Local traditions.

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.'

The city of Bhadravati.

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.

The Vakataka kings.

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.

Buddhist kings.

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.

Haihaya kings of Kosala.

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.

Gond Kings.

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:—

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—

All the subsequent dates in Major Lucie Smith’s narrative are historically accurate.

The first eight Gond kings.

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.

Surja Ballal singh and his interview with the Delhi Emperor.

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.

Khandkia Ballal Shah, the founder of Chanda.

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.

Hir Shah, an independent ruler.

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.

His successors and Gond dances.

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.

Karn Shah and dispensation of justice.

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.

Babaji Ballal Shah mentioned in the Ain-i Akbari.

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.

His successors.

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.

Bir Shah and his assassiuation.

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.

The pious Ram Shah.

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.

The Maratha attempts to gain possession of Chanda.

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.

The last Gond king.

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.

The Bhonsla rule.

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.

Local and family feuds.

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.

The decay of the Bhonslas.

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.

Appa Sahib.

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.

Siege of Chanda by the British.

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.

Administration of the country under the British Resident.

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.

Raghuji III.

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.

Lapse to British Governtment.

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.

The Rampa rebellion.

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.'