View source for Rajasthan’s geography 02: Physiography

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This page is an extract from <br/>
ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES <br/>
OF <br/>
'''RAJASTHAN '''<br/>

OR THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN <br/>
RAJPUT STATES OF INDIA <br/>

By <br/>
LIEUT.-COL. JAMES TOD <br/>
Late Political Agent to the Western Rajput States <br/>

Edited with an Introduction and Notes by <br/>
WILLIAM CROOKE, CIE. <br/>
Hon. D.Sc. Oxon., B.A., F.R.A.l. <br/>
Late of the Indian Civil Service <br/>

In Three Volumes <br/>
VOL.I: GEOGRAPHY OF RAJASTHAN OR RAJPUTANA<br/>
[The Annals were completed in 1829]<br/>

HUMPHREY MILFORD <br/>
Oxford University Press <br/>
London Edinburgh Glasgow New York <br/>
Toronto Melbourne Bombay <br/>
1920 [The edition scanned] <br/>
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=Rajasthan’s geography 02: Physiography=

==Physiography of Rajputana ==

I shall conclude with a rapid 
sketch of the physiognomy of these regions ; minute and local 
descriptions will appear more appropriately in the respective 
historical portions 

Rajasthan presents a great variety of feature. Let me place 
the reader on the highest peak of the insulated Abu, ' the saint's 
pinnacle,' 3  as it is termed, and guide his eye in a survey over this 
wide expanse, from the ' blue waters ' of the Indus west to the 
' withy-covered ' 4  Betwa on the east. From this, the most [9] 
elevated spot in Hindustan, overlooking by fifteen hundred feet 
the Aravalli mountains, his eye descends to the plains of Medpat 5  

1 Mr. J. B. Fraser [whose book was published in 1825]. 

2  My last journey, in 1822-23, was from Udaipur, through these countries 
towards the Delta of the Indus, but more with a view to historical and 
antiquarian than geographical research. It proved the most fruitful of 
all my many journeys. [The results are recorded in Travels in Western 
India, published in 1839, after the author's death.] 3  Guru Sikhar. 

4  Its classic name is Vetravati, Vetra being the common willow [or reed] 
in Sanskrit ; said by WiLford to be the same in Welsh. 

5  Literally 'the central {madhya] flat.' [It means 'Land of the Med tribe.'] 
(the classic term for Mewar), whose chief streams, flowing from 
the base of the Aravalli, join the Berach and Banas, and are 
prevented from uniting with the Chambal only by the Patar 1  or 
plateau of Central India. 

Ascending this plateau near the celebrated Chitor, let the eye 
deviate slightly from the direct eastern line, and pursue the only 
practicable path by Ratangarh, and Singoli, to Kotah, and he 
will observe its three successive steppes, the miniature representa
tion of those of Russian Tartary. Let the observer here glance 
across the Chambal and traverse Haraoti to its eastern frontier, 
guarded by the fortress of Shahabad : thence abruptly descend 
the plateau to the level of the Sind, still proceeding eastward, 
until the table-mountain, the western limit of Bundelkhand, 
affords a resting-point. 

To render this more distinct, I present a profile of the tract 
described from Abu to Kotra on the Betwa : 2  from Abu to the 
Chambal, the result of barometrical measurement, and from the 
latter to the Betwa from my general observations 3  of the irregu-
larities of surface. The result is, that the Betwa at Kotra is one 
thousand feet above the sea-level, and one thousand lower than 
the city and valley of Udaipur, which again is on the same level 
with the base of Abu, two thousand feet above the sea. This line, 
the general direction of which is but a short distance from the 
tropic, is about six geographic degrees in length : yet is this small 
space highly diversified, both in its inhabitants and the produc-
tion of the soil, whether hidden or revealed. 

1 meaning ‘table (pat) mountain(ar);-Although  ar  may not be found 
In  any Sanskrit dictionary with the signification ' mountain,' yet it appears 
To be a primitive root possessing such meaning-instance, Ar-buddha, 
'hill of Buddha'; Aravalli, 'hill of strength.' Ar is Hebrew for 'moun-
tain ' (qu. Ararat ?) "Opos in Greek ? The common word for a mountain 
in Sanskrit, gir, is equally so in Hebrew. [These derivations are out of 
date. The origin of the word patar is obscure. Sir G. Grierson, to whom 
the question was referred, suggests a connexion with Marathi pathdr, ' a 
tableland,' or Gujarati pathar (Skr. prastara, ' expanse, extent '). The 
word is probably not connected with Hindi pat, ' a board.'] 

2 The Betwa River runs under the tableland just alluded to, on the east. 

3 I am familiar with these regions, and confidently predict that when a 
similar measurement shall be made from the Betwa to .Kotah, these results 
will little err, and the error will be in having made Kotah somewhat too 
elevated, and the bed of the Betwa a little too low. [Udaipur city is 1950 
feet above sea-level.] 

Let us now from our elevated station (still turned to the east) 
carry the eye both south and north of the line described, which 
nearly bisects Madhyadesa,1  ' the central land ' of Rajasthan ; 
best defined by the course of the Chambal and [10] its tributary 
streams, to its confluence with the Jumna : while the regions 
west of the transalpine Aravalli 2  may as justly be defined Western 
Rajasthan. 

Looking to the south, the eye rests on the long-extended and 
strongly - defined line of the Vindhya mountains, the proper 
bounds of Hindustan and the Deccan. Though, from our elevated 
stand on ' the Saint's Pinnacle ' of Abu, we look down on the 
Vindhya as a range of diminished importance, it is that our 
position is the least favourable to viewing its grandeur, which 
would be most apparent from the south ; though throughout 
this skirt of descent, irregular elevations attain a height of many 
hundred feet above such points of its abrupt descent. 

The Aravalli itself may be said to connect with the Vindhya, 
and the point of junction to be towards Champaner ; though it 
might be as correct to say the Aravalli thence rose upon and 
stretched from the Vindhya. Whilst it is much less elevated 
than more to the north, it presents bold features throughout,3  
south by Lunawara, Dungarpur, and Idar, to Amba Bhawani 
and Udaipur. 

Still looking from Abu over the tableland of Malwa, we 
observe her plains of black loam furrowed by the numerous 
streams from the highest points of the Vindhya, pursuing their 
northerly course ; some meandering through valleys or falling 
over precipices ; others bearing down all opposition, and actually 
forcing an exit through the central plateau to join the Chambal.
 
==The Aravalli Range==

Having thus glanced at the south, let 
us cast the eye north of this line, and pause on the alpine Aravalli.4 

1  Central India, a term which I first applied as the title of the map pre-
sented to the Marquess of Hastings, in 1815, 'of Central and Western India,' 
and since become famillar. [Usually applied to the Ganges-Jumna Duab.] 

2  Let it be remembered that the Aravalli, though it loses its tabular form, 
sends its branches north, terminating at Delhi. 

3  Those who have marched from Baroda towards Malwa and marked the 
irregularities of surface will admit this chain of connexion of the Vindhya 
and Aravalli. 

4 'The refuge of strength ' [?], a title justly merited, from its affording 
protection to the most ancient sovereign race which holds dominion, whether 
Let us take a section of it, from the capital, Udaipur, the line of 
our station on Abu, passing through Oghna Panarwa, and Mirpur, 
to the western descent near Sirohi, a space of nearly sixty miles 
in a direct line, where " hills o'er hills and alps on alps arise," 
from the ascent at Udaipur, to the descent to marwar. All this 
space to the Sirohi frontier is inhabited by communities of the 
aboriginal races, living in a state of primeval and almost savage 
independence, owning no paramount power, paying no tribute, 
but with all the simplicity of republics ; their leaders, with the 
title of Rawat, being hereditary. Thus the Rawat of the Oghna 
commune can assemble five thousand bows, and several others [11 ] 
can on occasion muster considerable numbers. Their habitations 
are dispersed through the valleys in small rude hamlets, near their 
pastures or places of defence.1 

Let me now transport the reader to the citadel pinnacle of 
Kumbhalmer,2  thence surveying the range running north to Ajmer, 
where, shortly after, it loses its tabular form, and breaking into 
lofty ridges, sends numerous branches through the Shaikhavati 
federation, and Alwar, till in low heights it terminates at Delhi. 

From Kumbhalmer to Ajmer the whole space is termed 
Merwara, and is inhabited by the mountain race of Mer or Mair, 
the habits and history of which singular class will be hereafter 
related. The range averages from six to fifteen miles in breadth, 
in  the east or west-the ancient stock of the Suryavans, the Heliadai of 
India, our ' children of the sun,' the princes of Mewar. [Aravalli probably 
means ' Corner Line.'] 

1 It was my intention to have penetrated through their singular abodes ; 
and I had negotiated, and obtained of these ' forest lords ' a promise of 
hospitable passport, of which I have never allowed myself to doubt, as the 
virtues of pledged faith and hospitality are ever to be found in stronger 
keeping in the inverse ratio of civillzation. Many years ago one of my 
parties was permitted to range through this tract. In one of the passes of 
their lengthened valleys ' The Lord of the Mountain ' was dead : the men 
were all abroad, and his widow alone in the hut. Madari told his story, 
and claimed her surety and passport ; which the Bhilni delivered from the 
quiver of her late lord ; and the arrow carried in his hand was as well 
recognised as the cumbrous roll with all its seals and appendages of a 
traveller in Europe. 

2  Meru signifies ' a hill ' in Sanskrit, hence Komal, or properly Kumbhal-
mer, is 'the hill' or 'mountain of Kumbha’, a prince whose exploits are 
narrated. Likewise Ajmer is the 'hill of Ajaya,' the 'Invincible' hill. 
Mer is with the long e, like Mere in French, in classical orthography. 
[Ajmer, ' hill of Aja, Chauhan.'] 

having upwards of one hundred and fifty villages and hamlets 
scattered over its valleys and rocks, abundantly watered, not 
deficient in pasture, and with cultivation enough for all internal 
wants, though it is raised with infinite labour on terraces, as the 
vine is cultivated in Switzerland and on the Rhine. 

In vain does the eye search for any trace of wheel-carriage 
across this compound range from Idar to Ajmer ; and it conse-
quently well merits its appellation ara, ' the barrier,' for the 
strongest arm of modern warfare, artillery, would have to turn 
the chain by the north to avoid the impracticable descent to the 
west.1  

==Views from the Aravalli Hills==

Guiding the eye along the chain, 
several fortresses are observed on pinnacles guarding the passes 
on either side, while numerous rills descend, pouring over the 
declivities, seeking their devious exit between the projecting ribs 
of the mountain. The Berach, the Banas, the Kothari, the 
Khari, the Dahi all unite with the Banas to the east, while to 
the west the still more numerous streams which fertilize the rich 
province of Godwar, unite to ' the Salt River,' the Luni, and 
mark the true line of the desert. Of these the chief are the Sukri 
and the [12] Bandi ; while others which are not perennial, and 
depend on atmospheric causes for their supply, receive the general 
denomination of rela, indicative of rapid mountain torrents, 
carrying in their descent a vast volume of alluvial deposit, to 
enrich the siliceous soil below. 

However grand the view of the chaotic mass of rock from this 
elevated site of Kumbhalmer, it is from the plains of Marwar that its 
majesty is most apparent ; where its ' splintered pinnacles ' are 
seen rising over each other in varied form, or frowning over the 
dark indented recesses of its forest-covered and rugged declivities. 

On reflection, I am led to pronounce the Aravalli a connexion 
of the ' Apennines of India ' ; the Ghats on the Malabar coast of 
1  At the point of my descent this was characteristically illustrated by 
my Rajput friend of Semar, whose domain had been invaded and cow-pens 
emptied, but a few days before, by the mountain bandit of Sirohi. With 
their booty they took the shortest and not most practicable road : but 
though their alpine kine are pretty well accustomed to leaping in such abodes, 
it would appear they had hesitated here. The difficulty was soon got over 
by one of the Minas, who with his dagger transfixed one and rolled him over 
the height, his carcase serving at once as a precedent and a stepping-stone 
for his horned kindred. 

the peninsula : nor does the passage of the Nerbudda or the 
Tapti, through its diminished centre, militate against the hypo-
thesis, which might be better substantiated by the comparison of 
their intrinsic character and structure. 

==Geology of  the  Aravallis==

The general character of the Aravalli 
is its primitive formation : 1 granite, reposing in variety of angle 
(the general dip is to the east) on massive, compact, dark blue 
slate, the latter rarely appearing much above the surface or base 
of the superincumbent granite. The internal valleys abound in 
variegated quartz and a variety of schistous slate of every hue, 
which gives a most singular appearance to the roofs of the houses 
and temples when the sun shines upon them. Rocks of gneiss 
and of syenite appear in the intervals ; and in the diverging 
ridges west of Ajmer the summits are quite dazzling with the 
enormous masses of vitreous rose-coloured quartz. 

The Aravalli and its subordinate hills are rich in both mineral 
and metallic products ; and, as stated in the annals of Mewar, 
to the latter alone can be attributed the resources which enabled 
this family so long to struggle against superior power, and to raise 
those magnificent structures which would do honour to the most 
potent kingdoms of the west. 

The mines are royalties ; their produce a monopoly, increasing 
the personal revenue of their prince. An-Dan- Khan is a triple 
figurative expression, which comprehends the sum of sovereign 
rights in Rajasthan, being allegiance, commercial duties, mines. 
The tin-mines of Mewar were once very productive, and yielded, 
it is asserted, no inconsiderable portion of silver : but the caste 
of miners is extinct, and political reasons, during the Mogul 
domination, led to the [13] concealment of such sources of wealth. 
Copper of a very fine description is likewise abundant, and supplies 
the currency ; and the chief of Salumbar even coins by sufferance 
from the mines on his own estate. Surma, or the oxide of anti-
1 [" Oldest of all the physical features which intersect the continent is 
the range of mountains known as the Aravallis, which strikes across the 
Peninsula from north-east to south-west, overlooking the sandy wastes of 
Rajputana. The Aravallis are but the depressed and degraded relics of a 
far more prominent mountain system, which stood, in Palaeozoic times, on 
the edge of the Rajputana Sea. The disintegrated rocks which once formed 
part of the Aravallis are now spread out in wide red-stone plains to the 
east" {lGI.i. 1).] 

mony, is found on the western frontier. The garnet, amethystine 
quartz, rock crystal, the chrysolite, and inferior kinds of the 
emerald family are all to be found within Mewar ; and though 
I have seen no specimens decidedly valuable, the Rana has often 
told me that, according to tradition, his native hills contained 
every species of mineral wealth. 

==The Patar Plateau==

Let us now quit our alpine station on the 
Aravalli, and make a tour of the Patar, or plateau of Central 
India, not the least important feature of this interesting region. 
It possesses a most decided character, and is distinct from the 
Vindhya to the south and the Aravalli to the west, being of the 
secondary formation, or trap, of the most regular horizontal 
stratification. 

The circumference of the plateau is best explained in the map, 
though its surface is most unequally detailed, and is continually 
alternating its character between the tabular form and clustering 
ridges. 

Commencing the tour of Mandalgarh, let us proceed south, 
skirting Chitor (both on insulated rocks detached from the 
plateau), thence by Jawad, Dantoli, Rampura,1 Bhanpura, the 
Mukunddarra Pass,2  to Gagraim (where the Kali Sind forces an 
entrance through its table - barrier to Eklera)3 and Margwas 
(where the Parbati, taking advantage of the diminished eleva-
tion, passes fromMalwa to Haraoti), and by Raghugarh, Shahabad, 
Ghazigarh, Gaswani, to Jadonwati, where the plateau terminates 
on the Chambal, east ; while from the same point of outset, 
Mandalgarh, soon losing much of its table form, it stretches away 
in bold ranges, occasionally tabular, as in the Bundi fortress, by 
Dablana, Indargarh,4 and Lakheri,4 to Ranthambhor and Karauli, 
terminating at Dholpur Bari 

The elevation and inequalities of this plateau are best seen by 
crossing it from west to east, from the plains to the level of the 
Chambal, where, with the exception of the short flat between 
Kotah and Pali ferry, this noble stream is seen rushing through 
the rocky barrier. 

At Ranthambhor the plateau breaks into lofty ranges, their 

1 Near this the Chambal first breaks into the Patar. 

2 Here is the celebrated pass through the mountains. 

3 Here the Niwaz breaks the chain. 

4 Both celebrated passes, where the ranges are very complicated. 

white summits [14] sparkling in the sun ; cragged but not peaked, 
and preserving the characteristic formation, though disunited 
from the mass. Here there are no less than seven distinct ranges 
(Satpara), through all of which the Banas has to force a passage 
to unite with the Chambal. Beyond Ranthambhor, and the 
whole way from Karauli to the river, is an irregular tableland, 
on the edge of whose summit are the fortresses of Utgir, Mandrel, 
and that more celebrated of Thun. But east of the eastern side 
there is still another steppe of descent, which may be said to 
originate near the fountain of the Sind at Latoti, and passing 
by Chanderi, Kanyadana, Narwar, and Gwalior, terminates at 
Deogarh, in the plains of Gohad. The descent from this second 
steppe is into Bundelkhand and the valley of the Betwa. 

Distinguished as is this elevated region of the surface of 
Central India, its summit is but little higher than the general 
elevation of the crest of the Vindhya, and upon a level with the 
valley of Udaipur and base of the Aravalli. The slope or descent, 
therefore, from both these ranges to the skirts of the plateau is 
great and abrupt, of which the most intelligible and simple proof 
appears in the course of these streams. Few portions of the 
globe attest more powerfully the force exerted by the action of 
waters to subdue every obstacle, than a view of the rock-bound 
channels of these streams in this adamantine barrier. Four 
streams-one of which, the Chambal, would rank with the Rhine 
and almost with the Rhone- have here foreed their way, laying 
bare the stratification from the water's level to the summit, from 
three to six hundred feet in perpendicular height, the rock appear-
ing as if chiselled by the hand of man. Here the geologist may 
read the book of nature in distinct character ; few tracts (from 
Rampura to Kotah) will be found more interesting to him, to the 
antiquarian, or to the lover of nature in her most rugged attire. 

The surface of this extensive plateau is greatly diversified. 
At Kotah the bare protruding rock in some places presents 
not a trace of vegetation ; but where it bevels off to the banks 
of the Par it is one of the richest and most productive soils in 
India, and better cultivated than any spot even of British India. 
In its indented sides are glens of the most romantic description 
(as the fountain of ' the snake King ' near Hinglaj), and deep 
dells, the source of small streams, where many treasures of art,1 
1  I have rescued a few of these from oblivion to present to my countrymen. 
in temples and ancient dwellings, yet remain to reward the 
traveller [15]. 

This central elevation, as before described, is of the secondary 
formation, called trap. Its prevailing colour, where laid bare by 
the Chambal, is milk-white : it is compact and close-grained, 
and though perhaps the mineral offering the greatest resistance 
to the chisel, the sculptures at the celebrated Barolli evince its 
utility to the artist. White is also the prevailing colour to the 
westward. About Kotah it is often mixed white and porphyritic, 
and about .Shahabad of a mixed red and brown tint. When 
exposed to the action of the atmosphere in its eastern declivity 
the decomposed and rough surface would almost cause it to be 
mistaken for gritstone. 

This formation is not favourable to mineral wealth. The 
only metals are lead and iron ; but their ores, especially the latter, 
are abundant. There are mines, said to be of value, of sulphuret 
of lead (galena) in the Gwalior province, from which I have had 
specimens, but these also are closed. The natives fear to extract 
their mineral wealth ; and though abounding in lead, tin, and 
copper, they are indebted almost entirely to Europe even for the 
materials of their culinary utensils. 

Without attempting a delineation of inferior ranges, I will 
only further direct the reader's attention to an important deduc-
tion from this superficial review of the physiognomy of Rajwara.