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JUNE, 1922)
HISTORY OF THE MERS OF MERWARA
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38 sacrament of their own religion, and would emphasise their antagonism to the Jains, who had tried to stamp out fire-worship. Apparently it was reserved for the most solemn occasions only, and was seldom employed, except for the initiation of the Brahmans themselves. Something resembling it is said to have been employed at the initiation of the Chitpå van Brahmans above referred to. Actual details of the rite are not known. Legend describes the scene on the sacred mountain of Aba, where the gods assembled in open Lodge round the great Agni-kund, or Fire-pit, which is still to be seen there. First Indra made an image of grass, sprinkled it with the water of life and threw it into the fire-fountain, muttering the Charm of Life slowly. From the flame arose & mace-bearing figure shouting “Mar, Mar". He was called the Parmar or Foe-slayer. Next Brahmå framed an image of his own essence and threw it into the fire-pit, repeating the Life-charm. A figure rose with the sacred thread round his neck, a sword in one hand and a copy of the Veda in the other. He was called Chalukhya or Solanki. The third champion was the Pariår, who was created by Radra, and rose from the flame, black and ill-favoured, bearing a bow. Last of all came Vishnu's image, the four-armed Chauhan.
According to the legend, the Parmar or Panwar received Dhår and Ujjain as his heritage, to the Solanki was assigned Anhilpura, to the Pariår the desert regions West of Abu, and the North was given to the Chauhân. Of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs it is said the fire-born are the greatest, the rest were born of women, while these owe their origin to the gods themselves. 10
There can be very little doubt that these four fire-born races were originally Mers and Gujars, and date their origin from the fifth century.11 Unless we are prepared to accept the legend of their miraculous creation, we must conclude that they originated from a nonHindn warrior race. The fact that their appearance synchronised closely with the arrival in Rajputana of the conquering tribes of fire-worshipping Mers and Gujars, points at once to a probable source from which this new accession to the fighting force of the Kshatriyas was drawn.
In an old Rajput inscription, a prince of the Pariâr race is referred to as a Gujar. 13 The principal division of the Gujars in the Panjab bears the name of Chauhan. 13 The Solanki Oswâls, the leading class of Western Indian Jains, are Gujars. In poems, Bhîm Solanki, the great king of Anbilvádå is called the Gujar. 14
The nature of the connection between the Mers and the Gujars is not quite clear, but in view of their common country, common religion and customs and their combined invasion of India it is fair to assume that it was very close. It has been suggested that the Mers were not regarded as a separate tribe, but as a ruling class of the Gujars; the later still refer to their head-men as "Mir." In any case the fact that Mer kingdoms were established in the countries first over-run by the invaders, as Kashmir, the Indus valley, and Kathiâ war, while the Gujars either went further afield or remained in the Mer kingdoms in a subordinate position, seems to show that of the two tribes the Mers predominated in power and influence. It is in the last degree unlikely, therefore, that if Gujars were admitted to the caste of Kshatriyas, Mers should have been excluded. 16 Moreover, of the four stock-names of the Mers given above,
• Chitpavan signifies "pyre purifier."
10 Tod, Annals, II, 407. 11 Bom. Gazetteer, Vol. X, Part I, p. 486.
13 Prachinalekha-mala, Vol. I, pp. 63-54. 13 Gujarat Gazetteer, pp. 50-51.
11 Ras Mald, I, 222. 16 The only semi-independent Gurjara Kingdom of which we have records was that at Nandod in Southern Gujarat, but the kings of Nandod acknowledged the Mer kings of Vallabhipura as their overlords. -Bom. Gazetteer, Vol. I, Part I, p. 113.
