Alwar

Dholpur

Jodhpur/Marwar

Pratabghar

Banswara

Dungarpur

Kerauli

Serohi

Bharatpur

Jaipur

Kishangarh

Shapura

Bikaner

Jaisalmer

Kota

Tonk

Bundi

Jhalawar

Mewar / Udaipur

Udaipur

Dholpur

The ruling family of the State belongs to the Bamrolian Jats, who took this name in about 1367, from a place Bamroli, the adopted home of their ancestors.

The arms of Dholpur are symbolizing the history of the state and do great credit to Robert Taylor’s ability. The state banner was originally Azure, but in 1760 A.D. the Maharaja defeated the chieftain of the Budhowarias whose banner was Or, and the Maharaja adopted it as his own and since then it has always been carried before him in state processions.

The sword alludes tro the fact thatthe state was carved out from Delhi and then from Gwalior by the sword. The original Azure banner is now represented in the chief while the field is Or. The two forts stand for the two guardian fortresses, one at Dholpur and the other at Bari.

The Hanuman passant refers to the passage in the Ramayana where the demon Rawanna had abducted Rama’s wife, Sita, and carried her offr to Ceylon. Rama and his brother, Lakshman, were assisted across the Pal Straits by Hanuman and his hoard of monkeys in the rescue bid. However, in the fighting, Lakshamn wasa severely wounded, and the physician declared that he would  die unless a curative plant that grew on the peak of Donagar in the Himalayas was administered within 24 hours.

Hanuman, the monkey gpd, undertook to make the journey of several thousand miles, but when he got there, failed to recognise the plant. Nothinmg daunted, he brought back the whole hill with him. That is why he is invariably shown holding a hill in the dexter hand..

The crest shows Nursinghee, the 4th avatar of Vishnu, with his nails dripping with blood after he had torn open his enemy, the giant Hurna Kush.

The Dholpur Prince adhered to the British in 1779 in the Mahratta war and the motto: “To a friend, a friend: A foe to foes”, refers to this as well as to previous instances of loyalty to allies when assailed by enemies. [1]

For the Delhi Durbar of 1877 Maharaja Nihal Singh was granted an achievement western style:

Modern rendering of the achievement of Dholpur

Arms: Or, a Hanuman Gules, on a chief Azure a sword between two towers Or.

Crest: On a helmet to the dexter, lambrequined Or and Azure, a Narsinghji (manlion) proper.

Supporters: Two Rajput warriors in full armour.

Motto: mitramitra amitramitra (Sure friend, sure foe).

(Taylor, 29)

A later version shows:

Arms: Or, a Hanuman Gules, on a chief Azure a sword between two towers Or.

Crest: On a closed crown a Narsinghji (manlion) proper.

Supporters: Two Rajput warriors in full armour.

Motto: mitramitra amitramitra (Sure friend, sure foe)

(Jaipur)

Dungarpur

For the Delhi Durbar of 1877 Udai Singhji was granted an achievement western style:

Arms: Gules, a Hanuman passant bearing a hill, in chief a star between two crosses fylfot Azure.

Crest: On a helmet to the dexter lambrequined Gules and Argent, a bull’s head coupé Azure

Supporters: Bhils proper armed with bows and arrows.

(Taylor 31)

On the outer wall of the Palace at Dungarpur:

Photo HdV 1984

Arms: Hanuman between two crosses fylfot.

Crest: An antelopes head erased

Supporters: Two Bhils with bows and arrows

Motto:  Nayyam Chi Rajam (Justice is the main survival of the state)

A modern version however shows

Arms: Azure, Hanuman passant bearing a hill Or, in chief a six-pointed star between two swastika’s also Or.

Crest: An antelopes head erased Or.

Supporters: Bhils armed with bows and arrows, Or

Motto: nayyam chi rajam (Justice is the main survival of the state) in golden lettering on a ribbon Gules.

HH the Maharawal of Dungarpur remarked (1984) about the significance of the achievement:

“The two supporters are tribal warriors of the Bhil Tribe which inhabited the state, now district of Dungarpur of which they consist 70% of the population. The crest is the head of an antelope (chinkara), symbol of swiftness and beauty.

The swastika on the shield is an auspicious emblem of the highest order, also known in Europe, and Hanuman in the middle of the shield is the faithful servant of Rama. Hanuman signifies power and strength.”

Jaipur

The present territory of the State was known as “Matsya Desh” in ancient times. It is referred to as the Kingdom of Raja Virat in the Mahabharata. The ruling family belongs to the Kachhawa clan of the Rajputs and traces its descent from Prince Kusha, son of Rama, the hero of Ramayana. According to tradition, Raja Dulha Rai, a Kachwa chief, after conquering the country had settled down in the central region of the present state, which was at that time called Dhundar, after the name of its Demon King. Raja Dulha Rai was succeeded by his son, Kakil, in 1070, who continued the expansionist policy of his father and shifted his capital to Amber after conquering it from Raja Rao Bhatta. The State thereafter was called Amber after its capital. It got its present name in 1728, during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who established its capital at Jaipur.

Ancient Emblems

A howdah from about the time of  Raja Chandrasena  (1453-1502),

showing a sun radiant ‘supported’ by four tigers. (Museum Jaipur)

The tigers are borrowed from the Chinese system of rank insignia and are for a military commander of the fourth rank. [2] In the time of Raja Chandrasena Amber was a part of the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526).

The picture in the head of this section shows the national emblem of the Mughal Empire consisting of a sun surrounded by twenty-four stars. This emblem was granted to the main vassals of the Empire. It is depicted on a miniature showing the mahararajas of Jodhpur and Jaipur and the maharana of Mewar received by Emperor Shah Alam in 1708. It is carried on a pole by the ensigns of these rulers. [3]

Pear-shaped screens from Jaipur,  showing a faced sun radiant and a like moon below an umbrella.

These were the symbols of the Mughal ruler and the Mughal head of state, called suraj mukhi and presented by the emperor as an exceptional distinction.

Photo Flickr (Internet)

Peacock from the Peacock Gate in the City Palace of Jaipur

The peacock is borrowed from the Chinese system of rank insignia and is for a civil official of the third rank. [4] As the Chinese rank insignia for the first and second rank (crane and golden pheasant) are not known from India, the peacock may have been the insignia of the highest rank, one step lower than the simurg or phoenix  which was the symbol of the Mughal himself who held no rank as a civil official.

The picture on the left shows one of the guards at the entrance of the City Palace of Jaipur, driving an elephant with a hanging showing the faced sun radiant, crested with a peacock.

The achievement would mean: The Government of the Maharaja (of Jaipur)

The City Palace was built by Jai Singh II and his successors.

Ram Singh II

1835/’51-1880

For the Durbar at Delhi in 1877 Ram Singh II was granted an achievement western style:

Maharaja of ....

Arms: Barry of five Gules, Vert, Argent, Azure and Or, in chief a sun in splendour Or.

Crest: On a helmet guardant, lambrequined Gules and Or, a kuchmar-tree proper.

Supporters: A tiger on the dexter and a horse on the sinister.

Motto: yato dharmastato jayah (Where Virtue is there also is Victory).

(Taylor 1902/1877 n°  40)

The barry is the Panchranga, the Hindu version of the spectrum. The order of the colours varies. The colours of the shield are the colours of the Jaipur flag and triangular pennon.

The tiger may refer to the Rajas of Amber, who, as we have seen, had a tiger as their rank insignia.

The horse may refer to the Rajput cavalry. This was exceptional for India and extremely skilled, and man for man, was more than a match for the Mughal cavalry, as they proved several times. They were lightly armored, and moved extremely swiftly. Armed with a light curved sword and a small circular shield, they could charge and fight with incredible speed. Many carried bows and arrows, and were expert archers. The Rajput army was almost entirely composed of cavalry, and were powerful enough that they were able to keep the Muslim forces in check for many years.

Many houses in Rajputana are decorated with horses.

Madhu Singh II

1880-1922

Arms: A sun radiant.

Crown: A royal crown

Supporters: A lion guardant and a horse harnessed.

Motto: yato dharmastato jayah

(On a publication, 1916 and in the royal palace at Jaipur)

We may remark that the tiger is changed for a lion and this would make the maharaja a commander of the second rank in the ancient system of rank insignia. Maybe this refers to Jai Singh II who had “The Lion of Victory”as a nickname. In any case, the lion is more suitable for a maharaja than a tiger.

Seal of the British Resident  in Jaipur showing the royal British achievement  [5]

Man Singh II

1922-1949

Arms: ¼: 1. A zebu proper in a green field; 2. Sûrja and Aruna, proper; 3. Vert an elephant proper; 4. Vert, the castle of Amber on a hill Argent.

Crest: On a royal crown, Lord Krishna and his girlfriend, proper.

Supporters: D.: A lion proper; S.: A horse Argent, saddled and bridled Gules.

Order: The collar and jewel of the Order of the Star of India (Great Britain, 1866).

Motto: yato dharmastato jayah.

Mantle: Gules, fringed and tasseled Or and four pennons and two flags of the national colours barry of five Gules, Or, Argent, Vert and Azure. The base charged with two field-guns. [6]

The emblem of  State

Surja in his seven-horse drawn cart driven by Aruna.

In the fourties the achievement was changed:

Arms: ¼: 1. Gules, a rearing grey-horse before a sun radiant in dexter chief; 2. Or, an eagle displayed grasping a snake proper; 3. Argent an elephant's head guardant proper; 4. Azure, a two-towered castle proper.

Crest: On a Rajput helmet lambrequined Gules and Or, a sun in splendour.

Supporters: A lion guardant and a grey-horse harnessed proper.

Motto: yato dharmastato jayah.

Compartment: Around the shield is a blue border with golden edges, and in base are four lotus-flowers and leaves all proper.

Jaipur State Forces

Before WW II the Maharaja of Jaipur maintained a regiment of Lancers, three battalions of Infantry and a Transport Corps. The last named is the only one of these units which dates back to before WWI. It saw service on the North-West Frontier in 1895-7 and in WWI was continuously employed throughout the Mesopotamian Campaign.

In this time the army minister, being an official of the Government of Jaipur,  used the Aruna and Surja emblem on his seal:

Just before WWII (3-9-1939) the Jaipur State Forces consisted of:

Headquarters

Kachhawa Horse

Sawai Man Guards

1st Battalion, Jaipur Infantry

2nd Battalion, Jaipur Infantry

All stationed in Jaipur

During WWII the emblem of Jaipur State Forces became the new royal achievement, the shield surrounded by the motto, the name of the service on the ribbon beneath:

One emblem of its services is known. It is the emblem of the 1st Battalion Jaipur Infantry:

Jaisalmer

Maharawal Bairi Sal Singh was granted an achievement western style at the occasion of the Delhi Durbar of 1877:

Arms: Party per bend embatteled Tenné and Sable, a nude sinister arms holding in bend sinister a broken spear Argent.

Crest: A wagtail (Motacilla cinerea - Motacillidæ) proper.

Supporters: Two antelopes (Antelope cervicapra - Bovidæ) proper besanté.

(Taylor 39)

Jhalawar

Maharaj Rana Zalim Singh II was granted an achievement western style at the occasion of the Delhi Durbar of 1877.

Arms: Gules, a garuda Argent, plumed, crested and attired Or, holding in dexter hand a bow and in sinister hand a quiver of the last.

Crest: On a helmet to the dexter, lambrequined Gules and Argent, a six-pointed star Argent

Supporters: Two dragons

Motto: agner api tejasvi (Even more blazing than fire).

(Taylor 42)

The achievements on the seals of the officials of Jhalawar differ from the achievement of the Maharao  [7]