after Siváji's second expedition was re-appointed to that post for three years. He had, moreover, been accused of taking bribes from Siváji during the operations in the Dakhan. Prince Muazzam, again, had every reason for wishing to secure to himself so powerful an ally as Siváji in the struggle for the imperial crown that took place, as a rule, at every succession. Aurangzeb, reasoning from his own experiences as a son, refused to allow a possible heir to his throne to become powerful at court; and accordingly sent him against Siváji with an army quite inadequate for such operations. It is therefore not unreasonable to suppose that if there had not been some previous understanding between Siváji and the Mughal leaders, the troops that were known to be within easy reach of Surat would have been found strong and numerous enough either to have repulsed him altogether or at least to have prevented the three days' sack of the city.

[Sáler Taken, 1672.] In A.D. 1672 Siváji took some of the small forts to the south of Surat, such as Párnera and Bagváda, now in the Párdi sub-division of the Surat district, whilst Moro Trimal got possession of the large fort of Sáler in Báglán, which guarded one of the most frequented passes from the Dakhan into Gujarát. The Maráthás were thus able to command the routes along which their expeditions could most conveniently be despatched.

[The Narbada Crossed, 1675.] No further incursion was made till 1675, in which year a Marátha force first crossed the Narbada. On the resumption of hostilities between Siváji and the Mughals, Hasáji Mohite, who had been made Senápati, with the title of Hambirráv, marched up the North Konkan, and divided his army into two forces near Surat. One portion plundered towards Burhánpur, the other commanded by himself plundered the Broach district. Ten years later a successful expedition was made against Broach itself, either preconcerted or actually led by a younger son of Aurangzeb, who had taken refuge with the Maráthás. Broach was plundered, and the booty safely carried off before the local force could get near the invaders. Gujarát was now left free from inroad for some fourteen years, probably because the attention of the Marátha leaders was concentrated on their quarrels in the Dakhan.

[Raids by Dábháde, 1699.] In A.D. 1699 Rám Rája appointed one of his most trusted officers, Khanderáv Dábháde, to collect in Báglán the chauth [1050] and sardeshmukhi imposts which had by that time become regularly instituted. This chief, whose name was afterwards so intimately connected with Gujarát, not only collected all that was due to his master from the village officers in Báglán, but also made an incursion into the Surat districts on his own account. [1700-1704.] Between 1700 and 1704 Khanderáv attempted two expeditions, but was foiled by the vigilance of the Mughal authorities. [1705.] In 1705, however, he made a raid on a large scale and got safely across the Narbada, where he defeated two Muhammadan detachments sent against him, and got back to Sáler with his booty. [1706-1711.] Khanderáv now kept bodies of troops constantly hovering on the outskirts of Gujarát and along the road to Burhánpur. He himself led several expeditions into the Ahmedábád territory, and is said to have once got as far as Sorath in the peninsula, where however he was repelled by the Musalmán governor. In 1711, again he was severely defeated by the Mughals near Anklesvar in the Broach district, and had to withdraw to the borders of Khándesh.

[1713.] In 1713 some treasure was being conveyed from Surat to Aurangábád escorted by a large force under Muhammad Tabrízí. The party was attacked in the jungles east of Surat and the treasure carried off. Just before this, Sarbuland Khán, the deputy viceroy, on his way to take up his office at Ahmedábád, was attacked and robbed in the wilds of Ságbára on the north bank of the Tápti. As Khanderáv had a short while previous to these occurrences taken up his position near Nándod [1051] in the Rájpipla territory, it is probably to him or to his subordinates that these raids are to be attributed. He managed by a system of outposts to cut off communication between Surat and Burhánpur, except for those who had paid him a fee for safe conduct. If this charge was evaded or resisted, he appropriated one-fourth of the property that the traveller was conveying up country.

[Dábháde, 1716.] As the Burhánpur road was one of those most frequented by both pilgrims and merchants, the Dehli authorities were obliged, in 1716, to organize an expedition against Dábháde. The leader of the force was one Zulfikar Beg, an officer inexperienced in Marátha warfare. Dábháde found little difficulty in decoying him into a mountainous country, and there completely defeated him with the usual Marátha accompaniment of plunder.

[Dábháde Senápati.] Finding himself once more in the Dakhan, Khanderáv Dábháde took the opportunity of rejoining the court at Sátára, from which he had long been absent. He was lucky enough to arrive just as the Senápati Manáji Morár had failed on an important expedition and was consequently in disgrace. Rája Sháhu, pleased with Khanderáv's recent success against the Delhi troops, divested Manáji of the title of Senápati, and bestowed it upon the more fortunate leader.

[The Peshwa's Negotiations, 1717.] Khanderáv remained away from Gujarát for three years, accompanying, meanwhile, Báláji Vishvanáth the Peshwa to Dehli, where the latter was engaged in negotiations for the confirmation of the Marátha rights to chauth and other tribute from certain districts in the Dakhan.