Chapter XIX: Part 19

Properly the proposal for a Rajput marriage should emanate from the bride's side, and the customary method of making it was to send a cocoanut to the bridegroom. 'The cocoanut came,' was the phrase used to intimate that a proposal of marriage had been made. [470] It is possible that the bride's initiative was a relic of the Swayamwara or maiden's choice, when a king's daughter placed a garland on the neck of the youth she preferred among the competitors in a tournament, and among some Rajputs the Jayamala or garland of victory is still hung round the bridegroom's neck in memory of this custom; but it may also have been due to the fact that the bride had to pay the dowry. One tenth of this was paid as earnest when the match had been arranged, and the boy's party could not then recede from it. At the entrance of the marriage-shed was hung the _toran_, a triangle of three wooden bars, having the apex crowned with the effigy of a peacock. The bridegroom on horseback, lance in hand, proceeded to break the _toran_, which was defended by the damsels of the bride. They assailed him with missiles of various kinds, and especially with red powder made from the flowers of the _palas_ [471] tree, at the same time singing songs full of immoral allusions. At length the _toran_ was broken amid the shouts of the retainers, and the fair defenders retired. If the bridegroom could not attend in person his sword was sent to represent him, and was carried round the marriage-post, with the bride, this being considered a proper and valid marriage. At the rite of _hatleva_ or joining the hands of the couple it was customary that any request made by the bridegroom to the bride's father should meet with compliance, and this usage has led to many fatal results in history. Another now obsolete custom was that the bride's father should present an elephant to his son-in-law as part of the dowry, but when a man could not afford a real elephant a small golden image of the animal might be substituted. In noble families the bride was often accompanied to her husband's house by a number of maidens belonging to the servant and menial castes. These were called Devadhari or lamp-bearers, and became inmates of the harem, their offspring being _golas_ or slaves. In time of famine many of the poor had also perforce to sell themselves as slaves in order to obtain subsistence, and a chiefs household would thus contain a large number of them. They were still adorned in Mewar, Colonel Tod states, like the Saxon slaves of old, with a silver ring round the left ankle instead of the neck. They were well treated, and were often among the best of the military retainers; they took rank among themselves according to the quality of the mothers, and often held confidential places about the ruler's person. A former chief of Deogarh would appear at court with three hundred _golas_ or slaves on horseback in his train, men whose lives were his own. [472] These special customs have now generally been abandoned by the Rajputs of the Central Provinces, and their weddings conform to the usual Hindu type as described in the article on Kurmi. The remarriage of widows is now recognised in the southern Districts, though not in the north; but even here widows frequently do marry and their offspring are received into the caste, though with a lower status than those who do not permit this custom. Among the Baghels a full Rajput will allow a relative born of a remarried widow to cook his food for him, but not to add the salt nor to eat it with him. Those who permit the second marriage of widows also allow a divorced woman to remain in the caste and to marry again. But among proper Rajputs, as with Brahmans, a wife who goes wrong is simply put away and expelled from the society. Polygamy is permitted and was formerly common among the chiefs. Each wife was maintained in a separate suite of rooms, and the chief dined and spent the evening alternately with each of them in her own quarters. The lady with her attendants would prepare dinner for him and wait upon him while he ate it, waving the punkah or fan behind him and entertaining him with her remarks, which, according to report, frequently constituted a pretty severe curtain lecture.

6. Funeral rites

The dead are burnt, except infants, whose bodies are buried. Mourning is observed for thirteen days for a man, nine days for a woman, and three days for a child. The _shraddh_ ceremony or offering of sacrificial cakes to the spirit is performed either during the usual period in the month of Kunwar (September), or on the anniversary day of the death. It was formerly held that if a Kshatriya died on the battlefield it was unnecessary to perform his funeral rites because his spirit went straight to heaven, and thus the end to which the ceremonies were directed was already attained without them. It was also said that the wife of a man dying such a death should not regard herself as a widow nor undergo the privations imposed on widowhood. But this did not apply so far as self-immolation was concerned, since the wives of warriors dying in battle very frequently became _sati_. In the case of chiefs also it was sometimes the custom, probably for political reasons, that the heir should not observe mourning; because if he did so he would be incapable of appearing in an assembly for thirteen days, or of taking the public action which might be requisite to safeguard his succession. The body of the late chief would be carried out by the back door of the house, and as soon as it left his successor would take his seat on the _gaddi_ or cushion and begin to discharge the public business of government.

7. Religion

The principal deity of the Rajputs is the goddess Devi or Durga in her more terrible form as the goddess of war. Their swords were sacred to her, and at the Dasahra festival they worshipped their swords and other weapons of war and their horses. The dreadful goddess also protected the virtue of the Rajput women and caused to be enacted the terrible holocausts, not infrequent in Rajput history, when some stronghold was besieged and could hold out no longer. A great furnace was then kindled in the citadel and into this the women, young and old, threw themselves, or else died by their husbands' swords, while the men, drunk with _bhang_ and wearing saffron-coloured robes, sallied out to sell their lives to the enemy as dearly as possible. It is related that on one occasion Akbar desired to attempt the virtue of a queen of the Sesodia clan, and for that purpose caused her to lose herself in one of the mazes of his palace. The emperor appeared before her suddenly as she was alone, but the lady, drawing a dagger, threatened to plunge it into her breast if he did not respect her, and at the same time the goddess of her house appeared riding on a tiger. The baffled emperor gave way and retired, and her life and virtue were saved.

The Rajputs also worship the sun, whom many of them look upon as their first ancestor. They revere the animals and trees sacred to the Hindus, and some clans show special veneration to a particular tree, never cutting or breaking the branches or leaves. In this manner the Bundelas revere the _kadamb_ tree, the Panwars the _nim_ [473] tree, the Rathors the pipal [474] tree, and so on. This seems to be a relic of totemistic usage. In former times each clan had also a tribal god, who was its protector and leader and watched over the destinies of the clan. Sometimes it accompanied the clan into battle. "Every royal house has its palladium, which is frequently borne to battle at the saddle-bow of the prince. Rao Bhima Hara of Kotah lost his life and protecting deity together. The celebrated Khichi (Chauhan) leader Jai Singh never took the field without the god before him. 'Victory to Bujrung' was his signal for the charge so dreaded by the Maratha, and often has the deity been sprinkled with his blood and that of the foe." [475] It is said that a Rajput should always kill a snake if he sees one, because the snake, though a prince among Rajputs, is an enemy, and he should not let it live. If he does not kill it, the snake will curse him and bring ill-luck upon him. The same rule applies, though with less binding force, to a tiger.

8. Food

The Rajputs eat the flesh of clean animals, but not pigs or fowls. They are, however, fond of the sport of pig-sticking, and many clans, as the Bundelas and others, will eat the flesh of the wild pig. This custom was perhaps formerly universal. Some of them eat of male animals only and not of females, either because they fear that the latter would render them effeminate or that they consider the sin to be less. Some only eat animals killed by the method of _jatka_ or severing the head with one stroke of the sword or knife. They will not eat animals killed in the Muhammadan fashion by cutting the throat. They abstain from the flesh of the _nilgai_ or blue bull as being an animal of the cow tribe. Among the Brahmans and Rajputs food cooked with water must not be placed in bamboo baskets, nor must anything made of bamboo be brought into the _rasoya_ or cooking-place, or the _chauka_, the space cleaned and marked out for meals. A special brush of date-palm fibre is kept solely for sweeping these parts of the house. At a Rajput banquet it was the custom for the prince to send a little food from his own plate or from the dish before him to any guest whom he especially wished to honour, and to receive this was considered a very high distinction. In Mewar the test of legitimacy in a prince of the royal house was the permission to eat from the chief's plate. The grant of this privilege conferred a recognised position, while its denial excluded the member in question from the right to the succession. [476] This custom indicates the importance attached to the taking of food together as a covenant or sacrament.

9. Opium

The Rajputs abstain from alcoholic liquor, though some of the lower class, as the Bundelas, drink it. In classical times there is no doubt that they drank freely, but have had to conform to the prohibition of liquor imposed by the Brahmans on high-caste Hindus. In lieu of liquor they became much addicted to the noxious drugs, opium and ganja or Indian hemp, drinking the latter in the form of the intoxicating liquid known as _bhangs_, which is prepared from its leaves. _Bhang_ was as a rule drunk by the Rajputs before battle, and especially as a preparation for those last sallies from a besieged fortress in which the defenders threw away their lives. There is little reason to doubt that they considered the frenzy and carelessness of death produced by the liquor as a form of divine possession. Opium has contributed much to the degeneration of the Rajputs, and their relapse to an idle, sensuous life when their energies were no longer maintained by the need of continuous fighting for the protection of their country. The following account by Forbes of a Rajput's daily life well illustrates the slothful effeminacy caused by the drug: [477] "In times of peace and ease the Rajput leads an indolent and monotonous life. It is usually some time after sunrise before he bestirs himself and begins to call for his hookah; after smoking he enjoys the luxury of tea or coffee, and commences his toilet and ablutions, which dispose of a considerable part of the morning. It is soon breakfast-time, and after breakfast the hookah is again in requisition, with but few intervals of conversation until noon. The time has now arrived for a siesta, which lasts till about three in the afternoon. At this hour the chief gets up again, washes his hands and face, and prepares for the great business of the day, the distribution of the red cup, _kusumba_ or opium. He calls together his friends into the public hall, or perhaps retires with them to a garden-house. Opium is produced, which is pounded in a brass vessel and mixed with water; it is then strained into a dish with a spout, from which it is poured into the chief's hand. One after the other the guests now come up, each protesting that _kusumba_ is wholly repugnant to his taste and very injurious to his health, but after a little pressing first one and then another touches the chief's hand in two or three places, muttering the names of Deos (gods), friends or others, and drains the draught. Each after drinking washes the chief's hand in a dish of water which a servant offers, and after wiping it dry with his own scarf makes way for his neighbour. After this refreshment the chief and his guests sit down in the public hall, and amuse themselves with chess, draughts or games of chance, or perhaps dancing-girls are called in to exhibit their monotonous measures, or musicians and singers, or the never-failing favourites, the Bhats and Charans. At sunset the torch-bearers appear and supply the chamber with light, upon which all those who are seated therein rise and make obeisance towards the chief's cushion. They resume their seats, and playing, singing, dancing, story-telling go on as before. At about eight the chief rises to retire to his dinner and his hookah, and the party is broken up." There is little reason to doubt that the Rajputs ascribed a divine character to opium and the mental exaltation produced by it, as suggested in the article on Kalar in reference to the Hindus generally. Opium was commonly offered at the shrines of deified Rajput heroes. Colonel Tod states: "_Umul lar khana_, to eat opium together, is the most inviolable, pledge, and an agreement ratified by this ceremony is stronger than any adjuration." [478] The account given by Forbes of the manner in which the drug was distributed by the chief from his own hand to all his clansmen indicates that the drinking of it was the renewal of a kind of pledge or covenant between them, analogous to the custom of pledging one another with wine, and a substitute for the covenant made by taking food together, which originated from the sacrificial meal. It has already been seen that the Rajputs attached the most solemn meaning and virtue to the act of partaking of the chief's food, and it is legitimate to infer that they regarded the drinking of a sacred drug like opium from his hand in the same light. The following account [479] of the drinking of healths in a Highland clan had, it may be suggested, originally the same significance as the distribution of opium by the Rajput chief: "Lord Lovat was wont in the hall before dinner to have a kind of herald proclaiming his pedigree, which reached almost up to Noah, and showed each man present to be a cadet of his family, whilst after dinner he drank to every one of his cousins by name, each of them in return pledging him--the better sort in French claret, the lower class in husky (whisky)." Here also the drinking of wine together perhaps implied the renewal of a pledge of fealty and protection between the chief and his clansmen, all of whom were held to be of his kin. The belief in the kinship of the whole clan existed among the Rajputs exactly as in the Scotch clans. In speaking of the Rathors Colonel Tod states that they brought into the field fifty thousand men, _Ek bap ka beta_, the sons of one father, to combat with the emperor of Delhi; and remarks: "What a sensation does it not excite when we know that a sentiment of kindred pervades every individual of this immense affiliated body, who can point out in the great tree the branch of his origin, of which not one is too remote from the main stem to forget his pristine connection with it." [480]

The taking of opium and wine together, as already described, thus appear to be ceremonies of the same character, both symbolising the renewal of a covenant between kinsmen.

10. Improved training of Rajput chiefs

The temptations to a life of idleness and debauchery to which Rajput gentlemen were exposed by the cessation of war have happily been largely met and overcome by the careful education and training which their sons now receive in the different chiefs' colleges and schools, and by the fostering of their taste for polo and other games. There is every reason to hope that a Rajput prince's life will now be much like that of an English country gentleman, spent largely in public business and the service of his country, with sport and games as relaxation. Nor are the Rajputs slow to avail themselves of the opportunities for the harder calling of arms afforded by the wars of the British Empire, in which they are usually the first to proffer their single-hearted and unselfish assistance.

11. Dress

The most distinctive feature of a Rajput's dress was formerly his turban; the more voluminous and heavy this was, the greater distinction attached to the bearer. The cloth was wound in many folds above the head, or cocked over one ear as a special mark of pride. An English gentleman once remarked to the minister of the Rao of Cutch on the size and weight of his turban, when the latter replied, 'Oh, this is nothing, it only weighs fifteen pounds.' [481] A considerable reverence attached to the turban, probably because it was the covering of the head, the seat of life, and the exchanging of turbans was the mark of the closest friendship. On one occasion Shah Jahan, before he came to the throne of Delhi, changed turbans with the Rana of Mewar as a mark of amity. Shah Jahan's turban was still preserved at Udaipur, and seen there by Colonel Tod in 1820. They also wore the beard and moustaches very long and full, the moustache either drooping far below the chin, or being twisted out stiffly on each side to impart an aspect of fierceness. Many Rajputs considered it a disgrace to have grey beards or moustaches, and these were accustomed to dye them with a preparation of indigo. Thus dyed, however, after a few days the beard and moustache assumed a purple tint, and finally faded to a pale plum colour, far from being either deceptive or ornamental. The process of dyeing was said to be tedious, and the artist compelled his patient to sit many hours under the indigo treatment with his head wrapped up in plantain leaves. [482] During the Muhammadan wars, however, the Rajputs gave up their custom of wearing beards in order to be distinguished from Moslems, and now, as a rule, do not retain them, while most of them have also discarded the long moustaches and large turbans. In battle, especially when they expected to die, the Rajputs wore saffron-coloured robes as at a wedding. At the same time their wives frequently performed _sati_, and the idea was perhaps that they looked on their deaths as the occasion of a fresh bridal in the warrior's Valhalla. Women wear skirts and shoulder-cloths, and in Rajputana they have bangles of ivory or bone instead of the ordinary glass, sometimes covering the arm from the shoulders to the wrist. Their other ornaments should be of gold if possible, but the rule is not strictly observed, and silver and baser metals are worn.

12. Social customs

The Rajputs wear the sacred thread, but many of them have abandoned the proper _upanayana_ or thread ceremony, and simply invest boys with it at their marriage. In former times, when a boy became fit to bear arms, the ceremony of _kharg bandai_, or binding on of the sword, was performed, and considered to mark his attainment of manhood. The king himself had his sword thus bound on by the first of his vassals. The Rajputs take food cooked with water (_katchi_) only from Brahmans, and that cooked without water (_pakki_) from Banias, and sometimes from Lodhis and Dhimars. Brahmans will take _pakki_ food from Rajputs, and Nais and Dhimars _katchi_ food. When a man is ill, however, he may take food from members of such castes as Kurmi and Lodhi as a matter of convenience without incurring caste penalties. The large turbans and long moustaches and beards no longer characterise their appearance, and the only point which distinguishes a Rajput is that his name ends with Singh (lion). But this suffix has also been adopted by others, especially the Sikhs, and by such castes as the Lodhis and Raj-Gonds who aspire to rank as Rajputs. A Rajput is usually addressed as Thakur or lord, a title which properly applies only to a Rajput landholder, but has now come into general use. The head of a state has the designation of Raja or Rana, and those of the leading states of Maharaja or Maharana, that is, great king. Maharana, which appears to be a Gujarati form, is used by the Sesodia family of Udaipur. The sons of a Raja are called Kunwar or prince. The title Rao appears to be a Marathi form of Raj or Raja; it is retained by one or two chiefs, but has now been generally adopted as an honorific suffix by Maratha Brahmans. Rawat appears to have been originally equivalent to Rajput, being simply a diminutive of Rajputra, the Sanskrit form of the latter. It is the name of a clan of Rajputs in the Punjab, and is used as an honorific designation by Ahirs, Saonrs, Kols and others.

13. Seclusion of women

Women are strictly secluded by the Rajputs, especially in Upper India, but this practice does not appear to have been customary in ancient times, and it would be interesting to know whether it has been copied from the Muhammadans. It is said that a good Rajput in the Central Provinces must not drive the plough, his wife must not use the _rehnta_ or spinning-wheel, and his household may not have the _kathri_ or _gudri_, the mattress made of old pieces of cloth or rag sewn one on top of the other, which is common in the poorer Hindu households.

14. Traditional character of the Rajputs

The Rajputs as depicted by Colonel Tod resembled the knights of the age of chivalry. Courage, strength and endurance were the virtues most highly prized. One of the Rajput trials of strength, it is recorded, was to gallop at full speed under the horizontal branch of a tree and cling to it while the horse passed on. This feat appears to have been a common amusement, and it is related in the annals of Mewar that the chief of Bunera broke his spine in the attempt; and there were few who came off without bruises and falls, in which consisted the sport. Of their martial spirit Colonel Tod writes: "The Rajput mother claims her full share in the glory of her son, who imbibes at the maternal fount his first rudiments of chivalry; and the importance of this parental instruction cannot be better illustrated than in the ever-recurring simile, 'Make thy mother's milk resplendent.' One need not reason on the intensity of sentiment thus implanted in the infant Rajput, of whom we may say without metaphor the shield is his cradle and daggers his playthings, and with whom the first commandment is 'Avenge thy father's feud.' [483] A Rajput yet loves to talk of the days of chivalry, when three things alone occupied him, his horse, his lance and his mistress; for she is but third in his estimation after all, and to the first two he owed her." [484] And of their desire for fame: "This sacrifice (of the Johar) accomplished, their sole thought was to secure a niche in that immortal temple of fame, which the Rajput bard, as well as the great minstrel of the West peoples 'with youths who died to be by poets sung.' For this the Rajput's anxiety has in all ages been so great as often to defeat even the purpose of revenge, his object being to die gloriously rather than to inflict death; assured that his name would never perish, but, preserved in immortal rhyme by the bard, would serve as the incentive to similar deeds." [485] He sums up their character in the following terms: "High courage, patriotism, loyalty, honour, hospitality and simplicity are qualities which must at once be conceded to them; and if we cannot vindicate them from charges to which human nature in every clime is obnoxious; if we are compelled to admit the deterioration of moral dignity from continual inroads of, and their consequent collision with rapacious conquerors; we must yet admire the quantum of virtue which even oppression and bad example have failed to banish. The meaner vices of deceit and falsehood, which the delineators of national character attach to the Asiatic without distinction, I deny to be universal with the Rajputs, though some tribes may have been obliged from position to use these shields of the weak against continuous oppression." [486] The women prized martial courage no less than the men: they would hear with equanimity of the death of their sons or husbands in the battlefield, while they heaped scorn and contumely on those who returned after defeat. They were constantly ready to sacrifice themselves to the flames rather than fall into the hands of a conqueror; and the Johar, the final act of a besieged garrison, when the women threw themselves into the furnace, while the men sallied forth to die in battle against the enemy, is recorded again and again in Rajput annals. Three times was this tragedy enacted at the fall of Chitor, formerly the capital fortress of the Sesodia clan; and the following vivid account is given by Colonel Tod of a similar deed at Jaisalmer, when the town fell to the Muhammadans: [487] "The chiefs were assembled; all were unanimous to make Jaisalmer resplendent by their deeds and preserve the honour of the Yadu race. Muhaj thus addressed them: 'You are of a warlike race and strong are your arms in the cause of your prince; what heroes excel you who thus tread in the Chhatri's path? For the maintenance of my honour the sword is in your hands; let Jaisalmer be illumined by its blows upon the foe.' Having thus inspired the chiefs and men, Muhaj and Ratan repaired to the palace of their queens. They told them to take the _sohag_ [488] and prepare to meet in heaven, while they gave up their lives in defence of their honour and their faith. Smiling the Rani replied, 'This night we shall prepare, and by the morning's light we shall be inhabitants of heaven'; and thus it was with all the chiefs and their wives. The night was passed together for the last time in preparation for the awful morn. It came; ablutions and prayers were finished and at the royal gate were convened children, wives and mothers. They bade a last farewell to all their kin; the Johar commenced, and twenty-four thousand females, from infancy to old age, surrendered their lives, some by the sword, others in the volcano of fire. Blood flowed in torrents, while the smoke of the pyre ascended to the heavens: not one feared to die, and every valuable was consumed with them, so that not the worth of a straw was preserved for the foe. The work done, the brothers looked upon the spectacle with horror. Life was now a burden and they prepared to quit it They purified themselves with water, paid adoration to the divinity, made gifts to the poor, placed a branch of the _tulsi_ [489] in their casques, the _saligram_ [490] round their neck; and having cased themselves in armour and put on the saffron robe, they bound the marriage crown around their heads and embraced each other for the last time. Thus they awaited the hour of battle. Three thousand eight hundred warriors, their faces red with wrath, prepared to die with their chiefs." In this account the preparation for the Johar as if for a wedding is clearly brought out, and it seems likely that husbands and wives looked on it as a bridal preparatory to the resumption of their life together in heaven.

Colonel Tod gives the following account of a Rajput's arms: [491] "No prince or chief is without his _silla-khana_ or armoury, where he passes hours in viewing and arranging his arms. Every favourite weapon, whether sword, dagger, spear, matchlock or bow, has a distinctive epithet. The keeper of the armoury is one of the most confidential officers about the person of the prince. These arms are beautiful and costly. The _sirohi_ or slightly curved blade is formed like that of Damascus, and is the greatest favourite of all the variety of weapons throughout Rajputana. The long cut-and-thrust sword is not uncommon, and also the _khanda_ or double-edged sword. The matchlocks, both of Lahore and the country, are often highly finished and inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold; those of Boondi are the best. The shield of the rhinoceros-hide offers the best resistance, and is often ornamented with animals beautifully painted and enamelled in gold and silver. The bow is of buffalo-horn, and the arrows of reed, which are barbed in a variety of fashions, as the crescent, the trident, the snake's tongue, and other fanciful forms." It is probable that the forms were in reality by no means fanciful, but were copied from sacred or divine objects; and similarly the animals painted on the shields may have been originally the totem animals of the clan.

15. Occupation

The traditional occupation of a Rajput was that of a warrior and landholder. Their high-flown titles, Bhupal (Protector of the earth), Bhupati (Lord of the earth), Bhusur (God of the earth), Bahuja (Born from the arms), indicate, Sir H. Risley says, [492] the exalted claims of the tribe. The notion that the trade of arms was their proper vocation clung to them for a very long time, and has retarded their education, so that they have perhaps lost status relatively to other castes under British supremacy. The rule that a Rajput must not touch the plough was until recently very strictly observed in the more conservative centres, and the poorer Rajputs were reduced by it to pathetic straits for a livelihood, as is excellently shown by Mr. Barnes in the _Kangra Settlement Report_: [493] "A Mian or well-known Rajput, to preserve his name and honour unsullied, must scrupulously observe four fundamental maxims: first, he must never drive the plough; second, he must never give his daughter in marriage to an inferior nor marry himself much below his rank; thirdly, he must never accept money in exchange for the betrothal of his daughter; and lastly, his female household must observe strict seclusion. The prejudice against the plough is perhaps the most inveterate of all; that step can never be recalled; the offender at once loses the privileged salutation; he is reduced to the second grade of Rajputs; no man will marry his daughter, and he must go a step lower in the social scale to get a wife for himself. In every occupation of life he is made to feel his degraded position. In meetings of the tribe and at marriages the Rajputs undefiled by the plough will refuse to sit at meals with the Hal Bah or plough-driver as he is contemptuously styled; and many to avoid the indignity of exclusion never appear at public assemblies.... It is melancholy to see with what devoted tenacity the Rajput clings to these deep-rooted prejudices. Their emaciated looks and coarse clothes attest the vicissitudes they have undergone to maintain their fancied purity. In the quantity of waste land which abounds in the hills, a ready livelihood is offered to those who will cultivate the soil for their daily bread; but this alternative involves a forfeiture of their dearest rights, and they would rather follow any precarious pursuit than submit to the disgrace. Some lounge away their time on the tops of the mountains, spreading nets for the capture of hawks; many a day they watch in vain, subsisting on berries and on game accidentally entangled in their nets; at last, when fortune grants them success, they despatch the prize to their friends below, who tame and instruct the bird for the purpose of sale. Others will stay at home and pass their time in sporting, either with a hawk or, if they can afford it, with a gun; one Rajput beats the bushes and the other carries the hawk ready to be sprung after any quarry that rises to the view. At the close of the day if they have been successful they exchange the game for a little meal and thus prolong existence over another span. The marksman armed with a gun will sit up for wild pig returning from the fields, and in the same manner barter their flesh for other necessaries of life. However, the prospect of starvation has already driven many to take the plough, and the number of seceders daily increases. Our administration, though just and liberal, has a levelling tendency; service is no longer to be procured, and to many the stern alternative has arrived of taking to agriculture and securing comparative comfort, or enduring the pangs of hunger and death. So long as any resource remains the fatal step will be postponed, but it is easy to foresee that the struggle cannot be long protracted; necessity is a hard task-master, and sooner or later the pressure of want will overcome the scruples of the most bigoted." The objection to ploughing appears happily to have been quite overcome in the Central Provinces, as at the last census nine-tenths of the whole caste were shown as employed in pasture and agriculture, one-tenth of the Rajputs being landholders, three-fifths actual cultivators, and one-fifth labourers and woodcutters. The bulk of the remaining tenth are probably in the police or other branches of Government service.

Rajput, Baghel

_Rajput, Baghel._--The Baghel Rajputs, who have given their name to Baghelkhand or Rewah, the eastern part of Central India, are a branch of the Chalukya or Solankhi clan, one of the four Agnikulas or those born from the firepit on Mount Abu. The chiefs of Rewah are Baghel Rajputs, and the late Maharaja Raghuraj Singh has written a traditional history of the sept in a book called the _Bhakt Mala_. [494] He derives their origin from a child, having the form of a tiger (_bagh_) who was born to the Solankhi Raja of Gujarat at the intercession of the famous saint Kabir. One of the headquarters of the Kabirpanthi sect are at Kawardha, which is close to Rewah, and the ruling family are members of the sect; hence probably the association of the Prophet with their origin. The _Bombay Gazetteer_ [495] states that the founder of the clan was one Anoka, a nephew of the Solankhi king of Gujarat, Kumarpal (A.D. 1143-1174). He obtained a grant of the village Vaghela, the tiger's lair, about ten miles from Anhilvada, the capital of the Solankhi dynasty, and the Baghel clan takes its name from this village. Subsequently the Baghels extended their power over the whole of Gujarat, but in A.D. 1304 the last king, Karnadeva, was driven out by the Muhammadans, and one of his most beautiful wives was captured and sent to the emperor's harem. Karnadeva and his daughter fled and hid themselves near Nasik, but the daughter was subsequently also taken, while it is not stated what became of Karnadeva. Mr. Hira Lal suggests that he fled towards Rewah, and that he is the Karnadeva of the list of Rewah Rajas, who married a daughter of the Gond-Rajput dynasty of Garha-Mandla. [496] At any rate the Baghel branch of the Solankhis apparently migrated to Rewah from Gujarat and founded that State about the fourteenth century, as in the fifteenth they became prominent. According to Captain Forsyth, the Baghels claim descent from a tiger, and protect it when they can; and, probably, as suggested by Mr. Crooke, [497] the name is really totemistic, or is derived from some ancestor of the clan who obtained the name of the tiger as a title or nickname, like the American Red Indians. The Baghels are found in the Hoshangabad District, and in Mandla and Chhattisgarh which are close to Rewah. Amarkantak, at the source of the Nerbudda, is the sepulchre of the Maharajas of Rewah, and was ceded to them with the Sohagpur tahsil of Mandla after the Mutiny, in consideration of their loyalty and services during that period.

Rajput, Bagri

_Rajput, Bagri._--This clan is found in small numbers in the Hoshangabad and Seoni Districts. The name Bagri, Malcolm says, [498] is derived from that large tract of plain called Bagar or 'hedge of thorns,' the Bagar being surrounded by ridges of wooded hills on all sides as if by a hedge. The Bagar is the plain country of the Bikaner State, and any Jat or Rajput coming from this tract is called Bagri. [499] The Rajputs of Bikaner are Rathors, but they are not numerous, and the great bulk of the people are Jats. Hence it is probable that the Bagris of the Central Provinces were originally Jats. In Seoni they say that they are Baghel Rajputs, but this claim is unsupported by any tradition or evidence. In Central India the Bagris are professed robbers and thieves, but these seem to be a separate group, a section of the Badhak or Bawaria dacoits, and derived from the aboriginal population of Central India. The Bagris of Seoni are respectable cultivators and own a number of villages. They rank higher than the local Panwars and wear the sacred thread, but will remove dead cattle with their own hands. They marry among themselves.

Rajput, Bais

_Rajput, Bais._ [500]--The Bais are one of the thirty-six royal races. Colonel Tod considered them a branch of the Surajvansi, but according to their own account their eponymous ancestor was Salivahana, the mythic son of a snake, who conquered the great Raja Vikramaditya of Ujjain and fixed his own era in A.D. 55. This is the Saka era, and Salivahana was the leader of the Saka nomads who invaded Gujarat on two occasions, before and shortly after the beginning of the Christian era. It is suggested in the article on Rajput that the Yadava lunar clan are the representatives of these Sakas, and if this were correct the Bais would be a branch of the lunar race. The fact that they are snake-worshippers is in favour of their connection with the Yadavas and other clans, who are supposed to represent the Scythian invaders of the first and subsequent centuries, and had the legend of being descended from a snake. The Bais, Mr. Crooke says, believe that no snake has destroyed, or ever can destroy, one of the clan. They seem to take no precautions against the bite except hanging a vessel of water at the head of the sufferer, with a small tube at the bottom, from which the water is poured on his head as long as he can bear it. The cobra is, in fact, the tribal god. The name is derived by Mr. Crooke from the Sanskrit Vaishya, one who occupies the soil. The principal hero of the Bais was Tilokchand, who is supposed to have come from the Central Provinces. He lived about A.D. 1400, and was the premier Raja of Oudh. He extended his dominions over all the tract known as Baiswara, which comprises the bulk of the Rai Bareli and Unao Districts, and is the home of the Bais Rajputs. The descendants of Tilokchand form a separate subdivision known as Tilokchandi Bais, who rank higher than the ordinary Bais, and will not eat with them. The Bais Rajputs are found all over the United Provinces. In the Central Provinces they have settled in small numbers in the northern and eastern Districts.

Rajput, Baksaria

_Rajput, Baksaria._--A small clan found principally in the Bilaspur District, who derive their name from Baxar in Bengal. They were accustomed to send a litter, that is to say, a girl of their clan, to the harem of each Mughal Emperor, and this has degraded them. They allow widow-marriage, and do not wear the sacred thread. It is probable that they marry among themselves, as other Rajputs do not intermarry with them, and they are no doubt an impure group with little pretension to be Rajputs. The name Baksaria is found in the United Provinces as a territorial subcaste of several castes.

Rajput, Banaphar

_Rajput, Banaphar._--Mr. Crooke states that this sept is a branch of the Yadavas, and hence it is of the lunar race. The sept is famous on account of the exploits of the heroes Alha and Udal who belonged to it, and who fought for the Chandel kings of Mahoba and Khajuraha in their wars against Prithwi Raj Chauhan, the king of Delhi. The exploits of Alha and Udal form the theme of poems still well known and popular in Bundelkhand, to which the sept belongs. The Banaphars have only a moderately respectable rank among Rajputs. [501]

Rajput, Bhadauria

_Rajput, Bhadauria._--An important clan who take their name from the village of Bhadawar near Ater, south of the Jumna. They are probably a branch of the Chauhans, being given as such by Colonel Tod and Sir H.M. Elliot. [502] Mr. Crooke remarks [503] that the Chauhans are disposed to deny this relationship, now that from motives of convenience the two tribes have begun to intermarry. If they are, as supposed, an offshoot of the Chauhans, this is an instance of the subdivision of a large clan leading to intermarriage between two sections, which has probably occurred in other instances also. This clan is returned from the Hoshangabad District.

Rajput, Bisen

_Rajput, Bisen._--This clan belongs to the United Provinces and Oudh. They do not appear in history before the time of Akbar, and claim descent from a well-known Brahman saint and a woman of the Surajvansi Rajputs whom he married. The Bisens occupy a respectable position among Rajputs, and intermarry with other good clans.

Rajput, Bundela

_Rajput, Bundela._--A well-known clan of Rajputs of somewhat inferior position, who have given their name to Bundelkhand, or the tract comprised principally in the Districts of Saugor, Damoh, Jhansi, Hamirpur and Banda, and the Panna, Orchha, Datia and other States. The Bundelas are held to be derived from the Gaharwar or Gherwal Rajputs, and there is some reason for supposing that these latter were originally an aristocratic section of the Bhar tribe with some infusion of Rajput blood. But the Gaharwars now rank almost with the highest clans. According to tradition one of the Gaharwar Rajas offered a sacrifice of his own head to the Vindhya-basini Devi or the goddess of the Vindhya hills, and out of the drops (_bund_) of blood which fell on the altar a boy was born. He returned to Panna and founded the clan which bears the name Bundela, from _bund_, a drop. [504] It is probable that, as suggested by Captain Luard, the name is really a corruption of Vindhya or Vindhyela, a dweller in the Vindhya hills, where, according to their own tradition, the clan had its birth. The Bundelas became prominent in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, after the fall of the Chandels. "Orchha became the chief of the numerous Bundela principalities; but its founder drew upon himself everlasting infamy, by putting to death the wise Abul Fazl, the historian and friend of the magnanimous Akbar, and the encomiast and advocate of the Hindu race. From the period of Akbar the Bundelas bore a distinguished part in all the grand conflicts, to the very close of the monarchy." [505]

The Bundelas held the country up to the Nerbudda in the Central Provinces, and, raiding continually into the Gond territories south of the Nerbudda on the pretence of protecting the sacred cow which the Gonds used for ploughing, they destroyed the castle on Chauragarh in Narsinghpur on a crest of the Satpuras, and reduced the Nerbudda valley to subjection. The most successful chieftain of the tribe was Chhatarsal, the Raja of Panna, in the eighteenth century, who was virtually ruler of all Bundelkhand; his dominions extending from Banda in the north to Jubbulpore in the south, and from Rewah in the east to the Betwa River in the west. But he had to call in the help of the Peshwa to repel an invasion of the Mughal armies, and left a third of his territory by will to the Marathas. Chhatarsal left twenty-two legitimate and thirty illegitimate sons, and their descendants now hold several small Bundela States, while the territories left to the Peshwa subsequently became British. The chiefs of Panna, Orchha, Datia, Chhatarpur and numerous other small states in the Bundelkhand agency are Bundela Rajputs. [506] The Bundelas of Saugor do not intermarry with the good Rajput clans, but with an inferior group of Panwars and another clan called Dhundhele, perhaps an offshoot of the Panwars, who are also residents of Saugor. Their character, as disclosed in a number of proverbial sayings and stories current regarding them, somewhat resembles that of the Scotch highlanders as depicted by Stevenson. They are proud and penurious to the last degree, and quick to resent the smallest slight. They make good _shikaris_ or sportsmen, but are so impatient of discipline that they have never found a vocation by enlisting in the Indian Army. Their characteristics are thus described in a doggerel verse: "The Bundelas salute each other from miles apart, their _pagris_ are cocked on the side of the head till they touch the shoulders. A Bundela would dive into a well for the sake of a cowrie, but would fight with the Sardars of Government." No Bania could go past a Bundela's house riding on a pony or holding up an umbrella; and all low-caste persons who passed his house must salute it with the words, _Diwan ji ko Ram Ram_. Women must take their shoes off to pass by. It is related that a few years ago a Bundela was brought up before the Assistant Commissioner, charged with assaulting a tahsil process-server, and threatening him with his sword. The Bundela, who was very poor and wearing rags, was asked by the magistrate whether he had threatened the man with his sword. He replied "Certainly not; the sword is for gentlemen like you and me of equal position. To him, if I had wished to beat him I would have taken my shoe." Another story is that there was once a very overbearing Tahsildar, who had a shoe 2 1/2 feet long with which he used to collect the land revenue. One day a Bundela malguzar appeared before him on some business. The Tahsildar kept his seat. The Bundela walked quietly up to the table and said, "Will the Sirkar step aside with me for a moment, as I have something private to say." The Tahsildar got up and walked aside with him, on which the Bundela said, 'That is sufficient, I only wished to tell you that you should rise to receive me.' When the Bundelas are collected at a feast they sit with their hands folded across their stomachs and their eyes turned up, and remain impassive while food is being put on their plates, and never say, 'Enough,' because they think that they would show themselves to be feeble men if they refused to eat as much as was put before them. Much of the food is thus ultimately wasted, and given to the sweepers, and this leads to great extravagance at marriages and other ceremonial occasions. The Bundelas were much feared and were not popular landlords, but they are now losing their old characteristics and settling down into respectable cultivators.

Rajput, Chandel

_Rajput, Chandel._--An important clan of Rajputs, of which a small number reside in the northern Districts of Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore, and also in Chhattisgarh. The name is derived by Mr. Crooke from the Sanskrit _chandra_, the moon. The Chandel are not included in the thirty-six royal races, and are supposed to have been a section of one of the indigenous tribes which rose to power. Mr. V.A. Smith states that the Chandels, like several other dynasties, first came into history early in the ninth century, when Nannuka Chandel about A.D. 831 overthrew a Parihar chieftain and became lord of the southern parts of Jejakabhukti or Bundelkhand. Their chief towns were Mahoba and Kalanjar in Bundelkhand, and they gradually advanced northwards till the Jumna became the frontier between their dominions and those of Kanauj. They fought with the Gujar-Parihar kings of Kanauj and the Kalachuris of Chedi, who had their capital at Tewar in Jubbulpore, and joined in resisting the incursions of the Muhammadans. In A.D. 1182 Parmal, the Chandel king, was defeated by Prithwi Raja, the Chauhan king of Delhi, after the latter had abducted the Chandel's daughter. This was the war in which Alha and Udal, the famous Banaphar heroes, fought for the Chandels, and it is commemorated in the Chand-Raisa, a poem still well known to the people of Bundelkhand. In A.D. 1203 Kalanjar was taken by the Muhammadan Kutb-ud-Din Ibak, and the importance of the Chandel rulers came to an end, though they lingered on as purely local chiefs until the sixteenth century. The Chandel princes were great builders, and beautified their chief towns, Mahoba, Kalanjar and Khajuraho with many magnificent temples and lovely lakes, formed by throwing massive dams across the openings between the hills. [507] Among these were great irrigation works in the Hamirpur District, the forts of Kalanjar and Ajaighar, and the noble temples at Khajuraho and Mahoba. [508] Even now the ruins of old forts and temples in the Saugor and Damoh Districts are attributed by the people to the Chandels, though many were in fact probably constructed by the Kalachuris of Chedi.