continuations of the original rampart, but have been much strengthened. Their surface is everywhere covered with bricks, which perhaps have proceeded from a parapet of that material, but no traces of it remain except these fragments. These however are quite superficial, and the mass of the rampart, above 60 feet wide and 30 high, consists of earth. Where gaps have been formed in the rampart, a new one has been built up entirely of large rude blocks of stone from the adjacent hills. This rampart is about 16 feet wide, and exceedingly broken down. All along the old earthen rampart it would appear that there has been laid a platform of these stones some feet high, which probably served for the foundation of the brick parapet, and this has been strengthened at short distances by semi-circular projections constructed of stone. The eastern and northern faces have had no ditch, and the eastern one has consisted entirely of rude masses of stone, with many semi-circular projections and about 18 feet thick. The eastern half of the northern face has been built in the same manner, but the western end has been constructed of brick.

Both these ramparts, especially that of stone are much more decayed than one would expect from so short a period of time as has elapsed since the reign of Sheer Shah, and although in these ramparts, as well as in the external ones, there are several gaps which may have been gates, there is not the slightest trace of the buildings of a gate to be observed. This I confess staggers me with respect to any part of the building having been erected by Sheer Shah. It may be supposed that the two works are coeval, but besides the gaps filled up with stone I observe that at the north-west and south-east corners of the small fort a wide breach has been made in the earthen rampart to serve as a ditch; but had the smaller fort been a citadel more strongly fortified than the town, we should have expected that the ditch would have been continued round it. Both areas contain many irregular heaps having very much the appearance of the

debris of building, but rising to very little height, either from the lapse of many ages or from removal of the materials. In some parts it would appear that there have been tanks surrounded by these eminences, and these are the only thing resembling ruins that retain any trace of symmetry. The heaps consist chiefly of earth, but contain many small stones and a few broken bricks. I have some doubts whether or not they may not be natural, or formed of earth thrown out from the tanks. By far the largest is in the outer fort, and if it has been a building, as on the whole I think probable, it has been very large. Two conical mounds on its west side can scarce be natural eminences.

The Seruyak here assembled say that the fort was built by Rajah Senok or Srinik, and as being his residence was called Rajahgriho. The same person built Baragong, and was contemporary with Mahavira. He lived long after Jarasandha, who they think lived at Ayudiya. He lived 2,563 years ago. Senok's father and grandfather, Upasenok and Mahasenok, possessed the country. He was Nathbongs. The first family of kings was Akwakbongs, of whom was Rikub Deo of Ayudiya, Sombongs of Hustinapuri. Sriangs was one of these. An account of these families is contained in the Hori Bongs, Padma Puran, Adapura; books belonging to the sect. Jara Sandhu was of the Judobongs and a Jain, as were also Rama and Krishna and Siva. They know nothing of the Buddhs. They claim the whole images, Siva, Ganese, Surjo, etc., and all the hot springs, which they call by the same names with the Brahmans. They say that their images are known by both hands being joined on their lap, but on the same stone here I find images with their hands in all positions. They know nothing of Hangsapuri. They say that some Seruyaks are Brahmans, some Kshatris, some Vaisiyas, no Sudras admitted, but any man may become a Seruyak. No one can be made a Jetti or Guru except of the three pure castes, and any man of pure birth, whether his ancestors were Jain or not, may become a Jetti. All the 84 castes are Vaisiyas. But in the south

there are Brahmans, and in the west many Kshatris. They pray to all the gods of the Brahmans.

The Brahmans of Rajagriho say that the road attributed to Jarasandha was made by some infidel, they know not whom. Rajahgriho belonged first to a Rajah called Chatorboj, and then Raja Bosu, who brought 14 gotras of Brahmans from Maharastra to worship the gods of the hills. He gave them the whole Parganah, which was taken from them by the Muhi. They say that Jarasandha lived at Geriyak. They say that Raja Senik was Raja of Hansupurnagar, in the plain between the five hills. The only remains are a math called Moninag, and another called Nimulpuri, where the Serawak worship, but there are no tanks nor appearance of a fort or city. Bosu lived after Srinik, and Srinik after Jarasandha. The last was a Kshatri of the Asurimath, and derived his power from the worship of Jora Devi. The Ron Bhumi, where he was killed, is in the plain between the five hills, a little west from Sonbondar. He was burned on the field, which has made the earth red. The Brahmans give the same names to the five hills that the Jain do, but do not consider them as holy. Many images on all the hills, but most on the two northern. On that to the west of the gap above Brihmakund is shown a stone building, said to have been the place where Jarasandha was wont to sit after bathing. The old road very generally attributed to Jarasandha leading directly to the fort gives great room to suppose that the fort was the real abode of that prince, or rather perhaps the garrison to secure his various abodes in the vicinity. The whole space between the fort and hill is very irregular, and many eminences may be traced resembling the foundations of buildings. In one or two, indeed, fragments of the foundation of large stones may be traced, but there are very few bricks. I suspect that a great part of all the buildings have been of stone, and that those of the more modern fort have been taken from the ruins. From the north face of the fort to the gap in the hills are traces of a double rampart with a road between.

Having visited the fort, I went to visit the curiosities towards the roots of the hills. Immediately west of the fort is a circular mound, containing a small cavity surrounded by a rampart of earth, on which are some broken bricks. The Brahmans say that this was a math or abode built by a Dosnami named Gytanand; but this is quite absurd. A house could never have left such a ruin. He may have indeed dwelt upon it, and some small temples of Siva in the vicinity support this opinion. The rampart entirely resembles that of the fort, and this may have been some outwork, there being only the ditch between the two ramparts. A small river which comes from the gap between the hills passes through the old ditch.

A little up its bank from this circular work, on the west side, is a small ghat of brick recently made at a place called Baiturni, which is holy. Here are lying a Ganesa, three fragments of the image usually called Vasudeva, and a stone-apparently the throne of an image-which contains rows of sitting images, some with their hands lifted up, some with both in their lap holding an offering, and some with one of their hands over their knee. This shows that nothing from the position of the hands can be determined concerning the sect to which the images belonged. The Serewak indeed said that those images with both hands in the lap represented Gods and the other men, but the position of the various figures does not favour this opinion.

Some way up this torrent, at a place called Soriswati in the passage between the two northern hills of the great range, is a new ghat on each side of the torrent. Here is a very dirty pool in the torrent, which is considered holy both by Jain and Astik. Immediately above this ghat, on the lower part of the hill to the west of the river, is a collection of various springs and buildings, none of them old and some of them quite recent. The most celebrated is Brahmakund, a square cistern very deep and built partly of stone,

partly of bricks. The water is collected in a pool at the bottom, and the thermometer in this stood at 109°, being at 62° in the air when shaded'. An image of Ganesa is built into the wall. Below Brahmakund towards the east is a terrace for the accommodation of religious mendicants at the Mela, on its south end is a small temple of Varaha with two Naginis somewhat different from those at Baragang. Below the terrace is a square reservoir of brick, containing five sacred springs 2 which issue from an equal number of spouts made of stone, and the water as it falls is allowed to run off so that it is perfectly clean, limpid, and tasteless. Where collected in kunds in which the people bathe, it is abominable. The first spring named Panchanon has stopped. In the second, named Kasi, the thermometer stood at 107°. In the third, called by some Panchanod but by others Langai because the Jain women wash there naked, the thermometer is 104°, in the fourth, called Panchanod, the thermometer [is] 94°. The fifth, called Gaumukhi, has stopped. In the reservoir is lying an image of Surjo.

Immediately south from Brahmakund and west from the temple of Varaha is a small temple of Siva, and extending the whole length of this temple and of Brahmakund, on their west side, is a long narrow reservoir built of brick, containing seven holy springs which issue from stone spouts, and the water is allowed to run off as it issues, except that as usual part is allowed to collect in puddles filled with frogs and other vermin and overwhelmed with weeds and rubbish. The first spring in this reservoir is named Gautam, and its heat is 104°. The second named Baraduyar is of the same heat. Viswamitra, the third, raised the thermometer to 110°. Jumdagani, the fourth, raised it to

(1) Mean temperature of the hottest place in Brahmakund, as measured on twenty-eight occasions since 1909, 107 3°. Maximum 108 3° in September, 1914.

(2) There is no independent spring in this Kund, which is used exclusively by women. The outflow which Buchanan called Panchanon has disappeared, the others are merely overflows from tanks higher up.