eeded
in propitiating the god Siva. One day the king of Chitor died and
left no heir to his throne. It was decided that whoever would be
garlanded by a certain elephant would be placed on the throne. Bapa
was present on the occasion, and the elephant put the garland round
his neck not only once, but thrice. Bapa was thus seated on the
throne. One day he was suffering from some eye-disease. A physician
mixed a certain medicine in alcoholic liquor and applied it to his
eyes, which were speedily cured. Bapa afterwards inquired what the
medicine was, and learnt the truth. He trembled like a reed and said,
"I am a Brahman, and you have given me medicine mixed in liquor. I
have lost my caste," So saying he drank molten lead (_sisa_), and
forthwith died, and hence arose the family name Sesodia. [568] This
story, current in Rajputana, supports Mr. Bhandarkar's view of the
Brahman origin of the clan. According to tradition Bapa went to Chitor,
then held by the Mori or Pramara Rajputs, to seek his fortune, and
was appointed to lead the Chitor forces against the Muhammadans on
their first invasion of India. [569] After defeating and expelling
them he ousted the Mori ruler and established himself at Chitor,
which has since been the capital of the Sesodias. The name Sesodia
is really derived from Sesoda, the residence of a subsequent chief
Rahup, who captured Mundore and was the first to bear the title of
Rana of Mewar. Similarly Aharia is another local name from Ahar, a
place in Mewar, which was given to the clan. They were also known as
Raghuvansi, or of the race of king Raghu, the ancestor of the divine
Rama. The Raghuvansis of the Central Provinces, an impure caste
of Rajput origin, are treated in a separate article, but it is not
known whether they were derived from the Sesodias. From the fourteenth
century the chronicles of the Sesodias contain many instances of Rajput
courage and devotion. Chitor was sacked three times before the capital
was removed to Udaipur, first by Ala-ul-Din Khilji in 1303, next by
Bahadur Shah, the Muhammadan king of Gujarat in 1534, and lastly by
Akbar in 1567. These events were known as Saka or massacres of the
clan. On each occasion the women of the garrison performed the Johar
or general immolation by fire, while the men sallied forth, clad in
their saffron-coloured robes and inspired by _bhang_, to die sword
in hand against the foe. At the first sack the goddess of the clan
appeared in a dream to