90 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XII, 



With the death of Rama was lost the rava-ship, and the thakura- 



ship also fled away." ] 



Rama was succeeded by his brother Dugara Si. It is diffi- 

 cult to refrain from the suspicion that he was the ultimate 

 author of the murder of Rama, and such a suspicion seems to 

 be further confirmed by the fact that Jaga Hatha continued to 

 occupy his high office under the new rava. But it must be 

 observed that a superstitious populace is always only too ready 

 to attribute to poison any sudden death that may occur from 

 a natural cause ; and on this ground it would be unjust to 

 throw on Dugara Si a blame which has no other foundation except 

 on a mere rumour. However things may be, Dugara Si, who 

 eventually was not a man of such energy as his brother, could 

 not enjoy long his power, nor save his domains from the astute 

 cupidity of rava Mala De of Jodhpur, who was on his watch, 

 ready to avail himself of the first opportunity for seizing Pha- 

 lodhi and adding it to the fisc, as he had done with many other 

 fiefs of Mar war. This time, the means employed by the rava 

 of Jodhpur were even more unfair and unscrupulous than on 

 other occasions. The legend is that he invited Dugara Si to 

 his quarters to take part in the Holl-sports, and then captured 

 himunarmed and unsuspecting, after blinding him with an hand- 

 ful of gulala. Then he fell with an army over Phalodhi, think- 

 ing he would find it an easy prey, but Jaga Hatha Depavata 

 had assembled his forces in the fort and prepared for a stub- 

 born resistance. Rava Mala De had to lay a regular siege, and 

 five months passed and yet there were no signs that the fort 

 was going to capitulate. 



During the siege, the rava of Pohakarana, Jet a Mala, who 

 had succeeded his father Goyanda since the year Samvat 1582, 

 knowing that the ambitious Mala De would not be satisfied 

 with Phalodhi, but march next against Pohakarana and Sata- 

 lamera, tried to create a diversion and possibly relieve the be- 

 sieged fort, but was unsuccessful. He had married a daughter 

 of the ravala of Jesalmer, and it is from this chief he obtained 

 a contingent of B hat is, under the command of lcuvara Hara 

 Raja. With this contingent, engrossed by some other forces, 

 ravata Bhivo, a subject of Jeta Mala, marched on Phalodhi, but 

 on nearing Mala De's camp, realized the difficulty of the task 

 and resolved to withdraw after raiding the camels in the neigh- 

 bourhood. Mala De sent after him Jeso Bheravadasota with a 

 body of hojsemen, and the raiders were overtaken and deci- 

 mated. Ravata Bhivo was taken prisoner by Prithf Raja Jeta- 

 vata. Rava Mala De at last succeeded in occupying Phalodhi, 



c ™o T} ^ text ' M * have reconstructed it from the very incorrect readin. 

 of MS. 12, runs as follows :— 



sr Jr^fw g; ftwaiwfr I *ro *rt xim *nft I 



