Indian Antiquary Vol 02

SR No.: 032494
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 428
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 20 MB

Page 349

NOVEMBER, 1873.]
with a force to Alidar Bodîdhar and took with him Devait Bodar. Devait, seeing that resistance would be useless, brought his own son Uga, who was of Noghan's age, to the Thânadar. The Thânadâr at once put him to death and returned to Junagadh. After the departure of the Thâṇadar, Devait Bodar sent for his son-in-law Sanstio, an inhabitant of Alidar, and confided to him the fact of Noghan being concealed at his house, and requested his advice as to the best mode of seating him on the throne of Junagadh. Sanstio replied, "Let us collect Âhirs on the occasion of my marriage to your daughter, and let us then invite the Thânadâr to the wedding, and at that time proclaim Noghan king with the aid of our army." This being determined on, a day was fixed for the nuptials, and the Thânadar was invited. He came with his army to Alidar Bodidhar. His men were placed separ ately in a large enclosure, and pretended preparations for the feast were made. Suddenly the Ahirs fell upon them and put them all to the sword. Râ Noghan was now proclaimed king, and seated on the throne of Junagadh. The following duho is said in praise of Devait :
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અરે અપાય નહીં દોકડ એકજ વન || દીધા તે વાત ઊગા ઊગમ મીમ્બાવંત | ઓદરદી ખાધા જસ અંગન રહે જકે ||
ઊંચા ભાવે સ્મૃતીમા રા નવઘણું ગમે | When none could give even a dokra in alms, Devait Bodar gave his son Ugo the grandson of Ugamsi.
May fame always attend on all the Bodardas, Who giving Ugå as a substitute saved Rae Noghan.
CHUDASAMA RAS.
Ra Noghan ascended the gali in Samvat 874. In Samvat 875 there was a terrible famine in Sorath, and the Âhirs went to Sindh to obtain food, and Jasal daughter of Devait accompanied them. Hamir Sumro, the king of Sindh, seeing her beauty, was enamoured of her, and carried her off by force. Heaving this, Râ Noghan collected an army and went to Sindh and defeated Hamîr and rescued Jâsal. He then returned to Junâgadh and reigned there till his death, in Samvat 916. RA Noghan had four sons: 1, Bhim; 2, Sodo; 3, Kuvât; and 4, Khengår. Khengår, the youngest son, succeeded him, and it is this Khengår whose queen, the beautiful Ranik Devi,
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became a sat at Wadhwan after her husband's defeat and subsequent death.
In this bardic account of the rise of the Chudâsamâs the principal feature of interest is the extremely old Gujarati of the poetry. The translations are perhaps liable to correction,indeed it is very difficult to make anything out of the first set of verses. I may here mention that the legend of Ra Dyas under different forms is extremely common throughout Gujarat, Kathiawâd, Kachh, and Sindh. The Sindhi version of the legend will be found in Captain G. Stack's Sindhi Grammar.
There is considerable difficulty in assigning a correct date to Ra Gârio. In one version of the verses regarding Râ Gârio's conquest of Kanauj the word Jayachandra occurs instead of Raj-Indra. Now if this were the Jayachandra whose daughter was carried off by Prithiraja Chohân, Râ Gario's date would be about the end of the 12th century of the Christian era. Again, if the ballad quoted by Mr. Kinloch Forbes in the Rás Málá be accepted as correct, and as the year of the accession of Siddhraja was A. D. 1094, and as only Râ Noghan intervened between Râ Dyâs and Râ Khengår, it would be impossible to accept the date of Sam. 860-61 (A.D. 803-4) as the date of Râ Dyâs. The following explanation may perhaps throw some light on the question. In the Sindhi version the king (of Pattan) is called Anerâi. It is well known to all who have consulted bards that though almost always correct in their main facts, they are almost always incorrect in details. Especially regarding the kingdom of Anhîlwâdâ Paṭṭan the greatest confusion prevails. To the kings of this capital are assigned almost all the famous deeds performed in Gujarât, and among these kings Kamar Påla and Siddhraja Jesingh are the ones most frequently quoted. They are assigned by one legend to the 9th, by others to the 10th, 11th, even 12th centuries. If then in the case of Ra Dyâs, his foe be simply made some mighty Raja-possibly Anerâi of Somnath Pattan or of Dhank, known also as Preh Pattan and Rehewâs Pattan-the difficulty vanishes, especially if in the case of Mr. Forbes's legend Siddhraja's name be considered merely as a synonym of some mighty king,-and numerous instances might be given of Siddhraja's name being used in this way. An instance occurs to me in the Jethvâ chronicles where the name of