Report of the Archaeological Survey. lxxxiii 



lie might feel in leaving his bride, the heroic mother armed the young 

 wife as well as herself, and "with her descended the rock, and the 

 defenders of Chitor saw her fall, fighting by the side of her ama- 

 zonian mother." The siege still continued, but without making any 

 progress, when, through some unfortunate delay in the springing of one 

 of their mines, the assailants suffered a severe loss, and fled in disorder 

 to their camp. The operations of the siege had now to be re-com- 

 menced, when a lucky shot deprived the Rajputs of their leaders. 

 " Other mines," says Ferishta,* " were directed to be constructed, and 

 as the works were in progress, the King, while in the batteries, 

 observed JTaymal, the Governor of the place, superintending the re- 

 pairs of the breaches, and giving his orders by torch-light. Akbar, 

 seizing a matchlock from one of his attendants, fired at him, and was 

 so fortunate as to lodge the ball in Jaymal's forehead. The spirit of 

 the besieged fell with their Governor, and, in their despair, they per- 

 formed the ceremony of the Johar, and putting their wives and children 

 to death, burned them with the corpse of their Chief on a funeral 

 pile." Akbar then entered the fort, and after a slight opposition, the 

 capital of the Sisodiyas, for the third time, was in the hands of the 

 Musalmans. 



152. It remains now only to consider the value of the evidence 

 recorded in the above statements. In the first place, then, with re- 

 spect to the statues, I feel quite satisfied with the testimony of Bernier. 

 As the physician and companion of Ddnishmand Khan, a highly res- 

 pectable Nobleman of Aurangzib's Court, he was in the most favour- 

 able position for obtaining accurate information regarding the history 

 of Akbar and his successors. I accept, therefore, without any hesita- 

 tion, the account of Bernier that the statues were those of Jaymal 

 and JPatta, the two Rajput heroes who defended Chitor against Akbar. 

 Both statues, as I have already pointed out, are those of Hindus, as 

 their dresses open over the right breast. Admitting this much I am 

 likewise prepared to allow that the two statues must have been erected 

 by Akbar, as is also stated by Bernier. But, as the building of 

 Shahjahanabad was not begun until seventy years after the siege of 

 Chitor, it is absolutely certain that Akbar could not have erected the 

 statues in front of the gate of the Delhi Palace, where they were seen 







* Briggs, 11—231. 



