|
934 AH. SEP. 27th 1527 TO SEP. 15TH 1528 AD. 591
A dam has been thrown across between hills on the south-east of it, and thus a large lake made, perhaps 5 or 6 kuroks (10-12 m.) round. This lake encloses Kachwa on three sides ; on the northwest a space of ground is kept dry ;x here, therefore is its Gate. On the lake are a great many very small boats, able to hold 3 or 4 persons ; in these the inhabitants go out on the lake, if they have to flee. There are two other lakes before Kachwa is ] reached, smaller than its own and, like that, made by throwing a dam across between hills.
af Gwalior (i, 247), winch is situated in 24° 58' N. and 77° 57' E. Each of the three rWs is of a place standing on a lake ; Ihn Batata's lake was a league (4 m.) long, mbur's about 11 miles round ; Luard mentions no lake but the Ind,cm Atlas marks one Quite close to Kadwaha of such form as to seem to have a tongue of land jutting mto it from the' north-west, and thus suiting Babur's description of the site of Kachwa Again,-Ibn Batuta writes of Kajwarra as having, round its lake, idoltemples '; Luard says of Kadwaha that it has four idol-temples standing and nine in rains there may be hinted something special about Babur s Kachwa by his remark [hat 'he encouraged its people, and this speciality may be interaction between Muhammadanism and Hinduism serving here for the purpose of identification, tor Ihn Batuta writes of the people of Kajwarra that they were jggis, yellowed by asceticism wearing their hair long and matted, and having Muhammadan followers who aesired to learn their (occult?) secrets. If the same interaction existed in Babur's day the Muhammadan following of the Hindu ascetics may well have been the special circumstance which led him to promise protection to those Hindus, even when he was out for Holy-war. It has to be remembered of Chandiri, the nearest powerful neighbour of Kadwaha, that though Babur's capture makes a vivid picture of Hinduism in it, it had been under Muhammadan rulers down to a relatively short time before his conquest. Thejogis of Kachwa could point to long-standing relations of tolerance bv the Chandiri Governors; this, with their Muhammadan following, explains the encouragement Babur gave them, and helps to identify Kachwa with Kaiarra It may be observed that Babur was familiar with the interaction of the two creeds witness his "apostates", mostly Muhammadans following Hindu customs, witness too, for the persistent fact, the reports of District-officers under the British XSi ' Again a further circumstance helping to identify Kajwarra, Kachwa and Kadwaha is that these are names of the last important station the traveller and the soldier as well perhaps as the modern wayfarer, stays in before reaching Chandiri. The importance of Kajwarra is shewn by Ibn Batuta, and of Kadwaha by its being a makall in Akbar's sarkSr of Bayawan of the suba of Agra. Again.-kadwaha is the place nearest to Chandiri about which Babur's difficulties as to intermediate road and jungle would arise. That intermediate road takes oft the main one a little south of Kadwaha and runs through what looks like a narrow valley and broken country down to Bhamor, Bhuranpur and Chandiri. Again, no bar to identification of the .three names is placed by their differences of form, m consideration of the vicissitudes they have weathered in tongue, script, and transliteration. There !s some ground, I believe, for surmising that their common source iskajur, the date-fruit. [I am indebted to my husband for the help derived from Ibn Batuta, traced by him in San^uinetti's trs. iv, 33, and S. Lee's trs. p. 162.]
(T o places similar iin name to Kachwa, and situated on Babur's route vtz Kocha near Jhansi, and Kuchoowa north of Kadwaha (Sheet 69 S \\.]I are unsuitable for his "Kachwa" the first because too near Bandir to suit his itinerary, the second because too far from the turn off the main-road mentioned above because it has no lake, and has not the help in identification detailed abuve of Kadwaha.) ■ Qurilshlr which could mean also reserved (from the water ?).
|
||
|
|
||
|
1
|
||
|
|
||