'Tiger Mount' (Udaipur): see NAHARA MAGRA.

Tightrope Walker Legend: see NATNI-KA-CHABUTRA.

tika, tikka, tilak, Raj Tilak, a red dot placed in the middle of the forehead. Generally, it is a ceremonial anointment or adornment applied on the forehead at an auspicious religious ceremony following a puja, also in olden times, prior to riding into battle to defend the motherland. Today, it is either of liquid saffron or vermilion (kum-kum) or sandalwood paste. Married women also apply a tika; often this is a manufactured dot of red material. A tilak is applied to a young woman by the mother-in-law during an engagement ceremony, and to the bride during a wedding ceremony. A thumb is dipped in vermilion or coloured sandalwood paste and drawn from the nose tip upward to the forehead. A Raj Tilak is the forehead adornment applied at the coronation of a king or feudal lord. Rawal GUHIL (ca 569-ca 586) received inauguration as a chief by having his forehead smeared with blood drawn from the finger of a Bhil, a form of the blood covenant, which appears in many races (for instance, the ritual of 'blood brothers' among American Indians).

tikka: see TIKA.

tilak (forehead mark): see TIKA.

Tiroli (Ranawat), 115 km. from Udaipur, near Gangapur; estate (jagir) held by Ari Singh, son of Maharana JAGAT SINGH I (1628-1652).

Tirtha, a sacred place of Hindu and Jain pilgrimage.

Tirthankara (also Jinas, i.e., Victors), (Sanskrit) Enlightened One; also 'ford-makers', a tirtha being the Sanskrit for 'river fords', which are considered sacred places for veneration or devotion. In Jainism, a Tirthankara is a saviour or spiritual leader "who has succeeded in crossing over life's stream of rebirths and has made a path for others to follow." ADINATH was the first of the twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras. Chittor's KIRTI STAMBH (Tower of Fame) is dedicated to him. MAHAVIRA (6^th century BC) was the last of the Tirthankaras. His predecessor, PARSVANATHA, lived about two hundred and fifty years earlier.

tirthayatra, (Hindi) a pilgrimage to holy places such as rivers and temples.

Toad Rock: see ABU, MOUNT.

Tod, Capt. James (b. March 20, 1782, Islington, England-d. November 17, 1836, London), British Agent in Udaipur during the reign of Maharana BHIM SINGH (1778-1828) and, in many ways, the saviour of Mewar. His father and brother were indigo-planters at Mirzapur, in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh; his uncles were members of the Civil Service of the East India Company. With these close connections with India, it was preordained that the future for James would be in the subcontinent. In 1798 when Tod was 16, he obtained a cadetship in service of the East India Company, beginning in Calcutta with the 2nd European Regiment. Two years later he was transferred with the rank of Lieutenant to the 14th Native Infantry. In 1805 he was appointed as escort of his friend, Mr. Graeme Mercer, then the Government Agent at the camp of the Maratha, Daulat Rao Sindhia, who had been defeated two years before by Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington). Under Mercer, Tod became acquainted with Rajput and Maratha politics. The following year, Lt. James Tod first met Maharana Bhim Singh of Udaipur in the outer courtyard of the temple of Eklingji. Tod was, at the time, Commander of the Escort with Daulat Rao Sindhia's wandering court. This meeting sparked his interest in the states of Rajputana, and he used his position to acquaint himself wholly with their affairs.

He was the first to systematically map this region; his intimate knowledge of the terrain proved extremely useful for the Company's armies in fighting off Pindari and Maratha incursions into Rajputana from 1817-1818. In 1807, his next appointment was with the 25th Native Infantry. An interest in geography led him to undertake surveys in Rajputana and central India between 1812 and 1817 when he employed several native surveyors to traverse the then little-known region between central India and the Indus valley. By 1813 he had been promoted to the rank of Captain as escort of the Resident, Mr. Richard Strachey, who nominated him to post of his Second Assistant. In 1817, the British Government in India soundly defeated the Marathas (see MARATHA WARS), sending them back to their homeland and finally bringing peace to Rajputana. The British turned their attention to the restitution of the fallen Rajput kingdoms, starting with each State signing a treaty. On January 13, 1818, the British and Maharana Bhim Singh executed their treaty of mutual friendship, in which the British promised to provide military protection to Mewar against hostile forces, and to help reclaim lands that had been usurped by the Maratha hordes. It was in 1822, in recognition of Tod's services and experience in Rajputana, that Governor General Lord Hastings appointed the Captain to Political Agent to the Western Rajput States, Resident at the court of Maharana Bhim Singh in Udaipur. His official duties were to implement the terms of the treaty and to manage the affairs and relations of the British with Mewar.

Tod executed his duties with skill and authority, which led to flourishing conditions in Mewar, as well as a long and vital relationship between Mewar and the British. The country's political, social, and economical conditions were deplorable. Playing an active role in the work of reconstruction, and conciliation, Tod won the confidence and respect of princes, chiefs, and peasantry. He was able to interfere with good effect in tribal quarrels, to rearrange the fiefs of the minor chiefs, and to act as arbitrator between the Maharana of Mewar and his subjects. He was convinced that the miserable state of the country was chiefly due to the hesitation of the Indian Government in interfering for the re-establishment of order, and let the authorities know his feelings in no uncertain manner. This attitude exposed him to criticism: a certain Bishop Heber wrote, "In his (Tod's) favouring the native princes so much, the Government of Calcutta (the British) were led to suspect him of corruption, and consequently to narrow his powers and associate other officers with him in his trust till he was disgusted and resigned his place." The suspicions were groundless: officers, who told of what the natives themselves thought of him, strenuously vindicated Captain Tod.

Whatever the real reason was for the premature termination of Tod's official career at the age of 40, ill health was put forward as the ostensible cause of his retirement. He had served almost a quarter of a century in the Indian plains without any leave. He had long suffered from malaria and, unbeknown to him at the time, one of his servants had attempted to poison him. As well, Tod met with a serious accident when, by chance or design his elephant-driver dashed his howdah against gate of Begun fort in eastern Mewar. In 1822, after four years of service in Udaipur, and twenty-two years total in India, Tod returned to England, his greatest achievement yet to come. In 1824, he became a Major and two years later a Lieutenant Colonel. On November 16, 1826 he married Julia, the daughter of Dr. Henry Clutterbuck, an eminent London surgeon, a union which produced two sons and a daughter. In 1835, the family settled in a house at Regent's Park; on November 17 that same year he died suddenly while transacting business at the office of his bankers.

In addition to his official duties in India, Tod spent a great deal of his own time and personal resources in the collection of historical documents, inscriptions, tales by bards and genealogies of the Rajput houses, and paintings from Rajasthan. From his initial residence in the village of DABOK (where Udaipur's Maharana Pratap Airport is now located), Tod began, for the first time, to synthesise the history of Rajputana. Totally immersed in the activities of Mewar, past and present, he developed a deep insight into the stories of courage, heroism, honour and duty within the history of the State. During his second stay in Udaipur he was provided with the haveli of RAMPIYARI, a little under one kilometre east of the City Palace, as his residence.

When he returned to England, Tod continued his research, which culminated in publication of the now classic ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF RAJASTHAN (originally in two volumes, 1829, 1832). In this seminal work, Tod produced the first encyclopaedic and comprehensive history of Rajasthan, globally recognising the Rajputs, and especially Mewar. His lesser-known work, Travels in Western India (published posthumously in 1839) chronicles his final days in India travelling from Udaipur to Bombay, via Mount Abu. This interesting and as yet under-appreciated work is also the first to provide in-depth descriptions of the religious life and customs of the BHIL and Mina tribes of Southern Rajasthan. Upon returning to Udaipur from that journey, on March 8, 1822, he wrote: "I require repose, for the last fifteen years of my life have been one continuous tissue of toil and accident ... The bow must be unbent, or it will snap, and the time for journalising must cease with everything else under the sun ... I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour I had laboured to do; and behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit!" Shortly thereafter, he announced his retirement. Tod's reliance on oral or bardic accounts of Mewar history, preserved a valuable, yet vulnerable, body of historical source material. The true value of the work lies in the preservation of this grand story for the whole world to appreciate. One of the annual MAHARANA MEWAR FOUNDATION AWARDS is named for Col. Tod to honour a foreign national who, like him, has contributed through his or her works of permanent value an understanding of the spirit and values of Mewar.

Todarmal, Raja, a Rajput envoy in the Mughal court whom, in December 1573, Emperor AKBAR sent to discuss a peace treaty with Maharana PRATAP SINGH I of Mewar. Although Pratap was not opposed to a treaty, he refused to sacrifice his sovereignty and Mewar's independence. The negotiations failed.

Tod's (second) residence, Udaipur: see RAMPIYARI.

tonga, (Hindi) a horse-drawn carriage.

Topkhana (Navkotha Magazine), Chittorgarh; on the eastern end of the NAVLAKHA BHANDAR; a hall used for storing various guns collected from the fort.

Topkhana Chaori, Chittorgarh, a park where a few old cannon, the relics of the plunder of Chittor, could be seen.

Topkhana Pol (Cannon Gate), Kumbhalgarh's sixth gate; it has a secret escape tunnel. See also GATES (POLS) IN KUMBHALGARH and GATES (POLS) IN UDAIPUR.

toranas, ornately carved arches used for weighing Maharanas in the TULADAN Ceremony. There are eight of these arches between the City Palace's main gateway, Badi Pol and the Tripolia Gate. Beneath the arches is the entrance to the MAHARANA MEWAR SECONDARY SCHOOL and the MAHARANA MEWAR SPECIAL LIBRARY.

Tourist Reception Centre, Suraj Pol (Fateh Memorial), Udaipur; an office for information and for bookings tours in and around Udaipur. Tel: 411 535.

Tourist Season, Udaipur, September to April (India's cool months) for foreigners; throughout the year for domestic tourists.

Tower of Fame, Chittorgarh: see KIRTI STAMBH.

Tower of Victory, Chittorgarh: see VIJAY STAMBH.