the faithful turn when they pray. This Idgai and the stair have every appearance of being very modern, although the keeper, who has 25 bigas of land, says that they are above a hundred years old. Behind the place of prayer, a small door in the solid rock leads into an oval cave, 43 feet long and 18 feet 10 inches wide, the door being in the centre of one of the sides. The walls rise about six feet perpendicular and the roof is arched, 10 feet high. The whole has a marble polish but not neat, as the chisels employed in excavating the rock have in a vast many parts penetrated deeper than the surface that has been polished. There is not the slightest ornament nor moulding, and the roof being covered with soot, the whole is very dismal even when lighted. It has no aperture except one small door, and is therefore hot and noisome, although perfectly dry. A small platform of brick and mortar is placed against the wall near the west end, and is called the Chilla of Mukdum Saha Minhajuddin," who according to the keeper_came here at the same time [as] Sherifuddin came to Behar. The Chilla is the place where the saint sat two years without moving, to pray and meditate on divine things. He had 360 Chillas in this district. On the rocks above the door is a small inscription very much defaced. On the left side of the door, entering, is a long inscription in an old Nagri character pretty entire. On the right hand is one line more like the Pali. The Muzuir says that when the saint came the place was in possession of Nagarjuni Deo, a holy man who was destroyed by the saint. This saint afterwards went to Busora where he was buried. His son was buried at Behar. My informant is a descendant, there are many others near Behar, at Baliyari, and at Soho, and at Kotbunpur Jaffra3 near Nagarjuni where a grandson Kotbun Haji is buried. My informant says he is the seventh of eight in descent from this person. All the descendants of the Saint are Pirzadas. The Edga was built [by] Nahar (1) Should be "East." (2) Haji Hurmayen; in Report. Khan Newati an Amil, Mitirjit Singh repaired or built the stair. It was formerly of earth only. After breakfast I went to visit what is called the Satgar, or seven houses, situated towards the east end of Burabur hill. I passed the easternmost point and went into a recess between it and the next projection, where I ascended a crooked bad path a little way towards the west. I there came to an old wall of rude stones going across the gap between two rocky peaks, but the wall is now mostly fallen. There had been a gate here, as a pillar remains erect and the stones which formed the door are scattered about. Advancing west a little way, with an old tank and a small level on my right and a ridge of solid granite on my left, I soon came to a door in the latter facing the north, where a high peak crowned by a temple of Mahadeva bounds the plain in that direction. The rock at this door has been cut perpendicular, leaving a small projection at each side some way from the door. Before this door have been some small buildings of brick. The door leads into a chamber, polished like that of Nagarjuni and equally devoid of ornament. It is about 16 feet from east to west and 40 from north to south, and about seven high to the spring of the arch. At its west end is a platform about a foot high and three feet broad. On the projection west from the door are three images in relief, very much defaced. One is evidently a linga. The others seem to have been males with two arms and standing. It is impossible to say what these represent. Some Brahmans call them Gauri Sankur, but this is very doubtful. On either side of the door is some writing. This cave is called Karn Chaupar or the house of Karna. This Karna is supposed to be the brother of Yudishtir, who passed some time here as a hermit. Passing round the west end of this ridge to its south side, you come to two doors. The first or most western is plain, and has on each side a few words engraved. It leads into a chamber of about the same size with that called Karna Chaupar. At its east side is a small niche. At its west end is a door in the wall, which is convex, and over the door is a kind of cornice. The door leads into a circular chamber, arched above like the others and polished in the same manner. The floor of these chambers contained about a foot of dirty water and mud. This cave is properly called Satgar and is supposed to have been built by Sudama, brother of Krishna. The other door east from the above has been somewhat [but]1 very rudely ornamented, as will appear from the drawing. Under the arch above the door is an inscription of considerable length. It seems to have been intended to have formed two chambers similar to those of Satgar, but although both have been excavated, neither has been completed nor polished except in a few parts. This is supposed to have been the abode of Lomus Rishi, pronounced Momus Rikhi, or Muni, a hairy saint of these remote times. Having visited these places I returned to the tank, and ascending a ridge of granite I looked down upon a torrent called Patel Ganga, which in the rainy season contains many pools, near which in the Chaterdesi of Bhadur about 50,000 people assemble, and next day they bathe in the pools, besides that during the whole of Bhadur perhaps 500 people bath daily. The virtues of this were discovered by Ban Raja who founded the temple of Siva on the adjacent hill, and who had a house at Sonpur about three coses west from Karna Chaupar. Descending to the west side of [the] ridge from which I had viewed Patal Ganga, I found a cavity in the rock about 7 feet high, as much wide, and 9 fect deep. In its far end is a door, and it seems to have been intended to have made a chamber there, but the workman have abandoned it after excavating a few feet in diameter. This excavation has an inscription, and is said to be the Morai or small house of Viswamitri, (1)"by" in M.S. one of the Munis. The passage between [the] ridge in which it is dug and that on the right of the path by which I ascended, has also been closed by a strong rude wall of stone. On all other sides the small hollow in which these cells are [is] surrounded by the most rugged rocks and precipices. These cells, however, could have only been intended as habitations for ascetics, and why they should have been fortified would be difficult to say. Karna may have been an ascetic by force, and it may have been necessary for his brother to have access shut up. The whole is supposed to have been dug by Karna, and no doubt the cutting and polishing such chambers must have been a costly work, although nothing can be more destitute of convenience, elegance or taste. Although polished they are so sombre that two torches and a lantern with two wax candles served only to make the darkness visible and to see the wall close to where any of the lights was held, but the form could only be ascertained by groping. Our eyes were no doubt dazzled by the sun and lights, and a stay of some time might have rendered the parts more distinct, but the noisome stifling of the air rendered any stay exceedingly disagreeable, and I was satisfied with going round the walls to ascertain whether they contained any passages, ornaments, images, or writing; but the interior of all the chambers is destitute of such. The writing is confined to the sides of the doors, where alone indeed it could be visible. The granite of these rocks is grey white felspar and glassy quartz in middle-sized grains, with a good deal of black micaceous matter. In some places that have been polished the felspar is reddish, but I did not see any detached blocks of that colour. I sent a man to the temple of Mahadev on the hill called Surjiruk,' said to have been originally founded by Ban Raja, but there is nothing of antiquity remaining except the images. The linga is generally (1) Appendix, No. 38. (2) The Gorathagiri Hill; see J B.OR.S., Vol. I. Part II. Dec. 1915. admitted to have been placed there by Ban Asur, but is broken. There are two female figures carved on stone in relief and called Bhairav, Bhairavi, but both are female. One of them has over it an inscription in Deva Nagri, on which account they are probably modern. The present buildings were erected by a Gulal Baruti, a Dosnami Sanniyasi of great virtue and chastity, about 80 years ago. He built several other small temples of Siva in various places. This is called Siddheswar. The temple has been lately repaired by Jevonath, another Dosnami, who built a small chamber near the temple, for the residence of a Sannyasi, but he only stays there at night. The owner, Siva Baruti, of the land attached to the temple lives at Lahagunj' near Tikari, where he is Mahant of an akhara. About five begahs below the temple towards the east is a natural cave called Yogiasna, or the seat of the Yogi. In this it is said that Goruknath passed some time in prayer, sitting on an asna or seat used in prayer, which remains. The bottom of the cave, which is merely a cavity under an overhanging rock, is said to be always covered with ashes, which many use for putting the mark on their foreheads. A man that I sent says the cave is not deep and contains ashes. All those that bathe in Patalganga make offerings to the Siva, and a few go to Yogi Asna. At the bottom of the hill are to be found scattered many masses of fine iron ore, called Losinghana. 23rd November.-My people being employed on the inscriptions, it was necessary to halt some days at Nagarjuni. I went therefore to visit the neighbourhood. Passing east along the south face of Nagarjuni, I found that from the stair leading up to the Dorga there had run a wall of stone parallel to the hill, and terminating on the Bunbuni 3 where the hill also terminates. The Bunbuni has here on its opposite bank a small granite ridge called Rawa. The Bunbuni a little way 3 (1) Lashkarganj ? |