Page:The Imperial Durbar Album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars.djvu/76

 Karauli.

THE Maharaja of Karauli is the head of the Yadaw clan of Rajputs, who claim descent from Krishna. The Yadawas, who have nearly always remained in or near the country of Braj round Muttra, are said to have at one time held half of Alwar and the whole of Bharatpur, Karauli, and Dholpur, besides the British districts of Gurgaon and Muttra, the greater part of Agra west of Jumna, and portions of Gwalior lying along the Chambal. In the eleventh century, Bijai Pal said to have been eighty-eighth in descent from Krishna, established himself in Bayana, now belonging to Bharatpur, and built the fort. overlooking that town. His eldest son, Tahan Pal, built the well-known fort of Tahangarh, still in Karauli territory, about 1058 A.D., and, shortly afterwards, possessed himself of almost all the country now comprising the Karauli State as well as a good deal of land to the east as far as Dholpur. In 1 1 96 A.D. in the time of Kunwar Pal, Muhammad Ghori and his general, Kutb-ud-din, first captured Bayana and then Tahangarh; and, the Yadaw territory falling into the hands of the invaders, Kunwar Pal fled to a village in the Rewah State. One of his descendants, Arjun Pal, determined to recover the territory of his ancestors, and about 1327 A.D., he captured the fort of Mandrael, and gradually took possession of most of the country formerly held by Tahan Pal. In 1348 A.D. he founded the town which is the present capital of ' Karauli '.

About a hundred years later Mahmud I of Malwa is said to have conquered the country, and to have entrusted the government of it to his son, Fitwi Khan. In the reign of Akbar ( 1556-1605 A.D. ) the State became incorporated in the Delhi Empire, and Gopal Das, probably the most famous of the Chiefs of Karauli, appears to have been in considerable favour with the Emperor. He is mentioned as a Commander of 2,000, and is said to have laid the foundation of the fort of Agra at Akbar's request. On the decline of the Mogul power the State was so far subjugated by the Mahrattas that they exacted from it a tribute of Rs. 25,000, which, after a time, was commuted for a grant of Machilpur and its dependencies. By the treaty with the East India Company, in the year, 1817 A.D., Karauli was relieved of the exactions of the Mahrattas and taken under British protection. No tribute was levied, but the Maharaja was to furnish troops according to his means on a requisition from the British Government. In 1825 A.D. while the Burmese War was proceeding, and Bharatpur was preparing for resistance under its usurper Durjan Sal, Karauli sent troops to the aid of the latter; but on the fall of the fortress of Bharatpur in 1826 A.D. the Maharaja of Karauli made humble professions of submission, and it was deemed unnecessary to take any serious notice of his conduct.

The most important event in the annals of the Karauli State was the celebrated adoption case. Narsingh Pal, a minor became Chief in 1850 A.D. and died in 1852A.D., having adopted, a day before his death, a distant kinsman, named Bharat Pal. It was first proposed to enforce the doctrine of "lapse," but finally, the adoption of Bharat Pal was recognised. In the meantime a strong party had been formed in favour of Madan Pal, a nearer relative, whose claim was supported by the* opinions of several Chiefs in Rajputana. An inquiry was ordered, and it was ascertained that the adoption of Bharat Pal was informal, by reason of the minority of Narsingh Pal, and