=Bīsaldeo.=—Passing over the intermediate reigns, each of which is marked by some meagre and unsatisfactory details of battles with the Islamite, we arrive at Bisaldeo. The father of this prince, according to the Hara genealogists, was Dharmagaj, apparently a title—'in faith like an elephant'—as in the Jaga’s list is Bir Bilandeo, confirmed by the inscription on the triumphal column at Delhi. The last of Mahmud’s invasions occurred during the reign of Bilandeo, who, at the expense of his life, had the glory of humbling the mighty conqueror, and forcing him to relinquish the siege of Ajmer.[10.1.30] Before we condense the scanty records of the bards concerning Visaladeva,[10.1.31] we may spare a few words to commemorate a Chauhan who consecrated his name, and that of all his kin, by his deeds in the first passage of Mahmud into India. =Gūga, Gugga Chauhān.=—Guga Chauhan was the son of Vacha Raja, a name of some celebrity. He held the whole of Jangaldes, or the forest lands from the Sutlej to Hariana; his capital, called Mahara, or, as pronounced, Guga ka Mahra, was on the Sutlej. In defending this he fell, with forty-five sons and sixty nephews; and as it occurred on Sunday (_Rabiwar_), the ninth (_naumi_) of the month, that day is held sacred to the manes of Guga by the ‘Thirty-six Classes’[10.1.32] throughout Rajputana, but especially in the desert, a portion of which is yet called Gugadeo ka thal. Even his steed, Javadia,[10.1.33] has been immortalized [448] and has become a favourite name for a war-horse throughout Rajputana, whose mighty men swear 'by the _sakha_ of Guga,' for maintaining the Rajput fame when Mahmud crossed the Sutlej. This was probably the last of Mahmud’s invasions, when he marched direct from Multan through the desert. He attacked Ajmer, which was abandoned, and the country around given up to devastation and plunder. The citadel, Garhbitli, however, held out, and Mahmud was foiled, wounded, and obliged to retreat by Nadol,[10.1.34] another Chauhan possession, which he sacked, and then proceeded to Nahrwala, which he captured. His barbarities promoted a coalition, which, by compelling him to march through the western deserts to gain the valley of Sind, had nearly proved fatal to his army. The exploits of Bisaldeo form one of the books of Chand the bard. The date assigned to Bisaldeo in the Raesa (S. 921) is interpolated—a vice not uncommon with the Rajput bard, whose periods acquire verification from less mutable materials than those out of which he weaves his song.[10.1.35] Chand gives an animated picture of the levy of the Rajput chivalry, which assembled under Bisaldeo, who, as the champion of the Hindu faith, was chosen to lead its warriors against the Islamite invader. The Chalukya king of Anhilwara alone refused to join the confederation, and in terms which drew upon him the vengeance of the Chauhan. A literal translation of the passage may be interesting: