1874'.'] Blochmann — JVoles on Narnaid, 225 



zamindars of the neighbourhood, and moved at last personall}' against the 

 rebels. He was, however, defeated in several engagements and had to with- 

 draw, when the town of Narnaul was occupied by the Satnams, who made 

 immediate arrangements to collect the taxes and establish thanahs all over 

 the district. 



* When the emperor returned to Dihli, he heard of the rebellion, and 

 sent off several detachments, every one of which wa^. routed, so much so that 

 the rumour spread that neither sword nor arrctw nor ballet could hurt a 

 Satnam, whilst every arrow and bullet of the rebels killed two or three im- 

 perialists. In fact, every one believed that the Satnams practised witchcraft. 

 The most extraordinary things were related of them. Thus it was said that 

 they possessed an enchanted wooden horse upon which a woman rode, 

 and the horse used to go like a live horse in front of tlieir vanguard. Matters 

 went so far that Rajas of renown and Amirs experienced in warfare had 

 to be despatched against them with strong detachments ; but the soldiers 

 were so unwilling to march on, that the rebels came within sixteen or 

 seventeen kos of Dihli. Several zamindars and mean Rajputs joined them 

 to escape taxation, and the revolt assumed such dimensions, that the emperor 

 left the palace and ordered the tents to be pitched outside the capital. He also 

 wrote formulas of blessings and amulets with his own hands, and had them 

 sewn on the flags and banners, and then sent the soldiers against the rebels. 

 At last, after great exertions on the part of Raja Bishn Singh,* Hamid 

 Khan (son of Murtaza Khan), and other intrepid Amirs, several thousands 

 of the rebels were killed ; the rest dispersed, and the rebellion ended. 



' But as so many zamindars had taken part in the rebellion, the whole 

 Subah of Ajmir and even the neighbourhood of A'grah were unsettled ; and 

 the tents having been pitched outside the capital, the emperor resolved to 

 perform a pilgrimage to the shrine of Mu'inuddin Chishti at Ajmir, intend- 

 ing at the same time to punish the refractory zamindars. But before leav- 

 ing, he gave orders to levy the jizyah from the Hindu population of the 

 capital, as well as from the Hindus in all other Subahs. When the orders 

 iNQVQ published, the Hindus — you might have counted them by lacs — collected 

 below the window where the emperor used to show himself to the people, and 

 loudly bewailed their poverty and cried loud to get the order rescinded ; but 

 his Majesty paid no attention to the clamour. But when, on the next Friday, 

 the emperor went from the palace to the Jami' Mosque to say prayers, the 

 Hindu money-changers, cloth merchants, and other tradesmen had assem- 

 l^led in such numbers as to block up every street. The emperor waited 

 an hour, thinking the people would let him pass ; at last he gave orders 

 to move on, and several people were trampled to death by the elephants or 



* The chief commander, however, was Ra'dandaz Khau (the ' thunder- thrower'), an 

 officer in Aurangzib's artillery. 



