Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/681

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GUN "

603

Pur Jaip^l was encamped on the other

side of the river, as a measure consequence of this sudden attack, with his warriors dusky as night, and his elephants all caparisoned. He showed a determination to resist the passage of the Sultan, but at night he was making preparations to escape down the river. "When the Sultan learnt this from which the weakness of his enemy was apparent, he ordered inflated skins to be prepared, and directed some of his men to swim over on them. Jaipal seeing eight men swimming over to that distant bank, ordered a detachment of his army, accompanied by five elephants to oppose their landing, but the eight men plied their arrows so vigorously, that the detachment was not able to effect that purpose. When the Sultan witnessed the full success of these men, be ordered all his soldiers who could swim to pass over at once, and promised them henceforward a life of repose after that day of First his own personal guards crossed this difficult stream and trouble. they were followed by the whole army. Some swam over on skins, some were nearly drowned, but eventually all landed safely and praised be God not even a hair of their horses tails was hurt, nor was any of their property of security, in

!

injured." "

When

they had

all reached the opposite bank, the Sultan ordered his their horses, and charge in such a manner as to put the enemy to flight. Some of the infidels asked for mercy after being wounded, some were taken prisoners, some were killed and the rest took to flight, and two hundred and seventy gigantic elephants fell into the hands of the

men

to

mount

Musalmans."

Can it be doubted that the river in whose vicinity was the city of Bari was neither the Ramganga, which is out of the direct route from Kanauj, nor the Sai which except in the rains is too narrow and shallow to present any obstacle, but the Gumti. In the mythical episode of the threatened thunder-bolt and the hundred and one tanks and wells may be traced probably the astuteness of the Brahman priest who saw that in the development of the agricultural resources of the domain lay his own best chance of enrichment, that the raja's enterprise would alone secure such development, and that the raja was too slothful to stir in the matter till worked on through his fears. fall of the thunder-bolt may perhaps be the mythical equivalent of a fresh shock from the Muhammadan invader, necessitating a further move westwards. The Sitapur history should throw further light on Raja Mandhata's settlement at Manwan and the rise, decline, and fall of Bari.

The

Chandar, Bais, of Daundia Khera as fifth in desenables us to fix the date of his displacement of cent the Gaurs. Mr. Benett has shown in his brilliant monograph on the Rae Bareli clans that the average length of a generation in the Bais families was between twenty-two and twenty-four years. He has also fixed the the downfall of the Jaunpur date of Tilok Chand as contemporaneous with then migrated from Daundia Chandar Ram 1478. or A.D. 1476 in dynasty Khera to Bhardwan between a hundred years and a hundred and twenty towards the end of the reign of years after this date or from 1586 to 1696,

The mention

of

Ram

from Tilok Chand