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ACCOUNT OF SEWRAS. 437
'
the stone-fish.' Its belly was very large and swollen,
so I ordered them to cut it
open in my presence. Inside
was a fish with scales which it had recently swallowed
and which had as yet undergone no change. I told them
to weigh both fish. The stone-fish came to 6i seers and
the other to nearly 2.
On Monday, the 8th, I marched 4^ kos, and encamped
in the village of Moda (Mahaondat). The inhabitants
praised the rainy season of Gujarat. It happened that
on the previous night and on this day before breakfast
some rain fell, and the dust was laid. As this is a sandy
country, it is certain that there would not be any dust in
the rainy season, nor would there be any mud. The fields
would be green and cheerful. At any rate, a specimen
of the rainy season has been seen by me. On Tuesday
I marched 5i kos, and halted at the village of Jarsima
(Jarlsama). 1
At this stage news came that Man Singh Sewra had
surrendered his soul to the lords of hell. The account
of this in brief is that the Sewras 2 are a tribe of infidel
Hindus who always go with their head and feet bare.
One set of them root out their hair, their beards, and
moustaches, while another set shave them. They do not
wear sewn garments, and their central principle is that
no living creature should be injured. The Banyans regard
them as their pvra and teachers, and even worship them.
There are two sects of Sewras, one called Pata (Tapa)
and the other Kanthal (Kartal). Man Singh was the
head of the latter, and Bal Chand the head of the Patas. 3
Both of them used to attend upon H.M. Akbar. When
he died and Khusrau fled and I pursued him, Ray Singh
Bhurtiya, zamindar of Bikanir, who had been made an
Amir by Akbar's kindness, asked Man Singh what
It is the Chandsuma of Bayley's map.
1
2 Jarrett, iii, 210 ;
and Akbar-nama, translation, i, 147, n. 2.
3
This should be Tapa. See Addenda.