Talwar Sirohi

Jens Nordlunde · 1st January 2008, 02:15 PM

In one of his books Th. H. Hendley mentions a sword, which he called Talwar Sirohi. I did not know if he referred to the hilt, the blade or the talwar as a whole, but in the book Memorials of the Jaypore Exhibition, 1883, he gives the explanation on page 1.

“Rajputana, Rajasthan, or the land of the Rajputs, the sons of kings, should produce, and does produce, everything necessary for carrying on the art of war. Sirohi [southern Rajasthan], the small state in which is stated Mount Abu, the Mons Capitalium of Pliny, had been famed since the days of Herodotus [5th century BC] for its sword blades, and at the Jeypore Exhibition it retained its ancient reputation by carrying off the first prize for arms. This small state of the Deora Rajpurs supplies blades and spear points to all Rajputana, but every court employs its own armourers, some of whom have attained fame beyond their homes.”

At the time of Hendley there were many Princely states, some small some big, the names of some of these states are long forgotten, or not known to collectors. The names can be found in old books, on Google or in books like coin catalogues, so, a collectors library should not be limited to books on the weapons collected, but to a wider spectrum of books.

1st January 2008, 02:15 PM	#1
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Talwar Sirohi In one of his books Th. H. Hendley mentions a sword, which he called Talwar Sirohi. I did not know if he referred to the hilt, the blade or the talwar as a whole, but in the book Memorials of the Jaypore Exhibition, 1883, he gives the explanation on page 1. “Rajputana, Rajasthan, or the land of the Rajputs, the sons of kings, should produce, and does produce, everything necessary for carrying on the art of war. Sirohi [southern Rajasthan], the small state in which is stated Mount Abu, the Mons Capitalium of Pliny, had been famed since the days of Herodotus [5th century BC] for its sword blades, and at the Jeypore Exhibition it retained its ancient reputation by carrying off the first prize for arms. This small state of the Deora Rajpurs supplies blades and spear points to all Rajputana, but every court employs its own armourers, some of whom have attained fame beyond their homes.” At the time of Hendley there were many Princely states, some small some big, the names of some of these states are long forgotten, or not known to collectors. The names can be found in old books, on Google or in books like coin catalogues, so, a collectors library should not be limited to books on the weapons collected, but to a wider spectrum of books.