Karniji is the Bikaner family deity who was the friend, philosopher and guide to Rao Bika when he was on his way to found his kingdom in Bikaner. Ever since then, there has been a temple in the little town of Deshnoke dedicated to her memory. It is a point of pilgrimage for all the Maharajas of Bikaner and their respective families for generations. In keeping with tradition, down the ages, animal sacrifice was performed at the temple, but my grandfather Maharaja Sadul Singh put a stop to it at Deshnoke as well as other temples in Bikaner state, and in due course, the Government of India also banned animal sacrifices in all temples throughout India.
It was part of our childhood routine to visit Deshnoke at least a couple of times a year. We would all gather in the evening and drive down to Deshnoke. Surrounding the temple is a large area, which is called the ‘Oran’ where the cutting of wood is forbidden. One can see the stark contrast in the sparsely forested area around the Oran and the densely wooded area within its precincts. When we reached the point where the Oran began, my father would stop the car and then get out and tie his turban. It was usually an orange one and he was quite adept at tying it on himself—a skill that they were taught as children upon the insistence of their grandfather Maharaja Ganga Singh.
That done we would all pile back in the car and head off for the temple. As soon as my father would enter the precincts, the large drum or ‘nagaras’ would sound and following which we would proceed to the temple in an orderly and dignified manner. We were taught to walk slowly and carefully so as to not to endanger any of the ‘kabas’ or temple rats that ran freely all around the enclosure. Since we had done this ever since childhood, we were used to the routine, though many who have never been to the rat temple before find it an intimidating and, to some extent, a daunting experience. I recall spotting the German actor Hardy Kruger of ‘Hatari’ fame at Deshnoke several years ago, looking a wee bit wary and bewildered, surrounded as he was by hundreds of rats! He was, it seems, in the process of filming a documentary and the rest of his crew seemed equally uneasy in their unusual surroundings.
The inner sanctum has large copper dishes in which the pilgrims made their offerings of motichur ladoos (round sweet dumplings, which are a popular Indian sweetmeat) and milk. At any given time, there are hundreds of rats milling around in the inner sanctum sanctorum, all drinking the milk and eating the ladoos.
When we would reach the inner sanctum, the ‘arti’ or the lighting of the flame was conducted by the chief Charan or one of the keepers of the temple. A large metal utensil was brought brimming with live coals, in which was poured several ladles of ghee or clarified butter, sending up lively flames. My father would then take the arti in his hands and perform the puja or the ritual of offering, after which he would waive the yak hair whisk back and forth several times as part of the ritual.
The Charans and Bhaats are taught the oral history of the Bikaner family among many other recitations, songs and poems, which they can recite verbatim. Back then, the elderly Bhaatji Narayandanji used to reel off the merry chant and carry on at great length, extolling the virtuous and brave deeds of our ancestors, while my father listened to him politely. We used to think it very amusing to hear his breathless poetry and stood giggling behind him, which was extremely rude. The visit culminated in doing a ‘phera’ or circumambulation of the inner temple and then leaving for home. It was also customary to visit Deshnoke temple and pay our respects to Karni Mata before any auspicious occasion such as birthdays or weddings or for that matter when the holidays came to an end and we were about to leave for Delhi to start our new term at school.
The reason why Deshnoke is not like other temples is because of the thousands of rats that roam the temple precincts freely. Every Hindu deity is supposed to have their own means of transport such as the lion for the Goddess Kali and the swan for the Goddess Saraswati, so the rat is the ‘vahan’ or transport for Karni Mataji. Sighting a white ‘kaba’ is considered very lucky, especially if it happens at the time of the evening arti and in the inner sanctum. Legend has it that when a Charan dies, he is reborn as a kaba in the temple and if a kaba is killed accidentally then the culprit is expected to replace it with a gold or silver replica; however, happily such a catastrophe rarely occurs, if at all.
The word ‘Maharaja’ is a Sanskrit title for a ‘Great King’, the female equivalent of this title being Maharani, which denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or in certain circumstances, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of the Maharaja is known as the Rajmata (Queen Mother). On the eve of India’s independence in 1947, India and present day Pakistan and Bangladesh comprised some 600 princely states, each with its own ruler. The style of address varied from Maharaja, Raja, Thakur toNawab. The British ruled over two thirds of India and the rest was under direct rule by the above mentioned Princes, albeit under the considerable control of British representatives such as Residents who were posted in each princely state to keep an eye on the administration. A variation of the word Maharaja is Maharana in states such as Udaipur, Maharawal in Dungarpur, Maharawat in Pratapgarh and Maharao as in the states of Kota and Bundi. Bikaner was a seventeen-gun salute state, together with Jodhpur and Patiala. It seems that at some point, the British Government had sanctioned a further two special gun salute to Maharaja Ganga Singh, bringing the total to nineteen. Up until the reign of Raja Rai Singh, the rulers of Bikaner had the title of Rao; after that, Raja Rai Singh, the sixth Maharaja, was the first Raja and his great grandson, Maharaja Anup Singh, the tenth Maharaja, was the first to be bestowed with the title of Maharaja.
The state of Rajasthan from which we hail, extends towards the north-west over a surface of 3, 42,000 square kilometres (approximately two-thirds the size of France). The Princely States in Rajputana, including Bikaner, were merged into modern Rajasthan after Independence in 1947. The very name Rajasthan, or the land of warriors, evokes images of chivalry, romance, vibrant colours friendly, smiling people, imposing forts and elegant palaces. The land of kingdoms is situated in north-west India and most of its south-westerly boundary flanks Pakistan. The Bikaner, Jaislemer and Barmer regions comprise the great Thar Desert of India and have been dubbed as the ‘desert triangle’ by the modern tourist industry; these regions are visited by many thousands of tourists from across the globe every year. Known as Rajputana in pre- Independence days, the state of Rajasthan came into being on 1 November, 1956, comprising thirty-three districts. It has today, approximately 200 members of the Legislative Assembly in Jaipur and sends twenty-five members to Parliament in New Delhi. Despite its large sandy wastes, Rajasthan has a sizable population of sixty-eight million inhabitants.
Famous the world over for its tourism, Rajasthan offers visitors a diverse range of interests ranging from the traditional historic forts and palaces to the wonderful animal and bird reserves of Ranthmbore where, with careful protection and nurturing, the Royal Bengal tiger is flourishing today. At the famous bird sanctuary at Keoladeo Ghana National Park near Bharatpur, an absolute myriad of wild birds in large numbers arrive every winter to the area. The Tal at Chappar and the reserve in Churu have a large population of the imposing Indian Black Buck, a deer famous for its distinctive dusky grey body and majestic long horns. The desert areas of Rajasthan are also home to the local sand grouse who plays host to the Imperial sand grouse and a huge variety of duck and other water fowl that migrate to India to escape the bitter cold in Europe in the winter months.
The natural habitat of the Imperial Sand grouse is Siberia, and around late October they fly south and are to be found around the Bikaner and Barmer areas. The region is also the home of the Great Indian Bustard or ‘houbara’, a large and rather ungainly bird prized for its flesh. It was a commonly held belief that the oil from its body was efficacious in relieving joint pain (I believe it was a complete myth as many of these stories often are). The houbara merges perfectly with its desert background; its dappled brown feathers are a perfect camouflage with its surroundings. Hunted in large numbers, it is now protecte
d and is slowly regaining its foothold in India; however, it seems that across the border in Pakistan it is still actively hunted by visitors from the Middle East who fly there in their private jets, carrying their prized falcons with them.
The vast majority of the population of Rajasthan are Hindus and the most commonly spoken language is Rajasthani, which has many local dialects that vary from region to region. Other languages spoken are Hindi, and English is more or less understood if not spoken across the state. The literacy rate has increased over a period of time in the state and is about sixty-eight per cent at present. Well supplied with schools and colleges, Rajasthan has around seventeen State Universities, Bikaner being among the newer ones, which is named after my great grandfather, called the Maharaja Ganga Singh University.
The economy in the state is primarily agricultural and Ganganagar is one of the largest and most prosperous regions for farming and fruit orchards. The state also exports milk, wool and marble from the mines at Makrana near Jodhpur, besides many other minerals such as gypsum and salt from Shamber. It is said that the Taj Mahal was built from the marble mined in Makrana. Tourism is booming in Rajasthan and accounts for over eight per cent of the state’s domestic product. A large number of tourists visiting India come to Rajasthan and this accounts for some fourteen per cent of the tourists visiting India. Besides the forts and palaces, there are the old havelis built by the business communities of Rajasthan, which are an added attraction, as are the cenotaphs of the princely families. The Dilwara temples of Mount Abu and the Pushkar animal fair are other popular tourist destinations.
As far as language goes, Rajasthani is a dialect cluster of the Indo-Aryan language family, which is spoken by almost twenty million people in Rajasthan, as well as in the neighbouring states of both India and Pakistan. It is a language taught in the Universities of Jodhpur and Udaipur. While it is only considered a ‘dialect’ of Hindi, there has been a powerful move by the speakers of the language to have Rajasthani recognised as a language in its own right. Recently the Rajasthan Government has recognised it as a State language, but there is still a long way to go towards achieving national status. My father vigorously backed the drive to accord recognition of the Rajasthani language during the twenty-five years that he was a member of the Lok Sabha. At home, we all speak the Bikaneri dialect of Rajasthani, as Maharaja Ganga Singh had made it compulsory for members of his family to speak in Marwari. Whenever someone from Bikaner insisted on speaking in Hindi or English before him, he would say ‘desi ghori poorvi chaal’ which when roughly translated means ‘an Indian horse walking with a foreign gait’. Speaking in Marwari comes naturally to us all, we speak it freely and easily and though I also speak Hindi and English, Marwari to me is and will always remain a first and much loved language.
Despite living in London for almost three decades I never lost the ability to speak my mother tongue. It is sad these days to hear a corruption of Hindi and Marwari; it is now becoming rarer by the day to hear pure Marwari being spoken. Once on a flight to Delhi with Ashok Gehlot who at the time was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, we were conversing in Rajasthani since he hails from the Jodhpur region, and as we were about to disembark he turned around to me and paid a compliment. ‘You speak very good Rajasthani, probably because you have lived abroad for so many years it has kept the dialect pure and uncorrupted by Hindi.’ This perhaps was a shrewd observation, as I now live in India and finds myself speaking more Hindi than before.
My father was a zealous and tireless campaigner for the recognition of the Rajasthani language throughout his life. In his speech in Parliament on 23 July, 1971, he said, ‘I am very glad that once more this Language Bill has come before the House. These three important languages, Maithili, Bhojpuri and Rajasthani are being sought to be given recognition. I support the Bill moved by my honourable friend and I sincerely hope that this honourable House will give its sympathetic consideration. More than two crore (92 million) people speak Rajasthani. I am even talking about people in Hong Kong, Cambodia, Singapore and Rangoon (referring to the Rajasthani Diaspora who met my parents during their travels to the Far East. My father was amazed by the affection that they showered him with and he was both pleased and surprised at how they continued to speak excellent Rajasthani). Where ever they are we find they still speak the language.’
Then he quoted Dr. Tessitory, the eminent Italian scholar, as saying that ‘Rajasthani was a language, which succeeded Saurseni Apabhransa, which flourished till about the end of the sixteenth century, and modern Gujarati and modern Rajasthani.’ At the end of his speech, he asked the Government to accord due recognition to the Rajasthani language and to include the same under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Sadly, a just demand by millions of Rajasthanis has still not yet found favour with the Central Government, who even after sixty years of India’s Independence has yet to accord recognition to Rajasthani as a language. The pressure to have the Rajasthani language recognised continues and I am convinced that one day our efforts will soon be rewarded and Rajasthani will find its rightful place in India as an individual and elegant language.
In writing about my ancestors, it is virtually an impossible task to pick the more prominent Maharajas of Bikaner, as in my view, to be fair to them, they all left their own individual mark on the history of the state, but with great difficulty I have selected the few that contributed most positively and prominently to the legacy of the state and the glorious name of Bikaner.
Raja Rai Singh (1571-1612)
The sixth ruler of Bikaner, he carried out the traditions of his father Rao Kalyanmal and attained even higher favour and distinction. After the Raja of Amber, he was the highest-ranking Hindu at the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He ranked far above several Rajas, and enjoyed a mansab of 5,000, which was the highest dignity to which those who were not members of the Imperial family were admitted. He was the first Raja of Bikaner who was one of Akbar’s most distinguished generals and successfully carried out campaigns in the country round Attock, in Gujarat, the Deccan, Sind and other parts of the Empire.
He was rewarded with a grant of fifty-two districts, including Hansi and Hissar. In the Gujarat wars, Raja Rai Singh played a distinguished role in the assault on the city of Ahmedabad, it is said that he slew in single- handed combat the Governor Mirza Mahommed Hussain. Rai Singh maintained his authority and influence both during Akbar and his son Jahangir’s reign; and in the troubles relating to the succession of the latter, Jahangir referred to the Bikaner Raja as ‘one of the most considerable of Rajput Amirs’, ‘the pillar of the exalted Empire’, and the ‘prop of the elevated Dominion’. Raja Rai Singh spent more time in battles in the Deccan than in Bikaner and it was said of him that he spent more time on his saddle than on the throne of Bikaner.
Akbar, fully cognizant of the strategic importance of the alliance between them, readily acknowledged Raja Rai Singh’s suzerainty as ruler over the territory of Bikaner. Rai Singh thereby secured the frontiers of his state, and in return offered his assistance to Akbar in establishing stability in the areas under Mughal rule. The Mughal ruler’s wisdom in forging an alliance with the Bikaner kingdom was fully vindicated. Raja Rai Singh had played a key role in the consolidation of the Mughal rule in India, and thereby prevented the balkanisation of the subcontinent into small, fragmented antagonistic segments. Mughal rule undoubtedly united India under a central power, and Akbar fully acknowledged the contribution of the Bikaner kingdom by recognising it as a premier State in the sub-continent.
The mention of the reign of Raja Rai Singh would be deemed incomplete if there was to be no mention of his distinguished brother Maharaj Kumar Prithvi Raj fondly referred to as Peethal. He was a man of great literary talent and a famous poet and scholar. Akbar is said to have enjoyed his company greatly and at court considered him to be one of his ‘Navratnas’ or nine gems. Upon the death of Peethal, Akbar is said to have lapsed into a depression and remarked that with his passing, the ‘majlis’ (joyous spirit
) had gone from his court.
Maharaj Kumar Prithvi Raj’s monumental work in Dingal (a Rajasthani dialect) titled, ‘Veli Krishna Rukmani Ri’, is considered as one of the greatest epics ever composed in the Rajasthani language. The epic was translated into Sanskrit and was reproduced and edited by the eminent scholar Dr. LP Tessitori, which was published in 1919. Born in Udine, Italy in 1887, Luigi Pio Tessitori was a distinguished Indologist and linguist. He studied at the University of Florence and subsequently took up several languages including Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit. In 1915 he was invited to Bikaner by Maharaja Ganga Singh and since he was completely taken by the Rajasthani dialects, he began an in-depth study of the lexicographic and grammar of regional literature in Rajasthan.
Rai Singh was a patron of poets and writers and being himself a scholar of Sanskrit and a poet of no mean standing, he could appreciate merit in others. Several important Sanskrit texts were documented in his time, and he personally authored two works of great consequence: Rai Singh’s ‘Mahotsa’, a genealogical account of the Rathore Rajput rulers, and ‘Bal Bodhini’, book on astrology. These and other valuable manuscripts were collected later by his grandson Maharaja Anup Singh, and now form part of the Anup Sanskrit Library, housed at Lallgarh Palace. Scholars and students from India and around the world have access to research these important and extremely rare documents.
Bikaner must have been one of the very few states that were allowed to maintain a sizable army in those troubled times. Rai Singh’s personal army consisted of 12,000 cavalrymen and 50,000 infantry. This was perhaps because of the Mughals’ high regard for him, as well as the trust that existed between them; they knew once a Rajput gave his word, under no circumstances would he go back on it. Rai Singh fell seriously ill whilst on campaign at Burhanpur in the Deccan and died in January 1612. It was his dearest wish that his second son Sur Singh succeed him and not the eldest Dalpat Singh, who was considered slightly eccentric and erratic in his ways. Despite that, Dalpat Singh did become Maharaja, albeit only for a short period of time after which his brother Sur Singh took charge of the reigns bringing great stability to Bikaner and working hard he enhanced the influence that the rulers of Bikaner had in the Mughal Court.
Palace of Clouds Page 5