1 THE PHULKIA MISL. 325
2 bangles of steel round their wrists, and a circular, sharpened, bright sword
3 round their head.
4 The heads of the confederacy were Karam Singh and Gurbaksh Singh,
5 whose possessions extended east of the Sutlej, and who had two thousand
6 horsemen under their command.
7 11—THE PHULKIA MSL.
8 The head of this misl was Phul, a Jdét of the Sindhu tribe, thirtieth in
9 descent from Jesal,* the founder of the family, and the state and city of
10 Jesalmir, in Rajputdna, who, like almost all other Jdts, was a Bhatti
11 Rajput. He was the second son of Rip Chand, by his wife, Mai Umbi,
12 and was born in Mouza Bedowédli, or Mehraj, in 1619 a. He found-
13 ed a village five miles distant from Mehrdj, which he called, after his
14 name, Phul.f The Delhi Emperor, Shah Jahan, by a firman, confirmed
15 him in the office which his ancestors had held. He fought the Bhattis near
16 Phakkarsar in Bhatinda, under Hayat Khan, the Rajput chief, who, meeting
17 with a signal defeat, fled to Bhatner. He was soon after defeated by Isa
18 Khan, Rajput, the founder of a village of that name, this side of the Sutlej,
19 near Ferozepur, assisted by Nawdb Husein Khan, the Pathan chief of Ka-
20 sir. The village of Phul was plundered by Isa Khan, and the chief, Phul,
21 was compelled to retire to his old residence in Mehrdj. Having gained
22 in strength, Phul declared war against Doulat Khan, the father of Isa Khan,
23 whom he defeated, and, having expelled Mula Singh, the Rajput agent at
24 Phul, he recovered possession of that place. After this he attacked the
25 Bhatner chief, Hayat Khan, whose nephews, Mohabat Khan and Mahbub
26 Khan, he slew. Phul became a powerful sardar and withheld the pay-
27 ment of revenue to the Imperial Governor of Jagraon, whom he defeated
28 and put in confinement; but every mark of respect was shown to him while
29 under arrest. The prophesy of Guru Har Govind, that Phul would become
30 a great man, was fulfilled, for Phul had seven sons who became ancestors
31 of the reigning families of Patidld, Jhind and Nabhd, called after his name
32 the Phulkias. The houses of Bhador, Malod, Landgarhia, and the family
33 of Jiandan, sprang from his issue, and attained to great wealth and power.
34 The death of Phul is said to have occurred under somewhat mysterious
35 circumstances. It is said that he was educated by a celebrated jog, named
36 Samerpuri, who taught him the art of suspending the breath (habsidam).t
37 The Governor of Sirhind had placed him in confinement for his failure to
38 pay the Government revenue, and Phul feigned death by suspending his
39 breath. His custodians, believing him to be dead, made his body over to his
40 relatives. It happened that one of his wives, who alone knew the mys-
41 terious power possessed by her husband, was absent at the time. His other
42 relations, ignorant of the circumstance, immediately proceeded to cremate
43 his remains. This took place in Bahddurpur, near Dhanola, in the territory
44 * Jesal flourished ia the time of Prithi Raj, the king of Ajmir and Delhi, the most power-
45 ful of Indian monarchs, His son, Hembel, was expelled by the Ghorian Sultan of Delhi,
46 Shahab-ud-din, but was again received into favour and intrusted with the government of Sirsa,
47 and Bhatinda (including the country between the Sutlej and the Jamna). He built a strong
48 fort near the town of Hissar, founded by Feroz Shah, where he died in 1271 Samvat. He
49 was succeeded by his son Jandra, remarkable for being the father of twenty-one sons. The
50 ancestors of the houses of Kythal, Jnumba, Arnowly, Sadhowal, the sardars of Attari, and
51 wee of Faridkot, are, like the Phulkia family, the descendants of Jandra, the grandson
52 of Jesal.
53 + The village is now situate in the territory belonging to the Raja of Nabhd,
54 + Mention of this art is made in ‘the Shastras and the Granth, under the name Puranayam.
55 ane Hindus maintain that the breath is contracted into the brain, believed to be the seat af
56 ife.
57 ~
58 The possessions of
59 the misi.
60 Phutl founds the
61 confederacy,
62 As also the village of
63 that name.
64 His defeat by the
65 Mahomedan chiefs.
66 He is expelled from
67 his village.
68 His subsequent
69 successes.
70 He becomes a man
71 of great note. The .
72 prophesy of Har
73 Govind fulfilled.
74 The death of Phul,
75 1652.
76 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com