The Great Desert is on the western side of the Aravalli ; it separates Rajputana from Sind, extends from the edges of tho Runts of Cutch beyond the Luni river northward. Eastward of this is a zone of lees absolutely sterile country, ecnuisting of rocicy land cut up by limestone ridges, which to some degree protect it from the desert sands; and still farther eastward is the Little Desert,' which runs up from the Luni between Jeysulmir and Jodhpur into the northern wastes. The character of the desert region is the same everywhere. It is covered with sand-hills, the Thull-ka-Tiba running in straight ridges, some of them two miles long, and rising to 100 feet in height. They are clothed with stunted shrubs and tufts of coarse grass in the dry season, and the light rains cover them with vegetation. The villages within the desert de pend entirely on the supply of water in the wells, which is constantly failing or turning brackish ; on which occurring, the village has to shift. A little water is collected in small tanks or pools, which become dry before the stress of the heat begins ; and in places there are long marshes impregnated with salt. This is the pre vailing character of the whole north and north west of Rajputana. The cultivation is every where poor and precarious. Nevertheless the principal towns within this region are well built, and fairly prosperous. Their position has given them immunity from predatory armies, and they have for ages managed the traffic across the desert. The most interesting object in this arid region is the Luni, with its many arms flowing from the Aravalli to enrich the best portion of the princi pality of Jodhpur, and distinctly marking that line of ever-shifting sand, termed in Hindu geo graphy Maroosthuli, corrupted to Merwara. The Luni, after a course of more than 300 miles, ter minates in the great salt marsh called the Runn, 1.vhich is 150 miles in length, and about 70 iu breadth. Dr. Govan described it as a dead flat, hardly elevated above the level of the sea, and he compared it to an arm of the ocean from which the water had receded, as it is covered with saline incrustations and marine exuvize. This, Colonel Tod considers as having been formed by the deposits of the Luni, and equally saturated saline deposits from the southern desert of Dhat.
The main wealth of the desertlands of Merwara and Bikanir consists in the vast herds of camels, horned cattle, and sheep which roam over th-eir sandy wastes, and thrive admirably in the dry climate. Camels and cattle are bred in such numbers that they supply the neighbouring pro vinces. What are called and sold as Gujerat cattle are often in reality Merwara cattle of the celebrated Nagar breed. The stock is yearly sold at great fairs. In 1Vestern Rajputana, camels are also bred in large quantities ; and besides being ridden and used as beasts of burden, they are employed in agriculture.
Mr. Fergusson says, p. 473, the palace at Udaipur of the rulers of Mewar, those of Datiah and Orcha in Bundelkhand, the Gwalior palace, and that at Amber in the Jeypore State, are all worthy of notice ; and the palace Deeg, which is quite a fairy structure, was the work of Suraj Mull, founder of the Bhurtpur dynasty, who began it in the year 1725, but was unfinished when he was killed in battle by Najif Khan, A.D. 1763. Every native capital in Rajputana, he tells us, has a cenotaph, or Inaba sati, where the sovereigns, their wives, and nearest relatives are buried. The inost magnificent of these are in hundreds at Udaipur, all crowned by domes ; and that of Singram Singh, to twenty-one of his wives, is the finest.. He was buried A.D. 1733. He built that
of his predecessor, Amera Singh it. The tomb of Bakhtawar Singh at Ulwar, erected in the 19th century, and the tombs of the Bhurtpur rajas at Govardhan, are also noteworthy.
Itajputana religion, 1881— ifindus, . . 8,839,243 Sikhs, 0 Mulininmadann, . 861,747 Parsees, 7 Chri8tians, . . . 1,29-1 Others, . . . . 21,077 hills, . . . . 378,672 The supposed number of Bhils, 166,343, at the Census 1b81, in the four states are— lUdaipur, . . . 51,076 1 Dungarpur, . . GG,952 l'artabgarh, . . . 270 1 Banswara, . . . 48,045 The Rajputs are the dominant race, but, as will be seen, do not form a majority of the population. The Meo, and some Rajput clans, are converts to Muharnmadanistn. The Bhat and Charan are bards and chroniclers. The Mahajan mercantile ca.ste are of Rajput descent, and mostly "follow the Jaina religion. The Gujar and Jat are culti vators. The Mina, Mhair, and Bltil are the pro minent aborigines.
Jeypore is the most moIern of the Rajput capi tals. It is laid out with spacious streets, and the ruling fantily have decorated and improved it for generations. It is the headquarters of the bank ing and exchange transactions, and its bankers have agencies in all the principal towns of India.
Jodhpur is a fenced city in the desert, and Bikanir and Jeysulmir are built upon islands of hard rock amid deep sand. Ajmir, Ulwar (Mu ar), and Udaipur are all remarkable for picturesque beauty, and for excellence of situation. 131turt pur, Tonk, Kotah, Bundi, and Matra Patan are the other itnportant places.
The most remarkable of its forts are Taraghrh, above Ajmir, Chitore, Kumalmir, and Gogunda in Mewar, Ulwar (Alwar), Jeypore, Khetri, Bhains rorgarh,Mandalgarh, Indragztrh, Jeysubuir, Bika nir, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kotah, Gagron, and Bin thambor. Rajputana, yields cobalt, zinc-blende, copper, lead, iron, magnetic iron, pyrites (pyrrho tite). Raialo limestone, a fine-grained crystal line marble, quarried at Raialo in Ulwar, and at Makrana in Jodhpur, and tho Jeysulmir lime stone, are well known for their beauty and use fulness. The Makrana quarries supplied the chief portion of the stone for building the Taj at Agra, as well as the marble used in decorating many buildings in Northern and North-Western India. About 1000 workmen are employed at the present day in quarrying and working the stone at Mak rana alone.
The Jat and Gujar are north of the Aravalli, and along the borders towards the Panjab and tbe Juliana from Bikanir round to Bhurtpur, and in Jeypore. The Ahirs, Lodas, Kathie, Mali., and Cluunars all cultivate widely in the eastern Ws tricts. South of the Aravalli we find the Kulnhis and Sondias as cultivators, immigrants (mut Central and Southern India; awl In the south west comer we meet with the Kolis, so common in Oujerat.
The Charan race, in Western and Central Ind:a, are mostly dwelling under liajput rule, and are the bard's, heralds, and genealogists of the liattl4 r2tce. The Kachili Clutran aro carriers of grain, salt, and groceries. The Maru or desert Outran do not engage in trade. Their becoming personal security for an agreement is sufficient They aro analogoua to the Bard.
The Bhat or Bard is the herald, genealogint, and chronicler. In Western India the Blatt ha., like the Charan, the privilege of being security for agreements. In Upper India there are village communities of Bhat who do not take ao high a place, and in Telingana the Bliatraj claim to be of Bhat descent—Tod's Rajasthan, p. 224 ; Census Returns ; Imp. G'a-z.; Ball's Geology of India ; Wits. Gloss.