1917.] Bardic and Histl. Survey of Rajputana. 211 



words: " sabasa surarana" ("well done, o prince of all the 

 heroes!") and it is from this phrase that, according to Rama 

 Lala Gani, the term Surana has derived. The story is. of 

 course, an amusing fiction from beginning to end ; and the only 

 reasonable conclusion we can derive from it is that the Suranas 

 were in origin Pa vara, or more precisely Sakhala Rajput 

 who changed their name as they were converted to Jainism. 

 Probably the term Surana is derived from one Suro, who wa 

 converted, and the Suranas are his descendants. 1 



As regards Susani, the kuladevz of the Suranas, then is a 

 tradition current at Morakhano which is very interesting. 

 Susani was the virgin daughter of a bania of Nagora. She 

 was very beautiful, so much that the Nawab of Nagora heard 

 about her and fell in love with her. He asked her from her 

 father. The father said that the girl was an incarnation of 

 the Matajl, and it was not in his power to bestow her on 

 anybody. The Nawab got angry and threatened to obtain her 

 by force, whereupon the girl fled into the dessrt to the north. 

 The Nawab despatched a force in pursuit. The girl, fleeing 

 alone, had reached the place where now Morakhano is, when 

 turning round she saw the men of the Nawab on the point 

 of overreaching her. Seeing that there was no further escape, 

 she went to a small shrine of Mahadeva that was on the spot 

 and prostrating herself before the linga, asked the god to bestow 

 on her his curse so that she might be destroyed and avoid 

 disgrace. The god granted her prayer. She had proceeded 

 only a little distance, where there stood a fcera-tree, and the 

 men of the Nawab were on the point of laying their hands on 

 her. when the kera split in two, and she was absorbed into the 

 earth between. The chasm which had opened in the earth, 

 closed up again, but the two halves of the kera remained 

 disjoined and grew into two separate trees, and it is between 

 these that the temple was subsequently erected. The trees are 

 still to be seen at the two sides, close to the outer wall of the 



temple. 



The temple rests on a high platform and consists of a 

 cellar, open hall, and frontal porch. It is ail built in Jesalmen 

 stone. The external walls of the cellar are carved with figures 

 of deities and dancers, but the details of the carving have 

 all been covered with whitewash. The doorway is likewise 

 carved, but here also the particulars of the sculpture are in 

 Part hidden under a coating of vermilion and dust. _ the 

 tikhara over the cellar is built hollow. The cellar contains a 

 stone image of the goddess, apparently carved m the same 

 style as the doorway. Round the cellar, there is a low wall, 

 built in line with the outer wall of the hall, so as to form an 



_ _^ — ^—* 



, TO J Notice, however, that in a list of 92 Eajput j^.^J* 1 in 

 MS. 15 of Descr. Cat.. Sect, i, pt. i, the name Surana .9 also included. 



