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
=The Mughals and Krishna Worship.=—Jahangir, by birth half a Rajput, was
equally indulgent to the worship of Kanhaiya: but Shah Jahan, also the
son of a Rajput princess, inclined to the [523] doctrines of Siva, in
which he was initiated by Siddhrup the Sannyasi. Sectarian animosity is
more virulent than faiths totally dissimilar. Here we see Hindu
depressing Hindu: the followers of Siva oppressing those of Kanhaiya;
the priests of Jupiter driving the pastoral Apollo from the Parnassus of
Vraj. At the intercession, however, of a princess of Udaipur, he was
replaced on his altar, where he remained till Aurangzeb became emperor
of the Moguls. In such detestation did the Hindus hold this intolerant
king, that in like manner as they supposed the beneficent Akbar to be
the devout Mukund in a former birth, so they make the tyrant’s body
enclose the soul of Kalyavana the foe of Krishna, ere his apotheosis,
from whom he fled to Dwarka, and thence acquired the name of
Ranchhor.[4.19.56]
=The Image of Krishna removed to Mewār. Founding of Nāthdwāra.=—When
Aurangzeb proscribed Kanhaiya, and rendered his shrines impure
throughout Vraj, Rana Raj Singh “offered the heads of one hundred
thousand Rajputs for his service,” and the god was conducted by the
route of Kotah and Rampura to Mewar. An omen decided the spot of his
future residence. As he journeyed to gain the capital of the Sesodias
the chariot-wheel sunk deep into the earth and defied extrication; upon
which the Saguni (augur) interpreted the pleasure of the god, that he
desired to dwell there. This circumstance occurred at an inconsiderable
village called Siarh, in the fief of Delwara, one of the sixteen nobles
of Mewar. Rejoiced at this decided manifestation of favour, the chief
hastened to make a perpetual gift of the village and its lands, which
was speedily confirmed by the patent of the Rana.[4.19.57] Nathji (_the_
god) was removed from his car, and in due time a temple was erected for
his reception, when the hamlet of Siarh became the town of Nathdwara,
which now contains many thousand inhabitants of all denominations, who,
reposing under the especial protection of the god, are exempt from every
mortal tribunal. The site is not uninteresting, nor devoid of the means
of defence. To the east it is shut in by a cluster of hills, and to the
westward flows the Banas, which nearly bathes the extreme points of the
hills. Within these bounds is the sanctuary (_saran_) of Kanhaiya, where
the criminal is free from pursuit; nor dare the rod of justice appear on
the mount, or the foot of the pursuer pass the stream; neither within it
can blood be spilt, for the pastoral Kanhaiya delights not in offerings
of this kind [524].[4.19.58] The territory contains within its precincts
abundant space for the town, the temple, and the establishments of the
priests, as well as for the numerous resident worshippers, and the
constant influx of votaries from the most distant regions,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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