CHAPTER 5

Accession of Raja Sur—His military talents obtain him honours—Reduces Rao Surthan of Sirohi—Commands against the King of Gujarat—Battle of Dhanduka gained by the Raja—Wealth and honours acquired—Gifts to the bards—Commanded against Amra Balecha—Battle of the Rewa—Slays the Chauhan—Fresh honours—Raja Sur and his son Gaj Singh attend the court of Jahangir—The heir of Marwar invested with the sword by the Emperor’s own hands—Escalade of Jalor—Raja Gaj attends Prince Khurram against the Rana of Mewar—Death of Raja Sur—Maledictory pillar erected on the Nerbudda—The Rathor chiefs’ dissatisfaction at their long detention from their native land—Raja Sur embellishes Jodhpur—His issue—Accession of Raja Gaj—Invested with the Raj of Burhanpur—Made Viceroy of the Deccan—The compliment paid to his contingent—His various actions—Receives the title of Dalthaman, or ‘barrier of the host’—Causes of Rajput influence on the Imperial succession—The Sultans Parvez and Khurram, sons of Rajput Princesses—Intrigues of the Queens to secure the succession to their immediate offspring—Prince Khurram plots against his brother—Endeavours to gain Raja Gaj, but fails—The Prince causes the chief adviser of Raja Gaj to be assassinated—Raja Gaj quits the royal army—Prince Khurram assassinates his brother Parvez—Proceeds to depose his father Jahangir, who appeals to the fidelity of the Rajput Princes—They rally round the throne, and encounter the rebel army near Benares—The Emperor slights the Rathor Prince, which proves nearly fatal to his cause—The rebels defeated—Flight of Prince Khurram—Raja Gaj slain on the Gujarat frontier—His second son, Raja Jaswant, succeeds—Reasons for occasional departure from the rules of primogeniture amongst the Rajputs—Amra, the elder, excluded the succession—Sentence of banishment pronounced against him—Ceremony of Desvata, or ‘exile,’ described—Amra repairs to the Mogul court—Honours conferred upon him—His tragical death 969

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