An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of GorkhaHamilton, Francis
History
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha
Hamilton, Francis
Nepal -- Description and travel; Nepal -- History
The country now called Garhawal or Gar, at least in part, formerly
belonged to a petty chief of low birth, but pure manners, who resided at
Chandpur, and paid tribute to Karuvirpur. About 350 years ago, a Pangwar
Rajput, named Ajayapal, came from the plains, and entered into the
service of the chief of Chandpur, whom he soon after took occasion to
expel. The descendants of Ajayapal paid the customary tribute to the
prince of Karuvirpur, who, as usual in India, seems to have given himself
no concern about these internal commotions among his tributaries. After
Karuvirpur fell, the Rajas of Chandpur paid tribute to Almora; but, while
Lakshmi Chandra held the latter government, Mahipat Sa, Raja of Garhawal,
at the persuasion of a religious man, who promised success, declared
himself independent. This person built Srinagar, and made it the capital
of his dominions, on which account his descendants are usually known to
Europeans as Rajas of Srinagar. This chief was succeeded by his son Syam
Sa, who died without male issue, and was succeeded by Futeh Sa, his
uncle’s son. This chief incurred a great stain by delivering up to
Aurungzeb one of that king’s brothers, who had taken refuge in the
mountains. As a reward for his treachery he received the Jaygir of Dun
and Chandi, two low country estates. Futeh had two sons, Upendra and
Dilip, and was succeeded by the former, who took from the chief of
Besariya the countries of Ranigar and Barahat, on the upper parts of the
Yamuna and Ganges rivers. When he died, his lady was pregnant, and no
chief was appointed until the result was known, which shows that the
government and succession were firmly established. The widow having been
delivered of a daughter, Pradipa Sa, the son of Dilip, a boy five years
old, succeeded quietly, and governed seventy-five years. He was an
active prince, administered his affairs with great attention, and had
several wars with Nuzuf Khan, who governed the petty remains of the Mogul
empire. His son and successor was Lalit Sa, who, as above mentioned,
made his younger son Raja of Kumau. Mention has also been made of the
manner in which this son, named Pradyumna, succeeded his brother as Raja
of Garhawal. After the conquest of Kumau, Jagajit Pangre and Amur
Singha, the officers commanding the army of Gorkha, in conjunction with
Harsha Dev, the turbulent Brahman often already mentioned, attacked
Garhawal. They had fought two years, and were on the point of
succeeding, when they were recalled by Bahadur Saha, the regent of
Gorkha, in consequence of a Chinese army approaching the capital. The
commanders of Gorkha, especially Jagajit, complied most reluctantly, and
made a peace with Garhawal. The Brahman, their associate, now
considering their affairs desperate, on being desired to accompany them,
treated the request with insolence, asking who they were, that he should
follow. They had, however, only retired a little way, when information
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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