At this period, spies or intelligencers sent informa­tion to the Nawaub, that Tattia Mahratta, the Chief of Mirch, at the instigation of Govind Rao, the son of Imrut Rao, the Chief of Gujindurgurh, had marched a body of troops, with an intention to lay waste and destroy the country, under the government of the Sirkar Khodadad, (the Mysore State;) and that he was raising disturbances near Badami and Dharwar. As the Nawaub was now compelled to reduce this fort, and to chastise the Mahrattas, he accorded the petitions of the Poligar, and taking two lakhs of rupees in money, and leaving a newswriter there, he marched on, and, having crossed the river Toongbhuddra at the Ford of Goruknat, he by long marches arrived at Binkapoor. The enemy, being aware of the rapid advance of the Nawaub, lost their senses, from the fear of the desperate valour of his troops,* and returned hopeless to Mirch.

The Nawaub, therefore, now returning, arrived at Shahnoor, where Hukeem Khan advanced to meet him; and, having professed his friendly senti­ments, he presented the expenses of the army for ten days, amounting to a hundred and thirty-five thousand rupees, as a gift, and was thus freed from further trouble. From this place he, Hydur, moved on, and, passing Sirihutti, Dumul, and Kunugiri, and collecting an adequate Paishkush from the Poligars of that quarter, he next pitched his tents at Bejanuggur, otherwise called Anigoondi, and Tum or Timraj, the Chief of that place, was sent for by the Nawaub to visit him. As, however, these Chiefs are the descendants of Kishenraj,* and Ramraj, Chitri, they salute or make obeisance to no one. In former times, the country of the two Karnatics, and even the Dukhun from the forts of Malabar to the banks of the Nurbudda, were subject to their authority. But the power of these Princes was broken and destroyed, by the energies of the officers and troops of the Kings of Islam, namely, Kotub Shah, Adil Shah, and Nizám Shah, in the environs of Nyaul Kote, a town on the banks of the Kishna, in 972, Hijri. The words “Ram Raja* died on the day of Adeena,”— give the date of his death. Sultan Alumgeer during his reign gave the descendants of this line of Princes, to provide for their subsistence, the three districts of Howeli Anigoondi, Durwajee, and Gungawati, as the writer of these lines has detailed, in his History of the rise and fall of these Princes, called the Tuzkirut ul Biladwul Ihkam.

But to return— when the Nawaub sent to Timraj he pretended to be very sick, and sent his son, with some presents and a lakh of rupees, and begged he might be spared. Having taken into consideration the high rank of the ancestors of Timraj and their former greatness, the Nawaub excused him the pay­ment of his Paishkush, and sent him from the presence an honorary dress, confirming him in all his possessions. Hydur then marched, by the route of Hurpunhully and Jureemli, to the neighbourhood of Chitul Droog. The Poligar there, from fear of the spoliation and desolation of his country, sent a Vakeel to the Nawaub, with three lakhs of rupees as a present, and one lakh of rupees as one day’s entertainment for the army, representing his devotedness, and that he was obedient to the Nawaub’s orders. The Nawaub accepted the money, and allowed him to rest under his powerful protection; and having, by suggestion and advice, pointed out the path he was to pursue, he despatched an able newswriter and register to the residence of the Poligar.

Hydur then marched by the route of Boka Puttun, and encamped in the environs of Gulwari. The Nawaub here gave orders for the attendance of the Poligar of that place, whose eccentricity and folly had frequently reached his ears. It is to be remarked here, that the said Poligar was, without doubt, entirely void of sense and understanding. He was an opium eater, and spent all the revenue of his Talooka, or district, in the purchase of opium. He was accustomed, sometimes, to mount up into the balcony of his house, and enjoy the prospect of his hills and dales; and there happening to be opposite his little fort a pond full of water, and a small hill beyond it, he used to ask his minister,— “If we had a quantity of pure opium as large as that hill, and as much milk as that pond or tank would hold, how long would it last?” The minister would answer, “Perhaps about a month;” upon which the Poligar would reply, “What— do you take a man to be like a sparrow, that he should pick a bit here and there, and drink by drops?” “If any one could finish the whole of it in a week, then, indeed, I should call him a man.” If he sat down in the morning to wash his mouth and his face, it was mid-day before he had finished, even although his servants did their best to arouse him. His general food was rice and milk, and his wife, after she had caused it to be cooked, usually sent a servant girl to call him to dinner. But it was not until the girl had well shaken his head, and his shoulders, and repeated to him that his dinner was ready, that he rose and retired to the women’s apartments to eat. He also had planted a small garden, about the dis­tance of a musket-shot from the town; but, when­ever he wished to walk in his garden, it took him a week to get ready. When, however, his ministers had at last roused him, and he had walked to the garden, after an hour or two he would ask his ser­vant, “How many days is it since we left home, and in how many days shall we return?” The ser­vant in answer, would say, that they would reach home after two or three stages, when the Poligar, laughing, would reply, “No, no, we are not pigeons, that we should fly so swift as that!” But, in fact, there are so many stories told of this man, that it would be impossible to relate them all.

When, by the order of the Nawaub, this foolish man attended his Durbar, the Nawaub, seeing the stamp of folly on his forehead, called to him to advance, and then said,— “How is it with you, and what have you brought me for a present?”— He, with his hands respectfully crossed, replied,— “By your auspicious fortune, there is in my treasury nothing but two or three maunds of opium; but there are also two hundred cows, giving milk, and a few jewels of gold and silver are on the person of your female servant, ‘meaning his wife,’ if it be your pleasure I will present them to you.” The Nawaub laughed very heartily at his absurdity, and gave him leave to return home, and allowed him to retain his town, to furnish him subsistence, but, stationed in it an Ameen, to regulate the administration of the Talooka. The Nawaub then returned to his capital, Puttun.