236 RANTHAW-HO R
in 1528. About twenty-five years later its Musalman governor sur-
rendered it to the chief of Bundi, and it passed into the possession
of Akbar about 1569. Accounts differ as to the manner in which this
came about. According to the Musalman historians, the emperor
besieged it in person and took it in a month ; but the Bundi bards say
that the siege was ineffectual, and that he obtained by stratagem what
he had failed to secure by force of arms. In Akbar's reign Rantham-
bhor became the first sarkdr or division in the province of Ajmer, and
consisted of no less than eighty-three mahdls or fiefs, in which were
included not only Kotah and Bundi and their dependencies, but most
of the territory now constituting the State of Jaipur. On the decay
of the Mughal empire, towards the end of the seventeenth century,
the fort was made over by its governor to the Jaipur chief, to whom it
now belongs.
Rapri.-Village in the Shikohabad tahsil of Mainpur! District,
United Provinces, situated in 26° 58' N. and q8° 36' E., in the Jumna
ravines, 44 miles south-west of Mainpuri town. Population (rgoi),
goo. The importance of Rapri lies in its past history. Local tradi-
tion ascribes its foundation to Rao Zorawar Sen, also known as Raprr
Sen, whose descendant fell in battle against Muhammad Ghori in
A. D. 1194. Mosques, tombs, wells, and reservoirs mark its former
greatness ; and several inscriptions found among the ruins have thrown
much light on the local history. The most important of these dates
from the reign of Ala-ud-din Khilji. Many buildings were erected
by Sher Shah and Jahanglr ; and traces of the gate of one of the royal
residences still exist, indicating that Rapri must at one time have been
a large and prosperous town. Rapri has always been important as
commanding one of the crossings of the Jumna ; and a bridge of boats
is maintained here, forming one of the main routes to the cattle fair at
BATESAR In Agra District, which is one of the largest in the United
Provinces.
Rapti [identified by Lassen with the Solomatis of Arrian - Skt.
Sardvali; by Pargiter with the Saddnira (`ever-flowing ') of the epics;
also called Irdvati (I refreshing')].--River which rises in the lower
ranges of Nepal (2q° 49' N., 82' 44' E.), and joins the GOGRA in
Gorakhpur District of the United Provinces. Its course is first south
and then north-west and west, after which it again turns south and
crosses the border of Oudh in Bahraich District. It then flows south-
east or south through Bahraich, Gonda, Bast!, and Gorakhpur Dis-
tricts, with a total course of about 400 miles. Its wide bed is confined
within high banks, but the actual channel shifts considerably. Floods
are not uncommon, but do little damage, if they subside in time for
spring crops to be sown, as the silt deposited acts as a fertilizer. The
feeders of this river are chiefly small rivers rising in the tradi north
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