184 
G. N. Dutt —History of the Hutwa Raj. 
[No. 2, 
to lier instructions and gained a complete victory over liis adversary at 
tlie decisive battle of Ramcbandrapore, a mile east of Thaway. The 
image of Durga was found in the forest of Thaway, which was an old 
fortress, in accordance with the dream dreamt by the Maharaja, under a 
singular and peculiar tree which still exists within the temple compound 
and whose leaves some years ago were sent to the Society for identifica¬ 
tion. It is reported that one of the feet of the Goddess had sunk to a 
fathomless depth and the other is out resting on a figure of a lion. The 
Maharajas of Hutwa have raised a splendid temple for the Goddess and 
built a palace for their residence as they often resort there for worship¬ 
ping the Goddess. Food “ Bali ” for jackals is still offered in the jun¬ 
gles. A big fair is held there in the month of Chait. 
To ascertain more correctly the date of Maharaj Jubraj Shahi, 
Bahadur, we should make the date of Maharaja Fateh Shahi, which is 
very well-known and authentic, our locus standi , because only three 
generations intervened between him and Maharaja Fateh Shahi who 
had raised the standard of rebellion against the British Government in 
1767 A.D. By the examination of the genealogical tree of the Hutwa 
Raj family, it appears that the two Maharajas, the 96th and the 97th, 
who succeeded Maharaja Jubraj Shahi, Bahadur, had only an ephemeral 
existence, and Maharaja Chait Shahi, Bahadur, the eldest son of Jubraj 
Shahi, dying without any issue and the Raj reverting, in accordance 
with its time-immemorial Kulacara, to the eldest male member of the 
family, Maharaja Kurtal Shahi, Bahadur, a brother of Maharaja Jubraj 
Shahi, and the 4th son of Maharaja Balbhadra Shahi, Bahadur. So 
allowing a lapse of 50 years instead of 75 from Jubraj Shahi to Fateh 
Shahi, the former seems to have lived at about 1719 A.D. This was a 
period of anarchy and unrest in India. The Great Moghul Empire was 
doomed. About this time (1719) Farrukhsiyar’s life was put an end to, 
and the Saiyid brothers were carrying on the Government in the name of 
Muhammad Shah, the emperor elected by them. The Nizam of Hydera¬ 
bad had become independent, the Marhattas were plundering the 
Deccan, Malwa, and Guzerat, and every chief in India was trying to 
raise his head inspired with a spirit of self-agrandisement. 
We now come to Maharaja Sirdar Shahi, the immediate predecessor 
of Maharaja Fateh Shahi. He seems to have lived till 1747. He is said 
to have invaded the principality of Majhowli, in Gorakhpur, and to have 
demolished their fortress. 1 It is said that one of the conditions on which 
1 The Majhowli Maharajas were of considerable influence during the reign of 
the Delhi Moghul Emperors. They were called “ tilali dhari Rajas, " i.e ., empowered 
to instal other Rajas. It is said that one of the menial servants (a Kahar by caste) 
of a Maharaja of Majhowli while shampooing the feet of his master had accidentally 
