NZAR. 329 Burhanpur, to be in the centre of a very sportsman's paradise. It is useless, however, to attempt such an expedition earlier than March, when the jungle grass is burnt. The principal places of interest in Nimár District, besides ASIRGARII, are-KUANDWA and RAVER, in the Narbadá valley; BURHANPUR, in the valley of the Tápti; and MANDHATA, the island in the Narbadá sacred to Siva. History. -Nimár has always been a border land. Even its hill tribes belong to two distinct races, the Bhíls and Kols of Western India here meeting the Gonds and Kurkús from the east. The earliest figures, whether of legend or history, are those of the Haihai kings, who ruled Pránt Vimár from Málismatí, the modern Maheswar, till they were expelled by the Brahmans. The new rulers introduced the worship of Siva on the island of Mandháta. At first the Brahman gods found supporters in the Chauhan Rajputs, who held Asírgarh, though their capital was at Makávati (Garha Vandla); but subsequently the Pramára Rajputs, who founded the great Buddhist kingdom of Málvá, seized Asirgarh. A branch of this family called Ták held the fortress from the 9th to the 12th century, and are often commemorated by the poet Chand as leaders in the Hindu armies battling in Northern India against the Muhammadan invader. During this period, the Jain religion, a schism from Buddhism, prevailed in Nimár, and numerous remains of finely carved Jain temples still exist at Khandwa and near Mándháta. Before the invasion of the Muhammadans, however, the Chauhans appear to have recovered Asírgarh and the southern part of the District. In 1295, Sultán Alá-ud-dín, returning from his bold raid into the Deccan, took that stronghold, and put all the Chauhans but one to the sword. About this time, Northern Nimár came into the possession of a Bhíl, Alá Rájá, whose descendants are still to be found in the chiefs of Bhámgarh, Mándháta, and Silání. Ferishta, indeed, relates a story of a shepherd chief called Asá ruling over all Southern Nimár, and building the fort which from Asá the Ahír (a herdsman) took the name of Asírgarh. But it is almost certain that the country was wholly in the hands of the Chauhan and Bhilála Rájás at the time of the Muhammadan conquest About 1387, Northern Nimár became part of the independent Muhammadan kingdom of Málvá, with its capital at Mándú on the Vindhyan hills. Before this, in 1370, Malak Rájá Fárúkhí had obtained Southern Nimár, then unconquered, from the Delhi Emperor. He reduced the Tápti valley; and was succeeded by his son, Nasir Khán, who captured Asirgarh, and founded the cities of Burhảnpur and Zainabád. For eleven generations, from 1399 to 1600, the Fárukhí dynasty of Khándesh ruled at Burhánpur; but their powerful neighbours
