History of Meywar

Front matter

HISTORY or MEYWAR, BY CAPT. J. C. BEOOKES. CALCUTTA : FEINTED BY C. B. LEWIS, BAPTIST MISSION PRESS. 1859. CONTENTS. Page Geography of Meywar and Physical Features of the Country, 1 Brief Sketch of the Ancient History of Meywar to date of Treaty with the British Government, 8 Political History of Meywar from date of Treaty with the British Government, 21 History of Negociations between the Maha Rana of Oodeypoor and his Chiefs, 51 History of the Hill Tracts of Meywar and Reclamation of the Blieels, 72 Character of the Government of Meywar, and general Reflections on the Policy of our connection with that State, 90 Appendix A., 109 Appendix B., Ill Appendix C, 114 Appendix D., 115 Appendix E., 116 Appendix P., 118 Appendix G.,

Chapter I. Geography Of Meywar And Physical Features Of The Country

Meywar, the principal Rajpoot state in India, is bounded on the North by the British District of Ajmere ; on the East by the States of Boondee, Tonk and the Districts of Jawud and Neemuch ; on the South by Pertabgurh, Banswara, Doongurpore and Edur ; and on the West by Sirohee and Marwar. It is in length 120 miles from North to South, and has an average breadth from East to West of 90 miles, being twice as broad towards the South as it is at the North. The total area of Meywar is about 10,800 square miles, of which 6,300 is plain country, on the table land of central India ; and the remaining 3,500 hilly and mountainous. The population may be reckoned at 7,35,000 souls : 6,30,000 inhabiting the plain country and 105,000 the hills. This number is smaller than what is usually estimated but the extent of the hilly portion and the scantiness of its population are not generally considered or even known.

The table land is elevated, and covers the Northern portion of the country as far South as 24° 30' N. Latitude, where there is a sudden fall ; the edge of the table land extending a distance of 60 miles nearly due East and West, from the plains of Malwa, to the Arabullee Mountains. At its greatest elevation, the table land is about 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, and has a very gradual slope towards the North East, as indicated by the course of the rivers Bunas and Beeruch, which flow through it in their course to the Bay of Bengal. To the South the drainage is towards the Gulf of Cambay, the descent to the Myhie river being very rapid, and the country broken into numerous low ranges of hills, with very narrow valleys between them, their general direction being North and South parallel to the Arabullee.

B The Arabullee Mountains are within the limits of Meywar, and border the whole province on the West ; towards the North, their various spurs enclose Mhairwarrah, the abode of the plundering, but now happily reclaimed Mhairs ; whilst South of that tract, their lofty intricate branches expand over the South Western portion of the territory, which is peopled by wild aboriginal Bheels, and the almost equally wild Grasseeas. These are descendants of tribes of Rajpoots who held the country before the Sesodyas conquered Chittore, but who, being more free from caste prejudices, are despised by the purer though more modern race. A smaller hilly tract is found in the extreme North East of Meywar, inhabited by a daring race of robbers and dacoits called Meenahs, the progeny of the Rajpoots who were driven from Marwar on the conquest of that country by the Rhatores.

The table land of Meywar is free from jungle, and has the advantage of a copious supply of good water, generally near the surface. The soil is very fertile, though light. It requires much irrigation, but numerous artificial tanks or reservoirs help to retain the desirable element and to keep the level of the wells high. Many of the embankments of these reservoirs have fallen to decay, but the bunds or dykes of others are very magnificent and imposing works. The agriculture is rude and simple. The crops raised are different in different localities from the variety in the surface and soil. In the plain country cotton, oil seed, jawaree, and bajree are the staple rain crops ; and barley, wheat, sugar cane, opium and tobacco are grown in the cold weather. To the South East, where the black mould of the disintegrated trap boulders appears, opium and the " awl" are extensively cultivated.

Consider able quantities of cotton are exported to Guzerat, and the culture of tobacco has lately increased. Opium cultivation is not extending, in consequence of the larger quantity of land devoted to it in other places, and the fluctuations of the market, which have made it, at times, of very uncertain profit. The horned cattle in Meywar are not by any means so fine as those in the neighbouring provinces of Guzerat or Marwar ; they are, however, very numerous, and there is a large yearly export to Guzerat of such as are reared by the Bheels. The horses are good and remarkably clean-limbed ; and from the rocky nature of parts of the country where he is bred, the Meywar horse is very skilful over broken ground. The few that are reared, however, generally belong to the Chiefs. Sheep and goats are very numerous.

The agriculture and crops of the hilly portions of the country differ much from that of the plains. The Mhairs of the Mhairwarrah hills, and the Meenahs of Jhajpore live in villages like the more civilized races of India ; but the Bheels and Grasseeas of the south and south western hills, reside in "pals" or congregations of detached houses, each built on separate hillocks at some distance from each other. The cultivation belonging to a family surrounds the homestead, and each " pal" thus covers a large extent of ground. This mode of living, by preventing surprise, gives the wild race greater security from the troops of the native states, who treat them rather as enemies than subjects. The jungle on the larger hills near the " pals" is allowed to grow, and in case of attack, the Bheels flee into the cover with their families and cattle.

Each homestead is complete in itself, consisting of several houses for grain and cattle within a single enclosure. Many of the Bheel houses are well built, capacious, and tiled, and far superior to tho habitations of the same class elsewhere. The Bheels lived originally in independent communities, each acknowledging its own leader. Those that were conquered by the Meywar sovereigns or chiefs trans ferred their allegiance to them, whilst the greater portion, who coalesced with the Grasseeas, before the entry of the Oodeypore family into the country, still remain faithful to these Allodial or Bhomea Chiefs. It is uncertain at what period the Grasseeas first settled in the hills. They appear to have been colonies of Chohan Rajpoots, who, at different times, before the destruction of Chainpaneer near Baroda, issued from that place, and established themselves in Meywar.

Driven out re peatedly by the Bheels, they at last sacrified their caste to gain their object ; and by taking in marriage Bheel women, gradually mixed with that race and were permitted to rule over them. None of the Grasseea chiefs have ever been subjugated by Meywar. They voluntarily proffered a nominal allegiance to ohe Ranas, and hence they hold the " bhoom" or right of property in the land, over which the Ranah has no power. They are not liable to be called on for regular service, to which they are not subject, or to attend at the capital, but they pay a small quit-rent in token of submission. The Bheels and Grasseeas obey the orders of these rude chiefs, to whom they are devoted. Every endeavour to dispossess them has only resulted in failure; though it has been constantly attempted by the Ranas, who early conquered the valleys, but were effectually kept out of the hills, in which, however, thejT always b found protection and shelter in times of difficulty.

The intricate defiles and unhealthy climate of this extensive region, joined with scanty supplies and the harassing and constant attacks of the wild population, in former days, caused the destruction of several imperial armies, and often preserved the independence of Meywar. From the absence of level plains in the hill country the gorges and slopes have been embanked up from time immemorial with great labour into successive level steps ; which during the rainy season are so many swamps, draining one into the other. Rice is the staple crop in these, in the khurreef, succeeded by gram in the rubbee harvest. Indian corn is extensively grown also, but flourishes only on the steep slopes of the smaller hills, as it requires to be well drained and manured ; some grains are sown on the tops of the higher ranges, where the jungle is cut down and burnt, and the seed dibbled in.

Such fields last for 3 years only, after which the soil is exhausted, the jungle is again allowed to assume the ascendancy for 10 or 12 years, and a fresh spot is chosen for a repetition of a like species of husbandry. This is very destructive to the forests in the south west, which are the great sources for the supply of timber and rafters to the Myhiekanta and the city of Ahmedabad. Year by year they are becoming thinner and thinner, and it is now difficult to obtain timber of any size, whilst the greater breadth of land brought under cultivation since the Bheels have been induced to abandon their predatory courses, only increases the destruction of the forests. The more valuable woods, such as teak, blackwood, ebony, &c. which are now disappearing, would grow freely and to a large size, could they be preserved in any way from being sacrificed for these temporary fields, as well as from the extensive conflagrations to which the forests are subjected, for the purpose of improving the grass crop, and hunting the Sambhur deer.

Everywhere in the hills, the valleys are very narrow, and wheat can only be grown in a few places, along the banks of streams or in the alluvium of lakes. The most extensive valley is in the neighbourhood of Suloombur, where one of those fine artificial lakes has been formed for which Meywar is so famous. A magnificent marble bund 2000 feet in length, and 120 feet high, has been thrown across a gorge in the mountains, to arrest the course of the Goomtee river, causing it to expand into a noble lake, about 30 miles in circumference the superfluous waters of which find an exit at the extremity of the range • a rear wall was built of the same length and height as the marble bund, but 300 feet in its rear, it being the intention to fill up the intervening space with earth. This was never done and the two walls stand indepen dently, the marble bund being so beautifully built, as alone to suffice to resist the pressure of the immense body of water in its front without per colation or leakage, the ground below the bund being perfectly dry.

Many other rivers and smaller streams in the hills, besides the Goomtee, might be similarly bunded up, and used extensively in irrigation, so as completely to alter the face of the country, but, under the present native government, we cannot expect so desirable a reformation. Meywar is rich in minerals. Iron ore covers the Eastern portion of the province, and is smelted in small quantities ; but the rude manner in which this is done, the smallness of the furnaces, and the absence of coal, makes the process of manufacture very expensive. The zinc mines of Jawud, 24 miles to the south of Oodeypore, though not now worked, were formerly very productive, and by supplying a revenue to the fugitive Ranas, enabled them to maintain their indepen dence against their Mahomedan invaders for years after the more fruitful plain country had fallen.

Even so late as A. D. 1766, these mines yielded a net annual revenue of upwards of 2 lakhs of Rupees. The ore is said to have contained sufficient silver to have paid the expenses of working, but the truth of this statement has not been tested : oxide of antimony and lead are found in the same place as the zinc. Copper exists at Chittore, and agates and other minerals are procured near Bheelwarra. Chittore, the first capital of the country, is on a flat table mountain conspicuous for its light colored scarped rock, springing from a dark wooded base. The length of the hill is three and a quarter miles, and its breadth three-fourths of a mile. Its height varies from 400 to 500 feet ; of which the last 80 is a natural scarp. The approach is by a zig-zao road from the modern town, built at the foot of the western face of the hill, and which leads through seven gateways to the summit.

The top is now covered with the ruins of temples and reservoirs, some of which are still well supplied with water. The most beautiful and unique objects in Chittore are the pillars of victory, made of rose colored limestone elaborately sculptured and rising to a height of several stories. The present capital, Oodeypore, was built in A. D. 1569, by Rana Oodeysingh. It is situated in a valley, formed by a spur of the great mountain range of the Arabullee, encircling an irregular area of the table land, of about 30 square miles in extent, through which the Beeruch river flows. The valley so formed is called the " Girwah." The single entrance to this area from the plains of central India, is through a fortified gorge in the range. Still further to the East, yet within the valley, is the fine lake of Oodeysagur, the bund of which, built by the founder of Oodeypore, is thrown across a natural fault in the range, through which the Beeruch leaves the valley.

The city of Oodeypore is situated on the Eastern and Western slopes of a long low ridge, the summit of which is crowned with the Rana's palace, and many of the residences of the nobles. It contains at present about 10,000 houses and, excepting the palace, is dirty, mean and much in ruins. It has no trade of its own, and is only maintained by the expenditure of the Court. It is surrounded by a wall, having circular bastions at intervals, excepting to the west where it rests on the lake. There are also several strong detached forts at about 300 yards from the enceinte. The wall is further protected by a wet ditch, filled from the lake, but on the southern side, the ground rises too much to enable the water to flow into it. The western face of the ridge, on which the city is built, is steeper than the eastern, and descends abruptly to the beautiful " Pechole" Lake.

When full, this lake, submerging the bunds of two others, throws out deep bays into the suburbs ; a picturesque bridge unites one of these to the city, and the sparkling water on either side is edged with numerous ghats, gay balconies and temples, shaded with dark foliage. The bold expanse of the lake stretches away beyond from under the lofty palace, and the low yet extensive islands, fringed with marble piazzas, enclosing luxuriant orange gardens interspersed with sombre cypresses, towering palms, and gilded minarets shooting up here and there : the whole resting on a back ground of the dark and lofty Arabullee, forms a scene unsurpassed by any other in India. The palace itself is an extensive and imposing pile, but on nearer approach, is found to consist of insignificant enclosures, joined by narrow dark passages.

It has a court in front, and a handsome triple-gated entrance. Besides Chittore and Oodeypore, the strong hill fortresses of Koolnulmeer, Mandulgurh, and Jhajpore, belong to the State ; whilst the whole country is studded with the strong places of the chiefs, many of them admirably situated for the purposes of defence. In former times, when Meywar was all-powerful, the crown alone had the power of erecting fortresses, but the incessant wars in which the Ranas were engaged with the Emperors, and the periodical devastations inflicted by the armies of the Mahrattas and other plunderers, led to their construction by the chiefs, for the protection of their estates. It is these palaces and lakes scattered throughout the country which make Meywar one of the most beautiful countries in India.

Chapter II. Brief Sketch Of The Ancient History Of Meywar To Date

OF TREATY WITH THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. The family of the sovereigns of Meywar, is the highest in rank and dignity of all the 36 royal races of Rajpoots in India. Calling itself the solar race, or Soorujbunsa, it claims descent from the celestial Rama, who reigned at Ajodhya, the ancient Oudh, at the time Yoodisthir of the Lunar race reigned at Indraprestha (Delhi). His descendant Kanaksen, in Sunvut 201 or A. D. 145, emigrated from his capital Kosila (Awadh) to the Peninsula of Guzerat, where his descendants reigned at Bulabhipoora, till its destruction, in A. D. 524, by an invasion of foreigners, who were Tod, 230. Elphinstone 1—407. probably Persians. One of the Queens, a daughter of the Pramara Prince of Chundra wuti, (a city at the foot of Mount Aboo) who had gone to Aboo to offer a votive offering on her expectation of offspring, alone escaped the sack of Balabhi.

Taking refuge in a cave, she was there delivered of a son, after the birth of whom she immolated herself on a funeral pyre. The daughter of a priest brought up the young boy, who was termed Gehlote (cave-born) which name was adopted by his descendants. He appears to have ruled at Eedur, till the Bheels of that country, tired of a foreign rule, killed the eighth prince, whose infant son Bappa was preserved. Bappa removed to Nagindra, 10 miles north of the present Oodey pore. Obliged to fly thence, on account of his wild courses, and accom panied by only two Bheels, he ingratiated himself with the Mori chief of Chittore, whose armies he led against the Mahomedans advancing from Sindh, on their first invasion of India. After defeating and ex pelling them from Cambay, he instigated the nobles to join him in seiz ing Chittore, in A. D. 728, where he founded an empire, which his des cendants hold at the present time.

Bappa's numerous progeny esta blished themselves in the surrounding countries. He himself in his old age carried his arms towards Khorasan, and there he took new wives from the Mussulmans, by whom he had a large offspring, called Naoshera Pa thans. After a lapse of four centuries, we come to Samarsi, born in (St. 1206) A. D. 1150, the father-in-law of Prithivi Raj Chohan, the last Hin doo king of Delhi, whose wars with the Rahtore kings of Canouj led to the establishment of the Mogul dynasty in Hindoosthan. Samarsi espoused the cause of the Chohan Emperor, whilst the Rajahs of Mundare or Marwar and of Patun, took the part of the Rahtore, who invited Sahibooddeen to his assistance. The hostile forces met at the Caggar, and, after a desperate conflict, Samarsi fell, with the bravest and most renowned of his nobles.

Prithivi Raj was captured, and Delhi taken by storm. This was soon followed by the fall of Canouj, and the Empire of India was wrested from the Hindoos. The descendants of Prithivi Raj found an honorable asylum at Oodeypore, where, as Rawuts of Baid la and Kotario, their descendants are chiefs of the first class in Meywar. Kurna, an infant, succeeded Samarsi. His mother headed her Rajpoots, and gave battle in person to Kootubooddeen, whom she defeated near Amber. Kurna's son, Mahup, was driven from his throne by his brother-in-law, the Chief of Jhallaree. Unwilling to undertake the risk of attempting the recovery of the throne, Mahup resigned his claim, and retiring to the hills, founded the state of Doongurpore. As the elder branch of the family, he retained the name Aharaya, which the family had taken in the place of Gehlote, on their migration to Nagin dra.

The name Aharaya was derived from Ahar, a village near Oodey pore, where stand the Cenotaphs of the Royal Family of Oodeypore, and the scene of the Suttees, those sad exhibitions of pride and super stition, which have for so long a period been enacted by the females of this family. The throne of Chittore was recovered in A. D. 1201 by Kurna's uncle, Bharut, who placed on it his own son Rahup. This sovereign defeated and brought captive to his capital, the Purihar Prince of Mundare, whose title of Ranah he appropriated to himself, obtaining c also the rich province of Godwar, as the fruit of the conquest. The tribe, which remained with Rahup in Meywar, was called Seesodya, from the name of the place to which the captive prince of Mundare was conveyed, and which is the distinctive name still held by the reigning family of Oodeypore.

In the short space of half a century succeeding Rahup, no less than six out of nine Ranahs were killed in battle, fighting for the recovery of Gyah from the Mahomedans. During the reign of Lakumsi, who succeeded Rahup, Chittore was stormed and sacked in A. D. 1290 by Allahooddeen. On the occasion of this siege, the awful sacrifice of the " Johur" was performed by the Rajpoot females, to escape pollution or captivity. Allahooddeen sought possession of the beautiful " Pudmani," the daughter of a Chohan King of Ceylon, the fame of whose beauty, it is said, had induced the Ranah to leave his kingdom and journey to Ceylon to claim her hand. To obtain her, Allahooddeen laid siege to the capital. On the fall of Chittore, the Rajpootnees, to the number of several thousands, entered in procession the subterranean chambers in the Fort, and were there im mured, the long line being closed by Pudmani herself.

The Ranah with his chiefs, at the same time, put on the saffron robes (the symbol of de votion of life) and issuing from the fort, says Col. Tod, found death m the ranks of the enemy. According1 to Elphinstone, Vol. II. 42. . , 1 , Elphinstone, however, the Ranah was take prisoner and escaped the next year. Ajeysi, the only son of Lakumsi who had not fallen in defence of Chittore, succeeded his father. At his death, he appointed his nephew Hamir his successor, in consequence of his sons not being fit for such turbulent times. The eldest son, Sejunsi, for fear of commotions, was banished the country. He found refuge in the Deccan, and was the ancestor of Seevajee, the founder of the Sattarah throne. Hamir ascended the throne A. D. 1301. He married the daughter (a widow) of the Jhallaree Chief, Maldeo, who held Chittore for the Mussulmans, and by her means he retook it.

To revenge the loss, the Emperor Mahmood, who had succeeded Allahooddeen, marched against him, but was totally defeated and made prisoner. Mahmood's ransom was fixed at 100 elephants and 50 lakhs of Rupees, besides the districts of Ajmere, Runthumbare, Nagere, and Soopoor. Meywar was now the sole Hindoo power left in India, and the princes of Marwar and Jeypoor, Boondee, Gwalior, Chundeyree, Calpee, Aboo, &c. paid her _ , ' homage. Her power was as solid as at auv Tod, 272. & r . • period of her annals, whilst her subjects enjoyed a long repose and high prosperity. Kaitsi, who succeeded Hamir, in A. D. 1365, conquered the hill districts of Meywar, which had never previously acknowledged the supremacy of the Ranahs. He was followed by Lakha Ranah, A. D. 1373, in whose time the rich zinc mines of Jawur were discovered.

Their proceeds were expended in rebuilding the temples and palaces, levelled by Allahooddeen, and in making bunds to reservoirs and lakes. At this period, a circumstance occurred which, setting aside the rights of primogeniture, transferred the crown from the eldest branch Choonda, to the younger Mokul. A proposal of marriage arrived from Marwar for Choonda. In his absence, it was made a jest of byT the Ranah, and consequently refused by the son. Afraid of offending the Rhatore Prince, the Ranah accepted the offer for himself, the Rhatore making the condition that the progeny, if any, of the marriage, should succeed to the throne. Mokul was the offspring of the alliance — Choonda resigned his birth-right, reserving for himself the first place iu the councils of the state, and that in all grants his symbol (the lance) should be superadded to that of the Prince.

He conducted public affairs during the minority of Mokul, to the great benefit of the state, but at once retired to the court of Mandoo, on the Queen mother be coming jealous of his influence. Being sent for by her, to protect the young Prince from the Rahtores, who were usurping all the power in the State, he drove them out of the country, and pursued them to Marwar, taking their capital Mundare, which he made over to his sons. These sons were attacked by Joda (the founder of Jodhpoor) and one of them slain, but fearful of encountering the revenge of so powerful a family as that of Meywar, the feud was quenched by the formal cession of the whole of Godwar, making the spot where the young chief was killed, the northern frontier of the province. Mokul was assassinated and Koombho succeeded him, A. D. 1419.

Koombho's reign was glorious, amid no ordinary difficulties. He de feated the Mahomedan kings of Malwa and Guzerat, carrying captive to Chittore, Mahmood the Gilzie sovereign of Malwa. To commemorate this event, Koombho erected the triumphal pillar of Prinsep, II. 109. . , , „ . , T . ... , r victory at Llnttore. It is still in existence and C good preservation, and remarkable for its graceful proportions and bold projections. Its height is 122 feet, divided into nine stories, and sur mounted by a cupola, the whole richly carved with various representations of Hindoo mythology. Koombho raised Meywar to the highest degree of prosperity, and adorned her with works of art. He fell, after a long and glorious reign of 50 years, by the hands of an assassin, and that assas sin, his son. Ooda, this son, is passed over in silence by the chroniclers.

He be stowed Ajmere and Sambhur on the sovereign of Marwar, and made the Deora family independent in Sirohee. He humbled himself before the Emperor of Delhie, offering a daughter in marriage, but was struck by lightning, A. D. 1474, ere he had time to complete the disgrace. His children, for a long time, disputed the throne with Raemull, who succeeded him. One was eventually killed, and the other, after spite fully giving his Meywar estates to brahmans, retired to Deola, in the hills, where he founded the throne of Pertabghur. Raemull was succeeded, A. D. 1509, by his eldest son Sanga, or Sangram Singh, under whom Meywar reached the highest pinnacle of her prosperity. Eighty thousand horse, seven Rajahs of the highest rank, nine Raos, and 104 chieftains, bearing the titles of Rawul and Rawut, with 500 war elephants, followed him into the field.

He allayed the intestine feuds of his family, and before he was called upon to contend with the house of Timour, he had gained eighteen pitched battles against the sovereigns of Delhi and Malwa, in two of which he was opposed by Ibrahim Lodi in person. Such was the state of Meywar, when fresh hordes of Uzbees and Tartars, under Baber, were poured into Hindoostan. Sanga and Baber met near Biana, in A. D. 1527. Baber was compelled to throw up entrenchments, behind which he de fended himself for a fortnight. At length he brought superstition to aid him in his difficulty. He renounced wine, and directed the drinking goblets of gold and silver to be broken up, and divided amongst the poor. Numbers of his chiefs and subjects followed his example. The religious enthusiasm thereby occasioned, added to his own intrepid bearing and the treachery of the Tuar Prince of Rajsein, gave him a complete triumph.

Sanga retreated with the wreck of his army, and died in the subsequent year. " He exhibited at his death," says Col. Tod, " the mere fragments of a warrior. He had lost an eye, an " arm, and was a cripple, owing to a limb broken by a cannon ball ; " while he counted ninety wounds from the sword or lance, in various " parts of his body." After the short reign of Sanga' s son, Rutna, who was killed in a feud by the Boondee Rao, Bikramjeet succeeded. Entirely regardless of that respect which his proud nobles rigidly exacted, a feud ensued between them, which was taken advantage of by Bahadoor Shah, the Sultan of Guzerat, to revenge the captivity of his predecessor, Mozuf fir. Chittore was again besieged, A. D. 1535, and, though the Rahtore Queen-Mother in person headed a sally, in which she was slain, it was of no avail.

A second time the " Johur" was performed, and the funeral pyre was lighted in the tanks, or large reservoirs excavated from the rock, in which ghee and wood were usually stored. Thirteen thousand females were consumed, and the Rajpoots, headed by the Chief of Per tabghur, whose son had been adopted to the throne, and placed in safety at Boondee, rushed out to their fate. In the siege and storm, no less than 32,000 Rajpoots are said to have fallen. The Emperor Humayoon having marched from Agra to revenge the injuries he had received from Bahadoor Shah, and to succour the Rana, (Elphinstone does not mention this as a reason for his proceedings,) arrived too late to save Elphinstone, II. 126. „, . , , , -, . Chittore, though he restored it to Bikram jeet. This Ranah continued his former insolence to the chiefs, one of whom he struck in open court ; on which, headed by the Rawut of Suloombhur, they all left the presence, deposed him, and seated Bunbeer, the natural son of Prithi Raj on the throne.