224 ON OEI&SA PROPER 



observes speaking of the imperial array ; « The Zemindari troops alone 

 are in number upwards of four million and four hundred thousand, as will 

 hereafter be -particularized" — a fact which shews the extensive prevalence of 

 the Military tenure throughout the country even as late as the 16th cen- 

 tury. The proportion of landed militia set down for Orissa Proper in the 

 same work, is about one hundred thousand. Besides the general obligation 

 of Military service, the Indian feudatories were bound to do homage, and to 

 perform certain nominal duties or offices resulting from their tenures, when 

 in actual attendance on their liege lords, called by the expressive word 

 Sewa, Seva, or service (in Persian Khidmat), a consideration of which, to 

 compare small things with great, reminds one strongly of some of the an- 

 cient forms of the Germanic constitution. Thus it was the business of 

 one to bear the sword of state ; another held the shield; a third carried the 

 umbrella or royal standard ; a fourth presented the Raja's slippers ; a fifth 

 fanned him with the regal chouri, &c. The above services are to this day 

 performed in the presence of the Khurda Rajas, by several of the hill Ze- 

 mindars, as often as they visit Furi, though the distinctive character of the 

 office appropriated to each, has become a good deal merged in the simple 

 duty of holding the chouri and pankha, in the presence of the representa- 

 tive of their ancient Lords Paramount. 



The same duties were performed at the Court of Vijayanagar, ruled by 

 the Princes of the Narapati race under the title of Sovereign Lords of the 

 Deccan, by the Chiefs and Rajas who held of them. Colonel Mackenzie's 

 paper on the history of those kings, published in one of the volumes of 

 the Annual Register, has the following passage : " In this King's reign seve- 

 ral considerable Rajas used to attend him in the duties of the following 

 offices, viz. the King of Camboja Desam presented him with the Calinji ; 

 the Panda Raja held his bag of beetle-nut; the King of Ginjee carried his 

 chouri; the Raja of Kerala district carried his water goglet ; the Raja of 

 Anga Desam presented him beetle as his servant. The Raja of Mucha coun- 

 try's office was to dress him; the Raja of Gool carried the umbrella; all 

 the other offices were executed in like manner by persons of rank. All 



