organ, within the body of the tyger, and a row of keys of natural notes. The founds produced by the organ are intended to refemble the cries of a perfon in diftrefs, intermixed with the roar of a tyger. The machinery is fo contrived, that while the organ is playing, the hand of the European is often lifted up to exprefs his helplefs and deplorable condition. The whole of this defign was executed by order of Tippoo Sultaun, who frequently amufed himfelf with a fight of this emblematical triumph of the Khodadand* over the Eng lish Sircar. This piece of mechanifmm was found in a room of the palace, at Seringapatam, appropriated for the reception of mufical inftruments, and hence called the Ragmehal. Memorandum refpecting the War Drefs for his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. This war drefs was worn by Tippoo Sultaun, in his campaign in Adoni, in 1786, againft the Nizam and Mahrattas. He was then in the plenitude of his power. Rajah Khan, the Sultaun's favourite flave, knew the dress immediately on its being fhewn to him after the reduction of Seringapatam, and confirmed the fact above stated. This kind of drefs (made, howe. ver, of lefs costly materials) was much worn by the Mahommedans of Myfore. There were few troops in the world, perhaps, more perfonally active and vigilant than Tippoo's irregular horfe; and as cach man generally trufted to himfelf alone, it became an object to improve his perfonal means of defence. Thefe dreffes were used as a fort of armour, and were certainly fervice able in this refpect, though heavy and cumbersome both to the horle and rider: the latter, however, was no doubt willing to facrifice a part of his own convenience for a proportionate degree of fecurity; and it is perfectly certain that thefe ftuffed and quilted jackets were frequently found to refift the fa bres even of our European cavalry. Memorandum refpelling one of Tippoo Sultaun's War-Dresses for bis Royal Highness the Duke-of York. This drefs (which belonged to Tippoo Sultaun) is called a chelta, a Perfian word implying forty folds. The infcription in the infide, however, ftates, that there are forty-five folds in the body of the drefs. The turban has been dipped in the waters of the fountain of Zum Zum at Mecca, and is hence supposed to be invulnerable. It is a tuburrook, or holy gift. The nofe-piece of the turban has feveral Arabic infcriptions in letters of gold, and taken chiefly from the Koran. They are all invocations to the prophet Mahommed, to protect the wearer. This kind of drefs is ufed as armour by horsemen in Hinduftân, and, though heavy and cumbersome both to the horfe and rider, is much worn by the warriors of the Deccan, by whom it is confidered as fabre-proof, and who (generally engaging fingly or in irregular parties) are obliged to pay particular attention to their own perfonal means of defence. This dress was taken from Tippoo's wardrobe, which contained no other but the clothes or armour in conftant ufe. * Tippoo called his dominions the Sircar Khoodadaud, or God-given Sircar. A A Difquifition on Regal Succeffion. By Jaganatha Tercapanchanana. From the DIGEST of HINDU LAW, tranflated from the Original Sanferit. By Mr. COLEBROOKE. [The following interefting extract being too long, as well as too extraneous, to intro. duce into our Review of the valuable work from which it is taken, we have inferted it under this head of our publication; confidering the information it contains of too much importance to be omitted. The law of fucceffion among the antient Hindy Princes is here laid down, defined and illuftrated by the Commentator, with a precision and clearness which evince much vigour of intellect, great accuracy of judgment, and ftrong difcriminative powers.] If a king give the whole of his dominions to his eldest fon qualified for the empire, although his other fons be void of offence, the gift is valid, provided it be the act of a prince neither infane nor otherwife difqualified; for it is done in conformity with the practice of former kings (as fhown in facred and popular hiftories) without offence on the part of the other fons, or of their father. Thus Defarat'ha* intended to commit his kingdom to Rama, in the prefence of Vafifht'ha and many other fages, and in prefence of the citizens at large, although Bharata and his other fons were faultlefs; but afterwards, excluding Rama and the reft, he gave his kingdom to Bharata, as a boon to Caicéyit. Even now it is feen in practice, that entire kingdoms are feverally held by one prince, although he have brothers. Some, remarking that the kingdom of Ayodhya was not divided, hold that kingdoms are indivisible on the authority of cuftom, although it be not exprefsly declared in the * Fifty-fifth of the folar race. text of any faget. Though one kingdom may have been undivided, can the practice be grounded on the Veda? may it not have been fome cuftom accidentally established? Let it not be faid, that the confecration of the eldest fon, to the exclusion of the reft, appears from the fpeech of Vafifht'ha in the Ramayana of Valmici. "Among all the fons of Icfh"wacu§, the first born is king: "thou, fon of Raghu, art first "born, and shalt this day be con "fecrated to the empire. 2. "This prefcriptive law in thy "family thou canst not now reject, "O fon of Raghu! Rule like thy "father, far-famed prince, the vast "empire of the gem-producing "earth." The difficulty is removed by li miting this rule to the pofterity of Icthwacu; for he fays "among the fons of Icfhwacu," and adds" in thy family." Shortly before the paffage quoted, and after the curfe pronounced by Jabali, Vafifht' ha fays: + Wife of Defarat'ha. "Jabali This digreffion is not altogether misplaced; for the great poffeffions, called Zemindaries in official language, are confidered by modern Hindu lawyers as tributary principalities: and it might feem neceflary to determine whether they be alienable and hereditable by the fame rules with other landed property. Son of Menu, and firft of the family named Children of the Sun, "Jabali knows the courfe of this world; he has faid this, wishing to diffuade thee:" It is implied by this verfe, that the fages utter what is calculated to diffuade Rama from his intention of retiring to the foreft, in compliance with his father's commands. It may therefore be faid that the speech is adapted to diffuade Rama from his defign of refiding in the foreft, and does not establish an universal law, that the first born fhall take the kingdom. When Rama af cended to the abode of Lacfhmi, his own fons, and the fons of his younger brothers, were feverally confecrated to different portions of the empire; now Rama, wholly wife, and the inftructor of mankind, did not act inconfiftently with the law. It should not be argued, that, among the defcendants of Icfhwacu, the eldeft may not have been always confecrated to the empire; but it was practised in the family of Bharata*: thus when Pandu retired to the foreft, his kingdom, governed by Dhritarashtrat, fell under the domination of Duryodana; but, re covered by Bhima and his brothers, was enjoyed by Yudhifht'hira, and not fhared by his brethren; there fore, kingdom is indivifible. But the inauguration of the fons of Lachmana, mentioned in the Ramayana, was not a confecration to the paternal kingdom, but to new dominions, given at the pleasure of the donor, and conquered by their father: thus the two fons of Bharata were confecrated kings of Gandharva, conquered by Bharata; the two fons of Satrughna were confecrated kings of two cities founded in the forest of Mad'bu, which had been conquered *Twenty-fecond of the lunar race. The blind elder brother of Pandu. by Satrughna; and two cities, founded in the region Carapatha, were given to the two fons of Lach. mana. The younger brothers of Rama, and the younger brothers of Yudhifht'hira, who were both ima ges of the Supreme God and of deities, (the first born to slay Ravana; the latter, to relieve the earth from the burden of a multitude of t rants;) may have furrendered fovereign power, from respect to their elder brothers. It is faid, that the fpeech of Yud. hifht'hira to Arjuna, in the Mabab barata, is delivered with confider. ation of the refpect due to Arjuna and the other brothers, in the order of feniority: "The brave Bhima-Sena is wor thy of dominion: what is empire to me, who am thus unmanned?" 2. "I cannot bear thefe reproaches, which you utter in wrath: let Bhima be king; I wish not to live, O Hero! depressed as I now am.". In anfwer to the objection, how can Yudhisht'hira, fpeaking from his own affliction, be affirmed to refpect Arjuna as next in feniority? it is added, that he acknowledged it on account of his dejection at his own unfitnefs for war; and there is no intention of denying the feniority of Arjuna: accordingly the confe. cration of the five fons of Yayati‡, an ancestor of Bharata, is mentioned in the Herivanfa: and the confecration of other princes, both in this and other families, is alfo mentioned in the Herivanfa and other works: fuch were Nriga, Nara, Crimi, Suvrata, and Sivi, fons of Ufinara; Vrifhadarbha, Subira, Ce. caya, and Madra, fons of Sivi§; and Defcendants of Anu, fon of Puru, and to whom the north was allotted by that prince. In the Bhagavata four sons of Usinara are named: Sivi, Varma, Sami and Dacfha. J and Mudgala, Srinjaya, Vrihadifhu, Yavinara, and Crimilafwa, fons of Vayafwa, and furnamed Panchala. The inference is denied; for there is no proof that a partition was made of their paternal kingdoms; and it is difficult to establish the great refpect fhewn by Lachmana and the other brothers of Rama, by Bhima and other brothers of Yudhifht'hira, by Duhfafana and other brothers of Duryodhana, and by all others fimilarly circumftanced. If Bhima, Arjuna, and the reft, through refpect alone, furrendered the empire to which they were entitled, why did they not yield their common wife Draupadi to Yudhisht'hira alone? But, in fact, a kingdom fhould be divided among virtuous brothers, able and willing to protect it; for fages have not inferted kingdoms under the title of indivifible property. It does not become men born in these days to imitate the conduct of Rama, Yudhisht'hira, and others, who were endued with immeafurable ftrength, courage, felfCommand, virtue and knowledge, and were attended by Vafifht'ha and other fages. The fpeech in the Ramayana, (" among all the fons of Icfhwacu, the firft born is king, &c.") is adapted to diffuade Rama from retirement in the foreft; for Satrughna divided and gave to his fons the kingdom which he acquired in the foreft of Mad'hu. Let it not be objected, that, were it fo, Vafifht'ha would be a liar: for, adverting to the fact, that the first born happened, in all previous inftances, to be confecrated to the empire, he mentions that fact. As it is not exprefsly declared that the fons of Ufinara received the paternal kingdom, fo it is not declared that they received any other than the paternal dominions. Confe quently, there is no proof that a kingdom is indivifible: but those who are qualified to govern the realm, receive kingly power; and thofe who have great qualifications abandon the paternal dominions and conquer other realms, but do not re-affume the hereditary empire. The government of the realm, the protection of fubjects, and the payment of tribute by modern princes fubject to a paramount fovereign, may, in this view of the fet tled ufage, be determined with little exertion of intellect. We infer, from a paffage of the Adhyatma Ramayana*, "a fon who obeys not his father is dirt," and another of the Sri Bhagavata, "it is thy father's command," that the fon who refuses his affent to the father's gift of chattles, fhall be reftrained from fuch perverse conduct; nor is it queftioned but he may have fome fhare of the paternal effects. However, the hiftory of kingdoms fhows, that, to the exclufion of this fon, one eminently endued with the virtue of juftice, and other excellencies, is entitled to the royal authority. If the maxim, that a kingdom is indivifible, be not deduced from collections of law, ftill the kingdom would with difficulty be taken by all the brothers. Thus Somaca, defcended from the Panchala, had a hundred fons, and Drupada, fon of Prishata, the youngest of those fons, is mentioned as king in the Herivanja: of the reft not even *Afcribed to Vyafa. The paffage, to which this fhort quotation alludes, is a fpeech of Rama, in anfwer to the reproaches of Caiceyi: "Say not fo; I would give my life for my father; I would drink deadly poison; I would forfake my wife Sita, or my mother Caufal; I would relinquish the empire. He who, unbidden, fulfils his father's with, is firft of fons; he who does fo when commanded, holds a middle rank; he who, though bidden, complies not, is vile as dirt.” "In Rama there is nothing in"aufpicious, nor is there malevo. "lence in his great foul: have no "apprehenfions, therefore, hearing "of Rama's confecration. 2. "A hundred years after Ra66 ma, Bharata fhall furely obtain, "in his turn, the kingdom of his " ancestors." Here is intimated the regular fucceffion of brothers to the kingdom of their ancestors, not their partition of the realm. Had fhe feen, or heard of, the partition of kingdoms, fhe would require for Bharata a fhare of the dominions, not regular fucceffion to the whole. It is evident that kingdoms in general were then indivifible. Immediately after the paffage quoted, Manthara replies: "If Raghava be king, his fon, "and after him another, and again "another defcendant, will be "kings. 2. "Caiceyi! Bharata will be "excluded from the royal race. All "the fons of kings do not remain "in obedience to the cldeft: 3. "But, of many fons, one only "is confecrated to the empire. If "all were kings, it would be the "highest injury: 4. Therefore, fpotlefs beauty, "kings commit the affairs of go"vernment to their eldest fons, or "to others more virtuous. 5. "Doubtlefs they confecrate "to the empire the eldeft by birth excellence, and never commit "the entire kingdom to his bro or "thers." In anfwer to the fuppofition, that Bharata might fucceed after a hundred years, the fays, "if Raghava (meaning Rama) be king, his fon and remoter defcendants will fuc ceed; there will be no room for the inauguration of Bharata: confequently thou erreft t." By this, Caiceyi's fuppofition is not confirmed; on the contrary, the title of the middle brother to fucceed after the death of his elder brother, although he leave a fon, which, from what Caiceyi had faid, might have been inferred as founded on fcripture, is refuted. "The fucceflion of Rama's pofterity will exclude Bha rata:" that is, no one of the defcendants of Bharata will be king. If Bharata, obeying Rama, be fupported by him like a fon, will he fhare the empire, or altimately ob. tain the whole? In anfwer to this, it might be asked, do all the fons of kings obey the eldeft? In fact they do not: therefore Bharata will not long remain in obedience to Rama; nor will he be allowed to fhare the empire. "Even among many fons, one only is confecrated;" that is, all the fons do not fhare the empire: how then fhould a brother obtain a hare after the eldest has gained poleon of the whole? Ufage, not the fcripture, is the ground of confecrating one fon only. This the intimates in the third verfe: it would be an injury, if all were confecrated; that is, the empire would be impaired by divifion, or ftrife might arife between the brothers, fhould they refide in feparate dominions. Therefore, "kings commit the affairs of government to the eldeft fon." May not the middlemoft, or other fon, be inaugurated? Since the eldest fon, being firft, can not * Raghava: general patronymick of the pofterity of Raghu, but here reftricted to Rama, as in the fpeech of Vafifht'ha to Rama, already quoted. + This glofs is fomewhat abridged from the original." |