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HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
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HISTORY
25. The early history of Chanda, previous to the rule of the Gond kings, has to be pieced together from such inscriptions belonging to the District as have hitherto been deciphered by the Archaeological Survey and from somewhat vague references to the
District in the records of neighbouring States. A number of inscriptions from
the ruined temples of Bhandak and Markanda have not yet been deciphered. When
these are interpreted they may bring new facts to light. Local tradition carries
the history back to the creation of the world and even a little farther. A
popular local legend, which is partly derived from the Jaimini Ashwamedha, runs
as follows:—During the Krita Yuga the city of Lokapur ex-tended over a wide
expanse, including the site where the modern Chanda now stands. Here resided
the goddess Mahakali and here she created her son, the beautiful Bhutnath. The
gods, however, enraged at his intriguing with their wives, complained to
Mahakali, who changed his name from Bhutnath to Achaleshwar (the immovable),
and sealing him with the print of the cow's hoof, fixed him for ever on the
banks of the Jharpat. During this age Rama passed through the land and rested
beneath the Chimur hills, and near Ballalpur on the Wardha river. In the Treta
Yuga,Lokapur was governed by a king of the race of moon, who altered its
designation to Indupur (city of the moon). Indupur afterwards became desolate,
but about the end of the Dwapar and commencement of the Kali Yuga we see the
great city of Bhadravati (the modern Bhandak) stretching from Bhatala on the
north, to the Jharpat on the south and east, beautiful with lakes and stately
palaces, and guarded by a vast host with horses, chariots and elephants. Here
reigned the mighty Yauvanashva, having in his possession the Shyam-karna
steed, to obtain which came the demi-god Bhim and his two companions
Meghavarna and Vrishaketu. Then ensued a battle of heroes and the horse was
borne away by the demigod to Hastinapur for sacrifice by Dharm the king. About this time ruled east of the Wainganga Wairochan, a prince of the family
of the moon, and founded a city which is called Wairagarh. Later in the Kali
Yuga came the famous physician Hemadpanth, and built the Markanda temple by
the waters of the Wainganga.'
26. In this legend the important point is the identification of the modern
Bhandak with the . ancient city of Bhadravati. General Cunningham rejects this
hypothesis and holds that Bhandak was the capital of the Vakataka dynasty and
that the present name of that village is merely a corruption of the dynastic
name Vakataka. This has been however disallowed by Drs. Buhler and Fleet on
philological grounds. No such objection arises in identifying Bhandak with
Bhadravati or Bhad-rikavati. There are further cogent reasons for this
identification. Bhadravati literally means the city of Bhadra (an epithet of
Siva). To this day the oldest and most important temple in Bhandak is called
Bhadranath or Bhadranag, and probably in ancient times the city grew up round
this famous shrine and was called, from the name of the god, Bhadra's city or
Bhadrawati. Local legend also strongly holds that the ancient city of Bhadravati
had its north gate at Bhatala and its southern extremity at Chanda, a distance
of 28 miles, and was 16 miles wide. This is probably an exaggeration but all
over the area indicated, even where it is now covered with jungle, the ruins of
ancient temples and deep rock-cut wells with stairs down to the water, similar
to the ancient wells at Bhandak, are met with. These ruins may have caused the
legends but the impression is forced on any one who examines the ground that it
once was covered with large villages or towns, of which these traces alone
remain. Just as to-day Chanda city, within its extensive walls, is really a
collection of villages with gardens and tanks between, so the ancient Bhadravati
may have been a confederation of smaller towns welded into one, as modern great
cities annex their suburbs.
27. The identification of Bhandak with Bhadravati however does not preclude the
possibility of the Vakataka domination there. True, the Vakatakas are not
mentioned in Sanskrit classical literature, but several inscriptions have been
found to prove that their rule extended over a large area in which Chanda was
included. According to Gene-ral Cunningham their boundaries were approximately
the Mahadeo range of hills on the north and the Godavari river on the south with
the Ajanta hills on the west and the hills at the sources of the Mahanadi on the
east. But his identifications from inscriptions are, Dr. Fleet states, of
doubtful authority. [Gupta Inscriptions, p. 234, Note 5.] Since he wrote, other
inscriptions have been found in Berar and elsewhere. One inscription found in
the Jasso State in the heart of Bundelkhand shows that the influence of the
Vakatakas extended much farther north. At any rate it is clear that a great
portion of Berar and at least some portion of Chanda were included in the
Vakataka dominions. This dynasty came into power in the third century A.D., the
name of the perhaps semi-mythical hero who founded it being given as Vindhya
Sakti. Nine successors of this king are mentioned, and taking 25 years as an
average for their rule, they must have come to an end by the close of the 6th
century. Dr. Fleet dating the marriage of Rudrasena, the 5th prince of the line,
with the daughter of Deva Gupta, king of Magadha, in 675 A.D., places the
dynasty about two hundred years later. But if that be so there is strong
evidence that long before they ceased to rule, the Chanda portion of their realm
had passed over to the kings of Kosala.
28. It is in connection with Kosala that we arrive at the first authentic
historical record in the history of the District. Hiuen Tsiang, the Chinese
pilgrim, records that he visited the capital of Kosala in the year 639 A.D. and
thus writes of it:—The king is of the Kshattriya caste. He deeply reverences
the law of Buddha and is well affected towards learning and the arts. There
are one hundred Sangharams (Buddhist mon-asteries) here and ten thousand
priests (monks). There are a great number of heretics who have intermixed with
the population and also Deva temples.Three identifications of the capital of
Kosala have been suggested, Chanda by General Cunningham, and Wairagarh and
Bhandak between which Dr. Fergusson long wavered. The founding of Chanda by
Khandkia Ballal Shah about 1450 A.D. seems sufficiently authentic to put that
place out of the question. None of its buildings are older than that date, save
the shrine of Achaleshwar which appears to have been always a Hindu shrine.
Wairagarh has no trace of Buddhist remains at all, nor is there any record to
show that it was ever of such size as would accommodate one hundred monasteries.
Bhandak both has the Buddhistic remains in its cave temples to this day, and the
legend of its wide bounds. It seems practically certain that Bhandak was the
city visited by the pilgrim and his account goes far to justify the legends of
the vast extent of prehistoric Bhadravati. A city which contained 100 Buddhist
monasteries with 10,000 monks besides a large number of heretics, or Hindus who
had not changed their faith, could not be a small or unimportant place. Be that
as it may, it seems clear that in 639 A.D. Chanda was ruled by Buddhist kings,
and from the inscription found in Bhandak (now in the Nagpur Museum) it appears
that they ruled at least till the 9th century A.D. How much longer Buddhist rule
continued there are no records to show, and though Buddhism lingered here longer
than in most parts of India, it never quite succeeded in winning the allegiance
of the common people but remained the faith of the upper classes. Its complete
disappearance is therefore less mysterious.
29. The next notice in the scanty annals of the period is the Ratanpur
inscription of the Haihaya king, Jajalladeva, 1114 A.D. which states that the
chiefs of Wairagarh, Lanjika (Lanji) and Bhanara (Bhandara) paid tribute to the
king. Who the chiefs of Wairagarh were can only be conjectured. Major Lucie
Smith mentions the local tradition of the line of Mana kings who ruled there,
and were subdued by the Gonds. The Mana princes whose names he recorded were
Kurumpruhoda, the first of the line, who ruled in Wairagarh which he fortified
along with Garbori and Rajoli; Surjat. Badwaik who fortified Surjagarh, and
Gahilu who built the fortress of Manikgarh in Hyderabad State. Mr Hira Lal
taking Manikgarh to be a corruption of Manikyagarh suggests that Gahilu named
his fort after the tutelary deity of his race. Manikyadevi was also the tutelary
goddess of the Nagvansi kings of Bastar who ruled about the 11th century A.D. He
is therefore of opinion that the Mana or Mani kings were not of the Mana caste,
but Kshattriyas, and a branch of these Nagvansi kings, and suggests that it was
they who succeeded the Buddhist kings, and restored the ancient temple of
Bhadranath at Bhandak, changing its name to Bhadranag. It is noteworthy that it
is the only temple in the District dedicated to snake worship.
30. The Mana or Nagvansi kings of Wairagarh were superseded by the Gond dynasty.
Major Lucie Smith in his Settlement Report of 1869 compiled from oral and
written traditions, and from genealogies no longer available, an interesting
sketch of the romantic history of this dynasty. This is reproduced below with
some necessary corrections of dates which later research demands. According to
Gond tradition there arose among them a man Kol Bhil, great in wisdom and
strength.
He welded the scattered tribes of Gonds into one nation, taught them to extract
iron from the ore, and led them against the Manas. After a troubled supremacy of
200 years the Wairagarh kings fell before the Gonds. Then Bhim Ballal Singh is
seen subduing his fellow chiefs and ruling over a wide dominion. The succession
of the Gond kings as given by Major Lucie Smith is as follows:—
|
1. |
Bhim Ballal Singh |
870 895 |
A.D. | |
2. |
Khurja Ballal Singh |
895—935 |
,, | |
3. |
Hir Singh |
935—970 |
,, | |
4. |
Andia Ballal Singh |
970—995 |
,, | |
5. |
Talwar Singh |
995 — 1027 |
,, | |
6. |
Keshar Singh |
1027—1072 |
,, | |
7. |
Dinkar Singh |
1072—1142 |
,, | |
8. |
Ram Singh |
1142—1207 |
,, | |
9. |
Surja Ballal Singh or Sher Shah Ballal Shah |
1207—1242 |
,, | |
10. |
Khandkia Ballal Shah |
1242—1282 |
,, | |
11. |
Hir Shah |
1282—1342 |
,, | |
12. |
Bhuma and Lokba, jointly |
1342—1402 |
,, | |
13. |
Kondia Shah |
1402—1442 |
,, | |
14. |
Babaji Ballal Shah |
1442—1522 |
,, | |
15. |
Dhundia Ram Shah |
1522—1597 |
,, | |
16. |
Krishna Shah |
1597—1647 |
,, | |
17. |
Bir Shah |
1647—1672 |
,, | |
18. |
Ram Shah |
1672—1735 |
,, | |
19. |
Nilkanth Shah |
1735—1751 |
,, |
When the line of kings is examined apart from the narrative of
their history, the first thing that strikes the reader is the
extraordinary length of the reigns. No less than six kings rule
for 60 years and over, one rules for 75 years, while Babaji
Ballal Shah reigns for the extraordinary period of 80 years. In
all, nineteen reigns cover a period of 881 years, or an average
of nearly 46½ years for each reign. It is possible that some
names may have been omitted, but in most cases the kingdom is
represented as descending from father to son, or as in the case
of Ram Shah, when an adoption occurs, it is recorded. It is
self-evident that the first king is dated some 400 years too
early, as taking the average of 25 years to a reign, there are
only names sufficient to carry us back to 1276 A.D. instead of
870 A.D. The dates of the later kings of the line are probably
correct enough. Ram Shah is represented as having been adopted
in infancy in 1672 and his long reign of 63 years seems
reasonable. Taking 1672 as a starting point the 25 years’
average for the other reigns carries the line back to 1247,
which agrees well enough with the history compiled from
inscriptions. Two external dates tend to establish the accuracy
of this estimate. (I) The Ain-i-Akbari records that when the
list of the territories of Akbar(1556—1603) was compiled a Gond
prince named Babji, evidently Babaji Ballal Shah, was ruling in
Chanda. He is dated in the list 1442—1522 and is therefore
placed nearly a century too soon. On the suggested computation
his reign would be 1572—97 which would make him contemporary
with Akbar. (2) On this computation the reign of Khandkia Ballal
Shah, the founder of the present city of Chanda, would be
1437—62 which agrees well enough with Cunningham’s computation
of 1450 for the date of founding the city. The genealogy of the
kings appears to have been collected from so many concurrent
sources that it may be accepted as a fairly correct list of the
princes of the line, though some names are probably omitted, but
in this account Major Lucie Smith’s dates previous to the reign
of Ram Shah are discarded. The only early dates that may be
accepted as approximately correct are—
|
1. |
Bhim Ballal Singh approximately |
1240 | A.D. | |
10. |
Khandkia Balal Shah |
1437—62 | ,, | |
|
Founding of Chanda |
1450 | ,, | |
14 |
Babaji Ballal Shah |
1572—97 | ,, | |
18. |
Ram Shah |
1672 —1735 | ,, |
All the subsequent dates in Major Lucie Smith’s narrative are
historically accurate.
31. The first king, Bhim Ballal Singh, on completing his conquest made Sirpur on
the right bank of the river Wardha his capital; while his chief stronghold was
the Mana fortress of Manikgarh in the high range of hills which rise beyond
Sirpur. He was succeeded by his son Khurja Ballal Singh. This prince was of a
gentle and unwarlike nature, but in the shadow of his father's fame he reigned
unmolested. On his death his son Hir Singh came to the throne. Unlike his
predecessors, he delighted in war, and being also wise and prudent he made his
rule respected throughout the kingdom. Previous to his accession land had been
like air, untaxed and free to all, but Hir Singh, for the first time in the
history of the nation, levied an impost on occupied ground. He, however, claimed
for himself no right of ownership in the soil, and such right was possessed by
none. All lands were in common, and the absence of any recognised partition bred
constant disputes among the people. He was succeeded by his son Andia Ballal
Singh who proved a cruel and tyrannical prince. Frequent rebellions occurred
during his reign, and a conspiracy was on foot for dethroning him, when he died.
His son Talwar Singh had not the vices of his father; but as a king he showed
himself fickle and vacillating, and thus brought his name into contempt. He had
two sons, the youngest of whom named Keshar Singh he dearly loved, and to him he
relinquished the throne. Keshar Singh was an able and successful ruler. He
subdued rebellion throughout the land, and then carried his arms to the boundary
of the Bhil country. There his progress was stayed, and he had to retire; but
large tracts beyond his former frontier were permanently conquered and added to
his dominions. In wealth he exceeded any of his predecessors and he possessed
horses and oxen. Keshar Singh was succeeded by his son Dinkar Singh. This prince
devoted himself to peaceful pursuits; and the one shadow on his name is that of
excessive voluptuousness. He invited to his court great numbers of the Gond
bards and studied the religion not only of his own people but of other nations.
The visits of foreigners he encouraged, and he was the first to induce persons
acquainted with Marathi literature to reside at his capital. The legend runs
that he possessed the philosopher's stone, by whose aid he amassed large
treasures, and this tradition may be taken to show that his revenues were
flourishing. On his death his son Ram Singh mounted the throne. Just and
truthful in his intercourse with his subjects and daring and successful as a
soldier, Ram Singh governed the kingdom righteously and enlarged its bounds. To
increase its security he erected several hill forts in the southwest and
maintained a chosen band of warriors called Tarvels. These men had eaten the
taru (a rare orchid occasionally found on the bamboo) with certain
ceremonial observances and were supposed to be invulnerable, and to each the
king granted a tract of forest varying in length from two to fifty miles.
32. Ram Singh was succeeded by his son Surja Ballal Singh. This prince who was
of very comely person, proceeded to Upper India and resided for some time at
Benares and Lucknow, where he devoted himself to learning the arts of war and of
song. His escort, however, took to plundering the country, and the Emperor of
Delhi gave orders for his capture. In the skirmishes which ensued the Gonds were
victorious, but Surja Ballal Singh while wandering alone in the vicinity of the
camp was seized by the Emperor's soldiers and carried to Delhi, where he was
placed in confinement. About this time Mohan Singh, the Rajput chief of Kaibur,
had refused to give his daughter, who was of great beauty, to the Emperor and a
force was despatched to bring him to submission. The expedition failed, but the
Emperor did not relinquish his project. Contemporaneously with these events
Surja Ballal Singh's followers returned to Sirpur, and acquainted the regent
Jarba and the Gond king's family with what had happened to their lord. Jarba
immediately raised the standard of war, and having collected an army of 70,000
men, of whom 10,000 were Tarvels, set out for Delhi. Whilst this force was on
its march the admiration of the Emperor's daughter was excited by hearing
Surja's frequent songs, and she begged her father to send for the captive The
Emperor did so, and being pleased with the appearance of the Gond King enquired
whether he were willing to fight for Delhi. Surja replied by asking to be
assigned an achievement of difficulty and the Emperor allotted to him the attack
on the Kaibur fort. While Surja was preparing to return to Gondwana, with a view
to mustering his forces for the enterprise, Jarba and his army arrived in the
vicinity of Delhi. Surja went out to meet them and presented Jarba to the
Emperor who directed Surja to take any further troops he required from the
imperial host. A contingent of 10,000 men was selected, and the combined army
moved against Kaibur. The siege lasted for eleven days, and ended in the death
of Mohan Singh, and the capture of his stronghold. Among the spoil was found a
sacred sword, which has been preserved to the present day in the family of the
Gond kings. On Mohan Singh's death his widow fell at Surja's feet and implored
him to save her daughter and herself from the Emperor. Surja assured her that he
would protect both to his utmost power, and that if all else failed he would
slay them with his own sword rather than deliver them to the Emperor. He then
posted a garrison in the fortress, and having proclaimed it to be the Emperor's,
marched back to Delhi, accompanied by the Rajput princess and her daughter, the
latter a girl of eleven. On approaching the city a rumour was spread through the
army that Surja's young son had arrived, and next morning Surja, attiring the
Rajput maiden as a boy, placed her on the elephant of State, the king and Jarba
sitting behind. In this manner they proceeded to the imperial palace, where they
were received with all honour. The Emperor seeing the pretended prince said Come in dear child,and seated her on his knee; then turning to Surja he asked
'Where is the fruit of your victory?Surja replied 'Your Majesty holds her in
your lap, and as you have called her your dear child, she can be nothing else to
you,The Emperor, although chagrined at the strategem, relinquished his claim
with a good grace and conferred a dress of honour on the Gond king. The latter
then prayed that as his ancestor had reigned over Khundal and Mandla, and the
country from Bengal to Bundelkhand, and as far south as Rajahmundry that the
same kingdom be granted to him. The Emperor decreed the whole to be his, and
conferred upon him the title of Slier Shah. Shortly afterwards Surja returned to
Gondwana, taking with him the two Rajput ladies, and the experience gained by
the king in Hindustan is said to have told beneficially on the subsequent
government of the kingdom. After Surja's visit to Delhi he was known as Sher
Shah Ballal Shah, and his descendants have since substituted Shah for Singh in
their names. The change seems, however, to have been made without the sanction
of the paramount power, for in the two seals that are extant, granted by the
Emperor of Delhi to the Goad kings, the word is Singh and not Shah.
33. On the death of Sher Shah his son Khandkia Ballal Shah reigned in his stead.
This prince was covered with tumours, and all the tender care of his wife, a
wise, beautiful and virtuous woman, was unavailing to effect his cure. At last
she induced him to leave Sirpur and reside on the opposite bank of the Wardha,
where he erected a fort called Ballalpur. One day, says the legend, while the
king was hunting north-west of Ballalpur he grew thirsty, and rode up to the dry
bed of the Jharpat, looking for water. Some was soon discovered in a hole, and
the king after drinking washed his face, hands and feet. That night he slept
soundly, the first time for many years; and next morning the queen was gladdened
by seeing that many of the ulcers had disappeared for all parts touched by the
water of the previous day had become whole. On ascertaining what had occurred
during the king's ride she ascribed his partial cure to the virtue of the water
then used, and entreated him to take her to the spot where he had quenched his
thirst. Accordingly both proceeded to the Jharpat and in a, little while the
hole was found. On clearing away the grass and sand there were seen five
footprints of a cow in the solid rock, each filled with water, and the strange
thing was that take how much one would, the water would not diminish. Thus was
discovered the Tirth of Achaleshwar who had been fixed to the spot in the Treta
Yuga. The king was bathed with the water, which had hardly been done when every
tumour vanished. That night the royal party encamped near the place, and in the
visions of sleep Achaleshwar appeared to the king, and spoke comforting words.
On hearing the dream the queen advised the erection of a temple over the healing
waters, and the king approving of the idea sent his officers to collect skilled
artificers for the work. He took a great interest in its progress, and one
morning, after his daily visit, was riding away when a hare darted out of a bush
and pursued his dog, which fled Astonished at the sight, he followed; the dog
ran in a wide circle while the hare took zig-zag cuts to catch it. At one point
it closed with the dog which however shook it off and continued its flight. On
nearing the point where the chase had commenced, the dog turned on and killed
the hare and the king then saw that on the forehead of the latter was marked a
white spot. Pondering what this might mean, he rode home and recounted to his
wife all that he had seen. That wise woman counselled that the occurrence was of
good omen, and that a fortified city should be built within the circuit of the
chase, with walls following the hare's track. She further advised that special
bastions should he erected, both where the hare had closed with the dog and
where the dog had killed the hare, expressing her belief that the latter point
would prove the point of danger to the future city. The king lost no time in
giving effect to her suggestions; a trench was run along the hare's track, which
was easily discernible by the footprints of the king's horse; then gates and
bastions were planned, the whole marked out, and the foundations commenced; the
work being under the management of the Rajput officers of the king, called Tel
Thakurs. Thus began the building of the city of Chanda or Chandrapur. The
learned derive the name from Indupur (city of the moon), which stood near the
Jharpat in the Treta Yuga, but the common people see its origin in the white
spot (chandar) which marked the forehead of the wondrous bare.
34. Khandkia Ballal Shah was succeeded by his son Hir Shah, in whose reign the
country made rapid progress. He called to a solemn banquet all the Tarvels and
others whom his ancestor Ram Shah had rewarded with forest lands, and on the
conclusion of the feast proposed to them that whoever cleared and peopled his
land should become its chief, and that he who did not should forfeit his right
thereto. The Rajas (or zamindars as they are now called) agreed to the terms and
to the best of their ability began cutting down the forest and founding
villages. In due time Hir Shah visited each zamindari, and caused the boundaries
to be marked out in his own presence, bestowing on each a sanad. He also
proclaimed that to every one who constructed a tank, as much land would be given
as the tank watered. Many did so and received giants accordingly, in each case
by a deed under the seal of the king; and this is the origin of the present
tukumdars. Hir Shah further cleared large tracts from jungle and induced numbers
from every quarter to settle on them, fixing a small rent on each holding. A
legend states that the people paid their rent not in money but in their field
implements which were yearly taken to the king, and changed by him into gold,
and this story doubtless refers to some annual muster of agricultural gear on
which the year's assessment was based. Hir Shah completed the Chanda gates,
filled in the foundations of the walls, and cleared the area enclosed. He also
built the citadel, and erected within it a palace, which was taken possession of
with great pomp and rejoicings. It is specially mentioned of this king that he
paid tribute to no one, which implies that his predecessors were paying tribute
to some overlord. There is however nothing in Firishta to show that the
dominions of the Bahmani kings whose power collapsed when Hir Shah's is supposed
to have risen extended east of the Wardha. In none of the descriptions of their
territories is any place on this side of the river mentioned. If therefore Hir
Shah's predecessors really paid a tribute to any king it may have been to the
Haihayas of Ratanpur to whom the Manas were subordinate. The Gonds may have been
practically independent, but out of policy might have recognised the sovereignty
which Hir Shah possibly was the first to throw off.
35. On the latter's death his two sons Bhuma or Agba and Lokba jointly held the
throne, the former being the elder. They ruled according to the system
inaugurated by their father, and were faithfully served by their officers. On an
appointed day in the summer of each year all the Gond chiefs of the kingdom
attended at Chanda, and having painted their persons with various colours, and
adorned themselves with peacock's feathers, beetleswings, and red and black
berries, they came singing and dancing to the two princes, and laid before them
specimens of every useful animal and vegetable product found on their estates;
and the ceremony concluded with a great banquet at the palace. During this reign
an Elma (Velama) chief of Amravati, near Guntur, obtained the cession of a large
portion of the southern part of the kingdom, in return for a valuable gift of
diamonds.
36. On the death of the two brothers the sou of one of them named Koiulia Shah,
or as he was generally called Karn Shah, Came to the throne. This prince was
attached to the Hindu religion, and delighted in hearing the narratives of its
sacred books. Large numbers of Telugu and other Brahmans thronged to his kingdom
and he conferred upon them pensions and rent-free fields and villages. He set up
lingas of Mahadeo in various places, and built numerous temples, assigning
to the attendants grants of land. All the ancient temples and caves he caused to
be cleared from vegetation and kept in repair. He also proved himself a valiant
soldier, and no chief who disobeyed his commands long remained unpunished. In
the meanwhile the oppression of the neighbouring kings, especially in Telingana,
had induced thousands to flock to Chanda, where they were kindly treated; and
soon, there being no building room within the city walls, outlying suburbs were
commenced. Up to this time the Good kings had not interfered in the disputes of
their subjects. If a man complained, for instance, that another had murdered his
father, then,would say the king, kill his. Karn Shah however established
the following system. When a complaint was made he called both parties before
him, and heard their stories; if the accused spoke falsely he was banished the
kingdom, but if he told the truth he was cautioned and released. If a second
complaint came up against the same man a similar course was pursued; but in the
event of a third offence being committed, the offender was expelled from the
country; and a like fate awaited him who thrice preferred false charges. During
this reign the city walls reached more than half their destined height.
37. Karn Shah was succeeded by his son Babaji Ballal Shah, a sensual and
ignorant but harm- less prince. He left the affairs of the kingdom entirely to
his officers, who fortunately administered the trust faithfully and well. This
prince is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari as independent, paying no tribute to
Delhi aud having an army of 10,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. He is stated to
have wrested Biragarh (Wairagarh) in which was a diamond mine, from another
chief, which shows that Wairagarh had passed out of the hands of this family
probably during the joint rule of Bhuma and Lokba who had allowed the southern
portion of their country to go to an Elma in exchange for a gift of diamonds.
38. On Babaji's death his son Dhundia Ran: Shah was enthroned. This king was
foolish, drunken, untruthful and treacherous; but to him fell the honour of
inaugurating the city walls, which were completed in his reign; in the
ceremonies which took place many thousand Brahmans were fed and numerous grants
of land were made; amongst others the Ghatkul pargana was bestowed on a Rajur
Brahman and the parganas of Kelapur, Bhori, Yeotmal, Kalam and Haveli (the first
four being now included in Berar) on a Lingayat Bania. He was succeeded by his
son Krishna Shah, who governed the people well, and reduced the army, giving
many of the leaders tracts of land in the east and south. The Gond princes of
Deogarh had hitherto been subject to the Chanda kings, but in this reign a
treaty was concluded by which Deogarh was declared independent of Chanda. This
was probably a formal recognition of Deogarh's independence, as the latter in
Jatba's times was much stronger than Chanda; Abul Fazl gave its strength as 2000
cavalry, 50,000 foot and more than too elephants. Up to this time the Gond kings
were wont to sacrifice two cows yearly to Pharsa Pen, but Krishna Shah
substituted goats, and the sacrifice of cows was never re-established.
39. On his death the crown devolved upon his son Bir Shah, a valiant and able
prince, who ruled successfully. He gave his daughter in marriage to Durgpal, [
This name is unknown to Deogarh history.] the son of the king of Deogarh;
but subsequently learning that Durgpal had spoken insultingly to the princess,
he vowed to Mahakali that if victory were given him he would offer Durgpal's
head to her shrine; then mustering his forces he marched against the prince of
Deogarh. In the battle which ensued the Deogarh army was assisted by a
Muhammadan contingent, and the Chanda troops were driven back. Bir Shah was on
the point of being captured, when unsheathing the sacred sword of his house, he
rushed at Durgpal, and with the cry, Victory to Mahakali,severed his head
from his shoulders. The Deogarh army thereupon broke and fled, and Bir Shah
taking the head returned to Chanda, where he offered it in fulfilment of his
vow. His wife Hirai pulled down the old temple of Mahakali and erected a new one
on its site, and on the spire looking towards Nagpur she fixed a stone bust of
the slain Durgpal, which gazes northwards to this day. Among Bir Shah's
body-guards was a Rajput named Hiraman, who was supposed to possess a magic
sword of wood, regarding which the king often questioned him, but questioned in
vain. It so happened that when the ceremonies connected with Bir Shah's marriage
to a second Wife were in progress, and the day had arrived for the procession to
the bride's house for which all the pomp and circumstances of the kingdom were
marshalled in glittering line before the palace, awaiting their lord, and the
king in regal dress was descending the palace steps, the thought came across his
mind that unless he knew the truth regarding Hlraman some ill-fortune might
ensue. Pausing where he stood while shouts and music rent the air he turned to
Hiraman and peremptorily ordered him to produce the sword. Tressed before the
crowd, the Rajput grew furious, and drawing his heavy brand struck the king down
dead in sight of court and guards and people and then as rapidly despatched
himself. Thus perished Bir Shah in the flower of his age. Over his remains rose
the fairest of the temple tombs, which mark the resting places of his line; and
no bridegroom of his house has since passed in procession to his future wife.
This is said to have happened in 1672 A.D. Bir Shah having died without male
heirs, his widow Hirai adopted the infant son of Govind Shah, a member of the
royal family who had settled at Chandankhera, and named him Ram Shah, acting as
regent during his minority.
40. Ram Shah from his childhood was singularly humble, obedient and pious, and
as he advanced in years the people came to regard him as an incarnation of the
deity. On mounting the throne he proved a wise and excellent ruler, and so great
was the awe created by his supposed divine attributes that crime, it is said,
almost wholly ceased during his reign. Wise as he was, however, he did not
escape family dishonour, for his daughter became enamoured of Bagba, a Gond
prince who dwelt south of the Wardha, and many guilty visits resulted. One
evening, so the story runs, Bagba reached the Wardha and found it in flood, but
riding along the bank he came to where the stream narrowing rushes through
sandstone cliffs on either side, and here he leaped his horse across. The
intrigue was soon discovered, and Ram Shah in wrath sent to seize Bagba who
resisted the messengers. The King then matched against him; and Bagba with no
hope of victory, but determined to die with honour, collected his followers, and
accompanied by his brothers Agba and Ragba advanced to meet the sovereign. The
opposing forces joined battle at Ghugus, and the insurgents were totally routed.
Agba fell on the field; Ragba was killed in the pursuit near Turoda, and Bagba
escaping home led his wife and children into a cavern hard by, where he put them
to the sword and then slew himself. The king's troops traced him to the cave,
which they filled with wood and straw, and firing the pile reduced the bodies to
ashes. The Ramala tank and the Ram Bag (the latter near the present Chanda
court-house) were made under Ram Shah's orders; while the Govindpur suburb and
the Nagina Bag in which the Chanda mission orphanage now stands were constructed
by his father Govind Shah.
41. In 1718 A.D. we find the Raja of Satara attempting to obtain from the Delhi
Emperor the cession of Chanda, and about the same year the former sent Kanhoji
Bhonsla to invade Gondwana. Kanhoji met with no military successes in the Chanda
kingdom, and latterly betook himself to plundering, chiefly west of the Wardha.
He appears subsequently to have been recalled, but the summons having been
disregarded, Raghuji Bhonsla was ordered to enforce his return, and about 1730
A.D., Raghuji captured him near Mundur in the Sirpur pargana (now of Berar), and
forwarded him to Satara. Raghuji then proceeded to the city of Chanda, where he
was courteously received by the king, and tradition states that the Maratha
soldier was so awed by Ram Shah's calm mien and bearing, that in place of
seeking a pretext for a quarrel he did him homage as a god. Ram Shah was
gathered to his fathers in 1735 A.D., and when Major Lucie Smith wrote he still
lingered in the memory of the people as an aged saint-like man unruffled by the
cares of earth, and inspiring a love not unmixed with solemn dread.
42. Well would it have been for the fame of his house had the fast failing
thread of the Gond dynasty been severed at his death, for his son Nilkanth Shah,
who succeeded to the throne, was an evil and cruel prince. He put to death his
father's trusted Diwan, Mahadaji Vaidya, and dismissed with contumely all the
high officers of the former reign. The people he ground to the dust, and he
interfered in the political disputes of Deogarh, but retribution overtook him
swiftly, for in 1749 A.D. the Marathas were at his gates, and the city fell, not
by the award of battle, but by the treachery of an estranged court. Raghuji
therefore dictated a treaty of partition, by which two-thirds of the revenue
were alienated to the Marathas; but the remnant of power then spared soon
vanished for in 1751 A.D. Raghuji took entire possession of the kingdom and mads
Nilkanth Shah a prisoner, the latter dying in confinement. Thus ended the
dynasty of the Gond kings of Chanda, Originally petty chiefs of a savage tribe,
they spread their sway over a wide dominion, reclaiming and peopling the
wild forests in which they dwelt, and, save a nominal allegiance to the Delhi
throne, preserving their soil for several centuries inviolate from foreign rule.
When at length they fell, they left, if we forget the few last years, a
well-governed and contented kingdom, adorned with admirable works of engineering
skill, prosperous to a point no after-time has reached. The device of the Gond
kings was a Singh or Griffin destroying an elephant, and probably had reference
to their family name of Singh. This crest is carved upon wall and gateway and
tower wherever Bhim Ballal Singh's line held sway, and is to be seen far beyond
the boundaries of the present Chanda District.
43. From the Maratha conquest Chanda became a province of the Bhonsla family,
and it will be sufficient to record only those events which directly affected
this dynasty. In 1755 A.D. Raghuji. died, leaving four sons, Janoji, Sabaji,
Mudhoji and Bimbaji, Janoji, the eldest, succeeded but the succession was
disputed by Mudhoji who was supported by the court of Poona; and several
encounters took place between the brothers. Mudhoji having been worsted the
matter was referred to the Peshwa, who confirmed Janoji in the government of
Nagpur with the titles of Sena Sahib; while Mudhoji was granted Chanda and
Chhattisgarh with the appellation of Sena Dhurandhar. Mudhoji was wasteful and
rapacious, and did much to ruin the country under his rule. In 1758 A.D. he left
Chanda in the hands of his creditors and proceeded to Hindustan with Raghunath
Rao, the uncle of the Pesfiwa. On his return a good understanding sprang up
between Janoji and himself, consequent upon a project of the former's to adopt
as his successor Mudhoji's eldest son; and in the hostilities which ensued
between the Peshwa and Janoji he assisted his brother. In 1769 A.D. Madho Rao
(the Peshwa) and Rukun-ud-daulah laid siege to Chanda, but were forced to
retire, and peace was shortly afterwards declared. About 1772 A.D. Janoji
proceeded to Poona, and obtained the sanction of the Peshwa (Madho Rao) to the
adoption of Raghuji, Mudhoji's eldest son. Madho Rao died in November of that
year, and was succeeded in the Peshwaship by Narayan Rao; while Janoji expired
in May following when on his march back to Nagpur. Raghuji being a minor,
Mudhoji and Sabaji each claimed the regency; but Darya Bai, Janoji's widow,
setting aside the pretensions of both, assumed the Government, and appointed
Sabaji her General and Diwan. Mudhoji having always maintained relations with
Raghunath Rao found himself viewed with dislike by the Poona court, and he
quickly saw that his only chance of success lay in his sword. He thereupon
attacked Sabaji near Akola in Berar, but was defeated with great loss. The
Peshwa's agent then induced the brothers to agree to a truce, during which
interval Darya Bai deserted Sabaji for Mudhoji, The latter again took
the field, supported by the Pathan Governor of Ellichpur, while Sabaji was
assisted by the Nizam. At this crisis the Peshwa Narayan Rao was murdered, and
fresh complications arose, Mudhoji espousing the cause of Raghunath Rao and
Sabaji that of the Poona ministerial party.
44. In the meanwhile Chanda was not undisturbed. Ballal Shah, son of Nilkanth
Shah, escaped from confinement in the Bal-lalpur fort, and collected a
considerable force of Gonds with the intention of seizing Chanda and Manikgarh.
The insurgents, however, were routed at Gunpur in the Ghatkul pargana by Mahipat
Rao, the subahdar of Chanda; and Ballal Shah, after receiving a gun-shot wound,
was captured and sent in to Nagpur. About this time a party of the Poona
ministerial Torres penetrated to Chormarhi, near Bhandak. and made prisoners of
the ladies of Mudhoji's family; but Venkat Rao, zamindar of Ahiri, and his
brother Mohan Shah, who were at the time military governors of the Chanda city,
with a third brother Vishwas Rao, then in charge of the Manikgarh fortress,
attacked the Poona troops and rescued the ladies. Mudhoji shared the reverses of
Raghunath Rao, and in January 1775 A.D. was vanquished and surrounded by his
brother's troops at Panchgaon near Nagpur. Sabaji, flushed with success, drove
his elephant up to that on which Mudhoji was seated, exultingly calling him upon
to surrender, when a pistol shot from Mudhoji laid him dead in the very moment
of victory. Mudhoji thus suddenly undisputed regent of Berar had still many
dangers to face, and he was glad to purchase a peace with the Nizam by the
surrender of four forts among which were Chanda and Manikgarh; but the
surrender, never actually carried out, was shortly afterwards revoked.
Mudhoji died in 1788 A.D. and his son Raghuji II, till then but titular Raja,
assumed the Government. He obtained from the court of Poona for his younger
brother Venkoji the title of Sena Dhurandhar, and allotted to him Chanda and
Chhattisgarh. In 1789 A.D. he released Ballal Shah and granted him a yearly
pension of 600 rupees. Venkoji commonly called Nana Sahib resided at Chanda, and
was of a quiet and religious disposition. He rebuilt the Ballalpur fort and the
Chanda citadel, both of which had fallen to ruin, and he erected a palace, a
fragment of which forms the present Kotwali. Several temples also owe their
construction to him, the handsomest being the new building over the shrine of
Achaleshwar, and the Murlidhar temple within the palace precincts.
45. In September 1797 A.D. the Erai rose to an extraordinary height, flooding
the entire city of Chanda and submerging numerous dwellings. In 1803 A.D.
Raghuji II, by the treaty of Deogaon, lost Cuttack and the provinces west of the
Wardha, Manikgarh and Sirpur; the ancient seat of the Ballal Shah dynasty thus
passing away from Chanda. About this time the Pindaris first made their
appearance in the District, and gradually overran the country, few villages
escaping pillage, and many being rendered wholly desolate. Their visits roused
the plundering classes into action, and the injury inflicted directly and
indirectly was incalculable. In 1811 AD. Venkoji died at Benares, and his son
Mudhoji, known as Appa Sahib, appears to have been born and brought up at
Chanda, but no act of his prior to his becoming the head of the Nagpur State has
left his mark on the District.
46. In 1816 A.D. Raghuji II died, leaving but one son, Parsoji, who was imbecile
in mind and body. After some opposition Appa Sahib was declared regent,
and sedulously courted the British alliance. In January 1817 A.D. he proceeded
to Chanda, and during his absence from Nagpur Parsoji died, murdered as it was
subsequently learnt by Appa Sahib's secret orders. The latter as nearest heir
now became Raja of Nagpur. Avowedly a warm friend of the British, he
privately intrigued against them in all directions until November following,
when he threw off the mask and declared hostilities. The battles of
Sitabaldi and Nagpur followed in which he was signally defeated and was
forced personally to surrender, and to agree to terms which rendered him wholly
dependent on the British. In January 1818 A.D. he was permitted to resume
the Government, and immediately recommenced his intrigues. He invited the Peshwa
Baji Rao to move on Nagpur stirring up the Gonds to oppose the British, and
ordered the Killadar of Chanda to recruit intending to escape to that city.
But the Resident, Mr. Jenkins, was watching his plans, and on the 15th
March caused him to be seized and brought a prisoner to the Residency. In
the meanwhile his adherents were hastily making efforts to garrison
Chanda.
Bhujang Rao, zamindar of Ahiri, and his brother Kondu Bapu, zamindar of Arpalli,
threw themselves with their followers into the place, and every able-bodied
citizen of the lower classes was pressed into the ranks. On the 2nd April the
van of Baji Rao's army reached Warha, ten miles west of Chanda, on the left bank
of the Wardha, but was there checked by Lieutenant-Colonel Hopeton Scott, who
had been despatched from Nagpur to prevent Baji Rao getting into Chanda. Colonel
Adams, with a second division, shortly afterwards arrived in the vicinity, and
on the 17th April the combined forces attacked and routed Baji Rao at
Pandar-kaura west of the Wardha.
47. The British troops then laid siege to Chanda, one brigade taking ground at
Kusara on the right bank of the Erai, north-west of the city, while the second
was massed south-east of it, at the junction of the Jharpat and Erai, where
batteries were posted on an eminence called the Mana hill. The garrison were now
called upon to surrender, but their only reply was to kill the messenger; and
the citizens are said to have been so confident of success that mar-riages went
on amongst them as if no hostile force were near. The British guns thereupon
opened fire, and a breach was soon made in the line of curtain between the
Pathanpura gate and the Hanuman wicket. On the morning of the 2nd May the
storming parties moved to the assault, and were met in the breach by the regular
garrison, who are said to have fallen to a man in its defence, while the
Killadar Ganga Singh was also slain, rewarding with his dying breath one Ali
Khan, who claimed to have shot an English officer. The struggle, however, was of
short duration, and the British were quickly masters of the place, which was
given up to sack; but in the general plunder which ensued, the Killadar slain
protected his home far better than his living arm could have defended it, for
the English in admiration of his conduct at the assault caused his house to be
scrupulously respected [After its capture Chanda was practically destroyed;
besides the city walls, only the Ballal Kila (now the Jail) and the
Killadar's house (now the Kotwali) being left standing. When rebuilt the
town was laid out on a different plan and the main thoroughfare the 'Victoria
Roadnow runs from north to south.]; and his family, it may be added, are now
pensioners of the British Government. Appa Sahib's repeated treachery having
proved him unworthy of trust, the British Government decreed his deposition, and
placed Raghuji, grandson of Raghuji II, at the head of the Nagpur State.
48. As the new Raja was only some nine years old, a regency was appointed under
his grand-mother Baka Bai and the administration of the country was conducted by
the Resident, acting in the name of the Raja, and assisted by British officers
in charge of each District and department. The mean rapacious spirit which
characterised the Bhonslas in all dealings with their subjects had caused
infinite harm to the Chanda District, and from 1803 A.D. constant disturbances
and lawlessness had added their evil fruits; indeed it is on record that the
population was in 1802 A.D. double that in 1822 A.D., and that the houses in the
city of Chanda had decreased during that period in nearly the same proportion.
The able men, who from 1818 A.D. to 1830 A.D. now administered the District in
succession, did much, each in his time, to restore the former prosperity
of the country. The Gond chiefs who had rebelled were brought to submission,
plundering was stopped, and order established, the heavy assessments on the land
were reduced, deserted villages re-peopled, and ruined irrigation works
repaired. Education was encouraged and during this period Subaji Bapu, a
Telugu Brahman of Chanda, gained an Indian reputation by his published
works in Marathi, Telugu and Sanskrit, the scientific value of which
particularly of his treatise on the Copernican system, was warmly acknowledged
by the Government of India and the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
49. But in June 1 830 A.D. the management of the country was made over to the
Raja Raghuji III, and progress stayed. Short-sighted grasping measures took the
place of a broad and generous policy; men without interest found their lands
taxed to almost their full return, while those with influential friends paid
less than their just due; many of the old holders were ejected, and the best
villages bestowed on relatives and favourites of the Raja, or on official
underlings. Thus sprang up a body of absentee landlords leasing the richest
estates in the District, but knowing naught about them and having hardly an
interest in common with the country or its people; anxious only to obtain the
largest possible income, and utterly careless of the well-being of their
tenantry; all in striking contrast to the policy pursued by the Gond kings.
Plundering revived in spite of military parties posted thickly over the
District, and as late as 1862 A.D. a Government treasure escort was attacked and
robbed by Gonds on the Mul road, not sixteen miles from Chanda.
50. In 1853 A.D. Raghuji died heirless, and the Nagpur Province was then
incorporated in the British Empire the administration being conducted by a
commission under the supreme Government. The first Deputy Commissioner of Chanda
was Mr. R. S. Ellis of the Madras Civil Service (afterwards created a C.B.) who
assumed charge of the District on the 18th December 1854 A.D. The swell of the
great wave of rebellion which swept over India in 1857-58 A.D. was felt in
Chanda, and the wild nature of the country, the predatory habits of the Gonds,
and the proximity of the Hyderabad territory, combined to render the management
of the District during this period a task of peculiar anxiety; but Captain W. H.
Crichton (the then Deputy Commissioner) prevented any outbreak until March 1858
A.D., when Bapu Rao, a petty chief of Mollampalli in the Ahiri zamindari,
commenced plundering in the Rajgarh pargana, and was shortly afterwards joined
by Venkat Rao, zamindar of Arpalli and Ghot. These two leaders then openly
declared rebellion, and, collecting a mixed force of Rohillas and Gonds,
withstood the troops sent against them. On the night of the 29th April a party
of the insurgents attacked Messrs. Gartland, Hall and Peter, telegraph employes,
who were encamped near Chunchgondi on the Pranhita, and killed the two first.
Mr. Peter escaped into the Ahiri keep, and as soon as possible joined Captain
Crich-ton, who was in the vicinity directing operations. Subsequently when it
was desired to communicate with Lachmi Bai, the zamindarin of Ahiri, Mr. Peter
disguised himself as a native and safely delivered to her Captain Crichton's
letter. The rebels made a stand at several points, but never with success, and
at length by the exertions of Lachmi Bai Bapu Rao was captured, and was
immediately sent in to Chanda, where he suffered death on the 21st October 1858
A.D. Venkat Rao escaped to Bastar and in April 1860 A.D. he was arrested by the
Raja of that dependency, and on being handed over to the British authorities was
sentenced to transportation for life, with forfeiture of all property. For the
services performed during 1857-58 A.D. Lachmi-Bai was granted sixty-seven
villages of the Arpalli and Ghot zamindari. On the 2nd March 1861 the Nagpur
Province and the Saugor and Nerbudda territories were formed into the Government
of the Central Provinces and Chanda then became a portion of the Nagpur
Division. Since that date the District has fully shared in the material arid
intellectual progress which followed the inauguration of the new Government.
51. Only once has the peace of the District been disturbed and that by a local
incident known as the Rampa rebellion. In 1879-80 some new forest laws caused
considerable dissatisfaction among the forest tribes in the hills that bound the
Godavari valley. The oppressive and injudicious action of the Tahsildar of
Bhadrachalam and the forest ranger fanned the smouldering discontent, and a
flame of insurrection ran along the hills. The forest tribes and villagers
gathered in bands amounting occasionally to several thousands, looted villages,
killed one or two policemen, and captured a steamer of the Godavari river
service. A military field force was sent from Madras to quell the insurrection
and the company of troops stationed at Sironcha was called out. Sardar Ratan
Singh, District Superintendent of Police, Chanda, distinguished himself by his
prompt and able conduct of the police operations, and by his intrepidity and
skill in one skirmish with a considerable number of the rebels won high praise
from Viscount Guillamore, Special Assistant to the Agent of the Godavari
District, who was with him in the action. Sardar Ratan Singh in his own report
states that if police action in the first instance had been promptly taken there
would have been no need for military intervention. There were several subsequent
disturbances during the next two years, but by 1882 the people had returned to
their usual avocations, and since then the District has enjoyed the peace that has no history.'
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