Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 2 of 3: or the Central and Western Rajput States of IndiaTod, James
History
Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 2 of 3: or the Central and Western Rajput States of India
Tod, James
Rajasthan (India) -- History; Rajput (Indic people) -- History
difficult to decide; for while the annals of Mewar make the restoration
an act of grace, those of Marwar give it all the colours of a triumph.
Were the point worthy of discussion, we should say both accounts were
correct. The Rana had transmitted the recall of Chonda from Mandor, but
concealed from him the motive, and while Jodha even held in his
possession the Rana’s letter of restoration, a concatenation of
circumstances, in which “the omen” was predominant, occurred to make him
anticipate his induction by a measure more consonant to the Rajput, a
brilliant _coup de main_. Jodha had left his retreat in the Run[4.26.34]
to make known to Harbuji Sankhla, Pabuji, and other rievers of the
desert, the changes which the bard had communicated. While he was there,
intelligence was brought that Chonda, in obedience to his sovereign’s
command, had proceeded to Chitor. That same night “the bird of omen
perched on Jodha’s lance, and the star which irradiated his birth shone
bright upon it.” The bard of Mandor revealed the secret of heaven to
Jodha, and the heroes in his train: “Ere that star descends in the west,
your pennon will wave on the battlements of Mandor.” Unless, however,
this “vision of glory” was merely mental, Jodha’s star must have been
visible in daylight; for they could never have marched from the banks of
the Luni, where the Sankhla resided, to Mandor, between its rising and
setting. The elder son of Chonda had accompanied his father, and they
had proceeded two coss in their [695] journey, when a sudden blaze
appeared in Mandor: Chonda pursued his route, while his son Manja
returned to Mandor. Jodha was already in possession; his _an_ had been
proclaimed, and the two other sons of Chonda had fallen in its defence.
Manja, who fled, was overtaken and slain on the border. These tidings
reached Chonda at the pass of the Aravalli; he instantly returned to
Mandor, where he was met by Jodha, who showed him the letters of
surrender for Mandor, and a command that he should fix with him the
future boundary of each State. Chonda thought that there was no surer
line of demarcation than that chalked out by the hand of nature; and he
accordingly fixed that wherever the “yellow blossom” was found, the land
should belong to his sovereign, and the bard was not slow in
perpetuating the decree. Such is the origin of
Ānwal, ānwal Mewār:
Bāwal, bāwal Mārwār.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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