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chap, xvii DIAMOND MINES IN BIHAR 63
to
which the diamonds are found, or rather by the name Koel, which is that
of the river in the sand of which they are found. The country through
which this river has its course belongs to a Räjä who was formerly a
tributary of the Great Mogul, but withdrew from his allegiance during
the wars between Shähjahän and Jahangïr his father. Immediately on his
coming to the throne Shähjahän sent to demand tribute and arrears of it
from this Räjä, and the Räjä, as his property was not sufficient to
discharge the whole, quitted the country and took refuge with his
subjects in the mountains. Upon the news of the Raja's first refusal,
Shähjahän, who did not know that he purposed to abscond, but believed
that he intended to defend himself, sent an army into his country,
where he was persuaded that he would find an abundance of diamonds. It
happened otherwise, however, for those who were sent into the country
of the Räjä found neither diamonds, inhabitants, nor food, as the Räjä
had ordered all the grain which his subjects could not carry with them
to be burnt, and this was so effectually done that the greater portion
of Shähjahän's army perished of famine. The final result of the matter
was, that the Räjä returned to his country on agreeing to pay a light
annual tribute to the Great Mogul.1
India, i.
535) alone suggested that this locality was not to be identified with
another diamond locality, Sambalpur on the Mahänadi, in the Central
Provinces. Ball has been able to show that it was situated in the
District of Lohärdagä and subdivision of Palämau in Chota Nägpur, and
that the Gouel river, as Tavernier calls it, is identical with the
Koel, which traverses that District (Imperial Gazetteer, xix.
335). It joins the Son not far from the fortress of Rohtâs, and so its
waters find their way northwards to the Ganges. It is probable that
both Sambalpur and Soumelpour derive their names from the Samul tree (Bombax malabaricum), and
about the site assigned to the latter there are the remains of an old
town called Sema—Lat. 23° 35' N., and Long. 84° 21' E. As the available
details regarding these long-forgotten mines are too long for a
footnote, they will be found in an Appendix at the end of this volume.
Much information on this chapter will be found in Jadunath Sarkar, Hist, of Aurangzib, vol. iii, especially pp. 35 ff. ; Journal, Bihar and Orissa Research Society, vol. i.
1
Shähjahän came to the throne in 1628, but the reference seems to be to
the campaign of 1641-2, when Shäista Khan attacked the Chero tribe in
Palämau (L. L. S. O'Malley, Palämau Gazetteer, 20 ff., quoting H. Blochmann, Journal, Asiatic Society Bengal, xi, part i, 1871).
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