१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE CONFLAGRATION
drag him down from his throne ; and outside the palace,
outside the capital, outside the borders of the kingdom
let him be driven out ! Hereafter, according to the
Scriptures, " The King receives his power only by pleas-
ing the people ! "
And now, we must not let this auspicious day, the 3rd of
June, slip by uselessly. And so " a big Durbar was held
in Phul Bagh. All Sirdars, statesmen, noblemen, Shile-
dars, and cavalry officers, who had joined the Shrimant,
took their seats according to their rank. Tatia Topé and
the Arabs, Rohillas, Pathans, Rajputs, Rangdes, Parde-
shis, and others under him came to the Durbar in their
military uniform and with swords by their side. The
Shrimant himself was dressed in the Peshwa's uniform
Shirpana and Kalgitura on head, pearls in his ears, and
pearl and diamond necklaces, round his neck. Thus, with
all the paraphernalia of the Peshwai, Bhaldars and
Chobdars making way for him, and Mourchas flying, the
Shrimant came to the Durbar. Then, as usual, all stood
up in reverence, salutes were received, and the Shrimant
ascended the throne. With tears of joy in his eyes, he
congratulated all the noblemen with great eloquence.
Ram Rao Govind was appointed Chief Minister. Tatia
Topé was made general and a sword studded with pre-
cious stones was presented to him. The eight ministers
were elected. Twenty lakhs of Rupees were distributed
to the army. The Durbar was a complete success. Joy
was on every face and salutes of guns were fired." ⁷
Shrimant Rao Sahib, representative of Nana Sahib
Peshwa, had thus established a new throne, infusing a
new hope and a new life into the Revolutionary party,
and had created a centre, a basis, round which might be
attracted the scattered forces of the Revolution. Tatia
Topé was not mad in busying himself with this corona-
7. D. B. Parasnis's Life of Lakshmi Bai, page 309.
486