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876 



Elephant Statues in the Delhi Palace. 



[No. 4, 



The Hindoo account as collected by Tod from the records and tradi- 

 tions of Me war is as follows. 



"But the names that shine brightest in this gloomy page of the 

 annals of Mewar, which are still held sacred by the Bard and true 

 Bajpootre and immortalised by Akbar's own pen, are Jeimul of 

 Bednore and Putta of Kailwa, both of the sixteen superior vassals of 

 Mewar. The names of Jeimul and Putta are as household words 

 inseparable, &c. When Saloombra fell at the gate of the Sun the 

 command devolved upon Putta of Kailwa. He was only sixteen years 

 of age. His father had fallen in the last shock, and his mother had 

 survived but to rear this the sole heir of their house. Like the Spartan 

 mother of old, she commanded him to put on the saffron robe and to 

 die for Chittore. But, surpassing the Grecian dame, she illustrated 

 her precept by example, armed the young bride of her son with a lance 

 and with her descended from Chittore ; whence the defenders saw the 

 young bride fall fighting by the side of her Amazonian mother. 

 When wives and daughters performed such deeds, the Bajpootees 

 became reckless of life. They had maintained a protracted defence 

 and had no thought of surrender, when a ball struck Jeimul who had 

 succeeded to the command." 



The northern ramparts had been entirely destroyed by the mines of 

 Akbar. The fatal Johur or sacrifice of females was awaited, and at 

 its close, the gates of the fortress were thrown open, the work of de- 

 struction commenced, and few survived to stain the yellow mantle by 

 inglorious surrender. Akbar entered Chittore and slew 30,000 of his 

 enemies. Nine queens, five princesses, their daughters, with two infant 

 princes, and the families of all the chieftains not at their estates, perished 

 in the fatal Johur or in the sack. The gates were taken for the 

 emperor's fortress at Agra. 



Akbar claimed the honour of Jeimul's death by his own hand. The 

 conqueror of Chittore evinced the sense of the merits of his foes 

 in erecting statues to the manes of Putta and Jeimul at the most 

 conspicuous entrance of his palace at Delhi. 



I have shortened and simplified Tod's inflated narrative which is 

 often sufficiently obscure. 



The origin of these statues is still matter of uncertainty. Had 

 they been made by Akbar or carried from Chittore by him, we might 

 expect to find them rather at Agra, his chief capital; than at Delhi 



