Page:History of India Vol 4.djvu/43

Rh bazar was sternly disputed; they fought up to the very temple. Two thousand were killed by midday; the total death-roll of the Hindus was at least eight thousand men, besides their families; the rest were made prisoners, as we know from the accounts of those who were present at the storming. The heroism of the defence was long commemorated in popular tradition by the two statues, supposed to represent Jai Mal and his brother, mounted on stone elephants, which flanked the gate of the fortress at Delhi. "These two elephants," says Bernier, "mounted by the two heroes, have an air of grandeur and inspire me with an awe and respect which I cannot describe."

The fall of Chitor, followed by two other famous fortresses, Rantambhor and Kalinjar, a few months later, secured the allegiance of the Rajputs. The rajas agreed to acclaim a power which they found as irresistible as it was just and tolerant. Akbar cemented the good feeling by marrying another princess, daughter of the raja of Bikanir, and henceforward he could rely on the loyalty of the most splendid soldiery in India. In his future campaigns, as in those of his son and grandson, there were always brave Hindus to the fore, and the names of Bhagvan Das, Man Singh, and Todar Mal are famous in the annals of Moghul warfare and administration. Bhagvan Das and Man Singh not only distinguished themselves in the wearisome and reiterated campaigns which the unsettled state of Gujarat compelled Akbar to undertake for a space of twenty years, but were even trusted by him in 1578 to wage