=The Kachhwāhas of Amber.=—Amber is a branch of the once illustrious and ancient [137] Nishadha, now Narwar, which produced the ill-fated prince whose story[3.1.21] is so interesting. Revolution and conquest compelled them to quit their ancestral abodes. Hindustan was then divided into no more than four great kingdoms. By Arabian[3.1.22] travellers we have a confused picture of these States. But all the minor States, now existing in the west, arose about the period when the feudal system was approaching maturity in France and England. The others are less illustrious, being the descendants of the great vassals of their ancient kings. =The Sesodias of Mewār.=—Mewar exhibits a marked difference from all the other States in her policy and institutions. She was an old-established dynasty when these renovated scions were in embryo. We can trace the losses of Mewar, but with difficulty her acquisitions; while it is easy to note the gradual aggrandisement of Marwar and Amber, and all the minor States. Marwar was composed of many petty States, whose ancient possessions formed an allodial vassalage under the new dynasty. A superior independence of the control of the prince arises from the peculiarity of the mode of acquisition; that is, with rights similar to the allodial vassals of the European feudal system. =Pride of Ancestry.=—The poorest Rajput of this day retains all the pride of ancestry, often his sole inheritance; he scorns to hold the plough, or to use his lance but on horseback. In these aristocratic ideas he is supported by his reception amongst his superiors, and the respect paid to him by his inferiors. The honours and privileges, and the gradations of rank, amongst the vassals of the Rana’s house, exhibit a highly artificial and refined state of society. Each of the superior rank is entitled to a banner, kettle-drums preceded by heralds and silver maces, with peculiar gifts and personal honours, in commemoration of some exploit of their ancestors. =Armorial Bearings.=—The martial Rajputs are not strangers to armorial bearings,[3.1.23] now so indiscriminately used in Europe. The great banner of Mewar exhibits a golden sun [138] on a crimson field; those of the chiefs bear a dagger. Amber displays the _panchranga_, or five-coloured flag. The lion rampant on an argent field is extinct with the State of Chanderi.[3.1.24] In Europe these customs were not introduced till the period of the Crusades, and were copied from the Saracens; while the use of them amongst the Rajput tribes can be traced to a period anterior to the war of Troy. In the Mahabharat, or great war, twelve hundred years before Christ, we find the hero Bhishma exulting over his trophy, the banner of Arjuna, its field adorned with the figure of the Indian Hanuman.[3.1.25] These emblems had a religious reference amongst the Hindus, and were taken from their mythology, the origin of all devices.