INTKODOCTION.
SXXV
Salar occupied Bahraich for three years with his invading force of Muhammadans, and the remains of that ancient city, with the modern corrupt name of Sahet Mahefc, are pointed out as the fort of Suhel Dal, the last of the race and the conqueror' of Musalmans. curious legend accounts for the downfall of the dynasty, and proves it to have been one of the last in Upper India which professed the doctrine of the Jains. Suhel Dal came in hot from the chase a few minutes before sunset, and his princess, fearing that the chase of the day would prevent his eating his evening meal, sent up to the roof of the house the wife of his younger brother, whose surpassing beauty detained the sinking sun. Till the supper was ended the damsel stood and the god watched, and then as she left her post a sudden night ensued. The prince enquired why there had been no twilight, and the guilty passion which arose from his discovery of the truth was followed by his punishment in the total destruction of his fort during an appalling tempest. The historicalf act underlying the story is the subversion of this small northern kingdom by Sri Chandradeo, the Rathor monarch of Kanauj, ingthe last quarter of the eleventh century. The memories of the Jain rule yet cling to the deserted city, and members of that religion are said still to make pilgrimage to a spot which besides gave them the third and one of the most famous small temple, dedicated to Sambhunath, of their Tirthankuras. is the only modern building in the whole expanse of ruins. The period immediately following the destructive inroads of Mahmiid Ghaznavi saw the rise in Southern Oudh, the Duab, and the country between the Ganges and Malwa of the short-lived power of the Bhars. Who these people are it is well known, as they still exist in considerable numbers on the verge of cultivation, and are one of the few castes who can commence jungle clearing with impunity. Their short stature and black skins, their features and their habits, their passion for the chase, and inability to settle down as tenants paying a full rate of rent, stamp them as ethnical brothers of the Donjs, the Tharus, the Kewats, and the Gonds, and the numerous other aboriginal tribes whose despised remains yet linger unabsorbed by the conquering Indian stock. The history of their rule is not so obscure as is generally supposed, and tradition is rendered intelligible by two inscriptions from Ajai Garh and Kalinjar in Bundelkhand and a passage from Farishta.*
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Another reference to this kingdom is tp be found in Al Ullii f Elliot's History of Asi must have been Ajai Garh. The Chaiidal Bliar, (jr nameless out11 p. 46). a variant of Btiar Wc Lasstn, V"l. I., caste Bhawar needs no explanation. ForBhawaras For the last Bbar kings also see labakat-i-Nastri faiiot's p. 448. note,' quoting Hamilton.
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