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THE 
 
 SACRED CITY OF THE HINDUS: 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF BENARES 
 
 IN 
 
 ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES. 
 
 REV. M. A. SHEERING, 
 
 M.A., LL.B., LoND., 
 
 MISSIONARY OF THE LONDON MISSIONABY SOCIETY ; AITTHOB, OP THE " THE INDIAN 
 
 CHURCH DURING THE REBELLION," "INVESTIGATION OP THE CAUSES OP THE 
 
 INDIAN MUTINY," ETC. 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 mTRODUCTIOli 
 
 BY 
 
 FITZEDWAED HALL, ESQ., 
 
 M.A., D.C.L. OXON. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 TEifBNEE & CO., 60, PATEENOSTEE EOW. 
 
 1868. 
 
 [all rights RESERVED.] 
 

 A^T^f^y^ 
 
 HERTFORD: 
 
 PBINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The history of a country is sometimes epitomized in 
 the history of one of its principal cities. The city of 
 Benares represents India, religiously and intellectually, 
 just as Paris represents the political sentiments of France. 
 There are few cities in the world of greater antiquity, 
 and none that have so uninterruptedly maintained their 
 ancient celebrity and distinction. In Benares, Buddhism 
 was first promulgated ; in Benares, Hinduism has had 
 her home in the bosom of her most impassioned votaries. 
 This city, therefore, has given impulse and vigour to 
 the two religions which to this day govern half the 
 world. 
 
 An account of a city of such remarkable associations, 
 which has occupied such a prominent place in the annals 
 of the human race, is not without its importance, and 
 ought not to be devoid of interest. Having resided in 
 it for several years, I have enjoyed peculiarly favourable 
 opportunities for becoming acquainted with its inner life 
 
Tl PREFACE. 
 
 and character. The task I have set myself is not that 
 of discussing the religious systems existing there, 
 which -would he an unnecessary undertaking, it having 
 been so frequently accomplished by abler hands, — but 
 of giving a representation of Benares as she was in the 
 past, and as she is in the present. Her early condition— 
 her connexion with ancient Buddhism — her architectural 
 remains — her famous temples, holy wells and tanks, and 
 numerous ghats or stairs leading down to the Ganges — 
 the legends concerning them — the peculiar customs at 
 the temples — the ceremonies of the idolater — the modes 
 of worship — the religious festivals, and other topics, 
 illustrative of the character which Benares maintains 
 as the sacred city of India, are dwelt upon, with some 
 amount of detail, in this volume. I have deemed it 
 of moment, also, in a book of this nature, to make some 
 observations on the influence which education, European 
 civilization, and, above all, Christianity, are now exert- 
 ing upon the city. As Benares has held a foremost 
 place in the history of India for two thousand five 
 hundred years, at the least, so, in all likelihood, she is 
 destined to retain that position in the new era of en- 
 lightenment which has already dawned upon the land. 
 
 Portions of this work have, at various times, appeared 
 in print, in contributions to the Calcutta Eeview and 
 the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and in a 
 
PREFACE. VU 
 
 Lecture deliyered before the Benares Institute, published 
 in the Transactions of that Society. 
 
 I ■would express my -warmest thanks to Charles 
 HoRNE, Esq., C.S., late Judge of Benares, for his very 
 valuable assistance in the archaeological researches de- 
 scribed in this book, especially in Chapters xix. and xx. 
 My thanks are also due to J. H. B. Ironside, Esq., C.B., 
 Magistrate of Benares, for his kindness in placing at 
 my disposal a paper on the Melas or Festivals of Benares, 
 drawn up by Babu Sital Prasad, Deputy Inspector of 
 Schools. I would likewise acknowledge my great ob- 
 ligations to D. Tresham, Esq., Head Master of the 
 Government Normal School, Benares, for his excellent 
 photographs of the city, from which the illustrations of 
 this volume have been taken. 
 
 M. A. SHEEKING. 
 
 July 2nd, 1868. 
 
COl^TEl^TS. 
 
 Preface v 
 
 Introduction — By Fitzbdwabd Hall, Esq., D.C.L xvii 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Early history of Benares. — Sanctity of the city. — Mythic cha- 
 racter of Indian history. — Ancient Buddhist records respecting 
 Benares. — S'akya Muni, or Buddha, preached the doctrine of 
 Buddhism first in Benares. — -Antiquity of Benares. — Hiouen 
 Thsang's account of his visit to the city in the seventh century 
 of the Christian era. — Macaulay's description of Benares. — Con- 
 nexion of Benares with the religious history of half the human 
 race. — Its connexion with Buddhism. — Life and labours of 
 Buddha. — Benares subsequent to the fall of Buddhism in India. 
 — The Brahman.- — Sons of the Ganges. — ^Devotees and pilgrims. 
 — Benares, the religious centre of India . 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 No Architectural remains dating prior to the third century 
 before Christ yet found in India. — Ancient Hindu Edifices of 
 the primitive period, not of a rude character. — Did the Hindus 
 borrow from the Assyrian and Persian Sculptors? — Ancient 
 remains found chiefly in the northern quarter of the city. — 
 Mohammedan lust for Hindu edifices. — Shifting tendency of the 
 modejni city. — Origin of the appellation " Benares." .... 19 
 
 CHAPTER ni. 
 
 Puranio form of Modem Hinduism. — Increase of Temples in 
 Northern India. — Number of Temples in Benares. — Temple of 
 Bisheswar, the idol-king of Benares. — Ancient Temple of 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Bisheswar, now a Mohammedan Mosque.— The "Well Gyan 
 Bapi.— Temple of A'd-Bislieswar.— The Well Kasi Karwat.— 
 Temple of Sanichar. — The goddess Annpiirna and her temple. — 
 Temples of Ganes and S'ukreswar ^ ' 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Temple of Bhaironath, the god-magistrate of Benares. — 
 Dandpan, or the Deified Staff.— Temple of the Planet.— Kal- 
 kup, or Well of Fate.— Image of Mahakal. or Great Fate.— The 
 Manikarnika Well and Gh&t. — Legends respecting the Well. — 
 Temple of Tarakeswar,— Sindhia Ghat, and the Eaja of Nag- 
 pore's Ghat.— Temple' of Briddhkal.— Shruies of Markande^war 
 and Daksheswar. — Legend of Eaja Daksh. — Temples of 
 Alpmriteswar and Eatne^war 61 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 Legend respecting Divodas. — Temple of Divodaseswar. — 
 The Well Dharm-kup.— Eadha-Krishna. — The Nag-Kuan, or 
 Serpent's WeU. — Old Images. — Temples of Bageswari, Jwara- 
 hareswar, and Siddheswar 82 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Benares, Kasi, and Kedar, the three Grand Divisions of the 
 city. — No old Hindu Temples in Benares.^ — ^Puranic character 
 of the Ka^i Division of the City. — No trustworthy iaformation 
 concerning Ancient Buildings to be obtained either from Hindus 
 or from their sacred writings. — Preference of the Old Fanes by 
 Pilgrims. — Trilochan Temple. — Legends respecting Triloohan. 
 — The Idolater's idea of the benefit resulting from Worshipping 
 in this Temple. — Kot Lingeswar. — N^nak Shah, the Sikh Guru. 
 — Paiating in the Trilochan Temple, depicting the Punishments 
 of Hell.— TrUochan Ghat.— Gae Ghat.— Temples of Nirbud- 
 dheswar and Ad Mahadeva. — Gor Ji, the Gujarati Brahman . . 93 
 
 CHAPTEE Vn. 
 
 Panchganga Ghat. — Legends respecting it. — Lakshmanbala 
 Temple. — The Minarets. — Temple of Kameswar. — The Machau- 
 dari Tirth or Place of Pilgrimage 107 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Temple of Jageswar, a Eesort of the Native Aristocracy of 
 Benares. — Ka^i-Devi, Goddess of the City of Benares. — Karn- 
 ghanta Talao or Tank. — Temple of the Demon Bhut-Bhairo. — 
 Temple of Bara Ganes. — Jagannath. — Satis 116 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 The Pisach-Mochan Tank. — Legend of the Goblin Pisach. — 
 The Eestival of Lota-Bhanta, or the Egg-plant. — -The Ghats and 
 Temple of Pisach-Mochan. — Suraj-Kund or Tank of the Sun. — 
 The Horn or Burnt Sacrifice. — The god Ashtang-Bhairo. — • 
 Temple of Dhruveswar or the Pole Star 123 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 The Man-Mandil Ghat. — Temple of Dalbhyeswar.— Teinple 
 of the Moon or Someswar. — The Man-Mandil Observatory, 
 erected by Eaja Jay Sinh. — Description of its Instruments. — 
 The Nepalese Temple 129 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Da^a^amedh Ghat and Temple. — Legend of Dasa^amedh. — 
 Siddheswarl Temple. — Chandra Kiip, or Well of the Moon. — 
 Temple of the goddess S'ankata Devi. — S'ankata Ghat. — ^Eam 
 Ghat 139 
 
 CHAPTEE Xn. 
 
 The Bengali population of Benares. — The popular Temple of 
 Kedareswar. — Legend of Kedar. — Mansarwar Tank and sur- 
 rounding Temples. — Bal-Krishna and Chaturbhuj Idols. — 
 Maneswar Temple. — The great Image of Tilubhandeswar.^ — • 
 Ancient mutilated Statue. — Temple of Dulareswar. — Peepul 
 tree at Chauki Ghat.— Swinging gods 146 
 
 CHAPTER Xni. 
 
 Durga Kund Temple. — Bloody Sacrifices ; their meaning. — 
 Sacred Monkeys. — ^Legend of Durg and Durga.— Durga Kund 
 or Tank. — Kurukshetr Talao or Tank. — The Lolarik Kuan or 
 Well. — Ancient Sculptures 157 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 Temple of the Maharaja of Benares at Eamnagar. — Eaja 
 Cheit Singh's Tank.— Virtue of Pilgrimage to the Eamnagar 
 side of Benares. — Temple of .Vedavyas. — Panoh-kosi Eoad, or 
 Sacred Boundary of Benares. — Pilgrimage of the Panoh-kosi. 
 — Sanitary condition of Benares. — Improvements suggested . . 169 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Bama Sangam, or Confluence of the Bama and Ganges. — 
 Ad-kesav Temple. — Bama Ghat. — Eaj Ghat Fort; its use in 
 1857. — Eemains of Buddhist Monastery. — Tank of Bhairo. — 
 Lat or Pillar of S'iva. — Ancient Pillar. — Account of Dis- 
 turbance in Benares when the Pillar was thrown down. — The 
 Ghazeepore Eoad. — Ancient Bridge over the Bama .... 184 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 S'ivala Ghat.— The Old Fort.— Eaja Cheit Singh; History 
 of his Insurrection and of the proceedings of Warren Hastings 
 in connexion therewith 197 
 
 CHAPTER XVn. 
 
 Hindu and Mohammedan Melas or Eeligious Festivals, held 
 periodically, in Benares 213 
 
 CHAPTEE XVin. 
 
 The Buddhist 'Euins at Samath — Their Antiquity. — Sum- 
 mary of the Narratives of Fa Hian and Hiouen Thsaiig, 
 respecting the buildings formerly existing at Samath and in 
 its neighbourhood. — Points of agreement in the Narratives. — 
 Modem Explorers of the Euins. — Extent and Nature of the 
 Eemains. — The Great Tower : Description of it by Major- 
 General Cunningham, and account of his Excavations. — ^Age 
 of Buddhist Topes or Towers. — Eemains of a Buddhist Mon- 
 astery — Mr. Thomas's Account of them. — Discovery of large 
 numbers of Statues and Bass-reliefs. — Excavated Chamber. — 
 Foundation of an Ancient Tower — Major-General Cunning- 
 ham's Description of it. — The Chaukandi Tower. — The I'sipat- 
 tana Hall, or abode of Buddhist Devotees. — Eemains of Vihara 
 
CONTENTS. XIU 
 
 or Temple-monastery. — Small Building, containing Sixty Sculp- 
 tures.— The Seal Chaityas.— The Buddhist formula— S'akya 
 Muni, the historical Buddha — His visit to Benares. — Spread of 
 Buddhism from Benares. — Decline of Buddhism in India. — 
 Destraction of Buddhist Structures at Sarnath, by fire.— Fall of 
 Buddhism 230 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 Ancient Buddhist Euins at Bakariya Kund. — Remains of old 
 Wall. — Carved Stones and Ancient Pillars. — Eemains of small 
 Buddhist Temple. — Eemains of larger Temple. — Traces of 
 Buddhist Monastery 271 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 Further Account of Ancient Eemains recently discovered in 
 Benares and its vicinity. — Mea,ningof the epithets 'ancient' and 
 'old' in relation to Benares. — Ancient Eemains, No. I., in Eaj 
 Ghat Port. — Ancient Eemains, No. II., near Eaj Ghat Port. — 
 Ancient Eemains, No. HI., Small Mosque in the Budaoh 
 Mahalla. — Ancient Mound or Eidge. — Ancient Eemains, No. 
 rV., Tiliya Nala and Maqdam Sahib. — Ancient Eemains, No. 
 v., Lat Bhairo. — Ancient Eemains, No. VI., Battis Khambha. — 
 T^cient Eemains, No. VH., Arhai Kangura Mosque ; Hindu 
 Temple of Kirtti Bisheswar. — Ancient Eemains, No. YHI., 
 Chaukhambha Mosque. — Ancient Eemains, No. IX., Aurung- 
 zeb's Mosque, near Bisheswar Temple. — Ancient Eemains, No. 
 X., Ad-Bisheswar Temple and neighbouring Mosque. — Ancient 
 Eemains, No. XL, Stone Pillar standing in Sone ka Talao. — 
 Note • 288 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 Source of the great wealth of Benares — Its chief Articles of 
 Commerce — Its Native Bankers — Its Poor — Increased desire for 
 Education. — The Government or Queen's College. — Monolith in 
 the College Grounds. — The Normal School. — The Church of 
 England Mission. — The London Society's Mission. — The Baptist 
 Society's Mission. — Native Schools of various classes. — The 
 Benares Institute. — Public Buildings in the suburbs. — Monu- 
 ment to Mr. Cherry. — Influeutial Native Gentlemen of Benares. 328 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXn. 
 
 Sentiments engendered by the contemplation of the city of 
 Benares— Its history, the history of India.— Principles of pro- 
 gress at work in the city. — Changes visible in native 
 society. — The Brahmo Samaj.— Diminished study of Sanskrit. 
 —Diminished faith in Idolatry in Benares and Northern India 
 generally. — Influence of education on Hindu youths. — A Martin 
 Luther for India. — Influence and spread of Christianity. — 
 Gunga-putras, or sons of the Ganges. — Literary and Eeligious 
 Societies amongst the natives. — The Benares Institute — ^Nature 
 of its discussions. — Lecture of Pandit Lakshmaji — His account 
 of the consequences of Hinduism.— Effect of Missions and 
 Education on Benares and on India. — Eeligious agitation in 
 India.— What is the destiny of Idolatry and of Christianity in 
 India ? — The Future in respect of Benares. — Eemarks of the 
 Eev. Dr. Thomson, a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 of the United States, on the religious and social condition and 
 future prospects of India 341 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 Narrative of Pa Hian, concerning his visit to Benares and 
 Samath. Extracted from the Foe Kone Ki by MM. E6musat, 
 Klaproth, and Landresse 364 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Narrative of Hiouen Thsang. Translated by the author 
 from the " Memoires sur les Contrees Occidentales de Hiouen 
 Thsang," of M. Stanislas Julien, translator of the original 
 Chinese work 366 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 Further information concerning Divodas 381 
 
 Index 382 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Eaja of Ahmety's Temple Frontispiece 
 
 Temple at MANiKAENiKi. Gb.It 70 
 
 Eaja of Nagpore's GthIt 72 
 
 The Minakets 110 
 
 The Nepalese Temple 137 
 
 EiM GhIt 145 
 
 GrEBAT Buddhist Towee at SijRNlTH 236 
 
 Caeving on the Buddhist Toweb, No. 1 240 
 
 No. n 241 
 
 Ancient Buddhist Temple at BAKABfTi. Kund 283 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 ' Page 68. — For Purnas'uT)hataran, read Purnas'ubhakaranf. 
 Page 320.— In line 21, and also line 26, in place of No. X., read No. IX. 
 
INTEODUCTIOK 
 
 Alike as to limits and as to influence, the Indian 
 kingdoms of former times were, with, few exceptions, 
 inconsiderable ; such of them as lay conterminous were 
 often at open feud ; and their cities, or fortified towns, 
 constituted, in fact, their only stable boundaries. It 
 was, probably, with the dominion of the Kasis as it was 
 with other seats of Hindu power. Deriving its origin 
 from some city, as Pratishthana,' or Yaranasi,^ it must 
 have acquired extent and consideration by very gradual 
 development. 
 
 At least since a hundred and twenty years before our 
 era, Yaranasi, as denoting a city, has been a name 
 
 ' Vide infra, p. xxv., note 1. 
 
 " Also called Varanasi and Varanasi, according to the Haima-ho^a 
 and tlie Sahdaraindvali, respectively. The latter of these vocabularies 
 is of small authority. 
 
 A rational system of Eomanized spelling would give us, instead 
 of Benares, Banaras. The form ''^•TT'^^ was the work, perhaps, of 
 the Muhammadans. It should appear that the metathesis of r and n, 
 in the original word, must be later than the times of Fa Hian and 
 Hiouen Thsang. Vide infra, p. xxviii., notes 1 and 2. 
 
 In the ordinary belief of the vulgar of Benares, the name of their 
 city is connected with Eaja Banar, — a mythical magnate, of whom 
 mention is associated with that of the reformer Kablr, of the begin- 
 ning of the fifteenth century. Asiatic Besearches, Vol. XVI., p. 57. 
 " Accordiag to some of the Muhammadan accounts," says Mr. James 
 
 h ' b 
 
XVlll rNTRODTJCTION. 
 
 familiar to Brahmanical literature.^ The word is crudely 
 referred, by raodern inventiveness, to a combination of 
 Yarana and Asi ; ^ and all the other explanations that 
 we have of its source are equally questionable. 
 
 Prinsep, but without naming his voucher for the statement, Benares ' 
 " was governed by a Eaja Banar, at the time of one of Mahmud's 
 invasions, or in a.d. 1017, when one of his generals penetrated to 
 the province, and defeated the Eaja." — Benares Illustrated, p. 9. 
 General Cunningham states that Eaja Banar is traditionally believed 
 to have rebuilt Benares about eight hundred years ago. Journal of 
 the Asiatic Society of Bengal, for 1863, Supplementary Number, p. xcvi. 
 
 ' Varanasi is specified more than once in Patanjali's Mahabhdshya. 
 On the age of that work, see my edition of Professor Wilson's trans- 
 lation of the Vishnu-purdna, Vol. 11., p. 189, ad calcem,. 
 
 ' So allege the Pandits of the present day ; repeating, no doubt, a 
 long-current conceit of their predecessors : see the Asiatic Researches, 
 Vol. III., pp. 409, 410. This notion, though it has found expression 
 in the Araish-i-mahfil and other recent Muhammadan books, is, I 
 believe, only implied in the Puranas. It is said, for instance, in the 
 third chapter of the Vdmana-purdna, that VS,ranasi lies between the 
 VaranS, and the Asi : 
 
 iTsn'r ^^w f^ ^ '1^1411 (fi t%^: ii 
 ^i^t ff jftf^'fr -^nt iraif^ *ra^ ^^ II 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 ConTertible, in later usage, witli Varanast is the de- 
 
 Th&re is a statement to the like effect in a section of the Padma- 
 purdna, the Kdsi-mdhdtmya, V., 58 : 
 
 ^fWtrTT'ft^^ T^Tirrftrg ^^ac ii 
 
 The same idea occurs more than once in a putative appendage to the 
 Skanda-purdna, the Kdsi-khanda. It will suffice to quote XXX., 20, 21 : 
 
 Particular reference may, also, be made to stanzas 69 and 70 of 
 the same chapter ; and similar passages might be extracted from 
 other Puranas. 
 
 The Asi — now known as the A si, and still trickling during the 
 rainy season, despite Father Vivien do Saint-Martin's scepticism 
 as to its existence, — has a niche in the Haima-JcoSa, a work of the 
 twelfth century. The Varuna (sic) and As5 are named in the Calcutta 
 edition of the Mahdlhdrata, BMshma-parvan, U. 338. But, in my 
 annotations on the English translation of the Vishnu-purdna, Yol. II., 
 p. 152, it is surmised that this stanza is an interpolation ; and it may 
 be added that is omitted from the text of the Mahdhhdrala as accepted 
 by the commentator Nilakantha; while the scholiast Arjunamisra 
 reads, at least in my manuscript, Charuna and Asi. 
 
 Dr. Schwanbeck — Megasthenis Indioa, p. 36, note, — is reminded, by 
 Arrian's 'Epivveai^, of Yaranasl. Hereupon, Professor Lassen — 
 Indwclie Alter thumshunde, Vol. I., Appendix, p. LIV.,— precipitately 
 took the two for one ; and he still holds to this opinion ; for, in the 
 second edition of his great work. Vol. I., p. 161, note 1, (1867), he 
 writes : " Des Megasthenes Erennesis ist die vereinigte Varanasi." 
 This " conjunct Varanasi " — or, rather, what he unwarrantably calls 
 its modern name, Baranasl, — he compounds, incautiously, after Mr. 
 Walter Hamilton, of two unknown streams, the Vara and the Na^l. 
 
 The J&bdla-upanishad places Avimukta — which is a Pauranik 
 title of Benares, — ^between the Varana and the Nasi or Nasi ; and 
 the commentator, S'ankarananda, disciple of Anandatman, etymolo- 
 gizes the words. An anonymous expositor of the same Upanishad, 
 whose work I consulted in India, reads varand and asi, explains them 
 by pingald and idd, and makes the result of their conjunction, 
 v&rdnasi, in some acceptation or other, to be equivalent to msJmrmnA. 
 One need not stop to expatiate on such trifling. 
 
XX INTEODTTCTION. 
 
 signation Kasi ^ or Easi.^ Whence it arose history has 
 
 Something of tlie same sort is to be seen in the fifth chapter of 
 the KAki-lchanda. 
 
 Father Vivien de Saint-Martin — ^the genesis of whose fictitious 
 river I trace in note 2 to p. xxviii., — hegan with being disposed to 
 make the Asi an affluent to the VarS-na, with a Yaranasl below their 
 confluence, and the city Yaranasl therefrom denominated. Memoires 
 sur Us Contries OecidentaUs, Vol. 11., p. 361. Here "il serait tres- 
 possible que I'un de ces ruisseaux se fut nomme Ast, et qu'apres sa 
 reunion a la Varana, la petite riviere eut pris le nom compost de 
 Varanasl qu'elle aurait communique a la ville." This, as specu- 
 lation, will pass ; but, to this writer, with his bias in favour of the 
 theological or mythopeio method of geographizing, what are, at 
 first, only suggestions, very soon ripen into indubitable certainties : 
 "Cette riviere [the 'Epewe(7i,<f\, la demiere de la liste d'Arrien, se 
 reconnalt sans difficulte dans la Varanasl, petite riviere qui se jette 
 dans la gauche du Grange h Benares, qui en a pris son nom (en Sanscrit 
 Varanasi)." Etuie swr la Giographie Greeque etLatine de Vlnde, p. 286. 
 
 This author more than inclines to see Varanasl in the words 
 Erarasa (or Cragausa) metropolis, foisted into the Latin translation 
 of Ptolemy. Ibid., pp. 227, 351. Here, very much as just above, 
 having to do with a Latin interpolation, he sets out with describ- 
 ing it as such, and as offering " un reste de ressemblance qu'on 
 entrevoit encore a travers la corruption du mot ; " and, a little 
 while afterwards, as if process of time necessarily stood for an acces- 
 sion of facts and reasons, persuades himself that he may speak of 
 " une ville que Ptolemee enumere sous le nom altere d' Erarasa," 
 and that he finds, therein, " la trace bien reconnaissable de Varanasl, 
 forme sanscrite de notre Benares." 
 
 I have everywhere scrupulously reproduced the varieties of spell- 
 ing indulged in by the writer just cited. 
 
 The final d and the initial a of two words coalescing into a com- 
 pound might, possibly, yield a ; and Varana and Asi would, therefore, 
 combine into Varanasi. But this form seems to be the peculiar 
 property of a single recent and very indifferent lexicographer ; and, 
 moreover, the name of the second stream is, correctly, Asi, not Asi. 
 In the Kdsi-khanda, XXX., 18, it is the subject of a pun, in connexion 
 with asi, " a sword." 
 
 ' This is the oldest form, and that recognized in the Saima-hosa 
 and by Ujjwaladatta's commentary on the Unnddi-sMra. 
 
 " Kasi is not so markedly feminine as the more usual Ka^i, its 
 derivative. Most Indian cities have feminine appellations. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXI ' 
 
 long forgotten ; ^ but conjecture may, possibly, unravel 
 its etymology.^ 
 
 Among the descendants of Ayus ' was Easa, whose 
 son is noticed under the patronyms* of Kaseya,* 
 Kasiya,^ and Kasi.' The regal successors of Kasi, and 
 
 K^sika is found in tte Kdii-lchanda, XXK., 70, and elsewhere. 
 Compare Avantika for Avantl, as in note 1 to p. xxxiii., infra. 
 
 ' The vocabularists refer the word to Ms, "to shine." And here- 
 with agrees the Kdsi-khanda, XXVI., 67 : 
 
 In the stanza immediately preceding this, the city is called 
 Muktikshetra. Krishna is speaking ; and he says that the radiance 
 of Kast emanates from S'iva. 
 
 If, where they interpret Kasl hy "splendid," Colonel Wilford 
 and his numerous followers intend to take the word from the adjec- 
 tive kdUn, they have forgotten that the feminine is not Msl, but 
 hdsint See the Asiatic Researches, Vol. III., p. 409. 
 
 '^ Professor Wilson has already written : " It seems probable * 
 that the city [of Kasl] was founded, not by him [Kshattravriddha], 
 but by his grandson or great-grandson, denominated Ka^a and Kasi- 
 r&ja." Mr. James Prinsep's Benares Illustrated, p. 8. It is meant, 
 here, I suppose, to hint a derivative connexion of Ka^i with Ka^a or 
 Kasiraja. The latter name Professor Wilson everywhere puts, 
 erroneously, for " King Easi." See note 7 in the present page. 
 
 ^ See the English Vishnu-pv/rdna, Vol. IV., pp. 30-32. 
 
 ^ Compare Mandlikeya, from Manduka ; and S'waphalki, from 
 S'waphalka. 
 
 * So reads the Sarivamia, si. 1734:, in the best MSS. accessible 
 to me. 
 
 ° Gam on Paniai, IV., 11., 90 ; and the Brahma-pwdna. 
 
 ' Bhdgawata-purdna, IX., XVII., 4. In the Vishnu-purdna, he is 
 called Kdsvrdja ; but the term, a compound, is there to be explained 
 "Eaja Ka^i." Differently, Kdsirdja, Kdsipati, etc., descriptive of 
 Ajatasatru, Divodasa, Pratardana, and others, signify " Eaja of the 
 Kasis." That qnfin^NI may be the same as ^Tflj^ ^! is clear from 
 the Mahdihdrata, Anusdsana-parvan, kl. 1949 and 1952. 
 
XXU INTEODXJCTION. 
 
 equally their subjects, were called Kasis.' Though at first 
 a masculine appellation, Kasi, as applied to the city so 
 styled, is feminine.^ An exact parallel to this hypo- 
 thetical evolution is not far to seek. The name of Zing 
 Champa, femininized, became that of the metropolis of 
 Anga, Champa.^ 
 
 The term Kasi, denominating, if not a city,* a people 
 
 ' Kasi's successors were likewise known as Ka^yas and as Kasikas. 
 These terms are, all, actually employed. The last is, also, applied to 
 persons or things pertaining to Kasi. 
 
 ' Kuntl, a woman, was so called from Kunti, a man. 
 
 Ka^l, according to the Vishnu-purdna, — see the English transla- 
 lation. Vol. IV., p. 159, — ^was the name of the wife of Bhlmasena. 
 The reading is, however, erroneous, most probably. I find, as a 
 variant, Ka^eyS. This, like the corresponding Kasya of the Mahd- 
 bhdrata, Adi-parvan, kl. 3829, is a derivative of Kasi. 
 
 ' See the English Vishnu-purdna, Vol. IV., p. 125. 
 
 I am not unaware of the gana on Panini, IV., II., 82. 
 
 * " In the MahdbMrata, frequent mention of Ka^l occurs," according 
 to Professor Wilson, as quoted in Benares Illustrated, p. 8. I should 
 be much surprised to find Kadi mentioned even once in the Ma- 
 hdbMrata. 
 
 Not till medieval times, it seems, do we read of the city of Kasi. To 
 the authority, on this behalf, of the Puranas may be added that of an 
 inscription which I have deciphered and published in the Journal of 
 the Asiatic Society of Bengal, for 1862, pp. 14:, 15. The document in 
 question, a land-grant, was issued by Vinayakapala, Eaja of 
 Mahodaya or Kanauj, about the middle of the eleventh century, it 
 may be. Kasi is there indirectly described as in the vishaya of 
 Varanasl, in the Ihuhti of Pratishthana. Eor Pratishthana, vide 
 infra, p. xxv., note 1. 
 
 It is, in my judgment, very doubtful indeed that Ptolemy's 
 KaaaiZa metamorphoses Kasi, as has been confidently asserted by 
 Colonel Wilford and very many others. See the Asiatic Researches, 
 Vol. in., p. 410 ; Vol. IX., p. 73. 
 
 Ea Hian may have intended to reproduce KdSirdJya, "kingdom 
 of the K&^is," in his words rendered by " le royaume do ICia cM." 
 Vide infra, p. xxviii., note 1, 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXUl 
 
 and its cHeftains, occurs repeatedly in Sanskrit works 
 of all but tlie highest antiquity." Of Kasi, in what- 
 ever sense of the word, we cannot, however, collect, 
 from indigenous records, materials from which to con- 
 
 The expression eRTfiTJ^' ^TTO^', in the Dasa-humdra-chwrita, 
 means "Varanasl, a city of th.e Kasis." In the subjoined verse, 
 from the Edmdyana, TIttara-Mnda, XXXVIII., VI., 17, Varanasl is 
 qualified by an expression meaning, the commentator says, " a city 
 in the country of the Ka^is : " 
 
 flS^'I^ ^^4(M'0* ^TTTJT^' ^^ I 
 
 Finally, in the Mahdbhdrata, Adi-pa/rvan, U. 4083, 4084, we read 
 of the king of the Kasis as dwelling in the city of Varanasl. 
 
 ' The oldest among them, probably, is Panini, IV., II., 116 ; with 
 which compare IV., II., 113. Then come the S'atwpatha-lrdhmana, the 
 Brihad-dranyaha and KausJMaki-lrdhmana Upanishads, etc., fftc. In 
 some of these works, the substantive is involved in the adjective 
 Kasya. This word, like Ka^ika, — for which see the Mahdbhdrata, 
 Vd/yoga-panan, U. 5907, — means, etymologically, Kalian. But 
 commentators on old writings explain it, and rightly, to signify 
 " king of the Kasis." Kasiraja and Kasya are used of the same 
 person in the Bhagavad-gitd, I., 5, 17. 
 
 The Rigveda affords no warrant for connecting with the Kddis 
 any person whom it mentions. It speaks of Divodasa, and it speaks 
 of Pratardana ; but only in later literature are they called father 
 and son, and rulers of the Kasis; and, where Katyayana, in his 
 Rigveddmikramanikd, characterizes the latter as Kdsirdja, he may 
 have expressed himself metachronically, under the influence of a 
 modern tradition which he and his contemporaries accepted. As to 
 the former, we find, iudeed, in post-vaidik books, two Divodasas ; 
 into whom a single pei'sonage seems to have been parted. One of 
 them is son of Badhrya^wa, as in the Rigveda ; but it is the other, 
 the son of Bhlmaratha, and father of Pratardana, that is called king 
 of the Kasis. It may be added, that there is no groimd for con- 
 sidering Badhryaswa and Bhlmaratha to be two names of one and 
 the same person. See the English Vishnu-purdna, Vol. IV., pp. 33, 
 and 145, 146. Badhryaswa, not Bahwaswa, is the reading of the 
 Vishnu-purdna. Correct accordingly Professor Wilson's transla- 
 tion of the Rigveda, Vol. III., p. 504, note 1. See, further, the 
 Mahdbhdrata, Anuidsana-parvan, Chapter XXX. 
 
XXIV- IITOEODUCTION. 
 
 struct anything approacMng a history. The kingdom 
 of the Xasis, and its rulers, as is evinced by the 
 frequency of reference to them, enjoyed, from distant 
 ages, more or less of notoriety; and this is, substan- 
 tially, all that the Hindu memorials teach us. 
 
 The Puranas specify but one dynasty of Kasi kings ; 
 a goodly catalogue, beginning, in the most authoritative 
 of those works, with the son of Kasa.^ To Kasa, by 
 a lapse of perhaps two centuries, succeeded Divodasa, in 
 whose reign Buddhism seems to have been still acting 
 on the aggressive.^ In this synchronism there is no 
 discernible improbability ; and, with some likelihood, 
 it embodies an historic fact. A reflexion of actual 
 events may, likewise, be afforded in the story of the 
 burning of Varanasi by the discus of Vishnu.^ Of the 
 age of Ajatasatru, as of other very early leaders of the 
 Kasis, none but most vague indications have, as yet, 
 
 ^ A Kasa is named in the gana on Panini, IV., I., 10. 
 
 According to my five wretched copies of the Vdyu-purdm, Kala 
 was followed by Kasaya (???), Eashtra (??), Dirghatapas, Dharma, 
 Dhanwantari, Ketumat, Bhimaratha, Divodasa. 
 
 The Brahmdnda-purdna has, in one place, Ka^a and Kaslya, as 
 sire and son, and, a little further on, instead of them, Kasika and 
 Kaseya. Kasika, as evolving Ka^eya, must be considered as an 
 optional elongation of Kasi. 
 
 ^ See the English Vishnu-pzirdna, Vol. IV., pp. 30-40. 
 
 We read, in the Vdyu-pwrdna : 
 
 Then follows an account of the expulsion of Divodasa from 
 Varanasi. So far as we know, he was the only king of the Ka,si 
 family that had to do with that city. 
 
 ' See the Vishm-purdna, Book V., Chapter XXXIV. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 been discovered. Some of these personages ruled, not 
 at Benares, but at Pratishthana ; ' and, at tbe time of 
 the Muhammadan conquest, Benares and the surround- 
 ing country appertained to the throne of Kanauj.^ 
 
 ' Its site was near Allahabad. Puru's capital was Pratishthana, 
 in the kingdom of the Kasis, according to the Bdmdyana, Zfttara- 
 Mnda, LIX., 18, 19 : 
 
 Before Puru, his father, Yayati, " lord of all the Kasis," reigned 
 at Pratishthana. Mahdhhdrata, TTdyoga-parvan, si. 3905 and 3918. 
 
 Pururavas received Pratishthana in gift from his father Sudyumna. 
 English Vishnu-purdna, Vol. III., p. 237. Also see Bumouf's 
 BMgavata-purdna, Vol. III., Preface, pp. XCVII.-XCIX. 
 
 Pratishthana appears as a district of the kiagdom of which 
 Kanaiij was the metropolis, in comparatively recent times. Tide 
 stipra, p. xxii., note 4. 
 
 Pratishthana is the name of a kingdom, or of part of one, in the 
 KatM-sarit-sdgara, VI., 8. 
 
 ^ Vide supra, p. xxii., note 4. Several Sanskrit land-grants have 
 been published, — two among them by myself, — from which it 
 appears that the kings of the latest dynasty of Kanauj, from Mada- 
 napala to the unfortunate Jayachandra, were masters of Benares, 
 in succession to their predecessors ; and that they were so is fully 
 made out by the Muhammadan historians. 
 
 In the fifth volume of the Asiatic Besearches is a professed tran- 
 script of a short inscription from a stone, now long disappeared 
 from sight, which was exhumed near Benares, in 1794. We read, 
 therein, of a king of Gauda, Mahipala, father of Sthirapala and 
 Vasantapala; and, at the end, the date 1083. An easy credulity 
 may accept these statements, no longer possible of verification ; 
 but there still remains the question as to the era of the year 1083, 
 whether Vikramaditya's, or S'alivahana's — better, Satavahana's, — 
 or Harsha's, or whose. Not only are the blunders in this inscrip- 
 tion, as printed, so many and so gross that we are forbidden to 
 suppose they were ia the original ; but they provoke the surmise 
 that the interspersed patches of the record which read as if correct 
 
XXVI INTEODTJCTION. 
 
 Flagrant as is the exaggeration of the .Hindus, it is 
 surpassed by that of the Buddhists. The Brahmadatta 
 who figures so largely, in their sacred writings, as king 
 of Benares ' very likely was not a mythe ; ^ but there is 
 no ground for crediting that Gautama ever governed that 
 city at all, notwithstanding that they represent him to 
 have reigned there during nineteen several states of 
 existence.' In a similar spirit, they assert, that, at the 
 same capital ruled, in turn, eighty-four thousand mon- 
 archs descended from Asoka.* From these specimens it 
 is manifest that the Buddhist scriptures are little to be 
 trusted for throwing light on the history of Benares. 
 That Buddhism, or any Buddhist king, ever dominated 
 there is altogether problematical. 
 
 Some relevant details, scant, but interesting as far as 
 they go, are derivable from the itinerary of Hiouen 
 Thsang,' a Buddhist pilgrim from China, who visited 
 
 may be, to a large extent, equally products of ignorant mistake and 
 misrepresentation. A good deal of weight has been allowed to 
 this inscription ; and it has been, from time to time, honoured as a 
 piece of genuine historic evidence. Uncritically enough, I once fol- 
 lowed the herd, myself, in this respect : see the Journal of the Asiatic 
 Society of Bengal, for 1862, p. 8, first foot-note. It now appears to 
 me rash to see, in it, proof that Benares was subordinate to Gauda, 
 or anything else whatever claiming reliance. 
 
 '■ Burnouf's Introduction d VHistoire du Buddhisme Indien, Vol. I., 
 p. 140 ; and Mr. E. S. Hardy's Manual of Budhism, p. 101. 
 
 " Another king unknown to the Hindu records is spoken of by 
 the Buddhists. His name is Bhlmaiukla. See Ber Buddhiamus, 
 translated from the Eussian of Professor Wassiljew, Part I., p. 54. 
 
 ^ Mr. E. S. Hardy's Manual of Budhism, p. 134. 
 
 * So states the BipavamSa. See the Jov/rnal of the Asiatic Society 
 of Bengal, for 1838, p. 927. 
 
 » Mimovres sur les Gentries Oceidentales, Vol. I., pp. 353, et seq. 
 
rNTEODITCTION. XXvii 
 
 India in the first half of the seventh century. At that 
 date, as he informs us, the kingdom of Yaranasi had a 
 circuit of eight hundred miles,' while its capital measured 
 nearly four miles by somewhat more than one. The 
 inhabitants of the kingdom were, for the most part, 
 Hindus. These were, mainly, worshippers of S'iva ; 
 and among them' were two classes of ascetics.^ Their 
 temples amounted to a hundred, which gave- lodgement 
 to about ten thousand devotees.' The Buddhists, who 
 
 ' "About four thousand Us." On tlie length of the U, consult 
 Father Vivien de Saint-Martin, in Memoires, etc., Vol. IL, pp. 256- 
 259. 
 
 ' On M. Julien's own showing, both in the Memoires and in the 
 Methoie, one of these classes, that of naked mendicants, has the 
 name, in Chinese translettering, of ni-hien-t'o, i.e., niggantha, or even 
 nigdnth, — a Prakrit word softened from the Sanskrit nirgrantha, 
 which the French translation exhibits. Nowhere in his works 
 does M. Julien acknowledge, what he must have known full well, 
 that he constantly puts into the mouth of Hiouen Thsang Sanskrit 
 words, where he really used Prakrit. But there was a theory to 
 support ; and facts must be fitted to it. 
 
 ' In the first instance, M. Julien wrote : " On compte une centaine 
 de temples des dieux (Devdlayas) ou habitent environ dix mille 
 heretiques, qui, la plupart, adorent le dieu Ta-tseu-t'sa'i-t'ien (Maheg- 
 vara diva)." And there should seem to be no improvement in his 
 later rendering : " On voit une centaine de temples des Dieux. II y 
 a environ dix mille hdretiques qui, la plupart, reverent le dieu Ta- 
 tseu-thsai (MahSqvara D^va)." 
 
 The Chinese does not, to be sure, as the translator at first 
 expressed it, literally quarter the aforesaid heretics in. the temples, 
 or, rather, monasteries ; and yet its indefiniteness easily endures 
 this interpretation. So I am informed by Professor Summers, my 
 obligations to whom I shaU presently acknowledge in connexion 
 with a matter of graver import. And this construction alone quad- 
 rates with the previous context. For Hiouen Thsang makes Benares a 
 large kingdom, and one in which the Hindus much outnumbered 
 the Buddhists ; and there must, then, have been many times ten 
 thousand of the former. 
 
XXVIU INTEODTJCTION. 
 
 are stated to have been mucli in the minority, kept up 
 thirty religious houses, tenanted by three thousand 
 inmates, all of the Sammatiya sect. In the capital ^ 
 were twenty Hindu temples, and a latten statue of S'iva, 
 a hundred feet in height. We are not apprised whether 
 there were any sacred edifices of the pilgrim's fellow- 
 religionists in the capital itself; and' the obvious in- 
 ference is, -that there were none, or none worth com- 
 memorating. On the monasteries, towers, and reser- 
 voirs of the immediate vicinity,^ hallowed by Buddhist 
 
 One need do no more than collate M. Julien's two versions of 
 Hiouen Thsang's short account of Benares, to be satisfied that the 
 translator's notion of the sense of his original is, sometimes, of the 
 "vaguest. 
 
 '■ Its name is not specified. Fa Hian — of the beginning of the 
 fifth century, and so an earlier traveller than Hiouen Thsang, — is 
 translated as speaking of " la ville de Fho lo ndi, dans le royaume 
 de Kia chi." Foi Koue Ki, p. 304. 
 
 ^ Two of these remembrancers of the Buddhist faith, towers at 
 Sarnath, beyond the Varana or Burna, are still conspicuous land- 
 marks. The larger of them is called, by the natives, Dhamekh, — 
 a corruption, in all likelihood, of an old word involving dharma as 
 its first factor. 
 
 On the word of M. Stanislas Julien, Hiouen Thsang locates a 
 monument " au nord-est de la capitale, et a I'occident du fleuve de 
 Po-lo-ni-sse (Varana9t)," and tells of a certain monastery at the 
 distance of " environ dix li au nord-est du fleuve de Po-lo-ni-sse 
 (VaranaQi)." In a foot note, the phrase " a I'occident du fleuve de 
 Po-lo-ni-sse (Varana9l)" is explained to signify "a I'occident du 
 Gauge." 
 
 As the Chinese pilgrim again and again names the Ganges, it 
 seemed to me unlikely that he should anywhere speak of it by a 
 periphrasis like that of " the river of London." I had observed, 
 too, that, instead of "environ," etc., M. Klaproth had written : " Au 
 nord [sjc] de la ville coule la riviere Pho lo nd (Varana) ; sur son 
 bord, a dix U de la ville," etc. ; Pho lo nd sse being, as he says just 
 before, Hiouen Thsang's name for Benares. Moreover, in M. Julien's 
 
INTRODTJCTION. XXIX 
 
 associations, Hiouen Thsang dwells at great length, and 
 with, that lingering and minutiose reminiscence which 
 marks a credulous and fervid piety. 
 
 That, in very early days, Benares attained to promi- 
 
 " Liste des Mots Abreges ou Corrompus," I noticed tlie entry " Po- 
 lo-nai, faute pour Po-lo-ni-sse (Varanagl) ; " and I was thereby un- 
 avoidably misled to tbe conclusion that Po-lo-nai, the so-called 
 shortened or depraved form of Po-lo-ni-sse, must be employed in the 
 original, the passage or passages containing it beiag left undesig- 
 nated by the translator. 
 
 No one can give much thought to the labours of M. Julien, with- 
 out detecting that they were never executed in contemplation of 
 circumspect perusal. Warned by my past experience, and weigh- 
 ing the premises just recited, I at once suspected management, 
 issuiag in the obliteration, in two places, of the river Varana. I 
 had recourse to Professor James Summers, a distinguished Sinolo- 
 gist ; and my suspicion was changed into certitude. 
 
 Especially ought M. Julien to have abstained from mending his 
 text here by guess, above all unconfessedly, inasmuch as, where 
 the name Po-lo-ni-sse is first introduced, there is, in the Chinese, a 
 gloss, — delusively appropriated by the translator, as we have seen, — 
 notitying that the kingdom so named had aforetime been called, by 
 mistake, Po-lo-nai ; the spelling, in passing, of the IhS Kou^ Ki. It 
 was not, surely, to be expected, that, close to this notification, we 
 should find — ^and not once only, but twice, — Po-lo-nie (Varana), if Po- 
 lo-ni-sse (Yar^nasi) had been intended. M. Julien, however, deemed 
 otherwise ; and he unavowedly took for granted, besides, that, in 
 both these instances, Po-lo-nie was a corruption of the already 
 corrupt Po-lo-ndi. 
 
 Father Vivien de Saint-Martin, in his geographical commentary 
 on M. Julien's translation, is pleased to substitute, for " fleuve de 
 Po-lo-ni-sse (Varanagi)," "riviere Po-lo-ni-ssi {ysxiua.A);" and he 
 proceeds to suggest, — as I have shown above, in note 2 to p. xviii., — 
 that the city of Benares borrowed its appellation from that of this 
 imaginary stream, held, by him, to be identical with the 'Epevve<7i<s 
 
 of Arrian. 
 
 More than this, M. Julien, in one of his Indexes, writes " Varanagt, 
 rivifere, aujourd'hui Bama, I'Erineses des G-recs ; " and the violence 
 which rather Vivien de Saint-Martin does to his text has, thus, his 
 
XXX INTEODUCTION. 
 
 nent fame is a conclusion scarcely indicated by docu- 
 mentary evidence. And so it was during the period of 
 the Buddhists. So far as we know, these sectaries, 
 unlike the Muhammadans, never assumed an attitude of 
 
 implied acquiescence. So important an alteration of opinion as that 
 herein involved certainly called for specific aclmovsrledgment in his 
 " Errata Alphabetique," a list which extends to seven pages. 
 
 In fine, M. Julien has no Sanskrit authority whatever for his 
 "Yaranaqi," i.e., Varana^l. Po-h-ni-sse may, indeed, stand for 
 Varana^i, but — so indeterminate is the Chinese alphabet, — may 
 just as well disguise Varanasi, Varanasl, Varanasi, Birana^i, and 
 scores more of quadrisyllables. M. Julien allows us an option 
 between Po-la-na-sse, Po-h-m-sse, Po-lo-ni-se, and P'o-lo-ni-sse, and be- 
 tween "Varana^i" and "Varanacil." It cannot be proved that Hiouen 
 Thsang did not hear, and do his best to spell, as the names of the 
 river and city, Barna — the very word now used, — and Baranas. 
 Indeed, the balance of probability is overwhelmingly in favour of 
 the position, that the Indian proper names translettered by Hiouen 
 Thsang were Prakrit, not Sanskrit. Perhaps it is not strange that 
 M. Julien, in drawing up his suicidal Meihode, and even earlier, chose 
 to shut his eyes to this presumption. Vide supra, p. xxvii., note 2. 
 
 "With M. Julien's method, mathematical certainty seems to have 
 taken the place of learned conjectures." So we read, in the Saturday 
 Beview, Vol. XI., p. 247 (1861), in an article lately republished as 
 Professor Max Miiller's. Finding M. Julien's method to be much 
 more precarious than it appears at first sight, I took occasion, 
 some years ago, with ample detail of reasons, to reclaim against this 
 heedless hyperbole of encomium. Continued examination has multi- 
 plied my arguments of protest ; and I am convinced that one will 
 do well to use M. Julien's volumes, valuable and instructive as they 
 are, with constant caution. 
 
 That M. Jiilien, for all the self-complacent air of his Miiliode, has 
 struck out a single idea, save of detail, that was unknown to M. 
 Eemusat and the editors of the FoS KouS Ki, I have not succeeded in 
 discovering. 
 
 Memoires sur les Contrees Ocoidentahs, etc., Vol. I., p. 354; Vol. II., 
 pp. 345, 360, 861, 479, 562 : F(i& Kou^ Ki, p. 307 : Histoire de la 
 Vie de Hiouen- Thsang, etc., pp. 83, 132, 429, 464 : CUps from a 
 Oerman Workshop, Vol. I., p. 296 : Journal of the Asiatic Society of 
 Bengal, for 1861, pp. 334-336. 
 
INTEODTJCTION. XXxi 
 
 vehement hostility as against the Hindus. Not only was 
 the character of their religion pacific, but at no time 
 during their presence in India' were they, albeit in the 
 ascendant, beyond doubt a majority of the people. It 
 
 ' How the Buddhists oame to leave India has not yet been shown 
 satisfactorily. The Sankara-digvijaya of Madhava — which professes 
 to abridge an older work, but which, perhaps, has no better basis, 
 for the most part, than oral tradition, eked out by romance, — bears 
 witness, it is true, to a ferocious spirit of opposition to those reli- 
 gionists ; and such a spirit, if entertained after they had become 
 strangers to the country, may have been entertained while they were 
 BtUl face to face with Hindus. Nevertheless, we have no historical 
 proof that India was ever the theatre of a Buddhist persecution. 
 Few Sanskrit manuscripts exist that were copied more than four or 
 five centuries ago, at which time Indian Buddhists must have been 
 very rare, if there were any at all. Neither among the Hindus nor 
 among the Jainas has one ever observed anything like that liberality 
 of literarjr curiosity which would be at much pains to perpetuate, by 
 transcription, the holy writ of an antagonist creed ; and the fact of 
 a persecution of the Buddhists cannot, accordingly, be deduced from 
 the fact that their books are now but very rarely met with in the 
 possession of natives of India. 
 
 Considering the character of their respective beliefs, the Buddhists 
 and the Hindus were under no obligation to be truculently inimical 
 to each other. There is even reason to believe that there were medieval 
 Indian kings who, from motives of policy, adiaphorized between 
 the two great classes of the faithful into which their subjects were 
 divided. For instance, a position of practical indifference in respect 
 of the prevailing superstitions seems to be ascertained with reference 
 to Harsha, king of Kanauj in the seventh century. Hiouen Thsang 
 speaks of him much as if he were a Buddhist ; and Bana, in the 
 Sarsha-charita, writes of him as if of a Hindu. Further, we find 
 that monarch figuring as dedicatee of the Ndgdnanda, and also of the 
 Ratndvall, two dramas, severally Buddhist and Brahmanical. 
 
 For the Sarsha-charita and the Ndgdnanda, — of which I discovered 
 copies, after these works had slumbered neglected for many genera- 
 tions, — see my Vdsavadatld, Preface, pp. 12-18 and 60-54; and the 
 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, for 1862, pp. 12, 13. See, 
 further, on the Buddhists in Southern India, Professor Wilson's 
 Mackenzie Collection, Vol. I., Introduction, pp. lxiii.-lxvi. 
 
SXXU rNTEODXJCTIOIf. 
 
 was but natural for their founder, in the course of his 
 mission, to take thought of the centres of population ; 
 and the spots which he and his disciples signalized 
 by their teachings were reverently regarded, in after ages, 
 as consecrated ground. These spots were, however, in 
 the neighbourhood of cities, — as Gay a, Mathura, Ayo- 
 dhya, and Benares,* — rather than in the cities them- 
 selves ; and it was not till after Buddhism had passed 
 its prime on Indian soil, that these towns acquired the 
 special repute which now attaches to them. As for 
 Benares, the attribution to it of peculiar sanctity seems 
 to date from the period of the Puranas;^ and some of 
 these compositions may, unquestionably, claim a very 
 respectable antiquity. 
 
 A diligent perusal of the copious inanity of the Kdsl- 
 Tthanda might lead to the discovery of its era,' and 
 
 ' It is very true, that, all tlie way between Benares and the 
 towers at Sarnath, the fields are thickly strewed with bricks and 
 other remains of former buildings. But I am not aware that Colonel 
 Wilford has any authority for speaking of " the old city of Benares, 
 north of the river Burna," which old city, he says, is sometimes 
 called S'onitapura. Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 199. 
 
 ' Professor Wilson asserts, characteristically, that Benares "has 
 been, from all time, as it is at present, the high place of the S'aiva 
 worship." Translation of the Vishnu-purdna, Book V., Chapter 
 XXXIV., last note. 
 
 In the twelfth century, as we learn from the Saima-koia, Benares 
 was already distinguished as S'ivapurl, "the city of S'iva;" and we 
 may thence gather that the worship of S'iva especially predominated 
 there at that time. 
 
 ^ " There is every reason to believe the greater part of the con- 
 tents of the Kdsi-Manda, anterior to the first attack upon Benares by 
 Mahmud of Ghazni." Thus pronounces Professor Wilson, in his 
 translation of the VisJmu-purdm, Vol. I., Preface, pp. LXXII., 
 LXXm. It would be interesting to be put in possession of even a 
 single reason out of those to which the Professor alludes. 
 
INTRODUCTION'. XXXUI 
 
 to other chronological determinatioTis. In so recent a 
 composition, and one haying to do with real localities, 
 there must, almost of necessity, be many facts inter- 
 woven with the fictions : the attempt to discriminate 
 them would, perhaps, be remunerated. The Benares of 
 the present day offers numerous and yaried objects of 
 interest ^ to the contemplation of the devout Hindu ; 
 and yet, a very few of them excepted, to speculate 
 touching their age, in reliance on the data hitherto 
 made available, would be much too perilous for pru- 
 dence. 
 
 ^ Unless we are deceived by identity of names, scores of these are 
 enumerated in the Kdhi-lAanda. 
 
 In tlie last chapter of that ■work, cycles of pilgrimages are pre- 
 scribed, as means to particular ends, precisely as at this hour. 
 Thus, there is one round to warrant the practitioner from liability 
 to further metempsychosis ; another, to secure the attainment of 
 Eudrahood ; a third, to ensure emancipation before death. These 
 for samples. 
 
 Saints whose aspirations are less ambitious are promised store of 
 good things in future for repeating the Panohattrthihd daily. This 
 consists in : (1) ablution, without disrobing, in the pool of Chakra- 
 pushkarini, with a propitiation-service addressed to the gods, manes, 
 Brahmans, and beggars ; (2) reverential salutation to Aditya, Drau- 
 padl, Vishnu, Dandapani, and Maheswara ; (3) visual contemplation 
 of phundhivinayaka ; (4) a dip of the fingers iu the Jnanavapi 
 well, with adoration of Nandikesa, Tarakesa, and Mahakale^wara ; 
 and, finally, (5) a second visit to Dandapani. 
 
 Of seven preeminently holy places Kasl is named first ; the 
 others being Kantl, Maya, Ayodhya, Dwaravati, Mathura, and 
 Avantika : 
 
 ^nft ^^^ "^ m^Twr -^-^trm ^^^wfq i 
 
 ^ VL, 68. 
 
 Maya is Hurdwar. I am not sure whether or not K^nti is the 
 same as Kanchl. The rest are weU known. These places are, all. 
 
XXXIT INTEODUCTIOK. 
 
 To the early Arab and Persian travellers Gangetic 
 India was an unexplored tract. ^ Albiruni, who wrote 
 about A.D. 1000, bad, however, heard of the holy fame 
 of Benares, which he compares, not inaptly, to Mecca.^ 
 Mahmud of Ghazni is said, on doubtful warrant, to 
 have advanced as far as Benares, and to have made a 
 few converts there, during his ninth incursion.^ In 
 1194, Shihabuddin, after defeating the Kanaujan mon- 
 arch, Jayachandra, marched on that city, where he is 
 reported to have demolished near a thousand Hindu 
 temples.* The subsequent history of the place, for 
 
 named in the Ayeen Alcbery, in Mr. Gladwin's translation of whicli, 
 Vol. III., pp. 255, 256, Mathura and Avdlntika are disguised as 
 Mehtra and Ownitka. 
 
 At least thirty or forty epithetical designations of Benares are 
 scattered through the Kdsi-ihanda. Half of that number, or there- 
 abouts, from this or some other work or works, have beea noted by 
 native lexicographers. One of them, Panchanadatlrtha, " the quin- 
 quamnian resort," refers to five rivers, the Kirana, Dhutapapa, 
 Saraswatl, Ganga, and Yamuna : 
 
 LIX., 114, 115. 
 
 Four of these streams, in small quantities, are believed to emerge 
 into the Ganges, through subterraneous channels, just in front of the 
 Panohaganga landing. 
 
 ^ Relation des Voyages, etc., by M. Langles and Father Eeinaud, 
 Vol. I., Preliminary Discourse, pp. XL VIII., XLIX. 
 
 '^ Father Eeinaud's Mimoire Giographique, Historique et Scientifique 
 sur V Inie, etc.,p. 288. 
 
 ' English Ayeen Akhery, Vol. II., p. 35. 
 
 * Major Stewart's History of Bengal, p. 36. Elsewhere we read, 
 that, "having broken the idols in above a thousand temples, he 
 purified and consecrated the latter to the worship of the true God." 
 Colonel Briggs's translation from Farishta, Vol. I., p. 179. 
 
rNTRODTJCTIOK. XXXV 
 
 many centuries, is well-nigh a blank. Its religious 
 character was not, in the eyes of its Islamite masters, 
 a thing to recommend it; and commercial or political 
 importance it had none.' Even Akbar, with all his 
 toleration of Hinduism, and occasional partiality to it, 
 did nothing to prop the sinking fortunes of Benares. 
 Its decline was uninterrupted ; and, under Aurangzeb, 
 who changed its name to Muhammadabad,^ it reached, 
 at last, the depth of its ignominy. At the command 
 of that harsh bigot, its principal temples were laid in 
 ruins,' and mosques, constructed from their materials, 
 were reared on their .half-destroyed foundations. The 
 Observatory, built by Manasiinha* about a.d. 1600, is, 
 it may be, the only noteworthy Hindu edifice of the 
 
 ' Fiscally, too, it had come, in the days of Akbar, to be of very 
 secondary note. See the Ayeen Allery, Vol. II., Appendix, p. 28. 
 
 " I have met with this substitute for Benares in an Urdu book 
 written within the last hundred years. It was originally meant, of 
 course, as a poignant insult. Deservedly, it never obtained, it is 
 believed, any cuiTency. 
 
 The Muhammadan names of Delhi, Agra, and Patna are of every- 
 day use. Less familiar are Jahangtrabad, Mustafa'abad, Islamabad, 
 and Muminabad, for Dacca, Eampoor, Chittagong, and Brindabun. 
 
 ' Captain Orlich, in the tenth letter of his Reise in Ostindien, says 
 that Akbar entertained the project of establishing a mosque over 
 the Jnanavapi well. No one at all acquainted with Akbar's char- 
 acter could give this silly legend the least credence. The story 
 looks like an addition to the tale, that, when Aurangzeb threw down 
 the old temple of Visweswara, its phallus cast itself, unassisted, 
 into the Jnanavapt. 
 
 * Eaja of Ambheri. One of his descendants, Jayasimha II., who 
 flourished rather more than a century after him, provided the Obser- 
 vatory with astronomical instruments. From Eaja Manasimha the 
 building was called, from the first, Manamandira, now corrupted 
 into Manmandil. 
 
XXXVl INTEODTJCTIOIir. 
 
 city, still entire, of so great antiquity. For nearly all 
 that is striking in its architectural embellishment, Be- 
 nares is beholden to the Marathas ; and to the zeal and 
 enterprise of the same energetic race the resuscitation, 
 in the decline of Hinduism, of much of its former in- 
 fluence is, in large measure, indebted. There is no 
 ground for believing that Benares, in comparison of 
 •what we now see it, with its thousand temples,^ and 
 their concomitants of holy harpies and willing victims, 
 can ever have boasted a larger population, a prestige of 
 greater potency, or more affluent prosperity. 
 
 F.H. 
 
 JirxT, 1868. 
 
 Bishop Heber iminquiringly states that the Observatory was 
 " founded before the Musalman conquest." Captain Orlich says it 
 was founded by Jayasimha : he does not distinguish which Jayasimha. 
 But it would be endless to point out the mistakes of careless 
 travellers. 
 
 Even Mr. James Prinsep, — Benares Illustrated, Second Series, — 
 from consulting Tavernier with insufficient attention, refers the con- 
 version of the Manmandil into an Observatory to Jayasimha I. 
 
 An excellent account of the Benares Observatory, by Pandit 
 Bapu Deva S'astrin, is given in the Transactions of the Benares Insti- 
 tute for the Session 1864-65, pp. 191-196. 
 
 ' Such was Mr. James Prinsep's estimate in 1828-1829. As to 
 the extent of the city, "the measured length along the banks of 
 the river, by survey, is barely three miles ; and the average depth 
 does not exceed one mile." Benares Illustrated, p. 12. Hiouen 
 Thsang found Benares, in the seventh century, of not far from the 
 same dimensions. Vide supra, p. xxvii. 
 
THE SACHED CITY OF THE HmDUS. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Early history of Benares. — Sanctity of the city. — Mythic character of 
 Indian history. — Ancient Buddhist records respecting Benares. 
 S'dkya Muni, or Buddha, preached the doctrine of Buddhism first in 
 Benares. — Antiquity of Benares. — Hiouen Thsang's account of his 
 visit to the city in the seventh century of the Christian era. — 
 Macaulay's description of Benares. — Connexion of Benares with 
 the religious history of half the human race. — Its connexion with 
 Buddhism. — Life and labours of Buddha. — Bennres subsequently to 
 the fall of Buddhism in India. — The Brahman. — Sons of the Ganges. 
 — Devotees and pilgrims. — Benares, the rehgious centre of India. 
 
 The early history of Benares is involved in much, 
 obscurity. It is, indisputably, a place of great antiquity, 
 and may even date from the time when the Aryan race 
 first spread itself over Northern India. Although such 
 a supposition is incapable of direct proof, yet the sacred 
 city must, undoubtedly, be reckoned amongst the primi- 
 tive cities founded by this people. When it was first 
 built, and by what prince or patriarch, is altogether un- 
 known. But of its great antiquity, stretching back 
 through the dim ages of early Indian history, far into 
 the clouds and mists of the Vedie and pre-historical 
 periods, there is no question. It is certain that the 
 city is regarded, by all Hindus, as coeval with the bii-th 
 of Hinduism, a notion derived both from tradition and 
 from their own writings. Allusions to Benares are ex- 
 ceedingly abundant in ancient Sanskrit literature; and 
 
I BENAKES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 perhaps there is no city in all Hindustan more fre- 
 quently referred to. By reason of some subtle and 
 mysterious charm, it has linked itself with the religious 
 sympathies of the Hindus through every century of its 
 existence. Eor the sanctity of its inhabitants — of its 
 temples and reservoirs — of its "wells and streams — of the 
 very soil that is trodden — of the very air that is 
 breathed — and of everything iu it and around it, Benares 
 has been famed for thousands of years. The Hindu 
 ever beholds the city in one peculiar aspect, as a place 
 of spotless holiness and heavenly beauty, where the 
 spiritual eye may be delighted and the heart may be 
 purified ; and his imagination has been kept fervid, from 
 generation to generation, by the continued presentation 
 of this glowing picture. Believing all he has read and 
 heard concerning this ideal seat of blessedness, he has 
 been possessed with the same longing to visit it as the 
 Mohammedan to visit Mecca, or the Christian enthu- 
 siast to visit Jerusalem ; and, having gratified his desire, 
 has left the memory of his pious enterprise to his 
 children, for their example, to incite them to undertake 
 the same pilgrimage, faithfully transmitting to them 
 the high ambition which he himself received from his 
 fathers. 
 
 Unfortunately, Hindu writers have shown a singular 
 neglect of chronology, and an utter distaste for 
 noting and recording historical facts in a simple and 
 consecutive manner. This is the more remarkable, 
 when it is remembered that many of them have been 
 accustomed to close thought, and have prided themselves 
 on their intellectual acumen ; that they have originated 
 
numerous systems of philosopliy, and made great preten- 
 sions to logical accuracy ; and that the habit of the nation' 
 generally, for thousands of years, has been to reverence 
 the past, and to reflect upon and observe, with puncti- 
 lious nicety, its religious ceremonies and social usages. 
 
 Were the Hindus proverbially reckless in their state- 
 ments and opinions, and had they never produced any 
 great work exhibiting minuteness of detail, together 
 with clearness, consistency, and truth, there might not 
 be so much cause for wonder. But they have astonished 
 the world by their achievements in a department of 
 learning usually regarded as dry and uninteresting. I 
 refer to the subject of Grammar. Carefully collecting 
 the facts brought to light by critical and painstaking 
 observation, they have elaborated a system of Grammar, 
 of gigantic dimensions, far surpassing anything that has 
 ever been effected, in this branch of study, in any country 
 or age of the world. Their greatest and most brilliant 
 champion in this science is Panini : yet many other 
 grammarians helped to rear the stupendous fabric which 
 now excites the admiration of mankind. And, while they 
 emulated the genius of the Greeks in generalizing upon 
 the results of their observations, they far outshone them 
 ia the correctness and extent of their investigations. 
 
 One would have imagined that they who were exact 
 in one subject would be exact in another; and that, 
 having acquired the habit of calmly noting points 
 of agreement and difference, and of rigidly adhering to 
 them, it would be a moral impossibility for them to act 
 in direct opposition to such a habit. Yet this does not 
 hold good in regard to the Hindu race. W^e excellent 
 
4 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 grammarians, they are meagre historians. They pos- 
 sess no single record, among the ten thousand separate 
 manuscript works of which their ancient literature is 
 said to he composed, on the historical correctness of 
 which one can place much reliance. Legendary stories 
 are so intermingled with real events, and the web of the 
 one is so intimately inwoven with the woof of the other, 
 and the two form so homogeneous a whole, that the 
 finest microscopic intellects of Europe, after patient 
 and long-continued examination, have been well-nigh 
 baffled in the attempt to discover which is fiction and 
 which is fact. A few threads of truth have rewarded 
 their pains, and perhaps a few others may occasionally 
 be drawn forth ; but that the gaudy-coloured fabric of 
 Hindu history, manufactured by themselves, will ever 
 be satisfactorily separated into its two component parts, 
 is as hopeless as to expect that the waters of the Jumna 
 will ever cease to mingle with the waters of the Ganges. 
 Were only the epoch or epochs of the Mahabharata satis- 
 factorily settled, and were it really known what elements 
 of that great work are pre-Buddhist and what post- 
 Buddhist, the minds of men would be at least freed 
 from the despair which possesses them in reference to 
 this subject.! 
 
 The result is, that this city of Benares, whose an- 
 tiquity is very great, is robbed of much of the glory 
 which is justly her due. Thanks to a rival creed, how- 
 ever, — ^which sprang into existence probably in the sixth 
 century before the Christian era, — whose annals have 
 been kept with some decent amount of trustworthiness, 
 
 ' See Prof. Max Miiller's History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 62. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 5 
 
 we gain certain specific information respecting this 
 city at that early epoch. 
 
 It is a fact, admitting of no dispute, that S'akya Muni, 
 the last and only really historical Buddha, on attaining 
 the mysterious condition of Buddhahood under the Bodhi 
 tree in the neighbourhood of Gaya, travelled to Benares, 
 and proceeded to the Isipattana Yihara, or monastery, now 
 known as Sarnath. This may have been in the sixth cen- 
 tury B.o. Here he announced the change which had come 
 upon him, and the transcendental and superhuman, not to 
 say divine, state in which he imagined he found himself. 
 The five Bhikshus, or religious hermits, men of con- 
 siderable note in the early history of Buddhism, who 
 had formerly been associated with him, but had subse- 
 quently abandoned him, and who happened, at that time, 
 to be at the Isipattana monastery, embraced the new 
 religion, and became disciples of Buddha. At Sarnath 
 S'akya Muni first began to "turn the wheel of the Law,^' 
 in other words, to preach the famous doctrines of Dharma 
 and Nirvana, which were destined, in later years, to 
 exert such an extraordinary influence over a large por- 
 tion of the human family. 
 
 The Eev. E. Spence Hardy, in his erudite and valuable 
 work, "A Manual of Budhism," quoting from Ceylon 
 records, gives the following account of the visit of 
 Buddha to Isipattana: — "When Budha looked to see 
 unto whom he should first say lana, he saw that the 
 ascetics Alara and Uddaka were worthy; but when he 
 looked again to discover in what place they were, he 
 perceived that the former had been dead seven days, 
 and that the latter had died the day before ; and that 
 
b BENAEKS, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 as they were now in an arupa world, they could not 
 receive its benefit. With affection for the ascetics who 
 were dead, he looked to discover in what place Kondanya 
 was, and the four other recluses with whom he had prac- 
 tised austerities; and when he saw that they were in 
 the Isipatana wihara, near Benares, he resolved that 
 unto them first bana should be said. At the end of 
 sixty days, in the eighth week after he became Budha, 
 Gotama went from the Ajapala tree to Isipatana alone, 
 a distance of 288 miles." P. 184. The brief inaugural 
 discourse which he there delivered is stated to have been 
 as follows : — " Then Budha opened his mouth, and 
 preached the Dhamsak - psewatum - sutra (Dhamma- 
 chakka). ' There are two things,' said he, ' that must 
 be avoided by him who seeks to become a priest ; evil 
 desire, and the bodily austerities that were practised 
 by the (Brahman) ascetics.'" P. 187. 
 
 It is plain that Benares must have been, at this time, 
 a city of power and importance, the weight of whose 
 opinions on religious topics was very considerable in the 
 country generally; and, therefore, that it was of the 
 utmost consequence to secure its countenance and 
 support on any great subject affecting the religious 
 belief of the entire nation. That this was the real 
 reason why Gautama wished to commence his career 
 from Benares, admits of no controversy. But, if Benares 
 was so celebrated at that era, we must look away from it 
 to preceding ages for the date of its foundation. 
 
 The Buddhists themselves give us some glimpses of 
 intelligence respecting the history of this city prior 
 to the year of Sakya's visit; and these, although 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 7 
 
 liable to some suspicion, have, nevertheless, in all 
 probability, a basis of truth. The information -which 
 they incidentally furnish rests partly upon the state- 
 ments of no other than Buddha himself, corroborated, 
 in some measure, by their own observations. This 
 wonderful personage, considering that some of the lead- 
 ing dogmas which he expounded were borrowed from 
 Hinduism, and had been advocated and set forth by 
 various teachers previously to his time, cleverly availed 
 himself of the prestige of these earlier instructors, by 
 pronouncing each in succession to have been an incar- 
 nation or manifestation of Buddha ; thereby coolly at- 
 taching to himself and his creed the sanction of their 
 authority and the weight of their names. 
 
 In any case, Benares is a city of no mean anti- 
 quity. Twenty-five centuries ago, at the least, it was 
 famous. When Babylon was struggling with Nineveh 
 for supremacy, when Tyre was planting her colonies, 
 when Athens was growing in strength, before Eome 
 had become known, or Greece had contended with 
 Persia, or Cyrus had added lustre to the Persian mon- 
 archy, or Nebuchadnezzar had captured Jerusalem, and 
 the inhabitants of Judaea had been carried into captivity, 
 she had already risen to greatness, if not to glory. Nay, 
 she may have heard of the fame of Solomon, and have 
 sent her ivory, her apes, and her peacocks to adorn his 
 palaces; while partly with her gold he may have 
 overlaid the Temple of the Lord, Not only is Benares 
 remarkable for her venerable age, but also for the 
 vitality and vigour which, so far as we know, she 
 has constantly exhibited. While many cities and nations 
 
8 BEKAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 have fallen into decay and perished, her sun has never 
 gone down ; on the contrary, for long ages past it has 
 shone with almost meridian splendour. Her illustrious 
 name has descended from generation to generation, and 
 has ever been a household word, venerated and be- 
 loved by the vast Hindu family. Notwithstanding 
 her destruction by fire, applied by the hand of Krishna, 
 which may or may not be true, and the manifestations, 
 in her physical aspects, of repeated changes, shiftings of 
 I site, and resuscitations, yet, as a city, no sign of feeble- 
 iness, no symptom of impending dissolution, so far as 
 il am aware, is apparent in any of the numberless 
 references to her in native records. As a queen, she 
 has ever received the wilUng homage of her subjects 
 scattered over all India ; as a lover, she has secured 
 their affection and regard. 
 
 Hiouen Thsang, the celebrated Chinese traveller, who, 
 as a Buddhist pilgrim, visited India in the seventh cen- 
 tury of the Christian era, describes Benares as a 
 kingdom "about four thousand U (six hundred and 
 sixty-seven miles) in circumference. To the west is 
 the capital, — near the Ganges, — which is from eighteen 
 to nineteen U (three miles and upwards) long, and 
 from five to six U (about one mUe) broad. The villages 
 lie very near together, and contain a numerous popu- 
 lation. Families of great wealth, whose houses are 
 fiUed with rare and precious things, are to be seen. 
 The people are gentle and polished, and esteem highly 
 those who are devoted to a studious life. The greater 
 portion of them believe in the heretical doctrines (of 
 Hinduism), and few have respect for the Law (religion) 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of Buddha. The climate is temperate, grain is in abun- 
 dance, the fruit-trees are luxuriant, and the earth is 
 covered with tufted vegetation. There are, thirty (Bud- 
 dhist) monasteries, containing about three thousand 
 
 monks There are a hundred temples of the 
 
 (Hindu) gods, and about ten thousand heretics (Hindus), 
 who, for the most part, worship the god Ta-tseu-thsa'i 
 (Maheswara). Some cut off their hair ; others preserve 
 a tuft upon the crown of the head, go naked, and 
 are destitute of any kind of clothing. Some besmear 
 their bodies with ashes, and practise zealously severe 
 austerities, in order to obtain release from life and 
 death (that is, from transmigration). In the capital 
 there are twenty (Hindu) temples of the gods." ^ 
 
 And now, after the lapse of so many ages, this magni- 
 ficent city still maintains most of the freshness and all 
 the beauty of her early youth. For picturesqueness and 
 grandeur, no sight in all the world can well surpass that 
 of Benares as seen from the river Ganges. Macaulay's 
 graphic description of her appearance towards the close 
 of the last century is, for the most part, applicable to 
 her present state. He speaks of her as " a city, which, 
 in wealth, population, dignity, and sanctity, was among 
 the foremost of Asia. It was commonly believed that 
 half a million of human beings^ was crowded into that 
 labyrinth of lofty alleys, rich with shrines, and minarets, 
 
 ' See Appendix B. 
 
 * This conjecture regarding the population of Benares is not correct. 
 The Government census gives less than two hundred thousand ; but 
 this is too low an estimate. The number of pilgrims annually visiting 
 the city, moreover, is very large, being one hundred and fifty or two 
 hundred thousand, and perhaps more, while the population of the sur- 
 rounding villages is exceedingly dense. 
 
10 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 and balconies, and carved oriels, to wHch. the sacred apes 
 clung by hundreds. The traveller could scarcely make 
 his way through the press of holy mendicants, and not 
 less holy bulls. The broad and stately flights of steps 
 which descended from these swarming haunts to the bath- 
 ing-places along the Ganges, were worn every day by 
 the footsteps of an innumerable multitude of worship- 
 pers. The schools and temples drew crowds of pious 
 Hindus from every province where the Brahminioal faith 
 was known. Hundreds of devotees came thither every 
 month to die ; for it was believed that a peculiarly 
 happy fate awaited the man who should pass from the 
 sacred city into the sacred river. Nor was superstition 
 the only motive which allured strangers to that great 
 metropolis. Commerce had as many pilgrims as religion. 
 All along the shores of the venerable stream lay great 
 fleets of vessels laden with rich merchandize. From the 
 looms of Benares went forth the most delicate silks that 
 adorned the balls of St. James's and of "Versailles ; and 
 in the bazaars, the muslins of Bengal and the sabres of 
 Oude were mingled with the jewels of Golconda and the 
 shawls of Cashmere." ^ 
 
 The connexion of Benares with the religious history 
 of one half the human race, inhabiting the countries of 
 Eastern Asia, is a subject of surpassing interest. Pre- 
 viously to the introduction of the Buddhist faith into 
 India, she was already the sacred city of the land, — 
 the centre of Hinduism, and chief seat of its authority. 
 Judging from the strong feelings of veneration and 
 affection with which the native community regard her 
 ' Macaulay's "Warren Hastings, p. 55. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 11 
 
 in the present day, and bearing in mind that the founder 
 of Buddhism commenced his ministry at this spot, it 
 seems indisputable that, in those early times preceding 
 the Buddhist reformation, the city must have exerted a 
 powerful and wide-spread religious influence over the 
 land. Throughout the Buddhist period in India, — a 
 period extending from seven hundred to a thousand 
 years, — she gave the same support to Buddhism which 
 she had previously given to the Hindu faith. Bud- 
 dhist works of that era have abundant allusions to 
 Benares, and clearly establish the fact that the Bud- 
 dhist of those days regarded the city with much the 
 same kind of veneration as the Hindu does now. The 
 sacred writings of Ceylon, called the Jatakas, which 
 contain an immense number of tales relating to the life 
 of Buddha and to the early history of his religion, are 
 replete with references to Benares ; indeed, each Jataka 
 is almost invariably connected with a Brahmadatta, king 
 of Benares. "When Buddha delivered his first discourse 
 at Isipattana, near Benares, not only the five Bhikshus, 
 as already stated, but also Yasu, son of Sujata, and his 
 fifty-four royal companions or princes, embraced the new 
 religion, and became believers in Buddha. Thus these 
 sixty persons were the first, or amongst the first, dis- 
 ciples of this remarkable personage; and to them he 
 gave instructions to proceed in different directions, and 
 announce to the world that the Supreme Buddha had 
 appeared. Starting from the sacred city, these emis- 
 saries of Buddhism, in obedience to his injunctions, 
 went forth, and became the forerunners and pioneers of 
 that wonderful missionary enterprise to other cities and 
 
32 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT 
 
 towns, and to other and distant lands, whicli ter- 
 minated in the conversion to the Buddhist creed of 
 the vast and densely-peopled countries of Eastern Asia. 
 When the immense influence which he has exerted 
 upon mankind is considered, it may be safely affirmed 
 that the career of S akya Muni or Buddha is unparalleled 
 iu mere human history. That he, a solitary man, prince of 
 a royal house, becoming an ascetic, and, seating himself 
 down under a tree, should have remained there in medita- 
 tion for five years and upwards, pondering over the religion, 
 the priestcraft, false dogmas, loose morality, uncertainty, 
 doubt, and confusion of his times, under which the 
 nation groaned ; that he should have come to the con- 
 clusion that the existing religion was a delusion, baseless 
 and pernicious ; that he should have devised an entirely 
 new system, of which himself was the centre, should 
 have thought it out and put it in order, so as to be able 
 to meet objectors and to overcome their arguments ; 
 that, at the expiration of this period, he should have 
 risen up and journeyed to Benares, and there delivered 
 his primary discourse respecting the new doctrine ; 
 should have thence gone forth to the gradual conquest 
 of India, until the whole land substantially became 
 converted to Buddhism, and sent forth missionaries to 
 Ceylon and other parts, by whose agency that island, 
 the empire of China, Japan, Burmah, ITepal, and 
 Tibet, with their four or five hundred millions of 
 people, received the extraordinary dogma, the gigantic 
 blasphemy, that there was no separate, self-existent 
 Supreme God, but that each individual man, by con- 
 templation, could rise into the divinity; that all this 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 13 
 
 was the ultimate result of that one man's energy, 
 sagacity, and resoluteness of will, is, assuredly, one of 
 the most astounding events in the annals of the world. 
 Buddha surpasses immeasurably every other mere un- 
 inspired man in the extent and consequences of his 
 achievements. Mahomet cannot compare for a moment 
 with him. He forced his religion on mankind by the 
 sword ; and, after all, his adherents are much less than 
 half as numerous as the devotees of Buddhism. Buddha 
 was a philosopher, a reasoner, a calm disputant, employ- 
 ing no physical force whatever ; while the morality which 
 he enforced was the purest the world ever saw, apart 
 from the sublime code found in the Sacred Scriptures. 
 
 Although Buddhism continues to be the paramount 
 religion of most of the countries to which it was 
 carried by the agency of its missionaries, yet, strange 
 to say, with the exception of Nepal, where it 
 maintains a struggling existence, it has long been ex- 
 pelled from the land whence it originally sprang. 
 Benares, however, notwithstanding this circumstance, 
 has not ceased to retain her position as the sacred city. 
 From the period of the revival of Hinduism down to 
 the present moment, her influence has continued undi- 
 minished. It is exceedingly difficult to convey a correct 
 idea of either the nature or extent of this influence. 
 Throughout the country, Benares is regarded with super- 
 stitious reverence by every genuine Hindu; and the name 
 produces in his breast a kind of fascination and charm. 
 " Holy Kasi ! would that I could see the eternal city, 
 favoured of the gods ! Would that I might die on its 
 sacred soil ! " Such are his thoughts and aspirations. 
 
14 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 Ttere is no other city wliich so appeals to his sympathies, 
 which so entwines itself round his spirit, which so stirs 
 his soul to its inmost depths. 
 
 As Benares is the religious centre of India, it is 
 natural that priestly influence should there be ex- 
 ceedingly powerful. Everywhere iu India, and not 
 merely in this city in particular, the Brahman is a cha- 
 racter, a study. No one, not even a foreigner newly 
 arrived in the country, can make a mistake in regard to 
 him. Light in complexion in comparison with the rest 
 of the people, frequently tall in statxire, with the marks 
 of a clear, penetrating intelligence depicted plainly and 
 sometimes in a striking manner upon his countenance, 
 erect, proud, self-conscious, he walks along with the air 
 of a man unlike any I have ever seen, in which self- 
 sufficiency, a sense of superiority, and the conviction of 
 inherent purity and sanctity are combined. He needs 
 not the upavita or sacred Brahmanical cord thrown over 
 the right shoulder, or even the streaks, in honour of 
 his favourite deity, painted upon his forehead, to point 
 him out. In his very gait and step you trace his claim to 
 his superiority; and, did we but know the thoughts 
 dwelling in his miud, we should possess the real secret of 
 his majestic demeanour. With the idea constantly before 
 his inner self, that he is himself a god, and deserves 
 divine honours, — which is not a mere freak of a deluded 
 imagination on his part, but is acknowledged by all 
 Hindus, some of whom, as he pursues his way, will 
 stop him, and then offer to him the adoration due only 
 to the Almighty, which he receives complacently, as his 
 right, — how is it possible he should comfort himself 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 15 
 
 otherwise than as though the earth were hardly worthy 
 of his tread, and the crowd about him were, in his pre- 
 sence, a vile, unclean, and abominable race? Though 
 mingling with the vulgar herd, he takes care to avoid 
 contact with them, lest he should contract some cere- 
 monial impurity. He is most particular on this point. 
 Should a low-caste man, by mistake, or from the pressure 
 of the throng, approach too near to him, he cries out 
 sharply and decisively, though not angrily ; and, in case 
 brazen vessel in his hand, filled with water from the the 
 Ganges, which he is taking to drink or for sacrifice, be 
 touched by such a person, he immediately throws the 
 water away, and scours the vessel thoroughly before 
 using it again. When he prepares his food, — for he 
 cooks it himself, — should a man of inferior caste, by 
 inadvertence, or from any cause, happen to touch it, 
 the whole is considered as spoiled, and is thrown 
 away. Indeed, so rigidly observant of the rules of 
 their order are some of the Brahmans, that, even should 
 the shadow of such a man, or of a Christian, fall 
 upon their food while being cooked, it is altogether re- 
 jected. This mysterious notion of divinity, permeating 
 the entire life of the Brahman, originates, not only 
 in the minds of the people, but also in his own 
 mind, a marvellous idea of his spiritual authority 
 and power. Let any man be so infatuated as to cherish 
 a real conviction within him that he is in some sense 
 divine, and he will of necessity assume a bearing and 
 demeanour different from those of ordinary mortals. 
 
 In Benares there are not fewer than from twenty to ] 
 twenty-five thousand Brahmans. They have control i 
 
16 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 over the temples, the sacred wells, streams, and reser- 
 voirs, and other holy places about the city. They super- 
 intend the worship of the people, and give directions re- 
 specting the numberless ceremonies which are performed. 
 Every sacred spot has some peculiarity connected with it ; 
 and it is of great moment that no punctilio should be 
 omitted. They receive the offerings, the alms, the 
 public dinners, and the good things which devout Hin- 
 dus are ever ready to bestow. Some of them — not a few 
 in number — are termed " Sons of the Ganges," and are 
 chiefly found on the banks of that stream, aiding the 
 devotions of the numerous worshippers daily resorting 
 thither. 
 
 Devotees and pilgrims, separately, or in crowds, are seen 
 entering or departing from the city constantly through- 
 out the year, especially on occasion of great festivals. 
 They come from all parts of India. Many carry back 
 with them the sacred water of the Ganges, in small 
 bottles hermetically sealed, placed in baskets hanging 
 from the extremities of poles, which they bear upon 
 their shoulders. The poor deluded sensualist, whose 
 life has been passed in abominable courses, or the 
 covetous mahdjan or native banker, who has made him- 
 self rich by a long course of grinding extortion, or 
 the fanatical devotee, more simple than a babe, yet 
 sometimes guilty of the foulest crimes, still comes, as 
 of old, from the remotest corners of India, as the sands 
 of time are slowly ebbing away, and, fearful lest the 
 last golden grains should escape before his long journey 
 is ended, makes desperate efforts to hold on his course, 
 till, at length, arriving at the sacred city and touching 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 17 
 
 its hallo-wed soil, Ms anxious spirit becomes suddenly 
 calm, a strange sense of relief comes over him, and he 
 is at once cheered and comforted with the treacherous 
 lie, that his sins are forgiven and his soul is saved. 
 
 In Benares, therefore, Hinduism may be said to dwell 
 at home, in the bosom of its best friends and admirers, 
 courted by princes and wealthy natives, and aided and 
 sustained by innumerable resources and appliances of a 
 material character, which give symbolical significance to 
 its existence and authority. Her thousands of temples, 
 her myriads of idols, her swarms of pilgrims, her hosts 
 of daily worshippers, together with the pomp and cir- 
 cumstance and multifarious representations of idolatry, 
 in their vast aggregate, cause the Hindu religion to be 
 visible to the eye, in this city, in a manner and degree 
 unknown elsewhere. Were a stranger, visiting Benares, 
 to wander about amongst its shrines and sacred places, 
 and to take note merely of the manifold signs and mani- 
 festations of Hinduism which he would find there, and 
 then to quit the city without inquiring further, without 
 turning his attention to those silent and unobtrusive, 
 yet potent, influences which are undermining it in every 
 direction, and are in operation throughout all classes of 
 native society, even in this capital and fortress of idol- 
 atry, he would imagine that the city was wholly devoted 
 to the practice and ceremonies of heathenism, that no 
 ray of light had penetrated its midnight darkness, and 
 that it was an impracticable and impossible task to at- 
 tempt its enlightenment and reformation. 
 
 We come, therefore, to this conclusion, — ^justified, I 
 think, by the foregoing observations, — that there are few 
 
18 BENAEES, PAST AWD PEESENT. 
 
 cities in the world of greater interest to the Christian 
 and the philosopher than the sacred city of the Hindus. 
 Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay are commercial centres 
 of India, directing, to a large extent, the trade of the 
 country. But they do not speak to the masses, who 
 never ask their opinion, and are never guided by their 
 authority on any subject connected with their social 
 or religious usages. Benares, on the contrary, is the 
 living oracle of the nation, and governs the Hindu with 
 a despotic hand, in all his sacred rites and practices, about 
 which he is vastly more concerned than about any- 
 thing else. Presiding over the religious destinies of one 
 hundred and eighty millions of people, whom she in- 
 spires with her spirit, and controls at pleasure, it is a 
 matter not merely of curiosity, but also of great im- 
 portance, to know what part she is likely to take in that 
 extraordinary movement of mental awakening and re- 
 ligious reform which has already commenced in India. 
 It is not for her to fall back, and resign her position of 
 influence. Her place is in the front rank. While all 
 India is making progress, intellectually and morally, she 
 must advance likewise. But she must do more. She has 
 always been a leader of the people, in everything sacred: 
 such she will, I hope and believe, continue to be. And, 
 judging from the eagerness of many of her sons in the pur- 
 suit of knowledge, from the quickened moral perceptions 
 of the population generally, and from the sympathy which 
 multitudes cherish for the new and liberal ideas that 
 are spreading over the country at large, she bids fair to 
 fulfil the predictions of her truest and sincerest friends. 
 
19 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 No Architectural remains dating prior to the third century before Christ 
 yet found in India. — Ancient Hindu Edifices of the primitive period', 
 not of a rude character. — Did the Hindus borrow from the Assyrian 
 and Persian Sculptors ? — Ancient remains found chiefly in the 
 northern quarter of the city. — Mohammedan lust for Hindu edifices. 
 —Shifting tendency of the modem city.— Origin of the appellation 
 "Benares." 
 
 The great antiquity of Indian civilization is proved, 
 directly and indirectly, in so many ways, that it has 
 come to be regarded as one of the ordinary truisms 
 about which all the world is agreed. Yet it is remarkable 
 that, although it admits not of the smallest question, no 
 evidence in its favour should be afforded by any monu- 
 ment of art hitherto discovered in the country. There' 
 is no known specimen of architecture existing, of any 
 character, the date of which carries us back beyond the 
 third century before Christ. The pillars of Asoka, which 
 belong to this period, are the very earliest sculptured 
 remains yet found. "Of these," says Mr. Fergusson, 
 "one is at Delhi; having been re-erected by Feroze 
 Shah in his palace, as a monument of his victory over 
 the Hindus. Three more are standing near the river 
 Gunduck in Tirhoot; and one has been placed on a 
 pedestal in the fort of Allahabad. A fragment of 
 another was discovered near Delhi, and part of a seventh 
 
20 BENAEES, PAST A3SJ) PRESENT 
 
 was used as a roller on the Benares road by a Company's 
 engineer ofl&cer."i There is reason for supposing that 
 some of the Bhilsa topes may be assigned to this epoch, 
 •while others are, undoubtedly, of a somewhat later date. 
 Of the cave-temples, so interesting not only to the 
 archaeologist, but likewise to all loveis of the curious, 
 not one was excavated earlier than the first century 
 before Christ. The great Karlen cave dates from the 
 beginning of the Christian era. The Ajunta caves belong 
 to several epochs; and some may be as recent as the 
 ninth or tenth century a.d. The Viswakarman cave at 
 EUora is of the seventh or eighth century a.d. Among 
 the caves in Behar there is one called from Lomasa the 
 Eishi, which, from certain peculiarities in its construc- 
 tion, may, it is conjectured, have been excavated prior 
 to the Christian era, although the inscription which 
 covers it is referred to a period so late as the fourth 
 century after Christ. 
 
 It has been asserted, on strong authority, that no 
 ancient temples or religious monasteries, apart from the 
 cave structures, exist in India, on the ground that the 
 pre-Buddhist Hindus were as yet simple and unso- 
 phisticated, and performed the rites of their religion, 
 to a great extent, without idols or temples ; or, if 
 with them, those objects were made of perishable 
 material. The fact of no temples or other edifices 
 having been discovered is regarded as a powerful reason 
 in substantiation of this assertion. Now, to say the 
 least, it is exceedingly premature to hazard such an 
 opinion founded on such a basis, inasmuch as the study 
 
 ' FergusBon's Handbook of Architecture, p. 7. 
 
BENARES, PAST ANB PKESENT. 21 
 
 of Indian antiquities with exactness is only of yester- 
 day. Scarcely a generation has passed since Prinsep 
 deciphered the inscription on Asoka's pillars, and ascer- 
 tained its date. Moreover, the spirit of archaeological 
 inquiry has but slightly manifested itself among the 
 British rulers of India. Of the large number of edu- 
 cate3~1Ehglishmen who have visited the country dur- 
 ing the last hundred years, and have resided in it 
 for a longer or shorter period, perhaps not one in a 
 thousand has taken the smallest practical interest in 
 bringing to the light of day its hidden historical trea- 
 sures. It is a hopefal sign of the times, that curiosity 
 on this subject is now being extensively excited ; but 
 it has hardly yet passed into the stage of eager desire, 
 displayiag itself by earnest and persistent effort in the 
 pursuit of archaeological investigations. The discoveries 
 of the last few years have been so remarkable and 
 abundant, and have contributed so many additions to our 
 small stock of knowledge respecting ancient India, 
 that the appetite for these researches has become more 
 and more strongly whetted, and the belief has ori- 
 ginated that the Indian mine is rich and deep, and is 
 ample enough to repay the efforts of a whole army of 
 explorers. 
 
 The ancient structures of India with which we are 
 acquainted are not of that primitive and rude character 
 which would lead us to imagiue that they were the very 
 first productions of Indian architectural skill. On the 
 contrary, they indicate an advanced stage, both in the 
 knowledge and application of permanent material, and 
 in devising and executing elegant designs in it. No 
 
22 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 one can. look upon Asoka's monolitlis and believe for an 
 instant that the knowledge of architecture which they 
 display was developed wholly during that monarch's 
 reign. Nor can it he credited that the beautiful cave- 
 temples were without their predecessors. It may be 
 replied, however, that, from a minute and careful ex- 
 amination of Indian, Assyrian, and Egyptian archi- 
 tecture, the conclusion may almost be demonstrated, that 
 the archetypes of the two former styles were originally 
 wooden, while those of the last-mentioned were of stone, 
 and that, therefore, there is a necessary limit to our 
 investigations, beyond which it is useless to attempt to 
 go ; for that the wooden archetypes have mostly, if not 
 entirely, perished, and the stone are of a later period. 
 Granting that this theory is, in the main, true, we are 
 not compelled to believe that the earliest stone erections 
 in India were as recent as the third century before 
 Christ; or, if there were any before that date, that 
 they have all been destroyed. Of the ancient Assyrian 
 palaces discovered by Layard, those most elaborately 
 sculptured were built about B.C. 700, while others, in 
 a less ornamented style, were erected still earlier : and 
 even these were preceded by wooden buildings. If this 
 be correct, why should not at least the same antiquity 
 be conceded to Indian sculptures subsequent to the 
 wooden period ? Is it at all likely that the Aryan 
 race existed in India for between one and two thousand 
 years, that they conquered a large portion of the 
 country, that they attained to greatness and glory, 
 and made wonderful progress in civilization, equalling, 
 if not surpassing, their contemporaries in other parts 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 23 
 
 of Asia, and yet, that, during all this time, they were 
 satisfied with only transitory symbols of greatness, and 
 never conceived the idea of leaving behind them durable 
 monuments of their power, which should hand down 
 their name to many generations ? They must have 
 heard of the vast structures erected in Egypt, and of 
 the splendid palaces, and stairs, and pillars, and other 
 edifices, with which the Assyrian monarchs adorned 
 their cities. They were not lacking in genius, or in 
 the desire for knowledge ; on the contrary, their minds 
 investigated the highest subjects, and whatever was of 
 interest to humanity in general, they regarded as of 
 importance to themselves. 
 
 But, it may be said, the Hindus borrowed their 
 architecture from the Assyrians ; or the architecture 
 of the two races was of a common origin. Both sup- 
 positions may be true ; and, in my opinion, it is almost 
 certain, that, in whatever way it was brought about, both 
 countries in some respects followed the same models. 
 Whether Assyrian or Persian sculptors were the archi- 
 tects of the earliest Hindu buildings, is open to question ; 
 but, if they were, it seems absurd to suppose that they 
 should have erected edifices altogether of wood, while in 
 their own country the public buildings were, to a large 
 extent, of stone ; especially seeing that various kinds of 
 durable stone were easily procurable in India. If, on 
 the other hand, the architects were natives who had 
 learnt the principles of their art chiefiy from Assyria 
 or Persia, or from a common source, it appears equally 
 strange that they should have perpetuated the con- 
 struction of wooden buildings in India for centuries 
 
24 BENAEESj PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 > 
 
 after they must have known them to hare been aban- 
 doned in other countries, and to have given place to 
 vast edifices of wood and stone combined, covered with 
 carvings and sculptures. 
 
 "We arrive, therefore, at this conclusion, that, as there is 
 every reason to believe that solid buildings partly if not 
 entirely of stone were erected in India several hundred 
 years preceding the third century B.C., — the earliest date, 
 as already remarked, of any monuments hitherto dis- 
 covered, — the probability is, that, if a diligent search were 
 instituted, some fragmentary remains of them would be 
 found. It is a circumstance highly favourable to the 
 prosecution of this search, that the ancient abodes of 
 the Aryan race in India have been, for the most part, 
 well ascertained. All these places will, I hope, in the 
 course of time, be thoroughly examined, and every ob- 
 ject of interest tending to throw any light on the subject 
 before us, or on the ancient history of India generally, 
 noted and described. 
 
 It is natural to believe, that, primd facie, Benares offers 
 as fair a field for archaeological investigation in regard 
 to the earliest forms of Hindu architecture as any city 
 in India. It is confessedly true, however, that no very 
 ancient remains have yet been found there ; but the 
 reason may be, because they have not been properly 
 sought after. Only within__the last few years, so far* 
 as I am aware, have any inquiries be&n made, in a 
 regular manner, after old buildings _m^ Benares. Mr. 
 James Prinsep, the great Indian archaeologist, was a 
 resident in the city for about ten years ; but it does not 
 appear that he made any important discoveries in it. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 25 
 
 His " Yiews of Benares " are cMefly of a popular cast, 
 and do not give eyidence of any extensive observation or 
 research of this nature. Major Xittqe^ the late Govern- 
 ment archaeologist, and the architect of the Government 
 College, — a beautiful Gothic structure in the suburbs of 
 the city, — although interesting himself in the excavations 
 of Sarnath, some three miles to the north of Benares, did 
 not, so far as is known, examine tha city itselL_ Indeed, 
 so iaattentive was he to its claims to antiquity, that he 
 removed many cart-loads of heavy stones, some of which 
 were curiously carved, from Bakariya Kund, on the con- 
 fines of the city and not more than a mile from the 
 college which he was erecting, without reflecting that 
 they might possibly be relics of ancient buildings 
 formerly situated on that site. As a fact, they were 
 originally connected with a series of Buddhist edifices 
 covering perhaps as much space as those structures 
 the foundations and remaias of which are found at 
 Sarnath. A third archaeologist, Mr. Thomas, late Judge 
 of Benares, and a distiaguished numismatist, trod in the 
 same footsteps, only taking interest in the coins dis- 
 covered in the city and in the Sarnath explorations. 
 As instances of ruthless spoliation, I may here remark, 
 that, in the erection of one of the bridges over the 
 river Barna, forty-eight statues and other sculptured 
 stones were removed from Sarnath and thrown iato 
 the river, to serve as a breakwater to the piers ; and 
 that, in the erection of the second bridge, the iron 
 one, from fifty to sixty cart-loads of stones from 
 the Sarnath buildings were employed. But this van- 
 dalism hardly equals that of Babu Jagat Sinh, who, in 
 
26 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the last century, carted away an entire tope, or 'sacred 
 tower, from the same vast store-house, with which he 
 built Jagat Ganj, a ward or district in the suburbs 
 of the city. 
 
 The chief reason why Benares has been thus neglected 
 is, in my judgment, attributable partly to its great ex- 
 tent, and partly to the general ignorance as to the 
 position of its ancient portions; and, consequently, the 
 explorer, in commencing his task, has been in ^nsider :^, 
 ^ble doubt where to begin. Now, it is necessary to 
 state, that much of the existing city has been erected 
 in comparatively modern times, and, with the exception 
 of an occasional bit of old frieze or cornice, or a broken 
 bass-relief or statue, inserted into recent walls, deposited 
 over drains, or lying neglected by the side of the road, 
 there is nothing of an ancient character visible through- 
 out a very large section of it. Tet all the northern 
 quarter of the city, a district little frequented by Euro- 
 pean visitors, exhibits in abundance isolated specimens 
 of architectural remains of various stages of antiquity. 
 Independently of a few separate buildings, or parts of 
 buildings, here and there to be seen, of an early style 
 of Hindu architecture, sculptured stones of many kinds 
 are distributed amongst th'e walls and foundations of 
 the modern houses, and in all places wherever solid 
 masonry is required, in such great profusion, that it is 
 impossible not to believe that on this site stood an 
 older city or, at least, a portion of it. Moreover, the 
 very scattered nature of these remains shows that a 
 considerable period has elapsed since they occupied 
 their proper places in their own original edifices. It 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 27 
 
 might' be utterly impracticable to collect the entire 
 materials of any one building; but this is not neces- 
 sary, seeing that the age of a building can be com- 
 monly determined by observing merely a fragment of its 
 ruins. In the case, however, of ancient Hindu remains, 
 so little has been done in their investigation, especially 
 in comparing one with another, that the question of 
 their antiquity cannot be at once decided. From an 
 ignorance of primitive types, mistakes of five hundred 
 or a thousand years or upwards may be easily made. 
 In judging, therefore, of the age of the relics found in 
 Benares, we have, in reality, very little to guide us. 
 
 If there be anything in the argument based on the 
 simplicity of a style, or on its ornamentation, as bearing 
 on its greater or less antiquity, then we can predicate 
 of the buildings which formerly stood in this part of 
 Benares various stages of antiquity. Some of the 
 capitals, pillars, bases, architraves, and mouldings are 
 most severely simple in their type, while others are 
 crowded with ornamentation ; and both species are very 
 different from the styles in modern use. The first 
 species is, doubtless, the forerunner of the second, but 
 at what interval, it is at present impossible to afiirm. 
 
 There is no question that a large proportion of the 
 ancient remains in Benares are of Buddhist origin, 
 but of various epochs; and, in some cases, those on the 
 same site are of different ages. For instance, the Bud- 
 dhist monastery and temples, of which traces are found 
 at Bakariya Kund, differ in their styles of architecture. 
 Of the two small temples, parts of which, though 
 possibly altered and transposed, are still standing, the 
 
28 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 pillars of the one are square and without ornament, 
 while those of the other, situated about three hundred 
 yards off, are square below, then eight -sided, and then 
 sixteen-sided, and are adorned with exquisitely-carved 
 devices. Moreover, from the quarry-marks engraved 
 upon many of the stones found here, it is manifest that 
 a portion of the buildings was erected about the era 
 of the Gupta dynasty, or perhaps from the first or 
 second to the third or fourth century a.d. 
 
 There are several ancient edifices in Benares, which, 
 if not original, are certainly to a large extent built of 
 old materials. In these, more especially in their columns, 
 may be traced a gradation of style. When we compare 
 the simple bracket or cruciform capital and its plain 
 square shaft and base, such as we find in the pillars of 
 the cloisters around the platform of Aurungzeb's mosque 
 behind the modem Bisheswar temple, and also in the 
 pillars of a Mohammedan cemetery in the neighbourhood 
 of Tiliya Nala, with the elaborately ornamented columns 
 of the mosque in the Eaj Ghat Fort, we are at once 
 struck with the contrast, and at the extraordinary de- 
 velopment which the style — the same fundamentally in 
 both instances — has received. Yarious intermediate stages 
 of diversity are represented in other buildings; but I 
 cannot now further enlarge on them. The first class of 
 pillars, however, must, I contend, be of a much earlier 
 date than the other. Yet it does not follow that this 
 latter class belongs necessarily to a recent epoch. The 
 mosque in which the columns are found consists, ap- 
 parently, of two Buddhist cloisters, or, possibly, of two 
 divisions of a Buddhist temple, and has been, at times, 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 29 
 
 SO extensively altered and repaired that it is hard to 
 say that any one column stands exactly as originally 
 placed. The columns are four in each row, and are 
 seventy in number. They are all carved, as also, with 
 a few exceptions, are the architraves ; and the carvings 
 in one division are uniform. The carvings in the other 
 division are bolder and more profuse, but, nevertheless, 
 are totally free from degeneracy of style. Some of the 
 pillars are of striking beauty, and, for grandness of con- 
 ception, and correctness of execution, are scarcely sur- 
 passed anywhere in India. Now, as some of the beauti- 
 fully carved pillars at Bhilsa were set up in the second 
 or third century before Christ, we must be careful in 
 our estimate of the date to which the Eaj Ghat pillars, 
 which are of singular excellency and purity of style, 
 ought to be assigned, although I do not propose to claim 
 for them so high an antiquity. 
 
 But I do not suppose that the architectural remains 
 scattered, for the most part in fragments, over this 
 quarter of Benares, are all of Buddhist origin. At the 
 same time, I must not forget the remark of Fergusson 
 ("Handbook of Architecture," p. 100), that "the earliest 
 authentic building that we have of the Hindu religion 
 in Hindustan is the great temple of Bhobaneswar (in 
 Orissa), built by Lelat Indra Kesari, a.d. 657," which, 
 if true at the time he wrote, is hardly true now. The 
 same eminent writer has elsewhere hazarded the ob- 
 servation, respecting Buddhist structures, that no built 
 examples whatever exist in India of Buddhist temples 
 (chaityas) and monasteries (viharas) ; and has, besides, 
 apparently confounded Jaina and Buddhist monuments. 
 
30 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 Previously to the Buddhist supremacy in India, we know 
 that Benares was a Brahmanical city; and there is no 
 proof that, at any period of that supremacy, Brahmanism 
 was entirely extirpated. For my part, I am inclined 
 to believe that some of these ancient remains may be 
 attributed equally to Hindu and Buddhist origin. The 
 simple style of architecture, to which I have referred, 
 was, without doubt, the earliest introduced into Benares, 
 perhaps into Hiadustan; and, whether the work of Bud- 
 dhists or of Hindus is, doubtless, of high antiquity. Yet 
 how it found its way here is open to question.. This 
 part of the existing city, as already stated, is much 
 older than the rest ; but, after all, there is good reason 
 to believe that only a small portion of even this quarter 
 belonged to the most ancient city, in which case the 
 above-mentioned fragmentary remains of a very old type, 
 may have been chiefly brought from the primitive city, 
 or may have been relics of buildings erected after 
 models found there. This entire subject will be dis- 
 cussed in subsequent chapters, towards the close of this 
 volume, in which some account of the archaeology of 
 Benares and its neighbourhood will be given in detail. 
 It is worthy of notice, as illustrating the nature of 
 Mohammedan rule in India, that nearly all the buildings 
 in Benares, of acknowledged antiquity, have been appro- 
 priated by the Musulmans; being used as mosques, 
 mausoleums, dargahs, and so forth ; and also that a large 
 portion of the separate pillars, architraves, and various 
 other ancient remains, which, as before remarked, are so 
 plentifully found in one part of the city, now contribute 
 to the support or adornment of their edifices. Not con- 
 
BENAEES, PAST AJSTD . PRESENT. 31 
 
 tent with destroying temples and mutilating idols, -with 
 all the zeal of fanatics, they fixed their greedy eyes on 
 whatever object was suited to their own purposes, and, 
 without scruple or any of the tenderness shown by the 
 present rulers, seized upon it for themselves. And thus 
 it has come to pass, that every solid and durable struc- 
 ture, and every ancient stone of value, being esteemed 
 by them as their peculiar property, has, with very few 
 exceptions, passed into their hands. We believe it was 
 the boast of Alauddin, that he had destroyed one thou- 
 sand temples in Benares alone. How many more were 
 razed to the ground, or transformed into mosques through 
 the iconoclastic fervour of Aurungzeb, there is no means 
 of knowing; but it is not too much to say, that he was 
 unsurpassed, in this feature of religious fanaticism, by 
 any of his predecessors. If there is one circumstance 
 respecting the Mohammedan period which Hindus re- 
 member better than another, it is the insulting pride of 
 the Musulmans, the outrages which they perpetrated 
 upon their religious convictions, and the extensive 
 spoliation of their temples and shrines. It is right 
 that Europeans should clearly understand, that this 
 spirit of Mohammedanism is unchangeable, and that, 
 if, by any mischance, India • should again come into 
 the possession of men of this creed, all the churches 
 and colleges, and all the Mission institutions, would 
 not be worth a week's purchase. 
 
 "When we endeavour to ascertain what the Moham- 
 medans have left to the Hindus of their ancient build- 
 ings in Benares, we are startled at the result of our 
 investigations. Although the city is bestrewn with 
 
32 BEKAEES, PASI AJSTD PRESENT. 
 
 temples in every direction, in some places very thickly, 
 yet it would be difficult, I believe, to find twenty 
 temples, in all Benares, of the age of Aurungzeb, or 
 from 1658 to 1707. The same unequal proportion of 
 old temples, as compared with new, is visible through- 
 out the whole of Northern India. Moreover, the dimi- 
 nutive size of nearly all the temples that exist is 
 another powerful testimony to the stringency of the 
 Mohammedan rule. It seems clear, that, for the most 
 part,^ the emperors forbade the Hindus to build spacious 
 temples, and suffered them to erect only small structures, 
 of the size of cages, for their idols, and these of no pre- 
 tensions to beauty. The consequence is, that the Hindus 
 of the present day, blindly following the example of their 
 predecessors of two centuries ago, commonly build their 
 religious edifices of the same dwarfish size as formerly; 
 but, instead of plain, ugly buildings, they are often of 
 elegant construction. Some of them, indeed, are so 
 delicately carved externally, are so crowded with bass- 
 reliefs and minute sculpturing, are so lavishly orna- 
 mented, that the eye of the beholder becomes satiated 
 and wearied. In regard to size, there is a marked dif- 
 ference between the temples of Northern and Southern 
 India; the latter being frequently of gigantic dimensions. 
 Yet, in respect of symmetry and beauty, the difference 
 is immensely in favour of the Northern fanes. 
 
 The present city of Benares, like the earlier one, 
 exhibits a tendency to shift its site. If any person 
 will take the trouble to ride through the city from 
 north to south, and then all along its extensive suburbs, 
 from the ancient fort at the junction of the Barna and 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the Ganges, down the road leading towards the can- 
 tonments, thence making a detonr as far as Durga-kund 
 until he again reaches the Ganges, he will at once be 
 convinced that the aspects of the city differ greatly 
 from one another. He will be especially struck by the 
 apparent newness and freshness of the houses on the 
 southern side, as compared with those on the northern 
 side; and^s_attention will be, or ought to be, power- 
 fully arrested by the venerable appearance of many of 
 the buildings on the cantonment road just alluded to, 
 and in its neighbourhood. 
 
 There is still a scattered population on the southern 
 bank of the Bama, living in small villages or hamlets ; 
 and, to the north of the present city, between it and 
 the Barna, mausoleums, dargahs, mosques, and even 
 Hindu buildings, most of which are in ruins, are found 
 in abundance, showing that, as late as the Mohammedan 
 period, this portion of the city, now become its suburbs, 
 was possessed of considerable magnificence, and, indeed, 
 was a favourite place of resort to its Mohammedan 
 rulers. The tendency of Benares to change its bound- 
 aries — for it shifts continually in a south-westerly direc- 
 tion — is well illustrated by the position of th§ three 
 fortresses which the Eajas of Benares have occupied 
 at various periods of its history. The oldest fort was 
 situated at Bama Sangam, or the confluence of the 
 Bama and the Ganges ; and a few remains of it are 
 still standing. In its day it no doubt formed a part 
 of the city, and was its chief defence; but now it is 
 only a remote suburb, with a mere handful of people 
 in its immediate neighbourhood. The second in point 
 
 8 
 
34 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of time is tlie fort at S'ivala Ghat, some four miles 
 further south-west in the midst of a dense population: it 
 was the residence of Cheit Singh, in the time of Warren 
 Hastings, but is no longer inhabited by the Eajas of 
 Benares. The third fort is that in which the present 
 Eaja dwells, and is situated at Eamnagar, upwards 
 of a mile to the south-east of S'ivala Ghat, on the 
 opposite side of the river, where a considerable popu- 
 lation has sprung up. 
 
 At present, as has long been the case, the city is 
 known by the two names of Easi and Benares; the 
 latter designation being a corruption of the Sanskrit 
 Varanasi, Yaranasi and Yaranasi.' On these words, as 
 significative terms, we have only uncertain grounds for 
 speculation. Kasi, the name most favoured by the 
 Hindus, is considered to mean 'splendid.' Yaranasi 
 is explained as a compound of Yarana and Asi, which 
 refer, it is conjectured, to the two streams bearing these 
 names, and severally flowing into the Ganges to the north 
 and south of the city, of which they thus constitute to 
 some extent a natural boundary. In some late Brah- 
 manical writings, Benares is spoken of as lying between 
 the Yarana and the Asi; but, in fact, it lies at a con- 
 siderable distance from the Yarana in one direction, and 
 in the other, while it has passed over the small rivulet of 
 the Asi, and now embraces it within itself, it is evident 
 that at one time it was a long way distant from that 
 stream. The Yarana (or Barna, as it is popularly called,) 
 contains a considerable body of water in the rainy 
 season ; but the Asi continues a small stream all the 
 
 ^ ^TXiNft. ^TTWt, <*<<!J<fl. 
 
BENABES, PAST AND PRESENT. 35 
 
 year round. There is another derivation current among 
 the natives, perhaps worthy of mention. It is said 
 that a certain Eaja Banar formerly ruled over Benares, 
 and gave his own name to the city. 
 
 It would appear, that, with the followers of Bud- 
 dha, the popular name of the city was not Kasi, but 
 Benares; and, on the other hand, that, while the city 
 commonly bore the name of Benares, the circumjacent 
 country was called Kasi. The Chinese pilgrim Ea 
 Hian, who travelled in India at the commencement 
 of the fifth century A.D., remarks, in the journal of 
 his travels, that, following the course of the river 
 Heng (Ganges) towards the " west, he came to the 
 town of Pho lo nai (or Benares), in the kingdom of 
 Kia shi.^^ ' The ancient Buddhist writings of Ceylon 
 also make reference to the Sarnath portion of the 
 old city as existing " in the kingdom of Kasi." At 
 one time, therefore, during the prevalence of the 
 Buddhist religion in India, the territory surrounding 
 Benares, and including the city, was called the Kasi 
 kingdom or country; and it is not unlikely that both 
 Kasi and Yaranasi were terms interchangeably em- 
 ployed to designate the surrounding country even after 
 the decline and downfall of the Buddhist religion 
 in India. Dr. F. Hall concludes, I find, that so late 
 as the eleventh century A.D., " at a period when 
 Kasi was, presumably, the more popular name of the 
 city of Benares, the circumjacent territory was known 
 as Varanasi."3 Indeed, the inscription which gave rise 
 to this remark makes use of the word Varanasi as de- 
 
 ' Laidlay's Pilgrimage of Pa Hian, p. 307. 
 
 * Bengal Asiatic Society's Journal for 1862, page 5, Note. 
 
36 EENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 noting the ' circiimjacent territory.' This use is found 
 in a land-grant issued by Eaja Vinayakapala, and may 
 be as late as the middle of the eleventh century. 
 
 Further information respecting the ancient city, being, 
 for the most part, derived from the examination of ruins 
 found in various places, and therefore of a technical 
 character, and not perhaps of interest to the general 
 reader, although of much importance to the archaeologist 
 and to all concerned in the physical aspects of old 
 Benares, is given in several chapters towards the close 
 of the volume. I proceed now to a description, in 
 detail, of some of the noteworthy characteristics of the 
 city as it at present exists. I would premise, however, 
 that such of the peculiarities of the city as are about to 
 be referred to are by no means intended as an exhaus- 
 tive catalogue of the whole. There are very many 
 others, more or less remarkable, which any one on the 
 spot, interested in the subject, would, very likely, find 
 to be deserving of his attention. 
 
37 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 PnRANic form of Modern Hinduism.— Increase of Temples in'Northem 
 India. — Number of Temples in Benares. — Temple of Bishes'war, the 
 idol-king of Benares. — Ancient Temple of Bisheswar, now a Moham- 
 medan Mosque. — The "Well Gjin Bipl. — Temple of Ad-Bishes'war. 
 — The Well Kfe'i Karwat. — Temple of Sanichar. — The goddess 
 AnnptirnA and her temple. — Temples of Qanes and S'ukres'war. 
 
 The form of religion prevailing among the Hindus in 
 Benares, and throughout a large portion of India, is 
 Puranic, which, in all probability, originated in the 
 country generally at the time when the Buddhist re- 
 ligion began to lose its hold upon the people, or about 
 the fifth or sixth century a.d. Vedantism more or less 
 tinctures the philosophical creed of many; but the staple 
 religion of the masses is the lowest and grossest form of 
 idolatry — the worship of uncouth idols, of monsters, 
 of the linga and other indecent figures, and of a multi- 
 tude of grotesque, ill-shapen, and hideous objects. 
 Some of them are wild parodies on the animal kingdom, 
 representing imaginary creatures made up in a variety 
 of ways. There is no city in India in which the 
 reverence paid to images is more absolute and complete 
 than in Benares. It is remarkable, too, as showing the 
 extent to which the spirit of idolatry has permeated all 
 classes, that pandits and thinking men, who ought to 
 know better, join in the general practice. The only 
 
38 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 persons that do not heartily engage in it are converts 
 to Christianity, to whom we may add many of the 
 young men educated at the public colleges and schools, 
 who either abandon it, or, while mechanically perform- 
 ing, out of deference to their parents and friends, the 
 prescribed religious duties, have already perceived the 
 hoUowness and absurdity of Hinduism, and do not 
 scruple occasionally to betray their sentiments, and even 
 to scoff at their own religion. To this class, which is 
 constantly increasing, should be added those persons, — 
 the number of whom may be large, but which it is 
 impossible to calculate, who have paid serious attention 
 to the exposition of Christian truth by missionaries, 
 and who, although not outwardly accepting Christianity, 
 are yet to some extent convinced of the falsity of 
 Hinduism. 
 
 Since the country has come into our hands, a great im- 
 petus has been given to the erection of temples, and to 
 the manufacture of idols, in Northern India. In Benares, 
 temples have multiplied at a prodigious rate ; and this 
 rate, at the present moment, is, I believe, rather in- 
 creasing than diminishing. Judged merely by its ex- 
 ternal appearances, Hinduism was never so flourishing as 
 it is now. "With general prosperity and universal peace, 
 and with a Government based on neutral principles, 
 and largely tolerant of the national religious systems, 
 Hinduism, under the leadership of men of the old school, 
 — ^princes, pandits, banyas (tradespeople), and priests, — 
 is making extraordinary efforts to maintain its position 
 against the new doctrines of European civilization and 
 religion, which they now begin to recognize as formid- 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 39 
 
 able opponents. The remarks of the Kev. Dr. Mullens, 
 on the extension of Hinduism, materially and outwardly, 
 in "Christian Work" for July, 1864, strongly bear out 
 the preceding observations : — 
 
 " There can be little doubt," he says, " that a hundred years ago, 
 the temples, mosques, and shrines of India, belonging to all the native 
 religions, were by no means in a flourishing condition. Large num- 
 bers, indeed, must have been in a state of decay. The anarchy that 
 prevailed throughout the Mogul empire after the death of Aurung- 
 zeb, the constant wars, the terrible visits of foreign armies, the 
 civil contests, the struggles of petty landholders, all tended to pro- 
 duce a state of insecurity which paralysed trade, which even hindered 
 agriculture, and involved all classes in a poverty which the empire 
 had not suffered for many years. Never were invasions more fierce ; 
 never were famines more cruel. Though freed from the persecutions 
 of the bigoted emperor, the temples suffered grievously from the 
 general want ; and it was, probably, only in the Mahratta provinces 
 that Hinduism flourished ; in them realizing its prosperity from the 
 plunder of successful Mahratta armies, whose piety rewarded the 
 shrines of their protecting divinities with a shower of endowments 
 and ofierings which remain in measure to the present day. Hiaduism 
 now is, externally, in a much more flourishing condition than it was 
 then. All over North India especially, the native merchants and 
 bankers who have prospered by English protection, by contracts 
 with English armies, by the security given by English law to their 
 extensive trade, have filled Benares and other cities with new and 
 costly shrines ; and many a Eaja, and many a banker, when "visiting 
 in state the holy city, has poured into the lap of the attendant priests 
 vmheard-of sums, which must have satisfied even their covetous and 
 grasping souls. Thus strangely has the revival of prosperity under 
 English rule added something of external strength to the ancient 
 idolatry, the resources of which had, in so many places, begun to faU. 
 The new school, enlightened and doubting, ceases to build new 
 temples, or endow the old ones. The old school, prospering in trade, 
 growing in wealth, still trusting to the ancient superstitions, and 
 anxious to earn merit for themselves, build new temples and present 
 
40 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 new gifts ; though feehng that the days of their faith are numhered, 
 and that other "views are gradually pressing their own into oblivion." 
 
 This temple-building moTement, singular as it is, 
 is really no ground for discouragement whatever, and 
 must not be permitted to blind our eyes to the great 
 transforming work which is being accomplished in 
 Benares and in Northern India generally. I regard it 
 as a movement, to a large extent spasmodic, intended 
 to counteract the Christian influences which, in so many 
 ways and in so many places, are operating upon the 
 community. Undoubtedly, it is quite true that the 
 religious sentiments of a Hindu would prompt him 
 to devote a considerable portion of his wealth, acquired 
 in times of tranquillity and national prosperity, to sacred 
 purposes. At the same time, he is quickened and 
 stimulated in this desire, -at the present day, by a strong 
 and painful conviction that his religion is in danger, 
 that his children are growing up unsound in the Hindu 
 faith, and that a new creed, to which the foreign rulers 
 and governors of his country are attached, is moving the 
 hearts of multitudes of his own race and tongue, which 
 he must resist with all his might, and must do so now 
 or never. Notwithstanding, therefore, all that is being 
 done by Brahmans, Hindu priests, and other deter- 
 mined idolaters, to sustain Hinduism, and to thwart 
 Christianity, it is a fact, admitting of distinct proof, 
 that the one is on the decline and the other is in the 
 ascendant, the one is decaying and crumbling to pieces, 
 while the other is daily becoming stronger and more 
 influential. 
 
 It remains to be seen whether the new religion or the 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 41 
 
 old — Christianity or Hinduism — is tlie more powerful. 
 The contest between them has already commenced. It 
 is felt throughout all the divisions of native society. It 
 is filling with anxiety the higher castes, and is calling 
 forth all the subtlety of the Brahmans, all their intellect, 
 and all their mysterious authority. We must expect the 
 opposition to Christianity to be, in many places, organized 
 and systematic, determined and dogged. But, if Christians 
 in India be faithful to themselves and to their Divine 
 Master, the triumph of their cause is certain. 
 
 Upwards of thirty years ago, Mr. James Prinsep, then 
 stationed at Benares, took a census of the city, and 
 also made a computation of the number of temples and 
 mosques existing in it. From his calculation, which 
 was made with considerable care, there were, at that 
 time, in the city proper, exclusive of the suburbs, 1,000 
 Hindu temples and 333 Mohammedan mosques. But 
 this number of temples, which has since been much in- 
 creased, did not include, I imagine, the small shrines, 
 the niches in the walls, the cavities inside and outside 
 many of the houses, and the spaces on the ghats, in 
 which images in immense multitudes were and are still 
 deposited. These secondary shrines, if they be worthy 
 of this designation, each occupied by one or more idols, 
 are, in some parts of the city, exceedingly numerous. 
 Figures of all forms, from a plain stone to the most 
 fantastic shape, whole and mutilated, painted and un- 
 painted, some without adornment, others decorated with 
 garlands, or wet with sacred water, meet the eye in 
 every direction. These remarks especially refer to the 
 neighbourhood of the bathing ghats and of the prin- 
 
42 BENARES, PAST AITO PEESEXT. 
 
 cipal temples. But the abundance of idols and fanes all 
 over the city gives it a strange and repellent appearance. 
 By a more recent estimate than that made by Mr. 
 Prinsep, the following results have been arrived at, the 
 accuracy of which, however, I am unable to vouch for, 
 though I dare say they may be taken as approximately 
 , correct : — 
 
 Districts of the City. Temples. Mosques. 
 
 Kotwali 261 19 
 
 Kal Bhairo 216 20 
 
 i-dhampura 48 54 
 
 Jaitpura 30 97 
 
 Chetganj 53 32 
 
 Bhelapura 154 16 
 
 Dasasamedh 692 34 
 
 1454 272 
 
 The Hindus have a strange fancy for accumulating 
 idols in certain spots. Not content with depositing an 
 image in a temple, they ornament its portico and walls 
 with deities, or arrange them in rows in the temple en- 
 closure. Tou may sometimes see twenty, fifty, and 
 even a hundred of these idols in one place, many of 
 which will perhaps receive as much homage as the god 
 who is exalted to the chief seat within the temple itself. 
 If it would be difficult to count the small shrines and sacred 
 niches abounding in the city, it would be incomparably 
 more so to enumerate the idols actually worshipped by 
 the people. These inferior shrines were, on one occasion, 
 by a curious contrivance, immensely increased ; and yet 
 the increase could hardly have been generally perceived. 
 Eaja Man Sinh, of Jeypore, wishing to present one 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 43 
 
 hundred thousand temples to the city, made this stipula- 
 tion, that they were all to be commenced and finished 
 in one day. The plan hit upon was, to cut out on blocks 
 of stone a great many tiny carvings, each one represent- 
 ing a temple. The separate blocks, therefore, on the work 
 being completed, exhibited, from top to bottom, and on 
 all sides, a mass of minute temples. These blocks are 
 still to be seen in various parts of Benares, the largest 
 being situated above the Dasasamedh Ghat, near the 
 Man Mandil Observatory. In regard to the number of 
 idols of every description actually worshipped by the 
 people, it certainly exceeds the number of people them- 
 selves, though multiplied twice over: it cannot be less 
 than half a million, and may be many more. Indeed, 
 the love for idolatry is so deep-seated and intense in 
 the breast of the Hindu, that it is a common thing for 
 both men and women to amuse themselves, with a pious 
 intent, with manufacturing little gods from mud or clay, 
 and, after paying divine honours to them, and that, too, 
 with the same profound reverence which they display 
 in their devotions before the well-known deities of the/ 
 temples, to throw them away. 
 
 I recall to mind a remarkable instance of this. One 
 day on entering the courtyard of the temple of Annpurna, 
 the goddess of plenty, my attention was arrested by 
 an aged woman seated on the ground in front of a 
 small clay figure, which, I ascertained, she had, with 
 her own hands, manufactured that morning, and to 
 which she was solemnly paying homage. Close by 
 was a brazen vessel containing water, into which 
 every now and then she dipped a small spoon, and 
 
44 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 then gently poured a few drops upon the head of the 
 image. She then reverently folded her hands, and mut- 
 tered words of prayer, occasionally moving one hand 
 to her face, and with finger and thumb compressing 
 her two nostrils, in order that, holding her breath as 
 far as possible, she might increase the merit of her 
 worship and the efficacy of her prayer. I did not stay 
 to the end ; yet I well knew the result, as the same thing 
 is constantly done in Benares. Having completed her 
 devotions, she rose, took the image which she had 
 worshipped in her hands, and threw it away, as of no 
 further use. 
 
 Benares, like Athens in the time of St. Paul, is a 
 city " wholly given to idolatry." The Hindu, it should 
 always be remembered, is, in his own fashion, a religious 
 man of very great earnestness ; but his religion takes 
 the form of idolatry. Idolatry enters into all the 
 associations and concerns of his life. He can take no 
 step without it. He carries his offerings publicly in the 
 streets, on his way to the temple in the morning, and 
 receives upon his forehead, from the officiating priest, 
 the peculiar mark of his god, as the symbol of the 
 worship he has paid him, which he wears all the day 
 long. As he walks about, you may hear him muttering 
 the names and sounding the praises of his gods. In 
 greeting a friend, he accosts him in the name of a 
 deity. In a letter on business, or an any other 
 matter, the first word he invariably writes is the name 
 of a god. Should he propose an engagement of im- 
 portance, he first inquires the pleasure of the idol, 
 and a lucky day for observing it. At his birth, his 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 45 
 
 horoscope is cast; when lie is ill, the gods must be 
 propitiated; when he is bereaved, the idol must be 
 remembered ; at his death, his funeral rites are per- 
 formed in the name of one or more deities. 
 
 In short, idolatry is a charm, a fascination, to the 
 Hindu. It is, so to speak, the air he breathes. It is 
 the food of his soul. It is the foundation of his 
 hopes, both for this world and for another. He is 
 subdued, enslaved, and befooled by it. He is, how- 
 ever, a willing slave, a willing devotee; for he loves 
 idolatry, together with its superstitions and cere- 
 monies, with all the ardour of religious frenzy. More- 
 over, it is of great importance to bear in mind, that, 
 as a man can hardly be better than his religion, the 
 nature of the Hindu partakes of the supposed nature 
 of the gods whom he worships. And what is that 
 nature ? According to the traditions handed about 
 amongst the natives, and constantly dwelt upon in 
 their conversation, and referred to in their popular songs, 
 which, perhaps, would be suflB.cient proof for our pur- 
 pose, yet, more especially, according to the number- 
 less statements and narratives found in their sacred 
 writings, on which these traditions are based, it is, 
 in many instances, vile and abominable to the last 
 degree; so that the poor idolater, when brought com- 
 pletely under its influence, is most deplorably debased. 
 Yirtue, truth, holiness, civilization, enlightenment, 
 human progress, all that contributes to individual hap- 
 piness and to a nation's prosperity, cannot be properly 
 appreciated by him. His soul's best affections are 
 blighted, and his conscience is deeply perverted. Idol- 
 
46 BENAE.ES, PAST AND PEESENT, 
 
 atry is a word denoting all that is wicked in imagination 
 and impure in practice. These remarks are especially 
 true of rigid and thorough Hindus, like the Ganga- 
 putras, or " sons of the Ganges," who may be regarded 
 as representing, in their own persons, the complete 
 results of their strange religion. To speak plainly, 
 and yet without extravagance, the moral nature of such 
 Hindus has become so distorted, that, to a large extent, 
 they have forgotten the essential distinctions of things. 
 Their idol-worship has plunged them into immoralities 
 of the grossest forms, has robbed them of truth, has 
 filled their minds with deceit, has vitiated their holy 
 aspirations, has greatly enfeebled every sentiment 
 of virtue, has corrupted the common feelings of hu- 
 manity within them, has disfigured and well-nigh 
 destroyed the true notion of God which all men in 
 some shape are believed to possess, has degraded them 
 to the lowest depths, and has rendered them unfit alike 
 for this world and for the next. Idolatry is a demon — 
 an incarnation of all evil — but, nevertheless, as bewitch- 
 ing and seductive as a Siren. It ensnares the depraved 
 heart, coils around it like a serpent, transfixes it with 
 its deadly fangs, and finally stings it to death. Idolatry 
 has, for many centuries, drunk the life-blood of the 
 Hindu with insatiate thirst, has covered with its pollu- 
 tions the fair and fertile soil of India, has drenched the 
 land with its poisoned waters, and has rendered its inhabi- 
 tants as godless as it was possible for them to become. 
 
 Most of the temples are of modern date ; but many of 
 them occupy, in popular belief, the sites of immemorial 
 shrines long since displaced by their successors. It 
 
BENAKES, PAST AND PRESENT. 47 
 
 is, therefore, a common reply wliich one receives, on 
 inquiring the date of any given shrine, that it is with- 
 out date, and has always existed. These original sites 
 are numerous ; and each has a history of its own. Por 
 instance, the pandits say that Ganes is worshipped in 
 fifty-six places, the goddess Yogani in sixty-four, Durga 
 in nine, Bhairo in eight, S'iva in eleven, Yishnu in 
 one, and the Sun in twelve; all which date from the 
 mythical period, when Divodasa, the famous Eaja of 
 Benares, whose name is a household word among 
 the people, was prevailed on to permit the gods to 
 return to their ancient and sacred home. But these 
 places do not, by any means, represent the present 
 number of shrines at which these deities are venerated. 
 Ganes especially, the god of wisdom, son of S'iva 
 and Parvati, is very extensively worshipped in Benares ; 
 and there is scarcely a temple in some niche or comer 
 of which his monstrous figure may not be found. 
 
 The temple receiving the highest meed of honour 
 in the whole city is that dedicated to the god Bishes- 
 war, or S'iva, whose image is the linga, a plain conical 
 stone set on end. ,Bisheswar is the reigning deity 
 of Benares, and, in the opinion of the people, holds 
 the position of king over all the other deities, as well 
 as over all the inhabitants residing, not only within the 
 city itself, but also within the circuit of the Panch- 
 kosi road or sacred boundary of Benares, extending 
 for^^eariy fifty miles. In issuing his orders, he acts 
 Ihrough: Bhaironath, who is the deified kotwdl or god- 
 magistrate of Benares and its extensive suburbs. Every 
 matter of importance is presumed to be brought in a 
 
48 BENARES, PAST AND. PRESENT. 
 
 regular manner by the kotwal before his royal master. 
 The agents of the kotwal are stationed all along the 
 Panch-kosi road, and are the gods or idols located there, 
 who are supposed to act as chaukiddrs or watchmen over 
 the entire boundary. The office of these watchmen is to 
 ward off all evil from the sacred city, to contend with 
 such enemies as they may meet with endeavouring to 
 break in upon the outer inclosure, and to send in their 
 reports to the god-magistrate Bhaironath. 
 
 Bisheswar, in his capacity of idol-king of Benares, 
 demands the homage of his subjects, and will not resign 
 his rights to the other deities who throng his dominions. 
 His subjects must, first of all, worship him, and must 
 bring their offerings to his shrine, of which he, or rather 
 his rapacious priests, are exceedingly fond. Although 
 without mouth or throat, his thirst seems to be great ; for 
 one of the most plentiful offerings presented to him is 
 that of Ganges water, with which, in the hot season, he 
 is kept perpetually drenched. 
 
 It is no matter of surprise, therefore, that Bisheswar 
 should receive more adoration than any other idol in 
 Benares. Not only the permanent inhabitants of the 
 city, but also pilgrims and other travellers, may be seen 
 pressing into the temple during the greater portion of 
 the day. The worshippers are of all classes and con- 
 ditions, and present a singular, and even picturesque, 
 variety of appearance. Among the most prominent of 
 these is, we need hardly say, the proud, half-naked Brah- 
 man, — with shaven head, save a long tuft depending 
 from his crown behind, the sacred cord being thrown 
 over one shoulder or ear, and the symbol of S'iva being 
 
49 
 
 displayed upon kis foreliead, — who performs his devotions 
 with punctilious nicety. The faqir, too, in almost primi- 
 tive nakedness, — his hair dyed and matted together, and 
 his body bedaubed with ashes, — though scarcely noticed 
 by other people, arrests the attention of the stranger. 
 Few of the men have much clothing upon their persons ; 
 yet many of them, by their carriage, and by the jewels 
 and gold with which they are adorned, show that they 
 occupy a very respectable position in native society. 
 The women are, for the most part, thoroughly clothed; 
 and, some of them, occasionally, are profusely decorated 
 with gold and silver ornaments studded with precious 
 stones. All the worshippers carry oflferings in their 
 hands, consisting of sugar, rice, ghee (or clarified butter), 
 grain, flowers, water, etc. One of the most beautiful 
 of the flowers presented is the lotos, the form and 
 colour of which bear some resemblance to those of a 
 large tulip or water-lily. 
 
 Over the narrow doorway which constitutes the chief 
 entrance to the temple, is a small figure of Ganes, upon 
 which some of the worshippers, as they pass in, sprinkle 
 a few drops of water. As one enters the enclosure, 
 several shrines are visible. The worshipper pays his 
 homage to any god, or to all, as he may elect ; but he 
 must of necessity approach the paramount deity of the 
 place, that is to say, the plain conical stone already 
 spoken of. He makes his obeisance to the god either 
 by bowing his head — his hands being folded in ador- 
 ation — or by prostrating himself upon the ground ; 
 after which he presents his ofi'ering, and rings one of 
 the bells suspended from the roof of the temple. This 
 
50 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 is to attract the attention of the god,— for it is possible 
 he may be asleep, or otherwise occupied, — and to fix 
 it upon himself. The adoration of an idolater is some- 
 times distressingly solemn. His whole soul seems to 
 be over-awed, but with what sentiments it is impossible 
 to affirm ; and the solemnity, if any, is singularly 
 transient, and lasts only so long as he is in the presence 
 of the idol. It is difficult to analyse his feelings, or 
 to affirm precisely that they are of this or of that nature : 
 nevertheless, there can be little doubt that his mind is 
 occasionally filled with dread and anxiety, amounting, it 
 may be, to alarm. The idolater cherishes no love for 
 the idols he worships, but, on the contrary, regards 
 them as beings to .be feared, and, therefore, to be 
 propitiated by adoration and suitable offerings. N^early 
 all the worshippers engage in their devotions in a quiet, 
 orderly, and decent manner, but with manifest perfunc- 
 toriness, and with little or no thought beyond the desire 
 to perform thoroughly the task they have set them- 
 selves, even to the minutest particular. 
 
 The temple of Bisheswar is situated in the midst 
 of a quadrangle, covered in with a roof, above which 
 the tower of the temple is seen. At each corner is a 
 dome, and, at the south-east corner, a temple sacred 
 to S'iva. When observed in the distance,' from the 
 elevation of the roof, the building presents three distinct 
 divisions. The first is the spire of a temple of Mahadeva, 
 whose base is in the quadrangle below ; the second is a 
 large gilded dome ; and the third is the gilded tower of 
 the temple of Bisheswar itself. These three objects are 
 all in a row, in the centre of the quadrangle, filling 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 51 
 
 up most of the space from one side to the other. 
 The carving upon them is not particularly striking; 
 but the dome and tower glittering in the sun look like 
 vast masses of burnished gold. They are, however, only 
 covered with gold leaf, which is spread over plates of 
 copper overlaying the stones beneath. The; expense of 
 gilding them was borne by the late Maharaja Eunjeet 
 Sinh, of Lahore. The tower, dome, and spire terminate, 
 severally, in a sharp point. Attached to the first is a high 
 pole bearing a small flag and tipped with a trident. 
 The temple of Bisheswar, including the, tower, is fifty- 
 one feet in height. The space between the temples of 
 Bisheswar and Mahadeva, beneath the dome, is used as 
 a belfry ; and as many as nine bells are suspended in it. 
 One is of elegant workmanship, and was presented to 
 the temple by the Eaja of. Nepal. 
 
 Outside the. enclosure, to the north, is a large collection 
 of deities, : raised ' upon a platform, called by the natives 
 'the court. of Mahadeva.' They are, for the most part, 
 male and female emblems. Several small idols likewise 
 are built into the wall, flanking this court. These are 
 evidently not of modern manufacture. Their age, how- 
 ever, does not seem to be known. The probability is, 
 that they were taken from the ruins of the old temple 
 of Bisheswar, which stood to the north-west of the 
 present structure, and was demolished by the Emperor 
 Aurungzeb in the seventeenth century. Extensive 
 remains of this ancient temple are still visible. They 
 form a large portion of the western wall of the Moham- 
 medan mosque, which was built upon its site by this 
 bigoted oppressor of the Hindus. Judging from the 
 
52 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 proportions of these ruins, it is manifest that the former 
 temple of Bisheswar must have been both loftier and 
 more capacious than the existing structure; and the 
 courtyard is four or five times more spacious than the 
 entire area occupied by the modern temple. The archi- 
 tecture of the ruins seems to be of a mixed character, 
 and composed both of Jaina and Hindu orders. Indeed, 
 it is not impossible that a few slight traces of Buddhist 
 architecture might be detected, also. "What makes this 
 latter supposition plausible is, that, on three sides of the 
 perpendicular face of the terrace on which the mosque 
 stands, Buddhist pillars, of a simple and very early type, 
 forming recesses or rooms, but which were, originally, in 
 all probability, cloisters, are distinctly visible. 
 
 The mosque, though not small, is by no means an 
 imposing object. It is plain and uninteresting, and 
 displays scarcely any carving or ornament. Within and 
 without, its walls are besmeared with a dirty white- 
 wash, mixed with a little colouring matter. Its most 
 interesting feature is a row of Buddhist or Hindu 
 columns in the front elevation. The presence of this 
 mosque, located, from motives of insult, in a place 
 held so sacred by the Hindus, and around which 
 their closest sympathies are gathered, is a constant 
 source of heart-burnings and feuds both to Hindus 
 and Mohammedans. The former, while unwillingly 
 allowing the latter to retain the mosque, claim the 
 courtyard between it and the wall as their own. Con- 
 sequently, they will not permit the Mohammedans to 
 enter the mosque by more than one public entrance, 
 which, instead of being in front of that building, is 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 53 
 
 situated on one side of it. The Mohammedans have 
 many times wished to build a gateway in the midst 
 of the spacious platform in front of the mosque ; but, 
 although they once erected one, they were not suf- 
 fered to make use of it, on account of the excitement 
 that the circumstance occasioned among the Hindu 
 population, which was only allayed by the timely inter- 
 ference of the Magistrate of Benares. The gateway 
 still stands ; but the space between the pillars has been 
 filled up. A peepul tree, adored as a god, overhangs 
 both the gateway and the road ; but the Hindus will not 
 allow the Mohammedans to pluck a single leaf from it. 
 The Government, as a kind of trustee of the mosque, 
 still pays, periodically, or did so not long since, the 
 interest of money belonging to it, deposited in the 
 Treasury, notwithstanding the Act lately passed for- 
 bidding such a practice. 
 
 Between the mosque and the temple of Bisheswar 
 is the famous well known as Gyan Bapi or Gyan Kup, 
 "well of knowledge," in which, as the natives believe, 
 the god S'iva resides. Tradition says, that, once on 
 a time, no rain fell in Benares for the space of twelve 
 years, and that, in consequence, great distress was 
 experienced by the inhabitants. In order to provide 
 water for the people, and so to relieve them from the 
 terrible calamity which had befallen them, a Bishi,-^ 
 one of the mythical beings, not exactly divine, and 
 certainly not mortal, wbo, to the number of many 
 thousands, are reverenced by the Hindus, — grasping 
 the trident of S'iva, dug up the earth at this spot, 
 and forthwith there issued from beneath a copious 
 
54 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 supply of water. S'iva, on becoming acquainted witli 
 the circumstance, promised to take up his abode in the 
 . well, and to reside there for ever. It is stated, more- 
 over, that, on occasion of the destruction of the old 
 temple of Bisheswar, a priest took the idol of the 
 temple and threw it down for safety. The natives visit 
 this well in multitudes, and cast in water or flowers, 
 and other offerings, as a sacrifice to the deity below. 
 The compound mixture thus produced is necessarily 
 in a constant state of putrefaction, and emits a most 
 disgusting stench. The well is surrounded by a hand- 
 some low-roofed colonnade, the stone pillars of which 
 are in four rows, and are upwards of forty in number. 
 The building is small, but has been designed and exe- 
 cuted with considerable taste. It is of very recent date, 
 having been erected in the year J 828, by " Sri Maut 
 Baija Bai," widow of " Sri Maut Dowlat Eao Sindhia 
 Bahadoor," of Gwalior. 
 
 Immediately to the east of this colonnade is the figure 
 of a large bull, about seven feet high, cut in stone, dedi- 
 cated to the god Mahadeva ; and a few steps further east 
 is a temple built in honour of the same deity. The bull 
 is a gift of the Eaja of Nepal; and the temple, of the 
 Eani of Hyderabad. On the south side of the colonnade 
 is an iron palisade, in the enclosure of which are two 
 small shrines, one. of white marble, the other of stone, 
 and between them a scaffolding of carved stone, from 
 which a bell is suspended. 
 
 Standing in this courtyard, the chief objects in which 
 have been thus briefly described, and looking beyond in 
 a north-westerly direction, the eye falls on a temple about 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 55 
 
 sixty feet in height, situated one hundred and fifty yards 
 distant from the mosque. This is Ad-Bisheswar, that is, 
 the temple of " the Primeval Lord of All." The natives 
 in the neighbourhood all regard this shrine as of an 
 epoch anterior to that of the old Bisheswar, the ruins 
 of which, as already stated, form a constituent portion 
 of Aurungzeb's mosque. Hence the name attached to 
 it. This temple is surmounted by a large dome, the 
 decaying condition of which is visible in the gaps on 
 its outer surface, caused by the falling away of broad 
 thick flakes of the cement of which it is composed. The 
 temple below, however, which is faced with slabs of 
 stone as far as the base of the dome, has lately been 
 extensively repaired by a tobacconist in the neighbour- 
 hood, named Ganpat, who has embellished its interior 
 with paintings traced on the walls, making them look 
 fresh and modern. There is really nothing in this 
 temple of an ancient character; but, on the eastern side 
 of the enclosure, the ground becomes considerably ele- 
 vated, and upon it stands a mosque built of very old 
 materials, the pillars of which date as far back as the 
 Gupta period, and possibly earlier. May not these old 
 stones and pillars be remains of the original Bisheswar ? 
 Formerly a communication was open between the en- 
 closure of Ad-Bisheswar and the courtyard of Aurung- 
 zeb's mosque already described ; but is now closed. 
 
 Kasi Karwat, a sacred well of some repute, is situated 
 a short distance to the east of Ad-Bisheswar. Besides 
 the vertical opening, there is a passage leading down to 
 the water, which formerly was traversed daily by re- 
 ligious Hindus desirous of approaching the holiest part 
 
56 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 of the well. A few years ago a fanatic offered Mmself 
 in sacrifice to S'iva, the god of the well, when the 
 authorities caused the passage to be closed ; but, on the 
 priests representing that their revenues would greatly 
 suffer, were it to be* kept permanently shut, permission 
 was given for it to be opened once a week, namely, 
 every Monday. 
 
 This neighbourhood is exceedingly rich in temples of 
 most elaborate workmanship. Some of them, from the 
 summit to the base, are one mass of curious and intricate 
 carving- Not that the designs represented on them, 
 although in some eases elegant, display any very remark- 
 able genius ; yet the execution of them is a marvellous 
 feat of chiselling. On the south side of Bisheswar stands 
 one such temple. The gateways leading into the court- 
 yard and into the fane itself are, both, profusely carved; 
 and, in addition, the latter is crowded with figures inter- 
 mingled with a multitude of short gilded spires. 
 
 Proceeding a little beyond these temples, we come to a 
 small shrine dedicated to Sanichar, or the planet Saturn. 
 The deity within, representing the planet, exhibits a 
 silver head, beneath which depends an apron, or what has 
 the appearance of such. The truth is, the idol is bodi- 
 less, and the apron conceals the want. A garland of 
 flowers hangs from either ear, falling below the chin; 
 while above the figure a canopy is spread, designed, I 
 imagine, to illustrate the majesty of the god. It is said 
 of this deity, that, for seven years and a half, he troubles 
 the life of men in general, but that he exempts his own 
 worshippers from the trials and disasters which, for this 
 period; he brings on the rest of mankind. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 57 
 
 A few steps further on is Annpurna, a goddess of great 
 repute in Benares, inasmuch as, under the express orders 
 of Bisheswar, she is supposed to feed all its inhabitants, 
 and to take care that none suffer from hunger. The 
 people have a tradition, that, when Benares was first 
 inhabited, Annpurna found that the task of feeding so 
 many persons was too heavy for her. Filled with anxiety, 
 she knew not what step to take. The goddess of the 
 Ganges, or Ganga, generously came to her relief, and 
 told her, that, if she would bestow a handful of pulse 
 on every applicant, she herself would contribute a 
 lota (a brass vessel) full of water. Annpurna was com- 
 forted with the suggestion, in which she acquiesced ; and 
 the arrangement thus made produced the most satis- 
 factory results. In honour of Annpurna, " the supplier 
 of food," a custom prevails among all classes, by which 
 hundreds and even thousands of the poor are daily sup- 
 plied with food. It is this. Those persons that can 
 afford it put aside a quantity of pulse, and moisten it 
 over night, and, in the morning, give it away, in handfuls, 
 to the poor. Only one handful is given to each person ; 
 but, as he and all the members of his family can, each, 
 procure a handful, after collecting a supply from a number 
 of donors, they are able, by the middle of the day, to 
 obtain, in the aggregate, a goodly quantity, which they 
 first dry, and then either cook for food, or sell in the 
 bazaar. I have been told that the great consumption, 
 in this way, of this particular kind of grain is one 
 reason why its price is so high in Benares. 
 
 On 'the ground in front of the entrance to the temple 
 of Armpurna, beggars are seated, during most of the day. 
 
58 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESEMT. 
 
 some of -whotn have cups in their liands, into which the 
 worshippers, as they go in and out of the temple, throw 
 small quantities of grain or rice. Passing through the 
 doorway into the quadrangle, a similar system of alms- 
 giving and almstaking displays itself. The priests of the 
 temple, too, receive offerings for the poor, in addition to 
 the presents appropriated to themselves. In one corner 
 of the enclosure is a stone box, which, is the common 
 treasury for the reception of the gifts intended for this 
 object. In it may be seen a singular medley of rice, 
 grain, water, flowers, milk, etc., which, though perhaps 
 not unwelcome to a Hindu stomach, would revolt a 
 European. Not that the whole of this medley is eaten ; 
 but the rice and grain and other edible substances are 
 separated from the rest, and distributed among the 
 applicants. 
 
 The temple of A.nnpurna was erected, 150 years ago, by 
 the Eaja of Poona. It possesses a tower, and also a dome, 
 which is carved and ornamented after the Hindu fashion. 
 The dome is sustained by pillars ; and between them a bell 
 is suspended, which is kept almost constantly sounding ; 
 for, as soon as one worshipper leaves it, another, having 
 performed his devotions, takes his turn in beating it. The 
 bells, in this and other Hindu temples, are not rung, but 
 are beaten with the clapper or tongue depending from 
 within. The carved portions of this temple were once 
 partially or entirely painted ; and the painting in the in- 
 terstices is still visible. The goddess within the temple 
 is regarded, by the natives, as a charming creature. She 
 exhibits the taste of her sex in her fondness for orna- 
 ments; for, besides her necklace of jewels and her 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 69 
 
 silver eyes, she occasionally wears a mask of gold or bur- 
 nished copper, and thus endeavours to enhance her beauty 
 and fascinate her beholders. The temple occupies a large 
 portion of the quadrangle, and stands in its centre. In 
 one corner of this quadrangle is a small shrine dedicated 
 to the Sun. The idol representing the Sun is seated in a 
 chariot drawn by seven horses, and is surrounded by a 
 glory indicative of the rays of light which he emits from 
 his person in all directions. In a second corner is another 
 shrine, in which is an image of Gauri 'Sankar, and the 
 stone box or receptacle before alluded to. In a third is 
 a large figure of Hanuman, the monkey-god, in bass-relief: 
 and, in a fourth, a figure of Ganes, with the head of an 
 elephant and the body of a man, 
 
 Not far from the temple of Annpurna is the temple 
 of Sakhi Binayaka, or the " witness-bearing Binayaka." 
 Pilgrims, on completing the journey of the Panch-kosi 
 road, must pay a visit to this shrine, in order that 
 the fact of their pilgrimage may be verified. Should 
 they neglect to do this, all their pilgrimage would be 
 without merit or profit. The temple is in a square, 
 and was erected by a Mahratta, about one hundred 
 years ago. On the road between these two temples is a 
 red glaring figure of the god Ganes, with silver hands, 
 trunk, feet, ears, and poll, squatting down on the floor, 
 which is raised a little above the pathway. The oddity 
 of this painted monster would excite one's laughter, 
 were the mind not distressed at the thought that it 
 receives divine honours. 
 
 Near the temple of Bisheswar, and to the south of 
 Sanichar, is a small shrine, dedicated to 'Sukreswar, 
 
60 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 which is visited by persons desirous of becoming 
 parents of handsome sons. It is said that this god will 
 bestow a fine son on his worshippers, even though fate 
 should not have conferred one on them ; and, so long 
 as he lives in Benares, he will pass his time happily, 
 and, at death, will depart to the realms of 'Siva. 
 
61 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 Temple of Bhaironith, tlie god-magistrate of Benares. — Dandpdn, or the 
 Deified Staff. — Temple of the Planets. — K41-Klip, or Well of Pate. 
 — Image of Mah4k41, or Great Fate. — The Manikarnik^ Well and 
 Gh^t. — Legends respecting the Well. — Temple of Tdrakeswar. 
 — Sindhia Ghat and the Baja of Nagpore's Ghat. — Temple of 
 Briddhkil. — Shrines of M4rkandes'war and Daksheswar. — Legend of 
 Raja Daksh. — Temples of Alpmriteswar and Eatnes'war. 
 
 The temple of Bhaironatli is situated upwards of a 
 mile to the north of the temple of Bisheswar. The god 
 of this shrine, as already described, is, in public esti- 
 mation, the deified kotwal^ or police-magistrate, of Benares 
 and its suburbs, as far as the Panch-kosi road, within 
 the circuit of which, under the orders of his royal 
 master Bisheswar, he exercises divine authority over both 
 gods and men. He is bound to keep the city free from 
 evil spirits and evil persons, and, should he find any 
 such within its sacred precincts, to expel them forthwith. 
 As it is through his care and energy that its inhabitants, 
 and all others who may conceive the vain design of 
 ending their days at this hallowed spot, eventually, it 
 is supposed, obtain salvation, it is of the utmost import- 
 ance that he should perform the functions of his high 
 office wisely and well. It is a natural result, therefore, of 
 his possessing such vast authority, that, for the execution 
 of his orders, he should have deemed it right to arm 
 
62 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 himself with a truncheon. And this is no figment of the 
 imagination, but a veritable cudgel, of enormous thick- 
 ness ; not, indeed, of -wood, but, what is more terrible, of 
 stone. It is called Dandpan, from danda, a stick, and, 
 in common belief, is nothing less than divine. Whether 
 from a desire to enjoy as much tranquillity as possible, or 
 from the universal Hindu custom to shift anxiety and 
 trouble from one shoulder to another, I cannot say, but 
 Bhairo has considerately issued his commands to it, to 
 beat any person who may be found working mischief, 
 and, having done so, has resigned himself to a life of 
 ease. So that, in fact, this intelligent stick is, de facto, 
 the divine magistrate of the city. It may seem strange, 
 however, that the temple in which Dandpan is deposited is 
 not that of Bhaironath, but is another, situated a short 
 distance off. The stone representing this singular deity 
 is about four feet in height, and is specially worshipped, 
 every Tuesday and Sunday, by a great many people. It 
 is set up on end, the upper extremity receiving, occa- 
 sionally, the adjunct of a silver mask or face ; but, when 
 our wondering eyes beheld it, there was only the bare 
 stone visible, with a garland depending from the upper 
 extremity. In front of the stick, three bells were 
 hanging ; and, on one side, a priest sat, with a rod in 
 his hand, made of peacock's feathers, with which, in 
 the name of Dandpan, he gently tapped the worshippers, 
 and thereby vicariously inflicted punishment upon them 
 for the. offences of which they were guilty. In this 
 temple are other remarkable objects, which will be pre- 
 sently referred to. The worship of Dandpan, and the 
 function attributed to this extraordinary divinity, con- 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 63 
 
 stitute a climax of absurdity. But the Hindu is as 
 solemn in the presence of the divine stick, — administer- 
 ing, as he imagines, divine justice, — as though it were 
 the chief judge of the Sudder Adawlut, and is totally 
 unconscious of the ludicrous position he occupies. 
 
 The worship of Dandpan illustrates, very instructively, 
 the changes that have come over popular Hinduism even 
 within a few centuries. Dandapani, — to give the un- 
 corrupted Sanskrit word, — is, properly, the name of an 
 attendant of S'iva, and signifies ' staff in hand.' The true 
 character of this personage has been forgotten ; and his 
 emblem has been elevated to the rank of a substantive 
 deity. 
 
 But to return to Bhaironath. The wall on either side 
 of the door, leading into the enclosure, is decorated with 
 paintings. On the right is a large figure of Bhaironath 
 or Bhairo (for he possesses both titles,) himself, depicted 
 in a deep blue colour, approaching to black ; and behind 
 him is the figure of a dog, intended for him to ride 
 on. The dog, too, is holy; and, in the neighbourhood 
 of the temple, sweetmeat-sellers make small images 
 of a dog in sugar, which the worshippers purchase and 
 present to Bhaironath, as an offering. On the left side 
 of the doorway is a larger figure of a dog ; and above it 
 are ten small paintings, representing the ten avatars 
 of Vishnu. The door itself is carved and embellished 
 not inelegantly. On passing through into the quad- 
 rangle,' I was struck with the confined position of the 
 temple, which fills up a large portion of the entire area; 
 so that from the quadrangle itself it is impossible to 
 gain more than a very limited view of its upper part. 
 
64 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 The base of the tower is, on three sides, built of plain 
 stone, terminating in a castellated parapet, from within 
 which the beautifully-carved spire rises to a con- 
 siderable height. The shaft is surrounded by an im- 
 mense number of small domes, ascending, in successive 
 series, up to the apex, which consists of a gilded dome. 
 
 The entrance to the temple is on the north side. In 
 front of the shrine occupied by the idol is the porch, or, 
 more properly, the belfry, in which four bells are sus- 
 pended. This porch rests upon pillars, and is painted 
 and decorated according to Hindu taste, and after the 
 most approved models. A priest is seated to the right 
 and left of the porch, with a rod of peacock's feathers by 
 his side, with which he performs mesmeric passes over 
 children, women, and other people, and thereby, it is 
 believed, wards off from them imps and evil spirits 
 who may seek to do them harm. He also keeps in a 
 prominent position a cup made from a cocoa-nut shell, 
 into which he expects a proper amount of coppers to be 
 thrown, to pay for his mysterious operations. The thres- 
 hold of the shrine is guarded by two idols, called, seve- 
 rally, Dwarpaleswar, which stand in niches, one on either 
 side of the doorway. The trident, too, with prongs painted 
 red, — the symbol of Bhaironath's authority, — stands up- 
 right by the wall. The interior of the shrine consists of a 
 small room ; and on one side of it is a diminutive shrine, 
 made entirely of copper, which is the habitation of the 
 god Bhaironath. The idol is of stone ; but his fate is of 
 silver. He possesses four hands, and stands in a gro- 
 tesque posture. His head is encinctured with garlands, 
 which hang down in front ; and a small oil lamp is kept 
 
BENARES, PAST AMD PRESENT. 65 
 
 burning near by. A priest sits close by and applies Mndi, 
 a kind of dun-coloured powder, to the foreheads of the 
 worshippers. The shrine is surmounted by a dome, 
 which, like the shrine, is of copper; and a bell is 
 suspended in front. As both the god and his priests 
 have a liking for ardent spirits, this is one of the offer- 
 ings presented to him. Dogs are permitted to enter 
 the interior of his temple, which is owing, doubtless, to 
 the circumstance of his having selected a dog for riding 
 on ; but they are not permitted to enter other temples. 
 
 This building was erected, upwards of forty years ago, 
 by Baji Eao, of Poonah, on the site of the old temple, 
 a small edifice which was thrown down to make room for 
 the new one. Outside the quadrangle, on the south side, 
 is a shrine remarkable for the evident antiquity of some 
 of the idols in it. One of these is a figure of Bhaironath 
 himself, now much defaced by the wear and tear of 
 time. It is not improbable that this is the original 
 Bhaironath, which was discarded on account of its muti- 
 lated appearance, and in order to make room for the 
 modernized deity. There are other images in this temple; 
 among them, Mahadeva, Ganes, and Surajnarayan. 
 
 On the west side of the quadrangle, a few paces up a \ 
 narrow court, is a shrine dedicated to S'itala, or the god- 
 dess of small-pox. In it are seven figures in bass-relief, 1 
 representing seven sisters ; for this dreaded goddess is, in i 
 reality a seven-fold deity. She has four temples devoted*^ 
 to her worship in Benares. 
 
 A short distance east of Bhaironath, and between it 
 and Dandpan, is a temple sacred to Naugrah, or, the Sun, 
 Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Kahu, and 
 
66 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Ketu. The first seven give, in Hindi, th^ir names to the 
 seven days of the week, beginning with Sunday, The 
 Naugrah, in popular estimation, is a very formidable 
 collection of deities. It is customary for the Hindus to 
 commence every important religious ceremony, as, for 
 instance, that of marriage, with the worship of them ; 
 for, unless they be propitiated, they may vitiate the entire 
 ceremony. The idols are placed, in the temple, in three 
 rows, three being in each row. The temple remains 
 closed all the day long, but is opened every morning, 
 when a priest comes and peforms "pujd, that is, wor- 
 ships the idols and presents the necessary offerings. 
 This is the only temple dedicated to ISTaugrah in Benares. 
 I^augrah is a corruption of the Sanskrit Nava-graka^ 
 ' the nine planets.' 
 
 Proceeding down this narrow street, and passing under 
 an archway to the left, you come to the temple of Dand- 
 pdn, already partially described. Here is, also, a famous 
 well called Kal-kup, or the Well of Fate. Over the 
 trellis-work of the outer wall of the building is a square 
 hole, which is so situated, in relation to the sun, that, a,t 
 twelve o'clock, its rays, passing through the hole, impinge 
 upon the water in the well ibelow. At this hour of the 
 day the well is visited by persons wishing to search into 
 the secrets of the IVteie : and woe be to the man who 
 is unable to trace the shadow of himself in the fatal 
 water ; for his doom, it is believed, is certainly and irre- 
 vocably fixed, and within six months from that instant 
 he will inevitably die. The general ignorance respecting 
 the explanation of this daily phenomenon does not speak 
 much for the scientific knowledge of the Hindus, or even 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 67 
 
 for their common sense. Under tlie same roof is an image 
 of Mahakal, or Great Fate. This god virtually bestows 
 salvation on his worshippers ; for, on their departure from 
 the world, he spreads over them the eegis of his protection, 
 and prohibits Kal or Evil Destiny from conveying them 
 to the regions of hell. Here, likewise, are the figures 
 of the five brothers, or Panch Pandav, whose names are 
 celebrated in the Mahabharata. 
 
 No lover of the marvellous should pass thTOUgh Be- 
 nares without paying a visit to Manikarnika, the famous 
 well of Hindu mythology. It is the first place sought 
 after by the thousands of pilgrims flocking yearly to 
 the holy city, who are drawn towards it by a mysterious 
 and irresistible fascination. Its fetid water is regarded 
 as a healing balm, which will, infallibly, wash away all 
 the sins of the soul, and make it pure and holy. There 
 is no sin so heinous or abominable, but, in popular 
 estimation, it is here instantly effaced. Even for the 
 crime of murder it can, it is said, procure forgiveness. 
 No wonder, therefore, that conscience-stricken sinners 
 should rush to this well from all quarters, and, delud- 
 ing themselves by its reputed sanctity, should, by the 
 easy process of washing in its foulness, seek to atone, 
 in one minute, for the crimes and sins of a life-time. 
 Yet it is appalling to think that the human soul, thus 
 conscious of its guilt, and perhaps, in many instances, 
 in agony respecting it, and anxious for pardon, and for 
 reconciliation with God, should be so cruelly mocked 
 and deceived. Of all places of pilgrimage throughout 
 Hindostan, this well is held, by many, to be the most, or 
 amongst the most, efficacious for bestowing salvation. 
 
68 BEKAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Tet the story connected with its origin is wild enough. 
 The author of the KdU-Jchanda, not in jest, as some 
 might suppose, but gravely and soberly, furnishes the 
 following account of the matter : — 
 
 "The god Vishnu," he says, " dug this well with his 
 discus, and, in lieu of water, filled it with the per- 
 spiration from his own body, and gave it the name of 
 Chakra-pushkarini. He then proceeded to its north side, 
 and began to practise asceticism. In the meantime, the 
 god Mahadeva arrived, and, looking into the well, beheld 
 in it the beauty of a hundred millions of suns, with 
 which he was so enraptured, that he at once broke out 
 into loud praises of Vishnu, and, in his joy, declared 
 that whatever gift he might ask of him he would 
 grant. Gratified at the offer, Vishnu replied that his re- 
 quest was that Mahadeva should always reside with him. 
 Mahadeva, hearing this, felt greatly flattered by it, and 
 his body shook with delight. From the violence of the 
 motion, an ear-ring called Manikarnaka fell from his ear 
 into the well. From this circumstance, Mahadeva gave 
 the well the name of Manikarnika. Among the epithets 
 applied to it are those of Muktikshetra, ' seat of -liber- 
 ation,' and Purnasubhakaran', ' complete source of 
 felicity.' Mahadeva further decreed that it should be 
 the chief and the most efficacious among places of 
 pilgrimages." 
 
 Such is the tale as found in the Kasi-khanda ; but there 
 is another version current among the people. It is re- 
 ported that Mahadeva and his wife Parvati were one day 
 seated by the well, when, accidentally, a jewel fell from 
 the ear of Parvati into the water, on account of which cir- 
 
BENARES, PAST ABTB PRESENT. 69 
 
 cumstanoe Mahadeva named the well Manikarnika. Mr. 
 Prinsep, in his " Views of Benares," makes the following 
 remarks on this subject : — "After Kashi had been created 
 by the united will of Iswur and Parbati, the two incor- 
 porated energies of the formless and quality-less Bruhm, 
 the active pair determined to give their paradise the 
 benefit of an inhabitant] and Poorooshotama (the supreme 
 male, Yishnoo,) became manifest. Shiva gave him in- 
 structions how to behave himself, and left him to his 
 own meditations ; whereupon, as a first exploit, with his 
 chakra or discus he dug the tank denominated, from its 
 origin, the Chakr-pushkarni. He then engaged in the 
 usual course of austerity, at the sight of which Shiva 
 shook his head in astonishment, and one of his ear- 
 rings fell ; whence the name of the ghat Manikarnika 
 (jewel of the ear). Yishnoo upon this spot also obtained, 
 as a boon from Mahadeo, the privilege which Kashi en- 
 joys, of giving mookti or emancipation to all objects, 
 especially those who bestow gifts, erect lingas, and do 
 not commit suicide within the holy precincts." 
 
 A series of stone steps on each of the four sides of the 
 well leads down to the water. The seven lowermost steps 
 are said to be without a joining, and to belong to the 
 original well as built by divine hands ; and, although the 
 singular fact of several joinings being visible is, to the un- 
 initiated, a slight difficulty in the way of such an asser- 
 tion, yet the Hindus, brushing aside such a trivial cir- 
 cumstance, readily accept the explanation given by the 
 Brahmans, that the joinings are only superficial, and do 
 not penetrate through the stones. Upon the stairs, in a 
 niche on the north side, is a figure of Yishnu ; and, at the 
 
70 EENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 mouth of the well, on the west side, is a row of sixteen 
 diminutive altars, on which pilgrims present offerings to 
 their ancestors. The water of the well is very shallow, 
 being not more than two or three feet in depth. It is 
 insufferably foul, and the effluvium from it impregnates 
 the air for some distance around. The worshipper, de- 
 scending into the water, laves his head and body with 
 the vile liquid, and, at the same time,, utters certain 
 phrases appointed for the ceremony. 
 
 Directly in front of Manikarnika, and between it and 
 the Ganges, is the temple of Tarakeswar, or " the Lord 
 Taraka." When a Hindu dies, and this god is propitiated, 
 he breathes into his ear, they say, a charm or mantra of 
 such efficacy that it delivers him from: the misery of the 
 future, and secures for him happiness and joy. The idol 
 is in a kind of cistern, which is kept filled with water 
 offered in sacrifice ; and, consequently, the deity is in- 
 visible. In the rainy season, the swollen river flows 
 beyond this temple, which, for several months, stands 
 immersed in the stream. Its foundations are thereby 
 undermined, and the blocks of stone of which it is 
 composed incline to separate from one another. The 
 upper part of the tower has been entirely removed, in 
 order to lessen the weight resting upon the base of the 
 building. 
 
 Upon the Manikarnika ghat or stairs, on higher 
 ground than that occupied by the Tarakeswar temple, 
 is a large round slab, called Chara^ia-paduka, projecting 
 slightly from the pavement; and in the middle of it 
 stands a stone pedestal, the top of which is inlaid with 
 marble. In the centre of the. marble are two small flat 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 71 
 
 objects, representing the two feet of Yishnu. The tradi- 
 tion is, that this deity selected this precise spot for the 
 performance of ascetic rites and the worship of Mahadeva. 
 It is, consequently, held in great veneration by the natives, 
 and receives divine honours. In the month of Kartik, 
 multitudes of people flock to Vishnu's feet, imagining that 
 all who worship them are guaranteed a sure introduction 
 into heaven. Mr. Prinsep observes, that "the charan- 
 paduka (impression of Yish^u's feet) is said to mark the 
 spot on which he alighted. It is distinguished by the 
 figure of two feet out in white marble in the centre of a 
 round slab, probably intended to represent the chalcr or 
 discus ; but, as the charan is generally thought to be 
 peculiar to Buddha and Jain places of worship, the 
 emblem is, probably, of modem and spurious introduction 
 where it is here set up. There is another paduka near 
 the mouth of the Barna Nala." 
 
 The Manikarnika ghat, while the most sacred of all 
 the ghats in Benares, is also the intermediate point of 
 them all ; so that, were the city divided into two por- 
 tions at this place, they would be nearly equal in ex- 
 tent. Ascending the second flight of stairs, we come to 
 a temple of ancient reputation, but probably of modern 
 eonstruction, occupied by Siddha-vinayak, or Ganes. 
 Imagine a figure painted red, having three eyes, a 
 sUver-plated scalp ornamented with a garland of fiowers, 
 and an elephant's trunk, this last member being hidden 
 behind a cloth which conceals a large portion of the idol, 
 and, in front, is so tucked in as to resemble the cloth 
 which a barber wraps about a man before shaving 
 him. At the feet of the god is tbe figure of a rat,— the 
 
72 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 animal on which he is supposed to ride, — and also a 
 miniature fountain. On either side of the inner shrine 
 is a statue of a woman, one being called Siddhi, and 
 the other, Buddhi. In this neighbourhood there is, 
 likewise, an imposing temple, erected a few years ago 
 by the Eaja of Ahmety. 
 
 Near to Manikarnika ghat are Sindhia ghat and the 
 Eaja of Nagpore's ghat, the former of which is remark- 
 able not only for the massiveness of its masonry, but 
 also for the circumstance that the entire structure has 
 sunk several feet into the earth since its erection, and 
 is still gradually and slowly sinking. The ghat consists 
 of three rows of low towers or turrets. The uppermost 
 row is of two turrets, one at each extremity, which are 
 the largest of the whole and are exceedingly massive. 
 The second lower down has six turrets; and the third, 
 five. These turrets are called marhis by the natives, 
 and are used, by them, for sitting upon in the cool of the 
 day, or for retiring to after bathing in the Ganges. They 
 are of stone, and are connected together by walls and 
 stairs of the same material. Before the ghat could be 
 completed, the masonry began to sink ; and, on one occa- 
 sion, so violent was the motion, that a loud report like 
 the discharge of cannon was heard. A temple to the 
 left of the south turret is rent from the summit to the 
 base; and the entire building is so dilapidated, that it 
 looks as if it had been shaken by an earthquake. The 
 ghat itself, and also the stairs leading up to the top of 
 the huge breastwork uniting the two largest turrets, 
 exhibit an immense rent, which is carried down to the 
 very base of the. ghat. The breastwork, likewise, to- 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 73 
 
 gether with, the turrets, is out of the perpendicular, and 
 has a remarkable appearance. In some places the stones 
 are more than two feet apart. The people residing in 
 the neighbourhood say, that the ghat has sunk some ten 
 or twelve feet in all, and that, inasmuch as stair after 
 stair continually, though slowly, vanishes, they know that 
 the subsidence is still going on. The ghat was built by 
 Baija Bai, the same lady who erected the colonnade 
 round the Gyan Bapi well ; but it is not yet com- 
 pleted, and there is no hope that it ever will be. 
 
 The temple of Briddhkal, situated on the northern 
 side of the city, is interesting, both for its antiquity 
 and extent, as well as for the singular legends con- 
 nected with its primitive history. It formerly possessed 
 twelve separate courts or quadrangles ; but now only 
 seven are in existence, and several of these are fast 
 falling into ruin. Indeed, the aspect of the entire 
 building is that of decay. The site of the other five 
 courts, and of the gardens once attached to the temple, 
 is occupied by dwelling-houses. When this shrine was 
 in its glory, it must have been a place of some magni- 
 ficence. The pile of buildings now standing has a hoary 
 appearance, the efi'ect of which is greatly increased by 
 its ruinous condition. The tradition respecting the 
 origin of the temple is, that, in the Satjug, an old 
 Eaja in ill-health visited Benares, and there diligently 
 performed ascetic rites, and religious ceremonies. The 
 god Mahadeva was so gratified with the piety of the 
 old man, that he not only healed his sickness, but 
 also caused him to become young again. In honour 
 of this deity, therefore, the Eaja erected the present 
 
74 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 temple, and gave it the name of Briddhkal, a corrup- 
 tion of two Sanskrit words, ' Iriddha^ or more properly, 
 '■ vriddlm^ and '■kdla, the former meaning old, and the 
 latter, fate, Mahadeva endowed it with two remarkable 
 properties; the one, that of healing disease, and the 
 other, that of prolonging life. The temple is one of 
 the oldest in the city, and stands on the boundary of 
 Benares Proper, — indisputably the most ancient portion 
 of the existing city, where it unites itself with Kasi, 
 a less ancient portion. 
 
 On ascending the steps, and trarersing the passage 
 running from the doorway to the inner part of the 
 edifice, we are met by a red figure of Mahabir, the 
 monkey-god, standing within a shrine at the corner of 
 a court into which the passage leads. Close by, to 
 the right, is a small temple dedicated to the goddess 
 Kali, a small black deity cut out of stone, dressed in 
 a red garment, with a garland of flowers hanging from 
 the neck. In front of her is a hollow space, in the 
 form of a square, for the residence of Mahadeva; and 
 outside of it is a bull, for the god to ride on. 
 
 To the right of Kali, leaning against the wall, are 
 figures of Ganes and Parvati ; and to the left of the 
 latter are images representing Bhairo, the Sun, Hanu- 
 man, and Lakshminarayan or Yishriu, and his wife 
 Lakshmi. Immediately opposite to the temple of Kali 
 are two wells. The first is shallow, and contains putrid 
 water, whose disgusting fetor fills the entire court. 
 Into this weljl sick persons, and those wishing for long 
 life, plunge their bodies. The former also take various 
 medicines, and resort to other useful means for regaining 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 75 
 
 their health ; and, should they recover, the foul well 
 gets the credit of their restoration. Should the disease, 
 however, be of an obstinate character, such as leprosy 
 or elephantiasis, they must constantly bathe in the well 
 for a period of twelve years. Instead of showing us a 
 man who had been cured, they brought a leper who 
 had strongly-defined marks of leprosy on his legs. He 
 was trying the efficacy of the bath, and said he was 
 better than when he had first arrived. The water of 
 the well is reported to be impregnated with sulphur, in 
 which case it would, doubtless, be very serviceable in 
 some diseases, especially those affecting the skin. In 
 conjunction with washing in this well, it is necessary 
 also to drink of the water of the second well, which, 
 unlike the other, contains sweet water, and has a raised 
 parapet round its mouth. Near the wall of the court is 
 a collection of stone deities, all representing the linga. 
 They are nine in number, of which several are, appa- 
 rently, very old. Two stone figures of satis have also 
 been placed here, in commemoration of the self-immo- 
 lation of widows on this spot in former times. 
 
 To the right of the court is a small square, with a 
 temple in the middle, dedicated to Mahadeva. A serpent 
 is entwined about the chief idol, which is called Nag- 
 eswar, or the Serpent-god. The central deity is sur- 
 rounded by others of smaller stature. Passing beyond 
 this square, we come to another, in which two peepul 
 trees and one neem tree are growing. This quadrangle 
 has no temple in it, but is used as a residence for 
 devotees. Close by is another quadrangle, the residence 
 of the deity Byiddhkal. The shrine within contains two 
 
76 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 compartments, one of which Briddhkal occupies. He 
 sits in a cistern, while, over his head, hangs a small 
 brass vessel, filled with water, which drops through a 
 hole upon him, without intermission. Though only a 
 plain stone or linga, he is regarded as a very sacred 
 object. In a niche in the verandah is an antique image 
 of the elephant-headed god Ganes. There is another 
 shrine in the area of this quadrangle, flat-roofed, and 
 containing an image of Hanuman. 
 
 Eeturning to the court, in which the wells are 
 situated, and passing through a corridor to the north, 
 we come to a small enclosure, the walls of which are 
 in a dilapidated condition. Here are two shrines, of 
 considerable interest on account of the singular legends 
 associated with them. That on the right is called Mar- 
 kandeswar. Markanda was a Eishi, whom Mahadeva, 
 it is said, for his piety, endowed with immortality ; 
 and who, in acknowledgment of the honour, dedicated 
 this temple to Mahadeva. That on the left is called 
 Daksheswar, the legend respecting whom fills several 
 pages of the Kasi-khanda. The tale, as revealing some 
 strange events connected with the domestic life of the 
 ruling god of Benares, is worth recounting. Eaja 
 Daksh, one of the heroes of the story,- is still famous 
 in Benares, and was, no doubt, a real personage. 
 
 The wife of Siva, it seems, although a goddess, 
 dies like common mortals ; but, unlike them, shortly 
 after her death, she is born again into the world, and, 
 assuming another name on arriving at maturity, is 
 always married to the same husband, namely, Mahadeva 
 or S'iva. On one occasion, the story goes, Mahadeva 
 
EBNAKES, PAST AND PRESENT. 77 
 
 assembled, for some purpose, all the gods of heaven 
 and earth. His wife Sati was also there, and likewise her 
 father, Eaja Daksh. It appears that Mahadeva neglected 
 to pay proper respect to his father-in-law in the presence 
 of the deities ; and, consequently, on departing, the 
 Eaja relieved his feelings by showering upon him the 
 following abuse : — " You have neither caste nor habit- 
 ation, and yet have taken to yourself a wife. Tou 
 are naked, and wear long hair, and lie down on a 
 tiger's skin. Tou never had father or mother. Tour 
 body is covered with ashes; and, at the end of the 
 world, you will destroy everybody. I have committed 
 a great mistake, in giving you my daughter to wife." 
 After this mental relief, the Eaja went home, and pre- 
 pared a great religious festival, to which he invited 
 all the gods and Eajas, with the exception of Mahadeva 
 and his wife. These latter did not know what was 
 occurring; but Narad Muni came to them and told 
 them all about it. On hearing of the circumstance, 
 Sati requested permission to go to her father's house, 
 and see, for herself, what was the real state of the case. 
 But Mahadeva urged that she had not been invited to 
 the feast, and, therefore, declined to permit her to go. 
 At last he yielded to her importunity, and she went. 
 On arriving, only her mother paid her the slightest 
 deference ; all the rest of the family treating her with 
 marked indifference. When the feast was served, she re- 
 ceived her portion ; but her husband's share, which ought, 
 in his absence, to have been given to her, was withheld. 
 At this neglect, Sati became exceedingly angry, and 
 beat her head upon the ground, in passionate frenzy. 
 
78 BENAEES, PAST AOT) PEESENT. 
 
 Moreover, the heavens themselves sent down a shower 
 of blood, in token of their sympathy with her. Several 
 of the gods of the party, disapproving of Eaja Daksh's 
 proceeding, rose and left. On their departure, Sati, 
 becoming still more excited, sought out the hole in 
 "which the sacrifice was being consumed, and, throwing 
 herself into it, was burnt to ashes. When Narad Muni 
 brought news of this sad catastrophe to Mahadeva, his 
 wrath rose to fierceness; and, creating an army of 
 demons, he placed it under the command of Birbhadra, 
 a demon of giant strength, and sent it against the 
 Eaja, with orders to kill him, and to frustrate his sacri- 
 ficial ceremony. On the way, Birbhadra plucked up 
 forests and mountains, and carried them along in his 
 hands. Having reached the Eaja's palace, the demons 
 flew upon the people,, slaughtered to right and left, and 
 devoured the viands provided for the sacred feast. The 
 invincible Birbhadra sought out the Eaja, and, finding 
 him, seized him with his hands, and, after crying out 
 "Why did you blaspheme the god Mahadeva?" cut 
 off his head. 
 
 This bloody work being finished, Brahma, the first 
 of the three deities placed at the head of the Hindu 
 pantheon, proceeded, in great consternation, to Mahadeva, 
 with whom he reasoned and expostulated respecting 
 the awful calamity that had just occurred, and pre- 
 vailed on him to accompany him to the scene of the 
 recent carnage. On reaching the place, Mahadeva's 
 heart was smitten with compassion for the slain; and 
 he gave orders that all the gods, Eishis, and Eajas should 
 be again gathered together, as well the living as the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 79 
 
 dead. The heads, arms, legs, and other members that 
 had been lopped oflf the killed and wounded during 
 the conflict, were also collected, and were severally 
 joined afresh to the bodies to which they belonged. 
 Thus Mahadeva healed all the wounded, and restored 
 to life all the slain. But, in the search for the ampu- 
 tated members, Eaja Daksh's head could nowhere be 
 found. The god, howeyer, commanded that a goat 
 should be brought to him, the head of which, being 
 cut oflf, was stuck upon the trunk of the Eaja's body, 
 which became forthwith reanimated with its former 
 life. After this, the sacrifice which had been so 
 violently interrupted was completed. Mahadeva then left, 
 with all his demons, for his residence on the Kailas 
 mountain.. The rest of the deities also departed, with 
 the exception of Brahma, who remained behind, in order 
 to talk with Eaja Daksh, to whom he represented, in 
 its true colours, the heinous sin he had committed in 
 reviling Mahadeva, and in utterly defeating the sacred 
 festival, the sacrifice at which could not possibly be 
 performed without the presence of that deity. He 
 concluded by recommending the Eaja to visit Benares, 
 and there to dedicate an idol to Mahadeva, and thus 
 try to propitiate him. In accordance with this advice, 
 the Eaja forsook his throne and his dominions, 
 and proceeded to Benares, where he dedicated an idol 
 to Mahadeva, and applied himself to the performance 
 of ascetic and other religious rites. There he remained 
 for many years. In the meantime, Sati, the wife of 
 Mahadeva, who had perished in the sacrificial fire, was 
 born again among mortals, under the name of Parvatij 
 
80 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT, 
 
 her father this time being Eaja Mount Himalaya ; and, 
 on arriving at womanhood, she was again married to her 
 former husband, Mahadeva. The happy couple travel- 
 led to Benares, for the purpose of spending their honey- 
 moon ; and, while there, what was their surprise to see 
 old goat-headed Eaja Daksh, who was still absorbed 
 in his religious exercises ! He, too, was doubtless 
 equally astonished to see Mahadeva, whom, of course, 
 he recognized, although his mental eyes were closed 
 in regard to Parvati, whom he did not perceive to be 
 his own daughter Sati. The Eaja pleaded with Maha- 
 deva for the forgiveness of his sin. The god heard his 
 petition, and granted it ; and the old man, filled with 
 joy, dedicated a shrine to Mahadeva, called Daksheswar, 
 which is said to be that situated in the interior of the 
 temple of Briddhkal. This tale is as entertaining as 
 many of the legends connected with the Black Forest; 
 the only difference, though an essential one, being, that 
 they are designed for amusement and fun, whereas 
 this, strangely enough, is intended for the promotion of 
 religion. 
 
 Leaving this temple, and proceeding along the street 
 by its southern wall, we come to a shrine standing at its 
 south-western angle, and forming part of the Briddhkal 
 edifice. Its name is Alpmriteswar, from the god to 
 whom it is dedicated, who, it is reported, is endowed 
 with the miraculous power of prolonging the lives of 
 persons apparently in act to die. The fame of this 
 shrine is considerable; and it is the resort of a large 
 number of worshippers, who seek for themselves and 
 their friends an escape from sickness and death. In the 
 
BENAKES, PAST AND PRESENT. 81 
 
 streets leading to the Briddhkal temple, a meld or fair is 
 held every Sunday; and, once a year, in the month of 
 Sawan, one on a large scale is held, which lasts for 
 several days. These melds are partly of a religious, and 
 partly of a secular, character ; but their primary intention 
 is the worship of some celebrated deity. 
 
 In a street leading to Briddhkal, a small temple ob- 
 structs the thoroughfare, called Eatneswar, from ratna^ 
 a jewel. The shrine is referred to in Hindu writings. 
 A curious circumstance is connected with its modern 
 history. Upwards of thirty years ago, an English 
 magistrate of Benares, while making improvements in 
 the oity, determined that this temple should be levelled 
 with the ground. The natives say, that, one night, the 
 god Mahadeva appeared to the sdhib^ or gentleman, in a 
 dream, and, representing to him the great sin he was 
 intending to commit, ordered him to forbear from the 
 execution of such an evil design ; and that, on awaking, 
 the sdhib, in obedience to the divine admonition, laid 
 aside his levelling project. It is reported, also, and com- 
 monly believed, that, while digging at the foundations of 
 the temple, on this occasion, a jewel was discovered be- 
 neath it ; but the natives themselves express considerable 
 doubt about its genuineness. 
 
82 
 
 CHAPTEB V. 
 
 Legend respecting Divodds. — Temple of DiyoddseswaE, — The Weil 
 Dharm-ktip. — R&dM-Kpshna. — The Nd,g Kridh or Serpent's Well. — 
 Old Images. — Temples of B&geswarl, Jwarahareswar, and Siddjieawar. 
 
 Although the city of Benares is now regarded as sacred 
 to Siva, and as a place over which he exercises divine 
 authority, yet it is commonly believed, by the inhabitants, 
 that there was a time when such a divinity was not wor- 
 shipped here, but divine honours were bestowed on a 
 Eaja called Divodas. The tradition, too, is sanctioned 
 by the Kd'si-khanda. It is said, that this personage, 
 whom Brahma raised to the dignity of Eaja of Benares,, 
 and vested with jurisdiction over both gods and men, 
 took it into his head to banish all the gods from the city. 
 This ruthless act seems to have produced^ immense con- 
 sternation throughout the Hindu pantheon ; but the Eaja 
 possessed such supernatural' power, that the deities were 
 thwarted in all their efforts to reenter the eity. Headed 
 by S'iva, they formed a conspiracy to unseat him, and, in 
 order to effect their purpose, attempted to inveigle Divo- 
 das into some act of sin ; knowing, that, the moment the 
 sin was perpetrated, his divine power and authority would 
 come to an end, and they would regain their lost dignities 
 and prerogatives. But this miserable and disgraceful 
 desiyn, though instigated and approved by S'iva himself. 
 
83 
 
 came to nothing ; for Divodas was a man of unspotted 
 purity and of the strictest integrity. At last, Ganes hit 
 upon a scheme, which was singularly cunning and suc- 
 cessful. In the character of a great Guru or teacher, he 
 appeared, one day, at the door of the Eaja's palace, and 
 solicited an audience with him. This the Eaja granted, 
 and, in course of conversation, was so much pleased with 
 the intelligence, learning, and sanctity of his new 
 acquaintance, that he wished to sit at his feet, as his 
 disciple. With this request Ganes refused to comply; 
 hut, taking advantage of the Eaja's good opinion of him, 
 he induced him to consent to follow out whatever in- 
 structions should he communicated to him in a dream. 
 These instructions simply were, that he should quit 
 Benares. Feeling bound to fulfil his promise, he aban- 
 doned the government, abdicated the throne, and retired 
 from the place, and was, thereupon, conveyed, by S'iva 
 himself, to the Kailas mountain. On his departure, the 
 gods reentered the city, and Siva became their supreme 
 ruler and the head of the city. These are reported to be 
 the old deities of Benares ; and to them pilgrimages are 
 made. The myriad deities which have been introduced, 
 at various times, into the city, since this imaginary emi- 
 gration of the gods, must, therefore, be looked upon in 
 the light of interlopers. 
 
 In endeavouring to extract a few grains of truth out 
 of this strange mythological story, we are led to suppose 
 that there was a time when Benares was not imbued; 
 with Hinduism as it is now. This Eaja Divodas, who, no 
 doubt, was a real personage, may be conceived to have 
 resisted the encroachments of Hinduism, on its first 
 
84 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 approach to Benares, but was, eventually, obliged to 
 succumb to it, and to surrender Ms crown to tbe Brab- 
 manical invaders ; or, it may be, that, in a remote age in 
 the history of Hinduism, the Eaja may have become 
 possessed of the city, perhaps by right of conquest, and, 
 being attached to another creed, may have' forthwith ex- 
 pelled the Brahmans, together with the symbols of their 
 religion, from the place, but, after violent opposition on 
 their part, was, at length, outwitted and supplanted by 
 them. The second supposition contains some show of 
 historical truth ; inasmuch as it is a well-established fact, 
 that Brahmanism was compelled to retreat before Bud« 
 dhism, not only in Benares, but throughout a large 
 portion of India ; and that Buddhism, after being the 
 paramount religion for many centuries, was compelled, in 
 its turn, to retreat before Brahmanism. As there is no 
 record of any other creed having become supreme in 
 Benares besides these two, which, we know, successively 
 were so, it is not unlikely that Divodas, who was, evi- 
 dently, a sworn enemy of the Brahmans and their gods, 
 was a Buddhist. This ejection from the city by a subtle 
 and knavish scheme, may, perhaps, be only another mode 
 of expressing the downfal of the religion which he had 
 strenuously supported, and the return and triumph of the 
 Brahmans.^ 
 
 The temple of Divodaseswar, in which Divodas is 
 worshipped, stands in a court a short distance from Mir 
 Ghat. The idol consists of a black emblem of S'iva. 
 It is not alone, but is associated with other gods, one 
 of whom is called Bisbahuka, or the Twenty-handed 
 ' See Appendix C. 
 
* BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 85 
 
 Divinity, and is the occupant of a niche in the wall. 
 In front of the entrance to the temple is a high diwat 
 or lamp-stand, on the sides of which a number of small 
 oil-lamps are placed, on certain occasions, in honour of 
 Divodas. In the centre of this court is Dharm-kup, 
 one of the famous sacred wells of Benares. Its mouth 
 is begirt partly by a wall and partly by five small shrines 
 standing side by side ; and the entrance to the enclosure 
 thus made is by a door opening through the wall on the 
 eastern side. This enclosure is of narrow dimensions, 
 yet contains several objects of interest. Close by the 
 door is an enormous stone emblem of Mahadeva, four feet 
 in height, fixed firmly in the ground. Each of the five 
 shrines has a chamber or stall, in which several idols 
 are deposited, one of which contains a representation of 
 S'iva as Panchmukhi, — that is, the ' five-faced ' god. In 
 another, I counted as many as sixteen images ; and my 
 attention was arrested by a number of time-worn stone 
 figures imbedded in the boundary wall. No one could 
 furnish any reliable information respecting these interest- 
 ing objects ; but it was suggested that they were figures 
 of the goddess S'ltala or Small-pox. The well has a 
 palisade round its mouth, and is very deep ; and it is 
 worthy of remark, that the reservoir below, holding the 
 water, is not circular, as is usual, but quadrangular. 
 
 Dharm-kup, the name of this well, from dharm, reli- 
 gion, and Mp, well, is, I am disposed to think, not of 
 Hindu, but of Buddhist, origin. Dharma or Dhammo — 
 the former being Sanskrit, the latter Pali — constitutes 
 one of the three grand divisions of the Buddhist faith ; 
 and, in the Pali writings, Buddha himself is often spoken 
 
86 BENAEES, PAST AOT) PRESENT. '* 
 
 * 
 
 of as Dhammo. In the time of Asoka, the common 
 term employed to denote this religion was Dhammo, 
 which is found inscribed on Buddhist monuments reared 
 by him and standing to the present day. In the pas- 
 sage leading to the court, is a temple dedicated to Dhar- 
 imeswar, or Lord Dharma,— that is, the deity who per- 
 jsonj&es dharm. If Dharm be regarded as the Buddhist 
 -Creed, then this appellation would refer to the supposed 
 divine head of such creed, or Buddha. This entire 
 Mahalla or ward of the city is called Dharm-kup, 
 thereby showing, that, in all likelihood, the well is as 
 ancient as the Mahalla itself. The antiquity of the 
 well, therefore, is placed beyond all doubt ; and its con- 
 nexion with Buddhism, at some period of its history, 
 is invested with some probability. We do not forget 
 that the term dharma, meaning virtue, merit, justice, 
 .duty, piety, and many other things, is in constant use 
 among Hindus; 'but still, perhaps, it has hardly that 
 strong and distinctive signification of a system of re- 
 ligion, of a national faith, which it had with the Bud- 
 dhists in India in former times. 
 
 Eeturning to the street, a few steps bring us to a 
 temple inhabited by the goddess Yisalakshi, — literally, 
 ' the large-eyed," an epithet of Parvati, S'iva's wife, — 
 whose crowned head only is visible, the rest of her per- 
 son being covered with a yellow cloth. A short distance 
 from this spot is Mir Ghat, leading down to the river. 
 The ghat is narrow, but strongly made; and its stairs 
 are placed at convenient intervals for persons ascending 
 and descending them, so as to induce as little fatigue as 
 possible by the exercise. In passing down the ghat, you 
 
BENARES, PA.ST AND PRESENT. 87 
 
 are attracted by a row of shrines on the left, embel- 
 lished in strong glaring colours ; and, at one angle of the 
 ghat, a temple is seen on the right-hand side, filling up 
 the corner in that direction, on arriving at which you 
 come in sight of the river. It is dedicated to Eadha- 
 Krishna, that is, to Krishna and his wife, who are 
 standing side by side. They are both completely 
 dressed; Krishna has tinsel drapery about him, and 
 presents a somewhat rakish appearance. He is playing 
 on a flute ; yet is, nevertheless, holding in each hand a 
 marigold and a rose — not artificial, but natural flowers. 
 The temple contains a number of small paintings, a red 
 idol of Ganes, and a tiny shrine in white marble, which 
 cost the sum of one hundred rupees, or ten pounds. 
 
 The Nag Kiian or Serpent's Well is situafed in a 
 ward of the city called after the name of the well, 
 or Nag Euan Mahalla, which adjoins the Ausan Ganj 
 Mahalla. This well bears marks of considerable anti- 
 quity; and, from the circumstance of an extensive 
 district of Benares being designated by its name, there 
 is no doubt that it must be regarded as one of the 
 oldest historical places the present city possesses. The 
 construction of this well was, probably, nearly, if not 
 quite, coeval with the building of the Mahalla or ward 
 itself, which, we may imagine, was described as that 
 part of the city containing the well — the well being 
 the most important and noticeable object there : and 
 so, gradually, the inhabitants associated the Mahalla 
 with the well, and called them by the same name. 
 The ward is in the north-western part of the city, at 
 some distance from the Ganges. The quarter lying 
 
88 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 to the east of this ward, that is, between it and the 
 Ganges, is, as I have already remarked, in all likeli- 
 hood, the oldest portion of the present city; and, 
 therefore, the Nag Kuaii ward would have been, origin- 
 ally, in its suburbs. It is even possible that one of 
 the first places built in these suburbs, and frequented 
 by the people, was this well, and that its existence 
 was one of the reasons, perhaps the chief, for the 
 settling of a population in its neighbourhood. No 
 person in Benares can tell when the well was made; 
 but there is a reference to its existence in the KdH- 
 khanda. 
 
 Steep stone stairs, in the form of a square, lead down 
 to the well; and a broad wall of good masonry, six 
 or seven feet thick, surrounds them at their summit, 
 rising to the height of four or five feet above the 
 ground. Each of the four series of stairs has an 
 entrance of its own. Their junction below forms a 
 small square, in the centre of which is the well. De- 
 scending twelve stone steps, you reach the water, which 
 is stagnant and foul. Beneath the water is a sheet 
 of iron, which constitutes the door leading to a still 
 lower well, which, perhaps, may be the old well in its 
 original state. The stairs, I suspect, are not of great 
 date. On the inside of those to the east is an in- 
 scription, to the effect, that, in 1825 Samvat, or nearly 
 one hundred years ago, a Eaja extensively repaired the 
 well. It is possible he may have built the stairs then. 
 Many of the slabs of stone of which they are com- 
 posed display carvings on their external surface, some 
 of which bear unmistakeable marks of considerable 
 
BESTAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 89 
 
 antiquity. These slabs were, doubtless, taken from di- 
 lapidated buildings in the neigbbourbood. A thorough 
 examination of ihem, especially of the more ancient 
 among them, would, I am satisfied, not be unproductive 
 of interesting results. The wall was also repaired by 
 Mr. Prinsep about thirty years ago. 
 
 At this well the Nag or Serpent is worshipped. In 
 a niche in the wall of one of the stairs is a figure 
 representing three serpents; and, on the floor, is an 
 emblem of Mahadeva in stone, with a snake crawling 
 up it. The well is visited, for religious purposes, only 
 once in the year, namely, on the 24th and 25th days 
 of the month Sawan, when immense numbers of persons 
 come to it, on pilgrimage, from all parts of the city. 
 The women come on the first day, and the men, on the 
 second. They offer sacrifices both to the well and to 
 Nageswar, or the Serpent-god. 
 
 Near the wall of the stairs, on the south side, stands 
 a large peepul tree; and at the foot of it are several 
 old mutilated images, one of which has extensive carv- 
 ings upon it. There is, also, a small low temple close 
 by, containing figures of Hanuman and other deities. 
 Outside the door of the temple are two strange antique 
 idols, in bass-relief. One has, apparently, four legs, 
 and is graced with a nimbus. The other is in an 
 erect posture, with a chatr or umbrella over its head. 
 I have grave doubts respecting the Hindu origin of 
 these idols and of some of the mutilated images re- 
 ferred to above. 
 
 In the adjoining Mahalla of Jaitpura, a short dis- 
 tance from the Serpent's Well, is the temple of Bages- 
 
90 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT, 
 
 ■wari. Her face consists of a compound of eight kinds 
 of metal, which is of a pale hue, and highly burnished. 
 She wears on her head a large crown, surmounted with 
 balls, like the coronets of the nobility. Her person is 
 covered with a cloth ; and from her neck depend several 
 garlands of flowers. The goddess is seated on a lion in 
 a recumbent posture. These figures are in a chapel in 
 the inner chamber of the temple, which appears to have 
 been once painted of a silvery white. The verandah 
 leading to this chamber contains paintings, in fresh 
 glaring colours, representing mythical subjects of great 
 interest to the credulous Hindu. In the small quad- 
 rangle is a stone statue of a lion, the vdhan or riding 
 animal of the goddess, which was presented to the 
 temple by Lai Bahadar Sinh, Eaja of Amethi. This 
 Eaja has dedicated four similar statues of the lion to 
 the service of the principal deities of four other temples 
 in Benares : one is in the temple at Durga Kund ; a 
 second is in the Chausathi-devi temple, in the Bengali 
 Tola; a third is in the Siddhimata-devi temple, in the 
 Bulhanala; and a fourth is in the possession of the 
 Gujarati Pandit Gor Ji, awaiting its ultimate desti- 
 nation. In the niches in the wall of the quadrangle 
 are various divinities. In one are three figures, re- 
 presenting Eam, Lakshman, and Janaki, cut in black 
 stone or marble. In another is an old figure of Agwan, 
 the porter of Bageswari; and by his side is a second 
 figure, still older, about whom no one could give any 
 information. A third niche holds the goddess Bindhya- 
 chala, seated on the back of a lion. In a chamber in one 
 corner of the enclosure I observed a large red idol, which 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 91 
 
 I soon discovered to be the ill-formed Ganes. On one 
 side of this chamber is a row of images, and, on the 
 floor, a singnlarly-carved figure, called Naugrah, which 
 embodies in itself all the planets. On the exterior 
 face of the temple-wall is a niche, four or five feet 
 in height, which is filled up by the god Hanuman. 
 He is painted bright red, and stand with hands folded ; 
 while on one shoulder sits the god Eam, and, on the 
 other, his brother Lakshman. 
 
 In sight of this temple are two others, namely, 
 the temples of Jwarahareswar and Siddheswar, which, 
 together with Bageswari, are regarded as old places 
 of pilgrimage. Jwara signifies fever ; hara^ destroy- 
 ing or conquering : so that Jwarahareswar is famous for 
 his supposed power of dissipating fever. The worship- 
 per, on approaching the idol, vows, that, should he 
 recover, he will present to it dudhhhangd^ that is, 
 dudh or milk ; Ihdng^ leaves of hemp ; and sweet- 
 meats, mixed up together. Siddheswar professes to 
 grant ability to consummate any undertaking in 
 which a man may wish to engage. Near these 
 temples are several tombs to devotees, and also a 
 number of mutilated figures, which, it is said, have 
 been dug up in this neighbourhood. Several of these 
 are placed together on a small mound of earth. They 
 are not all worshipped, which is rather strange, con- 
 sidering how prompt the Hindus are to worship carved 
 images of every kind. But the reason of their not 
 being worshipped is, I imagine, because they are so 
 unlike the idols that are now found in Hindu temples. 
 They are more delicately sculptured, and are more 
 
92 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 chaste in their design, than the productions of modern 
 Hindu art : indeed, their superiority in this respect 
 is exceediagly noticeable. To what epoch they ought 
 to be ascribed, it is not easy to say. I question if they 
 are Hindu sculptures at all, and should be disposed 
 to assign a Buddhist origin to most, if not all, of them. 
 I was much struck with one stone, which seemed 
 to represent, at least, two undeniable emblems of 
 Buddha. The apex of the stone was ornamented with 
 a circle, with radii diverging from the centre, in other 
 words, with the Buddhist wheel. Various stones built 
 into the wall, in this quarter of the city, are, likewise, 
 elaborately carved. These, it is possible, are connected 
 with the same era as the figures just referred to. 
 
93 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Benaebs, Kds'i, and Ked4r, the three Grand Divisions of the city. — No 
 Old Hindu Temples in Benares. — Puranio Character of the K&s'I 
 division of the City. — No trustworthy information concerning Ancient 
 Buildings to be obtained either from Hindus or from their sacred 
 writings. — Preference of the Old Fanes by Pilgrims. — Trilochan 
 Temple. — Legends respecting Trilochan. — The Idolater's idea of the 
 benefit resulting from "Worshipping in this Temple. — Kot-Linges- 
 war. — N^nak Sh4h, the Sikh Guru. — Painting in the Trilochan 
 Temple, depicting the Punishments of Hell. — Trilochan Qh4t. — Qie 
 Qhit. — Temples of Nirbuddheswar and Ad-Mahideva,. — Gor Ji, the 
 Gujarati Brahman. 
 
 While the terms Benares and Kasi are alike 
 applied to the entire city, yet some of the natives 
 divide it into three great portions, namely, Benares, 
 Kasi, and Eedar, to which they assign three dis- 
 tinct epochs. The most ancient is Benares, the 
 northern division of the present city. To the south of 
 this is Kasi, of less antiquity ; and, to the south 
 of Kasi, Kedar, which is, comparatively, of modern j 
 date. From what source this notion has been derived, 
 it is impossible to say; nevertheless, it is, I believe, 
 for the most part, correct. "We shall see, in a future 
 chapter, that the ancient Buddhist remains at Bakariya 
 Kund are situated on the northern side of the city, 
 or in Benares Proper. In addition, there are, in this 
 quarter, other spots, with which I am acquainted, where 
 Buddhist ruins are to be found. 
 It is a remarkable circumstance, that, in the modern city, 
 
94 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 no Hindu temples — including the temple of Byiddh- 
 kal, which has, undoubtedly, an antiquity of several 
 hundred years, — whatever exist, to which the epithets 
 * old ' and ' ancient ' can properly be applied ; thereby 
 corroborating what has been previously asserted, that 
 the modern city has, to a large extent, shifted from its 
 
 'original site. The priests tell you, that, where temples 
 now stand, others once stood, and that the deities now 
 worshipped have been worshipped at these precise spots 
 through all past time; but this, of course, is said with 
 the object of extolling their gods. No dependence can 
 be placed on tradition, in ascertaining, the dates of 
 temples, so long as your informant can only state that 
 a certain temple, on a certain site, had a predecessor 
 on that site, and that predecessor had a previous one, 
 
 ^and so on, in an endless series. 
 
 There are, in the division of Benares Proper, a few 
 Hindu temples, which, perhaps on good grounds, lay 
 claim to an antiquity of several hundred years ; but the 
 number of such temples is very small. The central porr- 
 tion, or Kasi, which now constitutes the heart of the; 
 city, cannot, so far as my knowledge extends, make even 
 such a boast. Tet it is the, favourite resort of Hindus;, 
 and is literally choked with its abundant population and 
 the pilgrims who, from all parts of India, are perpetually 
 flocking thither; Its temples and idols, its symbols of 
 idolatry, and its priests, are all on so vast a scale as to 
 defy calculation ; while, as if in honour of this portion 
 of it, the entire city is spoken of, throughout India, as 
 Kasi. But, although the Kasi division now receives 
 the lioa's share of respect and attention, and the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PKESENT. 95 
 
 Benares division, except on special occasions and at 
 special festivals, obtains only a very inferior share, 
 there was a time when the two stood in a reverse 
 relation to one another, and Benares Proper was the 
 common resort of Hindu votaries, while the Kasi 
 division was its mere suburb, and scarcely honoured 
 at all, and the Kedar division was a jungle, where, 
 possibly, stood a secluded temple or two, and a few 
 austere naked ascetics resided in savage simplicity. 
 
 Although I regard the central portion of the city, or 
 that which distinctively bears the name of Kasi, as, 
 speaking generally, less ancient than the division to the 
 north of it, I would not have it supposed that I doubt, 
 the considerable antiquity of a certain portion of it. I 
 refer especially to the foundations of many of the build- 
 ings in the streets immediately adjacent to the Ganges ; 
 and I conceive it to be not at all improbable, that, even 
 in those early ages when the city extended for miles 
 on the banks of the great river to the north and north- 
 east of the Barna stream, its southern extremity not 
 only included of the modern city what I have termed 
 Benares Proper, but also a thin band of what is now 
 the Xasi division of the city, stretching along the 
 Ganges in a south-westerly direction, as far, possibly, 
 as the Dasasamedh Ghat. 
 
 While, as already remarked in a previous chapter, the 
 present form of Hinduism in the city is Puranic, yet I 
 would apply that term, in an emphatic and special man- 
 ner, to the Kasi division, because of the strong and 
 very intimate association which it has with the latest 
 development and manifestation of Hinduism in the 
 
96 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Puranas, and with the present features of idolatry 
 amongst the Hindu race. The temples which stud 
 the streets, the idols worshipped in them, the religious 
 observances practised by the people, in short, the mate- 
 rialistic and sensuous characteristics of the Hindu faith, 
 as exhibited there, are, to a very great extent, Puranic 
 in their origin. 
 
 Eespecting ancient Hindu buildings in the city, no 
 definite and trustworthy information whatever can be 
 gathered either from the lips of Hindus or from the 
 writings which have come down to them from past 
 ages. That remains of such buildings actually exist 
 somewhere, admits of no question; but we are left 
 utterly in the dark concerning them, and have to de- 
 pend entirely upon personal observation, in searching 
 them out. One would have supposed, that works written 
 upon Benares and in its praise, such as the Kdsi- 
 rahasi/a, which numbers thirty chapters ; the Kasi-mdhd- 
 tmya, which contains five ; and Kd'si-khanda, taken 
 from the Skanda-purana^ which consists of one hundred 
 chapters, would have shed some light on this interest- 
 ing subject: but the authors and compilers of these 
 books have contented themselves with bare generali- 
 ties, and have not troubled themselves about the epoch 
 of any one temple, or ghat, or well, or other structure 
 to which they may have referred. It is not known, 
 with certainty, when the above works were written ; 
 but this, however, is well ascertained^ that not one of 
 them was written till several hundred years after the 
 date of the Buddhist edifices the remains of which 
 have been discovered in the city. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 97 
 
 The Hindus do not resort to all temples equally, 
 but only to those -which are well known, and which, 
 they have reason to suppose, were frequented by their 
 forefathers. New temples are constantly springing up 
 in various parts of the city, some of which far surpass 
 the old shrines in magnificence ; but these are regarded 
 as family temples, and are, for the most part, visited 
 only by the relatives of the persons who have erected 
 them, and by members of the caste to which they belong. 
 The thirty-six castes, — into which Hindus are sometimes 
 divided, — practically shun such temples, although I am 
 not aware that they cherish any dislike to them ; while 
 all regard the other class of temples as peculiarly their 
 own, and flock to them indiscriminately. Pilgrims also 
 have the same feeling, and will have nothing to do with 
 the new shrines. 
 
 One of the temples in Benares Proper, which may be 
 regarded as not of recent date, is the well-known temple 
 of Trilochan or the Three-eyed, — from tri, three, and 
 lochana, an eye, — so called from the following circum- 
 stance. It is said, that, on one occasion, when S'iva 
 was wrapt in meditation, he was visited daily by 
 Vishnu, who always brought with him a thousand 
 separate flowers, which he sacrificed to S'iva when in 
 the act of worshipping him. One day Vishnu had 
 brought his thousand flowers,, as usual ; and, having 
 placed them ready for sacrifice, his attention was drawn 
 off from them for a short period. Embracing the 
 opportunity, S'iva quietly purloined one of the flowers. 
 Ignorant of the circumstance, Vishnu presently set 
 about his devotions, offering his flowers one at a 
 
 7 
 
98 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 time, and counting the number offered. What was his 
 surprise, when, on arriving at the nine hundred and 
 ninety-ninth, he found that one was missing ! He 
 was totally unable to account for the loss; but, as he 
 had no other at hand, and it was necessary to com- 
 plete the sacrifice which he had begun, he removed an 
 eye from its socket, and offered it instead. On apply- 
 ing the eye to the forehead of the idol, it adhered to 
 the spot on which he placed it. S'iva immediately 
 began to see with it, and from that time forwards pos- 
 sessed three organs of vision. 
 
 There is, however, another tale connected with this 
 temple and the third eye of S'iva. Tradition affirms, 
 that the emblem of this god, which is worshipped in 
 his temple, having passed through the seven pdtdlas or 
 subterraneous regions, had made its home in this place. 
 Gauri, wife of S'iva, was, at this time, seeking, but could 
 not find him. S'iva, with his third eye, the eye of re- 
 flection, — distinguished from his other two eyes, which 
 are merely eyes of observation, — perceived her. It is 
 commonly believed, that, on the site of this temple, the 
 three rivers, the Ganges, the Jumna, and the Saraswati, 
 meet. Moreover, three notable deities are spoken of as 
 residing here, corruptly called Saraswateswar, Jamanes- 
 war, and Nirbuddheswar. The first two idols actually do 
 exist here, and are pointed out in the enclosure of the 
 temple ; and the last has a separate temple to herself, 
 at a short distance from the Trilochan fane. It is not 
 at all unlikely, that, formerly, this idol was also wor- 
 shipped in this place ; for all three are referred to in the 
 Kasi-khanda, in connexion with it. 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 99 
 
 The fruits of performing religious ceremonies in the 
 Trilochan temple are regarded, by the idolater, as of a 
 varied character. As, in his estimation, it is high up 
 in the scale of sanctity, it is not surprising that he 
 imagines great blessings are to be obtained from the 
 worship of its idols. That mystery in Hindu idea, 
 called spiritual emancipation, which, in this land, means 
 the destruction of personal identity, or the annihilation 
 of self and absorption into Brahma, preceded, it may 
 be, by a transmigration through the bodies of other 
 creatures, on the death of the present body, is, in his 
 belief, as effectually secured here as elsewhere. More- 
 over, there is a special benefit attached, by the people 
 generally, to the performance of religious rites in this 
 temple; namely, that, whoever does so, should he fall 
 ill in any other part of the country, and die, is certain 
 not to sink into hell, but to enjoy everlasting happi- 
 ness. In the month of Baisakh, should any one remain 
 in this temple, uninterruptedly engaged in religious 
 exercises during the whole of one day and night, with- 
 out sleeping, he is promised eternal liberation as his 
 reward. 
 
 The temple stands in the midst of a quadrangle, and 
 is of recent date, having been built a few years ago by 
 Nathu Bala, of Poonah ; but the priests state that the 
 quadrangle itself is upwards of three hundred years old. 
 There is little question, however, that the original Tri- 
 lochan temple was earlier even than this. Some of the 
 numerous idols deposited within the circuit of the quad- 
 rangle exhibit signs of an age equal to, if not greater 
 than, that ascribed to the earlier fane. On entering the 
 
100 BBNAKES, PAST ANB PBESEKT. 
 
 high-walled enclosure, the large number of images which 
 meet the eye on both sides and in front is somewhat 
 amusing. Most of them, though not all, are of dimi- 
 nutive size, and are placed in separate shrines, in groups 
 of five, ten, twenty, and upwards. On the left, by 
 the wall, are two temples, one of which is surmounted 
 by a low spire or steeple, and the other by a small 
 dome; and the tiny deities to whom they are dedicated 
 are partly deposited upon the floors of the temples, 
 and partly inserted into the walls. Figures of bulls, 
 likewise, intended for these gods to ride on, are placed 
 near. On the right-hand side is a series of shrines 
 occupied by assemblages of idols. There is, also, an 
 image looking like a huge club, which is not honoured 
 with a residence, but stands apart from all the shrines. 
 It is made of stone, and is three feet high above its 
 base, and ten inches or a foot in thickness. Its name 
 is Eot-Lingeswar, from the circumstance that its 
 surface is supposed to have a Jcoti or ten millions 
 of the emblems of S'iva carved upon it. The actual 
 number out out on the superficies of the stone is 
 not more than a few hundred ; but the Hindus are 
 not particular in their definition of numbers. In the 
 south-west corner, a peepul tree grows, near the foot 
 of which, in a chapel or niche attached to its trunk, 
 is a figure of the monkey-god Hanuman; and, close 
 by, two images of Ganes and S'itala (or the goddess 
 of Small-pox) have been let into the wall. On the 
 south side, a small shrine contains the black ugly 
 figure of the goddess Barnarasi, presented, I was told, 
 by Eaja Banar, a reputed old Eaja of Benares. There 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 101 
 
 are other deities, but smaller in size, in the same 
 shrine, such as Ganes and the Sun; but these appear 
 to hold a subordinate position. in the place. 
 
 In front of the porch of the Trilochan temple, 
 which stands in the middle of the enclosure, is a 
 double temple. Each division is open on its three 
 sides, and, from the number and assortment of its 
 idols, is a veritable pantheon. It would be curious 
 to know the reason for making such collections of 
 deities. I believe it is simply whim or caprice, similar 
 to that which prompts children to accumulate a large 
 number, and a great variety, of playthings. It is, 
 also, evidently, a childish motive which has dictated 
 the methodical, not to say picturesque, arrangement 
 of idols on the floors of temples, and around the 
 walls of their enclosures. In regard to some collec- 
 tions of idols, however, there is no doubt that they 
 have been gradually made by the worshippers in the 
 temples in which they are found, who, in their zeal, 
 have presented idols, as well as money and other gifts, 
 to their favourite shrines. 
 
 The porch of the Trilochan temple is painted red, 
 and is sustained by eight pillars, four in front, and 
 four attached to the wall behind. Its roof is embel- 
 lished with pictures ; and on the floor, directly opposite 
 to the entrance of the temple, is a bull, in white 
 marble, in a recumbent posture. Two bells are sus- 
 pended in the porch, which are struck by the wor- 
 shippers, after performing their devotions. The wall 
 of the temple, adjoining the porch, exhibits several 
 curious objects. There is a figure of Ganes, in white 
 
102 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 marble, in a niclie in the wall on the left; and near 
 it a painting, representing Nanak Shah, the Guru 
 or spiritual guide of the Sikh race. As the Sikh 
 religion is regarded, by the Hindus, in the light of a 
 heresy, it is strange that they permit such a picture 
 to decorate, the walls of one of their principal shrines. 
 In a niche on the right are two black figures of Nara- 
 yana or Yishnu, and his wife Lakshmi. 
 
 Here is, likewise, a remarkable painting, representing 
 the divine vengeance executed on sinners in hell. In 
 the foreground is the Eiver of Death, through which 
 persons are seen endeavouring to make their way to 
 the other side. Some are left alone to buffet with 
 the waves in their own strength; while others, who, 
 when living in this world, supported Brahmans, are 
 helped across by the sacred cow, who swims before, 
 and drags them along by her tail, which they grasp 
 fast hold of with their hands. This explanation was 
 given by the priests; for, really, no cow was visible 
 as the attendant on any one. As soon as they are 
 landed on the opposite shore, the new arrivals are re- 
 presented as immediately led away : and the remainder 
 of the picture consists in a delineation of the punish- 
 ment of the wicked. The priests stated that the poor 
 wretches are first judged, and then punished ac- 
 cording to their deeds. In one place, a conscience- 
 stricken sinner, who has recently emerged from the 
 stream, is seen strongly resisting the hand of the exe- 
 cutioner, who is dragging him away by the leg. In 
 another is an enormous vessel, full of boiling ghee or 
 clarified butter, into which the wicked are plunged^ 
 
BENARES, PAST ANB PRESENT. 103 
 
 Here and there, executioners are standing, armed with, 
 prodigious clubs, with which they cruelly belabour 
 their helpless and despairing victims. One conspicuous 
 object in the picture is a pillar of red-hot iron, on the 
 top of which lies a writhing and agonizing mass of 
 humanity. This punishment is reserved exclusively for 
 those who have been guilty of adultery and uneleanness. 
 
 The interior of the temple is very simple, and is ex- 
 ceedingly dirty and foul. A brazen cistern, with knobs 
 at each corner, is let into the floor ; and, in the middle 
 of it, stands the emblem of S'iva, who is here called 
 Lingeswar; and near it is S'iva' s wife, Parvati. A 
 small oil lamp is kept constantly burning not far from 
 the idol, whose daily supply of water and flowers, — ^the 
 offerings of his worshippers, — would be enough, did he 
 possess the flesh and blood of a human creature, to 
 suffocate and drown him. 
 
 Quitting this spot, and proceeding to Trilochan Ghat, 
 we pass a beautiful little temple, situated at the comer 
 of two streets, lately built by Kunu Sahu. Its porch is 
 supported on pillars, the elegant carving of which dis- 
 plays much taste and skill. Immediately opposite this 
 is a large temple, in a quadrangle, also new. Above 
 the ghat is a small shrine, containing a number of old 
 images; and, a short distance down the stairs, are two 
 more, in the walls of which idols of great age are in- 
 serted. I may here remark, that the neighbourhood of 
 the Trilochan temple abounds with shrines. 
 
 The Trilochan Ghat is called, also, the Pilpilla Tirth, 
 or place of pilgrimage. After bathing in the Ganges, at 
 this ghat, the pilgrim, in order to perform this peculiar 
 
104 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 pilgrimage, proceeds to the Panchganga Ghat, and 
 bathes again in the river; and then, finally tracing 
 his steps to the Manikarnika Well, washes in its loath- 
 some waters. These ablutions being terminated, the 
 poor deluded man is taught to believe that his sins 
 have all been forgiven. There are two low turrets at 
 the Pilpilla Ghat, between which the pilgrim must 
 bathe, as the water beyond has no special sanctity. 
 
 This ghat is the last of the stairs, leading down from 
 the city to the river, made entirely of strong masonry. 
 The ghats to the north are constructed, in part, of a 
 less durable substance, that is, from below towards the 
 river; although, in the upper portions of these even, 
 the stairs are solid, like the others. A short distance 
 higher up the stream is Gae Ghat, jutting out a little 
 beyond the bank. 
 
 Two other temples in this neighbourhood are, possibly, 
 of the same era as the Trilochan fane. The first is the 
 temple of Nirbuddheswar, situated only a few steps to 
 the south-east of this structure. It is an exceedingly 
 plain edifice, without ornament or embellishment, and 
 is, evidently, not much visited, except by pilgrims, and 
 on festival .days. The other is the temple of Ad-Maha- 
 deva, at the entrance of which is a tiny shrine, faced 
 with an iron grating. A priest from Trilochan was 
 leading the way into the enclosure, when I felt myself 
 irresistibly detained by the curiosities in this shrine. 
 I observed several small pillars covered with silver 
 tinsel, and, also, a figure of Hanuman gaudily painted 
 in red, yellow, white, and black colours; while, on the 
 floor, other idols were lying. In this cage-like place 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 105 
 
 sat an old man, squatting down beside these miserable 
 divinities, his body occupying a large portion of the 
 shrine. Presently he folded his hands together, ap- 
 parently in deep devotion, and did homage to one or 
 more of the images before him. He then rang a little 
 bell, and quietly left the place. This man was the pro- 
 prietor of the shrine, and had erected and dedicated it, 
 and probably had purchased in the bazar the very idols 
 which I saw him worship. 
 
 The temple of Ad-Mahadeva, like the temple of Mr- 
 buddheswar, is unadorned and plain. In the porch is 
 a very old chair, in which, in former days, a Vyds, or 
 public reader of the sacred books, used to sit and read 
 in the presence of a congregation gathered to hear 
 him. This ancient custom has lost ground even in 
 Benares, which professes to be the very citadel and 
 defence of Hinduism. In front of the porch, to the 
 east, is a peepul tree, with a platform attached to its 
 base, upon which is a small shrine, containing a col- 
 lection of idols ; while opposite to it is a stone figure of 
 the goddess Parvatyeswari in bass-relief. This divinity 
 was formerly one of considerable repute, but, from some 
 unknown circumstance, was destroyed, together with 
 her shrine ; so that no remains of the one or of the other 
 can be discovered. The goddess, however, I am sorry 
 to say, has been resuscitated by a Gujarati Brahman,, 
 residing in Benares, named Gror Ji, who manufactured 
 the present idol, and placed it in this position, as re- 
 presentative of Parvatyeswari ; and it is now honoured, 
 by the Hindus, with pilgrimages and offerings, like its 
 |)redecessor. Gor Ji is a remarkable man, and has done 
 
106 BENAEES, PAST AJSTD PRESENT, 
 
 more to revive Hinduism, in this city, of late years, 
 than, perhaps, any other person. Having diligently 
 read the Kd'si-khanda, he has searched ahout for the 
 temples and idols referred to in that book ; and, where- 
 ever he has found old temples in decay, or abandoned, 
 or has discovered sacred sites now neglected and gene- 
 rally unknown, he has endeavoured to restore them to 
 honour and popularity. One favourite method which 
 he adopts is to inscribe an extract from the Kdsi- 
 Jchanday respecting a particular forsaken temple or site, 
 on stone, and to set it up there, for the enlightenment 
 of passers-by. In some cases, he merely writes the 
 extract on a wall or other suitable place. This man 
 •fe^ like many other rigid Hindus of the old school, 
 that the ancient religion is falling into decay ; that 
 some of its old temples, formerly frequented by crowds, 
 are now rarely trodden; and that many a hallowed 
 spot, or niche, or grove, or fane, has been abandoned 
 and forgotten. 
 
 Behind the peepul tree is a temple dedicated to 
 Ganes, the God of Wisdom, an elephant-headed, large- 
 bellied, and very red deity, who has associated with 
 himself a variety of deities, one of whom is a stone on 
 which two snakes are carved in bass-relief; but the 
 stone is broken, and the two parts are placed, side by 
 side, against the wall. 
 
107 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Panchganga GMt. — Legend respecting it. — Lakshmanb^a Temple. — 
 The Minarets. — Temple of Kimeswar. — The Maohaudarl Tlrth or 
 Place of Pilgrimage. 
 
 The Panchganga Ghat is one of the five chief 
 places of pilgrimage on the banks of the Ganges. The 
 Hindus believe that five rivers meet at this spot. Their 
 names are Dhutapapa, Jarnanada, Kirananadi, Saraswati, 
 and (Ganga) Ganges. Eespecting these streams, Mr. 
 Prinsep makes the following observations: — "A virgin," 
 he says, "named D'horatpapa, whom Brahma pronounces 
 to be more pure than three and a half crores of the 
 holy tiraths (places of pilgrimage), having cause of com- 
 plaint against her admirer Dharma, politely pronounces 
 a malediction upon him, and turns him into the Dharma- 
 nada (river of virtue). He, in revenge, converts her 
 into a rock ; but her father, Vedasoor, in compassion, 
 metamorphoses her again into the Chandrakanta (moon 
 stone), which, melting in the moon, forms a stream, 
 called D'horatpapa (channel of sin), an appropriate bride 
 for the river of virtue. The third stream, called Kirn- 
 nadda (brook of rays), was produced from the per- 
 spiration of the Sun, while performing penance in 
 honour of Mangulgouree (a form of Devi), on an ad- 
 
108 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 joining ghat. These three, with the Ganges and Saras- 
 wati, complete the number of Panchanada, to the satis- 
 faction even of the deities themselves, who condescend 
 to bathe on the spot during their residence in Zashi." ' 
 
 Only one of these streams, namely, the Ganges, is 
 visible; but the remaining four are supposed, by the 
 credulous, to be somewhere under ground. The ghat 
 is broad and deep, and exceedingly strong. Its stairs 
 and turrets are all of stone, and, from their great 
 number, afford accommodation to a multitude of wor- 
 shippers and bathers. The turrets are low and hollow, 
 and are employed as temples or shrines. Each one 
 contains several deities, which are, mostly, emblems of 
 S'iva. An ordinary observer would be in ignorance of 
 the fact that these are filled with idols, and would 
 scarcely imagine that he was walking upon the top of 
 a long succession of shrines, and over the heads of 
 hundreds of gods. He would have to descend several 
 steps, before discovering the sacrilege which he was 
 ignorantly committing; but, having done so, he would 
 at once perceive that the turrets are open towards 
 the river, and are, therefore, very convenient for 
 devotional purposes. The platform above the ghat, 
 along which runs a narrow, though excellent, road, is 
 below the steep bank of the river. Erom the platform 
 a number of stairs thread their way up the bank, 
 uniting the ghat with this quarter of the city. The 
 same remark is, for the niost part, applicable to the 
 other ghats. They are all connected together by a 
 road, which is, iij some places, paved, and in the hot 
 ' Prinsep's Views of Benares:— Second Series. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 109 
 
 weather, is, in parts, covered over with an awning, 
 under which, the people walk. From this road innu- 
 merable stairs, chiefly of stone, pass up the banks, and 
 communicate with the alleys and streets leading into 
 the city. 
 
 One of the flights of stairs rising up from the Panch- 
 ganga Ghat enters a large building, known as Laksh- 
 manbala, which it ascends, and then issues into a lane 
 at the summit of the bank, leading into the streets of 
 the city. The building, although presenting an exten- 
 sive frontage towards the river, is, in reality, hardly 
 more than a mere casemate to the bank. It is used 
 a's a temple, and is dedicated to Lakshmanbala. The 
 principal room is in an upper story, the roof of which 
 is supported on carved wooden pillars of a deep black 
 colour. The walls are embellished with paintings, many 
 of which are representations of green trees, while others 
 are pictures set in frames. Devotees are seated in the 
 room, counting their beads, and muttering to them- 
 selves the names of their gods. Music is also per- 
 formed, the plaintive strains of which fall upon the 
 ear pleasingly. K"ear the players, at one end of the 
 room, are three idols, in a row. That in the centre is 
 dressed in blue, and has a blue turban on his head, 
 and a garland thrown over his shoulders, hanging down 
 in front. On his left is a gilded disk, let into the 
 wall, displaying nose, eyes, cheeks, and mouth, and 
 a nimbus, and is intended as a representation of the 
 Sun. On his right is a disk, representing the Moon, 
 made of a pale metal, probably silver, and exhibiting 
 the various parts of the face, as in the case of the Sun, 
 
110 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 but without gilding or glory. A few feet in front of 
 these idols, a small lamp is kept burning, The wor- 
 shippers pass in and out of this room, and perform their 
 devotions as though it were an ordinary temple. It is 
 the only temple in Benares, however, so far as my obser- 
 vation has extended, in which persons, seating them- 
 selves on the floor, engage formally in religious exer- 
 cises. The temples in Benares, and in Northern India 
 generally, with their courts, porches, and subordinate 
 shrines, though they, in some instances, cover a con- 
 siderable area, are, for the greater part, of very narrow 
 dimensions, and contain only one small room, in which, 
 besides the presiding deity, several inferior divinities are 
 frequently placed, leaving not room enough for a dozen 
 persons to present their offerings at one and the same 
 time, and to observe the prescribed ceremonies in an 
 orderly manner. 
 
 ■ Ascending another series of stairs from the Paneh- 
 ganga Ghat, you approach the lofty mosque of Aurung- 
 zeb, known, by the natives, as "Madhudas ka Dewhra." 
 The edifice itself is above the bank of the river; but 
 its foundations sink deep into the ground; and their 
 enormous stone breastworks extend far down the bank. 
 Indeed, it is said that the foundations of the mosque 
 are as deep as the building is high. Although more 
 than a century and a half has elapsed since this struc- 
 ture was reared, yet it appears as solid and strong as 
 on the day of its completion. The massive pile is on 
 the very edge of a steep bank or cliff; yet not a stone 
 of it has been loosened. There is a high wall, next to 
 the street running by the western side of the mosque, 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. Ill 
 
 whicli is continued round to the north-east comeir. A 
 door in the northern -wall opens the way into the en- 
 closure, in full front of the mosque; the latter being 
 situated on its southern side. From the eastern side 
 commences the long flight of stone stairs descending to 
 the river. The enclosure is not sufficiently spacious to 
 give the observer an ample view of the minarets; but, 
 nevertheless, it is extensive enough to enable him to 
 gain a satisfactory idea of their symmetry and ele- 
 gance. The mosque itself exhibits nothing striking, 
 and, indeed, can hardly be called beautiful. It is plain 
 and common-place; and, were it not for the minarets 
 rising above, it would not be accounted a noticeable 
 object in Benares. The minarets themselves have a 
 delicate gracefulness about them which it is impossible 
 to portray in words; and my photographic representa- 
 tion fails to convey the exactness and exquisiteness of 
 the reality. I do not remember their exact height ; 
 but it is not less than one hundred and fifty feet, 
 reckoning from the floor of the mosque. "When it is 
 remembered that the bank of the river on which this 
 edifice stands is nearly the same number of feet above 
 the bed of the stream, it will at once be perceived 
 that the minarets occupy a very prominent position in 
 a panoramic view of the city. Although many of the 
 buildings of Benares, especially those in the neighbour- 
 hood of the ghats, are of a great height, yet they are 
 all overtopped by the minarets, the clear forms of 
 which, pointing upwards to the sky, may be discerned 
 at the distance of many miles from the city. They 
 were, originally, some fifty feet higher than they now 
 
112 BENAEES, PAST AM) PRESENT. 
 
 are, and were cut down to their present height, in con- 
 sequence of exhibiting signs of weakness and insectirity. 
 There is a staircase in each tower, from the summit of 
 which you gain a complete view of Benares and its 
 suburbs, and of a portion of the surrounding country; 
 but the ascent and descent are attended with consider- 
 able fatigue. 
 
 It is astonishing that this mosque, although so much 
 visited by Europeans, and regarded, by them, as one of 
 the chief sights of Benares, should be almost abandoned 
 by the Mohammedans. On Fridays, a small 'number of 
 the faithful assemble within its walls for religious pur- 
 poses, but on no other day ; and, during the remaining 
 six days of the week, it is handed over to the care of 
 two men. These consist of a MuUa and his servant, 
 who alone have charge of the building. It seems that 
 the oflB.ce held by the MuUa was formerly held by 
 his ancestors, who received it, possibly, from Aurungzeb 
 himself. 
 
 A small village was, at one time, in possession of the 
 mosque, from the proceeds of which its expenses were 
 partially paid: but it has lapsed to the Governinent; 
 and, consequently, the expenses of repairing and clean- 
 ing the mosque, so far as I was able to learn, are 
 defrayed by the contributions of visitors. Its existence 
 in this part of city, which is almost entirely inhabited 
 by Hindus, affords the strongest proof of the rancour 
 and violence with which the emperor Aurungzeb op- 
 posed the idolatrous practices of the people, and en- 
 deavoured to propagate his own religion. Tradition 
 says, that, on the site of the mosque, a temple once 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 113 
 
 stood, which was removed in order to make room for 
 it; and there is every reason to believe that the tra- 
 dition is true. The Government takes care of the 
 minarets, and keeps them in order. 
 
 The temple of Kameswar, in the northern division " 
 of Benares, is one of the few temples, in the city, not 
 of comparatively modern date ; and yet, like them, it 
 by no means belongs to a very distant epoch. It is 
 remarkable, also, for the vast accumulation of shrines 
 and images within its boundaries. At the entrance, 
 towards the street, is a temple, with a group of deities 
 inside, who are supposed to guard the passage. Passing 
 along, we come to the first court, in which is a kettle- 
 drum, which is beaten at intervals during the day, 
 in honour of the presiding divinity. Proceeding into 
 the second court, an extraordinary sight presents itself. 
 The entire area of the quadrangle is literally filled with 
 temples, so that it seems impossible to insert another. 
 The quadrangle is not large, when compared with some 
 others in Benares. All the temples are painted red, 
 and have short steeples. The principal one is dedicated 
 to Kamananath, or Kameswar, the Lord of Desire, who, 
 according to Hindu belief, assists his worshippers in 
 the realization of whatever they aspire to achieve. An- 
 other temple is inhabited by the god Eam, Sita (his 
 wife), the goddess Lakshmi, and the Sun. The temples 
 altogether amount to ten or a dozen, each containing 
 several idols. 
 
 On the north side of the enclosure is a peepul tree; 
 and on a platform, surrounding its base, is a group 
 of idols. One of these is Narsiiih, an incarnation of 
 
 8 
 
114 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 Vishnu, and a monster of horrible appearance. His 
 birth is said to have been out of a pillar or post, which 
 split down the middle, in order to admit him into the 
 world. The two parts of the pillar are represented in 
 the stone figure, one being on each side of the idol, 
 which, in the form of a man with two horns on his head, 
 is seated in the fork of the divided pillar, gloating 
 over the victim who lies prostrate across his lap. This 
 is a daitya or demon, whom he is disembowelling and 
 pulling to pieces with his nails, and greedily drinking 
 his blood. Besides other images, there is the usual 
 emblem of Siva, with a snake creeping up it; and on 
 the horizontal stone, which is always connected with 
 it, are carved ten other emblems, exact counterparts 
 of the entire idol, with the exception of the snake. 
 On the sides of the quadrangle, long narrow rooms 
 open on the centre of the square ; and these may be 
 regarded as so many separate shrines, inasmuch as 
 they are occupied by groups of deities. Two of these 
 are filled with the peculiar emblems of Siva; and one 
 of them holds as many as twenty-five. A third has a 
 figure of Narsihh, similar to that just described, and, 
 also, the goddess Machaudari, an immodest figure, 
 seated on a peacock. There is, likewise, in the same 
 room, an image of the Kishi Durvasas, whose asceti- 
 cism is said to have been so vigorous, that he was 
 raised, by its instrumentality, to an equality with the 
 gods, and sat with Vishnu as his peer. 
 
 The temple of Kamananath is connected with a de- 
 pressed plain close by, which was formerly an extensive 
 jUl or pond, and was then called the Machaudari Tirth, 
 
115 
 
 or place of pilgrimage, which, like other tanks in 
 Benares, was frequented by many pilgrims, who wor- 
 shipped in the temple and bathed in the pond. The 
 jhil was drained, some years ago, by Mr. James Prinsep, 
 the famous archaeologist, when stationed at Benares. 
 Its removal must, on sanitary grounds, be regarded as 
 a beneficial measure ; and no injury has been sustained 
 by the people, as the river Ganges flows only a few 
 steps off. The Machaudari Tirth is now abolished; 
 and, consequently, the number of pilgrims frequenting 
 the temple of Kamananath has greatly diminished. 
 
116 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 Temple of Jigea'war, a Resort of the Native Aristocracy of Benares. — 
 K4s'I-Devi, Goddess of the City of Benares. — Karnghanta T414o 
 or Tank. — Temple of the demon Bhiit-Bhairo. — Temple of Bar4 
 Ganes. — Jagann&th. — Satis. 
 
 In the Iswar-Gangi street, situated in the Ausan- 
 ganj Mahalla or ward of the City, is the aristocratic 
 temple of Jageswar, — more correctly, Tajeswara, 'Lord 
 of Sacrifice,' that is, Siva, — to -which all the nohility 
 and gentry of Benares, from the Maharaja downwards, 
 occasionally resort. Ascending a flight of steps, you 
 enter the outer court of the temple, where are several 
 shrines standing in a row, each of which contains an 
 assemblage of small idols. This court forms a plat- 
 form ; and, as it is spacious, clean, and ordeily, it 
 serves as an agreeable lounge, in the cool of the day, 
 for persons frequenting the spot. But the object of 
 interest here is the temple of Jageswar, which is in a 
 court of its own, walled in all round. The temple 
 occupies a large portion of the enclosure ; but there 
 is, nevertheless, a narrow space between it and the 
 walls, so that worshippers are able to carry out their 
 favourite custom of traversing the circumference of the 
 temple a multitude of times. The portico rests on 
 pillars; and its floor is paved with small square slabs 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 117 
 
 of polished marble. In the centre of the portico, 
 facing the door of the temple, crouches a large bull, 
 called Nandi, the animal on which the god rides. But 
 what would one fancy the size and form of the idol 
 which the 6lite of Benares, its men of opulence, of 
 illustrious birth, of intelligence, and education, reve- 
 rently worship, and before whom they beat their heads 
 upon the threshold, and even prostrate themselves upon 
 the floor, and to whom they pay that supreme homage 
 and adoration due only to the Lord God Almighty ? 
 It might be supposed that it was an object of sur- 
 passing splendour, with diamond-sparkling eyes, and a 
 body of gold, adorned with garlands, necklaces, and 
 bracelets, of costly value and of dazzling beauty. But 
 its pretensions are of a very different order ; for it is 
 simply an enormous block of stone, round and black, 
 six feet in height, and twelve in circumference. The 
 tradition is, that, on one occasion, the gods assembled 
 to perform a great sacrifice, and that out of the burn- 
 ing oblation issued S'iva, in the shape of this stone. 
 Above the temple is a capacious spout, looking not 
 unlike a chimney, placed immediately over the shape- 
 less idol below. In the hot weather this spout is kept 
 filled with water, which dribbles perpetually upon the 
 god, through one or more holes in the bottom, and 
 keeps him cool. At the entrance to the temple from 
 the portico are two small shrines, one on each side of 
 the door. 
 
 Adjoining the Ausanganj Mahalla is the Mahalla of 
 Kasipura, where, at the junction of several narrow 
 streets, stands a banyan tree, near which is a temple 
 
118 BEKAEBS, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 divided into two chambers. In one of these chambers, 
 in a niche let into the wall, sits Kasi-devi, or the god- 
 dess of Benares. Pilgrims, making the tour of the city 
 for the purpose of performing their devotions at its 
 most celebrated shrines, do not fail to visit this tute- 
 lary deity. The spot is also interesting to the natives, 
 as being, in their estimation, the centre of Benares, 
 though it is exceedingly doubtful whether it is so in 
 reality. A few steps bring us to the Karnghanta 
 Talao, a tank named from the goblin Ghantakarna, 
 'Bell-eared.' This tank is in a quadrangle, between 
 which and the neighbouring street a garden is situated. 
 On descending a flight of steps, you enter the quad- 
 rangle. At the foot of the steps is a platform extend- 
 ing all round the enclosure; and from it is a succes- 
 sion of stone stairs leading down to the water of the 
 tank. On the south side of the platform overlooking 
 the tank are three temples, one of which, namely, that 
 in the middle, is of considerable interest. It is dedicated, 
 to Vedavyas, the compiler of the Vedas, and is called 
 Vyaseswar. The deified compiler is seated in a niche 
 in the wall, and is decorated with a garland, and also 
 with armlets and anklets. There is another temple, 
 erected in honour of this famous man, in the palace of 
 the Maharaja of Benares at Eamnagar; but there he 
 is associated with S'iva, and is worshipped through the 
 emblem of the latter divinity, whereas, in the temple 
 at Karnghanta Talao, he is represented by an image of 
 his own. In the month of Sawan, multitudes of people, 
 especially women, visit this tank, bathe in its unclean 
 water, and worship the peepul, kadam, and banyan trees. 
 
BENAEES, PAST AlO) PRESENT. 119 
 
 A short distance to the north of Kasi-devi is the 
 temple of Bhtit-Bhairo or, more properly, Vishama-Bhai- 
 rava ; the former being the vulgar designation which 
 the idol bears. Bhut means a demon ; and Bhairo is the 
 deified magistrate of Benares ; so that the idea is, that 
 the god Bhairo delivers his worshippers from demons 
 and other infernal beings. The idol is dignified with 
 a moustache, the ends of which are curved after the 
 most approved fashion ; but it is, nevertheless, an ugly 
 object. The head and part of the neck are alone 
 visible, the remainder of the person being hidden by 
 an apron which reaches above the head. The court in 
 which this temple stands contains several other shrines, 
 all which bear the marks of age upon them. Several 
 of those curious blocks of stone found in various parts 
 of Benares, — to which allusion has been made in a 
 previous chapter, — of pyramidal shape, and presenting, 
 on their surface, rude carvings of small temples, are 
 lying about the enclosure. I counted as many as 
 seven; and it is likely there are others. They are in 
 various positions; several being erect, whilst some are 
 standing out of the perpendicular, or are lying pros- 
 trate on the ground. There is no other place in Be- 
 nares, I believe, which contains such an assemblage of 
 these remarkable stones. On one side of the courtyard 
 is a large emblem of S'iva, about which the following 
 singular story is told. It is said, that, about six or 
 seven years ago, a tree fell down at this place, and, 
 on the spot where the trunk had stood, the emblem 
 was found in the position in which it is now seen. 
 The figure looks old; and it is not unlikely, that, in 
 
120 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the youth of the tree, it was inserted ia the earth 
 immediately at its base, and that, as the tree grew, 
 it gradually enveloped the stone, which, being large 
 and strongly fixed in the ground, was not expelled, 
 but, on the contrary, became more firmly set by the 
 lateral pressure of the tree. This explanation is 
 strengthened by the supposition that the tree was 
 the sacred peepul, the trunk of which is so strangely 
 corrugated, as often to appear to consist of a multi- 
 tude of small trees united together. Preparations 
 were made for erecting a temple around this sacred 
 stone; but the person who had undertaken the task 
 died before much progress had been made in the 
 work. Fragments of carved stones are lying ^bout, 
 which were, doubtless, originally destined for the new 
 temple : but there is now little chance of its ever 
 being raised ; as no Hindu likes to prosecute an en- 
 terprise begun by another man, inasmuch as, when 
 completed, he believes that all the merit resulting 
 from it will go to such person and not to himself. 
 
 In the Ausanganj Mahalla is the well-known fane 
 of Bara Ganes, or the Great Ganes. An alley branches 
 off from the main road, and conducts to this temple. 
 At an angle of the alley is a low shrine, dedicated 
 to Jagannath, containing three figures, of horrible ugli- 
 ness. On the right is Jagannath; on the left is his 
 brother Balbhadra; and, in the middle, is their sister 
 Subhadra. The two former have arms, but no hands or 
 feet ; while the latter is destitute of arms, as well as 
 of feet. These large-mouthed, goggle-eyed, round-faced 
 deities are equal in frightfulness to some of the idols 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 121 
 
 made and worshipped by the savages of the Fiji Islands 
 in the South Seas. In another place, in a corner of 
 this alley, are two Satis, that is to say, two figures 
 of women, in bass-relief, placed upon a square pedestal, 
 in commemoration of the cremation of widows on the 
 funeral pile of their husbands at this spot. In addition 
 to the Satis, there are two other objects of interest 
 placed upon the pedestal. One is a bass-relief sculpture 
 of a small figure, much worn by time. The other 
 presents, in a small compass, most elaborate chiselling ; 
 the design illustrated being of a complicated character. 
 There is a central figure, in an erect posture, but head- 
 less ; and, in the back-ground, a nimbus surrounds the 
 space formerly occupied by the head. On either side 
 are several other figures, but of smaller stature, and 
 also a column, with a capital, on the summit of which 
 is a diminutive statue of a man. Between the columns, 
 but raised above them, in a line "with the central object 
 beneath, is, likewise, another small statue of a man. 
 Altogether, this delicate piece of statuary exhibits ten 
 human figures, besides various other objects, all which 
 are defined with considerable nicety. It is not easy to 
 comprehend the general design which the sculptor had 
 before his mind, or to furnish a satisfactory account of 
 this work of art. It is, certainly, far superior to modern 
 productions of Hindu art; and I suspect it is not, 
 properly, of Hindu origin at all. 
 
 The towers of two temples are seen rising high 
 above the Satis ; and in the adjoining enclosure 
 stands the temple of Bara Ganes. The quadrangle 
 is open to the sky ; but it has a covered verandah, 
 
122 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 supported on pillars, running round the four walls, on 
 their inner side, opposite to the temple, in the centre. 
 In the midst of the temple is a large idol of Gane^, 
 the elephant-headed god, with silver hands and feet. 
 The head is decorated with a gilded nimbus. Inside 
 the temple, four bells are suspended; and immediately- 
 over the doorway, and in front of the idol, three small 
 mirrors are placed, the object of which, possibly, is to 
 produced a threefold image or reflexion of the idol ; 
 for even a reflexion of a god is accounted a sacred 
 object, and worthy of veneration. On either side of 
 the threshold, leading into the temple, is another idol of 
 Ganes; but both are well worn, and, evidently, many 
 centuries old. The present temple was erected only 
 some twenty-four years ago ; but the priests say that 
 these two figures have always existed here. The ex- 
 tensive verandah of the quadrangle contains several 
 other figures of Ganes, of, apparently, as great anti- 
 quity as those just described. 
 
123 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Pis'4o]i-Mocliaii Tank. — Legend of the goblin Pis4ch. — The 
 Festival of LoU-Bhant4, or the Egg-plant. — The Gh4ts and Temple 
 of Pis'Aoh-Moohan. — Siiraj-Kund or Tank of the Sun. — The Horn or 
 Burnt Sacrifice. — The god Ashtdng-Bhairo. — Temple of Dhruveswar 
 or the Pole Star. 
 
 In the outskirts of the city, on its western side, is 
 a large square tank or reservoir, called Pisach-Mochan, 
 built in a regular manner, with ghats or stone stairs 
 leading down to the water. On the bank, towards 
 the road, are several temples, containing a great many 
 images of various deities. Pisach-Mochan is a noted 
 place of pilgrimage among the Hindus. All pilgrims 
 coming to Benares must visit it; and all the residents 
 in the city must bathe in its waters at least once a year. 
 These waters are considered to have a peculiar efficacy 
 in ensuring deliverance from the power of demons 
 and all kinds of evil spirits, in preventing horrible 
 dreams, or destroying their bad effect, and in remov- 
 ing sickness. The word Pisach means ghoul or 
 bad spirit, and Mochan, release or deliverance. The 
 history of this sacred place is said to be as follows. 
 On one occasion, a very powerful demon had the 
 temerity to approach the holy enclosure in which 
 Benares is situated. He was, however, stopped, at the 
 Panchkosi road, by the deities stationed there. But, 
 although they contended bravely with him, yet, being 
 
124 BEKAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 stronger than they, he overcame them, and, crossing 
 the road, entered the enclosure. He then pursued his 
 course, until he reached the spot where the Pisach- 
 Mochan tank is now situated, and would have effected 
 an entrance into the holy city itself, had not Bhairo- 
 nath, the Utwal or deified Chief Magistrate of the 
 place, met him there. An encounter immediately com- 
 menced between these two worthies, which, ended in 
 the magistrate cutting off the head of the common 
 enemy. Having performed this act of valour, Bhairo- 
 nath conveyed the head to his royal master, Bisheswar, 
 and stated all the circumstances of the conflict. But the 
 demon, though overcome and bodiless, had lost neither 
 his life nor his tongue ; and, therefore, he implored 
 Bisheswar not to banish him from the city, but to 
 allow him to reside on the spot where he was de- 
 capitated. He also had the boldness to request, in 
 addition, that all pilgrims proceeding to the city of 
 Gaya should be directed first to visit him. To this 
 the king gave his consent, but stated that he should 
 allow no other evil spirit to visit Benares, and that 
 he, the demon, was to take care that none ever did so. 
 Such is the quaint story which the Hindus believe 
 respecting this place. The great ugly head of the 
 demon, carved in stone, is seen on the top of the ghat 
 by the side of one of the temples. All pilgrims, too, 
 proceeding to Gaya, pay honour to this Pisach ; and 
 in case any, travelling from distant parts of the country, 
 should, from ignorance or other causes, reach Gaya with- 
 out having first come to Pisach-Mochan, in Benares, 
 they are immediately questioned on the matter. To 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 125 
 
 obviate the necessity of their travelling to Benares, 
 and then returning to Gaya, another Pisach-Mochan 
 has been erected in the latter place, as representative 
 of that in Benares, where they may perforin puja 
 or religious rites, and thus, after the payment of the 
 prescribed fees to the priests (a sine qua non), acquire 
 the full stock of merit which would have accrued to 
 them had they really visited the Pisach in Benares. 
 
 In addition to several small melds or festivals, a very 
 large one is held every year at Pisach-Mochan. This 
 meld is called Lota-Bhanta, from the singular custom 
 which prevails, on that occasion, of grinding the vege- 
 table called hhantd, or egg-plant, and mixing it with 
 flour, forming it into cakes, which are eaten at the 
 meld. The tank is a square, with ghats or stairs on 
 the four sides. A portion of the ghdt, to the east, 
 was erected, about eighty years ago, by Gopal Das 
 Sahu; and the remaining portion, and also a temple on 
 the bank, by a Hindu lady, named Mirch Bai, about 
 the same time. The ghat and wall, to the west, date 
 from the same period ; the former, together with the 
 tower rising above it, having been erected by a Hindu, 
 Balwant Eao Bakira, and the latter, by a Moham- 
 medan, Mirza Khurram Shah, of Delhi. The ghat to 
 the north was built more than a hundred years ago, 
 by Kaja Muralidhar ; and that to the south, which 
 bears upon it the marks of age, partly by Eaja S'iva 
 S'ambar, some three hundred years ago, and partly 
 by Binaik Eao, a few years since. 
 
 On the eastern bank of the tank, occupying a pro- 
 minent position, are two temples, one of which is a 
 
126 . BENAEES, PAST AITD PRESENT. 
 
 modem structure, and was built by Nakku Misr, a 
 servant of the Government ; and the other is that 
 erected by Mirch Bai, already spoken of. The latter 
 only presents features of interest. The foundations 
 of this temple are raised some distance above the 
 level of the neighbouring street. Its roof is flat; 
 and, in the centre of it, a peepul and a banyan tree 
 have fixed their roots, while their trunks rise up 
 high into the air. On all the four sides of the temple 
 are small shrines or niches, containing a great collection 
 of idols. Here is Siva ; next to him, the hideous 
 head of the demon Pisach-Mochan ; and, beyond it, 
 the four-handed god Vishnu, holding in one hand a 
 conch, in another a lotos, in a third a club, and in a 
 fourth a discus, while a garland of lotoses hangs from 
 his neck. Next to him is his wife Lakshmi, who has 
 an image of the Sun on her left; beyond which is the 
 figure of a Brahman, in stone. Then comes a shrine 
 in which is a large red idol representing the Monkey- 
 god Hanuman. All these are on one side of the 
 temple; and immediately round the comer to the east 
 is a curious figure of the god Ganes, who, instead of 
 one elephant's trunk, wtich he commonly possesses, 
 has, in this case, five. All the remaining sides are 
 similarly decorated with deities, with the exception 
 of the west side facing the tank, which has fewer in 
 number than the rest. Away from the temple itself, 
 but resting upon the raised pedestal on which the 
 temple stands, is one of those curious stones repre- 
 senting a multitude of tiny shrines, found in various 
 places in Benares. 
 
BEKAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. . 127 
 
 Suraj-kund is a large tank situated on the south-west 
 side of the city, and originally consisted of twelve 
 wells dedicated to the Sun. Two of the wells are still 
 traceable beneath the surface of the water. A temple 
 is above the tank; and on the same side are stairs 
 leading down to the water, A few paces distant is a 
 temple to the Sun, called, by the natives, Suraj-Nara- 
 yan, which was erected by the Eaja of Xotah-bundi, 
 who is the owner of the land in this neighbourhood. 
 On the floor of the temple is a large round flat stone, 
 of ancient appearance, which is worshipped as the solar 
 deity. The day for the special worship of the Sun is 
 Itwar or Sunday. A small building stands detached 
 from the temple, and, in a hole in its floor, the cere- 
 mony of the horn is performed, which consists in certain 
 ofi'erings consumed by fire. "Wood is first placed over 
 the hole, upon which the offerings are scattered, and 
 are then burnt to ashes. While the sacrifice is going 
 on, it is customary for a Pandit to read portions of 
 the Surya-purana, or the Purana inscribed to the Sun. 
 This shrine is also called Sambadit, from Aditya, the 
 Sun, and Samba, son of Jambavati, a wife of Krishna. 
 Tradition states, that one day this youth committed a 
 very serious offence, for which his father pronounced a 
 curse upon him, so that he became a leper. Where- 
 upon his mother pleaded with Krishna for him ; and, 
 at length, the god said, that, if he proceeded to Be- 
 nares and practised asceticism, if he built a tank and 
 bathed in its waters, and if he made an image of the 
 Sun and worshipped it, he should be healed of his 
 disease. All this he is reported to have done; and, the 
 
128 BENARES, PAST ANT) PRESENT. 
 
 tradition adds, lie was healed. Hence, it is affirmed, 
 the round stone above referred to is called Sambadit. 
 
 A mutilated figure of the god Ashtang-Bhairo stands 
 near Suraj-kund, in a small temple open in front. There 
 are eight idols bearing the name of Bhairo in Benares, 
 to each and all of which pilgrims resort. This image 
 was mutilated by that fierce iconoclast, the Emperor 
 Aurungzeb. 
 
 The temple of Dhruveswar, or the Pole Star, is also 
 in this quarter of the city. It is said that Dhruv, a 
 Eishi or Saint, afterwards the Pole Star, once visited 
 Benares, and that S'iva, honouring his sanctity and 
 devotion, united his name with his own, so that they 
 might be worshipped in the same temple, as a united 
 and individual deity. But this legend is an out- 
 growth from popular etymology ; for the word iswar, 
 in Dhruveswara, ' Lord Dhruva,' has been ignorantly 
 confounded with a familiar synonym of S'iva, i.e., Is- 
 war, or 'Lord' by eminence. The old temple of Dhru- 
 veswar fell down some time since ; and, in its place, 
 a new one has been erected, which stands on an ele- 
 vation at the corner of an extensive enclosure, in the 
 midst of which is a large temple dedicated to S'iva, 
 built by some Gosains or devotees, upwards of seventy 
 years ago. 
 
129 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 The M4n-Mandil GMt. — Temple of DAlbhyefwar. — Temple of the Moon 
 or Someswar. — The Mdn-Mandil Observatory erected by Raja Jay 
 Sinh — Description of its Instruments. — The Nepalese Temple. 
 
 The Man-Mandil Ghat is principally remarkable for 
 the old Observatory, situated -upon the banks of tbe 
 Ganges at this spot, and which will, presently, be 
 more particularly referred to. This lofty building gives 
 a noble appearance to the ghat, and commands a fine 
 view of the river. Near the entrance to it is a col- 
 lection of ancient idols which have been worn away 
 by time and perpetual sacrificial ablutions. Several 
 of these are figures of monkeys, representing the 
 god Hanuman. A flag waves from the top of a high 
 staff at this spot, in honour of the Eaja of Jaypore, — 
 the proprietor of this entire Mahalla or ward of the 
 city, — whose ancestor Eaja Jay Sinh erected the Ob- 
 servatory. In a lane leading to the ghat is the 
 temple of Ddlbhyeswar, which deity is supposed to 
 exercise great power over the clouds, in procuring 
 rain. The image is in a cistern, low down in the 
 centre of the temple. If the idol is properly wor- 
 shipped and kept ■ drenched with water, pious Hin- 
 
130 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 dus believe that lie will look with favour on the prayer 
 for rain. As the heat is now daily increasing in in- 
 tensity, and the rains, both for the cooling of the 
 atmosphere and for the fertilizing of the soil, are be- 
 ginning to be desired, the god was lately treated to a 
 delightful bath, which he is imagined to have received 
 with prodigious satisfaction. Not only the cistern, but 
 also the entire temple, up to the threshold, was filled 
 with water. This event, which was noised abroad 
 among the natives, has considerably heightened, in 
 their estimation, the probability of rain.' Dalbhyeswar 
 is also known as the Poor Man's Friend; for, should 
 a man in straitened circumstances visit this shrine, and 
 duly perform the prescribed ceremonies, his poverty, 
 they say, will disappear, and his wants be relieved. 
 One would have thought that the squalid and indi- 
 gent people inhabiting the sacred city and resorting 
 thither would have flocked eagerly to this temple, 
 had they had the smallest particle of faith in the 
 god there. Associated with Dalbhyeswar are Chatur- 
 bhuj or Yishnu, S'itala (the goddess of Small-pox), and 
 other deities. 
 
 Close by is Someswar Mandil or the Temple of the 
 Moon, from Soma, the moon. Here, it is imagined, 
 diseases of every character may be healed; and, while 
 the god is regarded in the light of an all-powerful 
 physician, his temple is spoken of as a hospital. It 
 need hardly be remarked, that, since these are the senti- 
 ments of the people, their practice strangely belies 
 
 ' This was •written as the summer was advancing, before the rains 
 commenced. 
 
131 
 
 such sentiments; for, instead of thronging to this 
 shrine, they visit, in great numbers, the European 
 hospitals and their own native doctors. The wonder 
 is, that, although, after worshipping this god, they are 
 not healed, but remain as they were, their faith in 
 him continues unabated. Such is the force of habit un- 
 influenced by considerations of reason. A short distance 
 from this temple, in an alley running into one of the 
 streets, is the shrine of Barahan Devi, who is wor- 
 shipped in the morning, and is held to be a very 
 potent goddess. On approaching the temple, I was 
 requested to take off my shoes, in order not to defile 
 the hallowed spot, an honour I declined to render to 
 the goddess. The peculiar virtue ascribed to this 
 deity is, to heal all such of her worshippers as are 
 afflicted with a swelling in the hands or feet. 
 
 The Observatory is a substantial building, rising high 
 above the ghat. The approach to it is not from the 
 ghat, but from a street leading to it, at a considerably 
 higher elevation than the foundations of the edifice. 
 Passing up the steps, you enter a court, one side of 
 which faces the river. Ti'om this you ascend a stair- 
 case, which brings you to that part of the building 
 devoted to astronomical purposes. 
 
 The Observatory was erected by Eaja Jay Sinh, who 
 " succeeded to the inheritance of the ancient Eajas of 
 Ambheri, in the year of Vicramaditya 1 750, correspond- 
 ing to 1693 of the Christian era. His mind had been 
 early stored with the knowledge contained in the 
 Hindu writings; but he appears to have especially 
 attached himself to the mathematical sciences; and his 
 
132 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 reputation for skill in them stood so high, that he 
 was chosen, by the Emperor Mahommed Shah, to re- 
 form the calendar, which, from the inaccuracy of the 
 existing tables, had ceased to correspond with the 
 actual appearance of the heavens. Jayasinha (Jey 
 Singh) undertook the task, and constructed a new 
 set of tables, which, in honour of the reigning prince, 
 he named Zeej Mahommedshahy. By these, almanacks 
 are constructed at Delhi, and all astronomical com- 
 putations made at the present time."^ For the ac- 
 complishment of this undertaking, and the promotion 
 of astronomical investigations. Jay Sinh erected five 
 observatories; namely, at Delhi, Benares, Mathura, 
 Oujein, and Jeypore, remains of which exist to the 
 present day. But he himself has _described the object 
 he had in view in their erection, in his preface to 
 the Zeej Mahommedshahy. In the Asiatic Eesearches, 
 Yol. v., this preface is given entire. A few quotations 
 from this curious production may not be uninteresting. 
 
 Since, he says, "the well-wisher of the works of 
 creation, and the admiring spectator of the theatre of 
 infinite wisdom and providence, Suvai Jey Singh, 
 from the first dawning of reason in his mind, and 
 during its progress towards maturity, was entirely 
 devoted to the study of mathematical science, and 
 the bent of his mind was constantly directed to the 
 solution of its most difficult problems, by the aid of 
 the Supreme Artificer, he obtained a thorough know- 
 ledge of its principles and rules. He found that the 
 calculation of the places of the stars, as obtained from 
 ' Asiatic Eesearclies, Vol. v., pp. 177, 178. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 133 
 
 the tables in common use, such, as the new tables of 
 Seid Goorganee and Khaeanee, and the Insheelat- 
 Mula-Chand-Akber-shahee, and the Hindu books, and 
 the European tables, in very many cases, give them 
 widely different from those determined by observation; 
 especially the appearance of the new moons, the com- 
 putation of which does not agree with observation. 
 Seeing that very important affairs, both regarding re- 
 ligion and the administration of empire, depend upon 
 these, and that, in the time of the rising and setting 
 of the planets, and the seasons of the eclipses of the 
 sun and moon, many considerable disagreements of a 
 similar nature are found, he represented it to his 
 Majesty, — of dignity and power, the sun of the firma- 
 ment of felicity and dominion, the splendour of the 
 forehead of imperial magnificence, the unrivalled pearl 
 of the sea of sovereignty, the incomparably brightest 
 star of the heaven of empire, whose standard is the 
 Sun, whose retinue the Moon, whose lance is Mars, 
 and his pen like Mercury, whose threshold is the Sky, 
 whose signet is Jupiter, whose sentinel Saturn, the 
 Emperor descended from a long race of kings, an 
 Alexander in dignity, the shadow of God, the victorious 
 king, Mahommed Shah, — may he ever be triumphant in 
 battle !" 
 
 " Thereupon the Emperor graciously ordered him to 
 labour for the ascertaining of the point in question, 
 that the disagreement between the calculated times of 
 those phenomena, and the times in which they are 
 observed to happen, may be rectified." "Finding that 
 brass instruments did not come up to the ideas which 
 
134 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 he had formed of accuracy, because of the smallness 
 of their size, the want of division into minutes, the 
 shaking and wearing of their axes, the displacement 
 of the centres of the circles, and the shifting of 
 the planes of the instruments, he concluded that the 
 reason why the determinations of the ancients, such ' 
 as Hipparchus and Ptolemy, proved inaccurate, must 
 have been of this kind. Therefore, he constructed, in 
 Dar ul Khelafet Shah Jehanabad, which is the seat of 
 empire and prosperity, instruments of his own inven- 
 tion, such as Jeypergas, and Eam Junter, and Semrat 
 Junter, — the semi-diameter of which is of eighteen 
 cubits, and one minute on it is a barleycorn and a 
 half, — of stone and lime, of perfect stability, with at- 
 tention to the rules of geometry, and adjustment to 
 the meridian, and to the latitude of the place, and 
 with care in the measuring and fixing of them, so 
 that the inaccuracies from the shaking of the circles, 
 and the wearing of their axes, and displacement of 
 their centres, and the inequality of the minutes, might 
 be corrected. Thus an accurate method of construct- 
 ing an Observatory was established; and the diflference 
 which had existed between the computed and observed 
 places of the fixed stars and planets, by means of ob- 
 serving their mean motions and aberrations with such 
 instruments, was removed. And, in order to confirm 
 the truth of these observations, he constructed instru- 
 ments of the same kind (as those constructed in the 
 observatory at Delhi) in Suvai Jeypore, and Mattra, 
 and Benares, and Oujein. When he compared these 
 observatories, after allowing for the difference of longi- 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 135 
 
 tude betveen the places where they stood, the obser- 
 vations and calculations agreed." " He found the 
 calculation to agree perfectly with the observation. 
 And, although, even to this day the business of the 
 Observatory is carried on, a table under the name of 
 His Majesty, the shadow of God, comprehending the 
 most accurate rules and most perfect methods of com- 
 putation, was constructed ; that so, when the places 
 of the stars, and the appearance of the new moons, 
 and the eclipses of the sun and moon, and the con- 
 junctions of the heavenly bodies, are computed by it, 
 they may arrive as near as possible to the truth, which, 
 in fact, is every day seen and confirmed in the Obser- 
 vatory." 
 
 Such is the account of the erection of the Benares 
 Observatory and the invention of its instruments, 
 written by the native astronomer himself, whose genius 
 planned and carried out this important enterprise. 
 Some of the instruments are of gigantic size, and are 
 built of strong masonry capable of lasting for ages, 
 and yet of such delicate adjustment as, for the most 
 part, to continue serviceable according to the original 
 purpose of their designer. But little use, I fear, is 
 now made of them, beyond the calculation of eclipses, 
 festival days, horoscopes, and other matters of practi- 
 cal interest to the people. Many Europeans passing 
 through Benares visit this famous Observatory; and, 
 doubtless, the Brahman in charge of it reaps a con- 
 siderable harvest thereby. One would naturally suppose, 
 that, if not the celebrity of the place, at least the 
 emoluments which they derive from European and other 
 
136 BENAEES, PAST AM) PRESENT. 
 
 sight-seers, would be an inducement to the Brahmans 
 to keep the building and its instruments in repair, 
 and so prevent them from falling into decay ; but they 
 seem to be utterly careless on these points, and are 
 allowing the hot sun and the drenching rains of summer 
 to play upon exquisitely enamelled surfaces, the parts of 
 which are divided and subdivided into regular distances 
 with the nicest accuracy, without attempting to restore 
 the breaches in the mortar, and to keep the instruments 
 from injury. 
 
 On entering the Observatory, the first instrument 
 you come to is the Bhittiyantra, or Mural Quadrant, 
 which consists of a wall, eleven feet high, and nine 
 feet one and a quarter inches broad, in the plane of the 
 meridian. By this instrument the sun's altitude and 
 zenith distance, at noon, may be ascertained; and, also, 
 the sun's greatest declination, and the latitude of the 
 place. Not far distant are two large circles, one built 
 of stone, the other of lime ; and also a large square, 
 built of stone. These may, perhaps, have been used 
 for the purpose of ascertaining the shadow of the 
 gnomon cast by the sun, and the degrees of azimuth; 
 but all the marks upon them are obliterated. 
 
 There is an enormous instrument, called Tantra- 
 samrat (or prince of instruments), whose wall is thirty- 
 six feet in length, and four and a half feet in breadth, 
 and is set in the plane of the meridian. One extremity 
 is six feet four and a quarter inches high, and the 
 other, twenty-two feet three and a half inches, sloping 
 gradually upwards, so as to point directly to the north 
 pole. By the aid of this instrument, the distance 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 137 
 
 from the meridian, and the declination of any planet 
 or star, and the sun, and also the right ascension of 
 a star, may be known. There is, also, here a double 
 Mural Quadrant, and, to the east, an Equinoctial Circle 
 made of stone. There is, likewise, another Tantra- 
 samrat, of small dimensions. 
 
 Hard by is the Chakrayantra, between two walls, 
 an instrument used for finding the declination of a 
 planet or star; but it is now out of order. In this 
 immediate neighbourhood is a gigantic iustrument, 
 called Digahsayantra, constructed to find the degrees 
 of azimuth of a planet or star. It consists of a pillar 
 four feet two inches high, and three feet seven and a 
 half inches thick, surrounded by a wall of exactly its 
 own height, at a distance of seven feet three and a 
 quarter inches, which is again surrounded by another 
 wall, double its height, and distant from it three feet 
 two and a* half inches. The upper surfaces of both 
 walls are divided into three hundred and sixty degrees, 
 and are marked with the points of the compass. On 
 the south side of this instrument there is another 
 Equinoctial Circle ; but the marks and divisions upon 
 it are totally effaced. 
 
 I am indebted to the interesting paper of Pandit 
 Bapu Deva Sastri, — Professor of Mathematics and 
 Astronomy in the Government College, Benares, — 
 which he contributed to the Benares Institute, for 
 this information respecting the instruments found in 
 the Man-Mandil Observatory. 
 
 The Nepalese Temple, rising from the banks of the 
 Ganges, at no very great distance from the Man-Mandil 
 
138 BENARES, PAST AND PBESENT. 
 
 Ghat, is a strikingly picturesque object, and does not 
 fail to arrest the attention of every visitor to this 
 quarter of the city. In its external appearance, it is 
 altogether unlike the shrines erected by the Hindus 
 for the practice of their religion. 
 
139 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Dasas'amedh GMt and Temple.— Legend of Das&samedli. — Siddheswari 
 Temple.— Chandra-Ktip, or Well of the Moon.— Temple of the god- 
 dess S'ankatd Devi.— S'ankaU Gh4t. — E^m Gh4t. 
 
 To the south of the Man-Mandil Ghat is the Das- 
 asamedh Ghat, a spot exceedingly venerated by the 
 natives of the city, as -well as by pilgrims and devotees, 
 and much frequented for its supposed sanctity. It 
 is one of the five celebrated places of pilgrimage in 
 Benares. The other four are Asi Sangam, Manikarnika, 
 Panchganga, and Barna Sangam. These five places, in 
 addition to their proper attractions, are associated to- 
 gether, and furnish the devotee with a complete course 
 of pilgrimage, in the same manner as a journey to 
 Jagannath, or Gaya, or Benares, or Hardwar, is re- 
 garded as such. Proceeding from Asi Ghat or Sangam, 
 at the extreme south of the city, the pilgrim, having 
 already performed proper religious ceremonies at this 
 ghat, arrives at Dasasamedh, and worships the gods in 
 the temple there, and, passing thence to Manikarnika, 
 bathes in the well. Having done this, he advances 
 to Panchganga, and on to Barna Sangam, the northern 
 extremity of the city, at both which places he 
 bestows the customary oflferings, and pays reverence to 
 
140 BENAEES, PAST AHD PEESENT. 
 
 the deities peculiar to them. He has thus traversed 
 'the city from south to north, having kept upon the 
 bank of the river throughout the whole distance, and 
 passed over every ghat. This pilgrimage is called the 
 Panch-ti'rth, to perform which is considered a very 
 meritorious act. 
 
 The legend connected with the Dasasamedh temple 
 and ghat, as the foundation of the sanctity of both, 
 and on account of which the Hindus regard them as 
 the very gateway to heaven, must not be omitted here. 
 It is another of the legends connected with the famous 
 Divodas. It is said that Siva and Gauri (his wife) were 
 sitting together, one day, on the Mandarachal moun- 
 tain, when the former exhibited great distress of mind 
 at not having received any intelligence from Benares 
 for some time. The city was then in the hands of 
 Eaja Divodas, who, as already narrated, on accepting 
 its sovereignty, had expelled from it all the gods, and 
 S'iva, the head of them all, amongst the number. 
 Although S'iva had sent several persons, successively, 
 to inquire into the state of the city, yet none of them 
 had returned; inasmuch as, on reaching it, every one 
 had been so captivated with its tranquillity and blessed- 
 ness, as to have been powerless to quit so happy a 
 region. In his anxiety, S'iva thought to himself, that, 
 should I send Brahma (the first god of the Hindu triad), 
 who is a dear friend of mine, he will, without fail, 
 bring me word again about its condition. He then 
 fixed his thoughts on Brahma, who, in obedience to 
 the secret summons, was immediately at his side. On 
 arriving, S'iva unburthened his mind to him, and wished 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 141 
 
 him to proceed to Benares, and, when there, to devise 
 some plan for the expulsion of Eaja Divodas from the 
 government of the city. Brahma was quite ready to 
 do what he could towards assisting his friend, and so 
 took his departure for Benares, mounted on a goose. 
 On reaching the holy city, he was enraptured with its 
 appearance. He went all about it, and visited its 
 temples, bazars, and ghats, with ever-increasing delight, 
 and, at last, selected a spot for his own residence, 
 and transformed himself into the form of an aged 
 Brahman. After a time he sought an interview with 
 the Eaja, and was received by him with much respect. 
 The Eaja begged he would ask of him whatever he 
 wished to have. Brahma replied to this kind solicit- 
 ation, that he would take nothing from him, but that 
 he had come to Benares for the performance of ascetic 
 rites. "While conversing together, it struck Brahma, 
 that, if he could cause the Eaja to commit a sin, no 
 matter how small, he would be obliged to lay down 
 his authority over the sacred place, and to quit the 
 kingdom. He, therefore, requested the Eaja to give 
 him all the essential materials for a special sacrifice, 
 hoping that some little mistake would be made in the 
 number or quality of them. These materials consisted 
 of water taken from twenty-seven wells, leaves plucked 
 from twenty-seven trees, and a multitude of other in- 
 gredients, twenty-seven times told, and derived from 
 twenty-seven different sources. The Eaja, in reply, said, 
 " Good, take materials, not for one sacrifice merely, 
 but for ten." Presently, Brahma left the Eaja, and 
 went and sat down upon the banks of the Ganges, 
 
142 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 where materials for ten sucli sacrifices were brought 
 to him. Not one ingredient was missing ; all were 
 perfectly complete. Brahma then offered the ten sacri- 
 fices; and at each of them, a horse was consumed. 
 The spot on which the ten sacrifices were offered 
 Brahma called Dasaswamedha Ghat, or ghat of the 
 ten horse-sacrifices, — ^from da'sa^ ten ; akwa^ a horse ; and 
 medha, sacrifice, — which became, thenceforward, in 
 Hindu estimation, a place of eminent sanctity, and 
 endued with the power of conferring a multitude of 
 blessings on all who sacrificed and bathed there. 
 
 Brahma constituted Dasasamedh the prince of places 
 ,'of pilgrimage, equal to Prayag (Allahabad). Should 
 fa Hindu, therefore, wishing to proceed to Prayag, at 
 the time of the meld or religious festival there, not 
 be able to undertake the journey, he may, at this 
 ghat, obtain all the merit which he would have ac- 
 quired, had he' actually completed the pilgrimage to ■ 
 Prayag, and bathed at the sacred junction of the 
 Ganges and the Jumna. Brahma also dedicated two 
 images in honour of Siva, one of which he called 
 Dasaswamedheswar, and the other, Brahmeswar. The 
 former is a plain black stone, of enormous dimensions, 
 being not less than five or six feet in girth, and three 
 or four in height, in front of which is a bull, also of 
 large proportions. The other image is much smaller. 
 Whoever worships Dasaswamedheswar will, it is sup- 
 posed, escape all future transmigration ; and his soul, 
 instead of passing into a man, a mouse, or a frog, will 
 go straight to paradise, — that is, the heaven of Siva. 
 In like manner, he who worships Brahmeswar will, 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 143 
 
 it is said, at death, fly at once into Brahmaloka, or the 
 sphere of Brahma. In the temple which contains these 
 idols, there is a great assemblage of other images, 
 consisting, for the most part, of lingas, representing 
 Siva, which are chiefly arranged by the wall, and 
 form, what the natives term, a kachahri or court of 
 gods. In the latter half of the month of Jeth, a great 
 many persons bathe at this ghat, and, also, in a small 
 tank, near by, called Eudrasar, which shares in the 
 sanctity of the neighbourhood. For fifteen days the 
 bathing and practice of religious ceremonies continue, 
 the virtue of each day increasing in an arithmetical 
 series; so that the virtue acquired on the fifteenth day 
 is fifteen times as great as that acquired on the first ; 
 and the aggregate virtue amassed during the entire 
 fifteen days, consequently, amounts to the virtue of 
 one hundred and twenty days. 
 
 After terminating the ten sacrifices, it occurred to 
 Brahma, that he had not effected his object with Eaja 
 Divodas, in inducing him to commit sin. How could 
 he, therefore, return to S'iva ? And, enamoured with 
 all he saw around him, and flattered by Divodas, who 
 built for him a house of great beauty, he settled the 
 difficulty by determining to remain where he was, until 
 S'iva came to him. 
 
 In the Siddheswari Mahalla are two temples, held 
 by devout Hindus in great repute. One is the Siddhes- 
 wari temple itself, to which is attached the ancient 
 well known as Chandra-kiip ; the other is the temple 
 of Sankata Devi. The former consists of two small 
 quadrangles, in the first of which, in the centre of the 
 
144 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 open space, is Chandra-kup, or the well dedicated to 
 the moon, — from chandra, the moon, and kupa^ a well. 
 In the month of Chait, on the day of the full moon, this 
 spot is visited by pilgrims, who cast their offerings 
 into the well, in honour of the lunar deity. They 
 also resort thither whenever a new moon occurs on a 
 Monday; as that day is sacred to this luminary. In 
 the sacred quadrangle a figure of the goddess Durga 
 is seen in a niche at the base of the wall, on the 
 right-hand side as you enter. With one hand she 
 grasps a lotos, and, with another a sword; the third 
 hand rests upon a lion, and the fourth, upon a buffalo. 
 A verandah extends along two sides of this enclosure, 
 supported on pillars, the walls of which are decorated 
 with paintings in vivid colours, several of which repre- 
 sent incarnations of the god Ganes. Behind the ver- 
 andah is the shrine of Siddheswari, the goddess who 
 contributes perfection. Oppressed with the ills and 
 trials of life, the Hindu approaches the goddess, and 
 presents to her newly-gathered flowers, and water from 
 the Ganges, hoping to obtain the promised blessing. 
 He retires, believing in the virtue of his sacrifice, yet 
 sick at heart, with his sorrows unrelieved and his sins 
 unforgiven. 
 
 S'ankata Devi is another goddess who is thought to 
 bestow similar favours on her votaries. Her shrine 
 is situated on one side of a spacious quadrangle, in 
 the middle of which, raised upon a platform, is an 
 assemblage of temples and idols ; and, on the western 
 side of the platform, a bell hangs, suspended from 
 the stone scaffolding. A portion of the quadrangle is 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 145 
 
 appropriated to a math.ov Hijadu monastery. Among 
 the persons attached to the monastery are certain devout 
 Hindus who. have come to the sacred city to die; but 
 by far the larger number of residents are young men 
 receiving instruction in the Hindu S'astras. The San- 
 kata Ghat, leading down to the river, is a short distance 
 from this place. On the stairs stands a large figure 
 of Mahabir, the monkey-god; and lower down is a 
 domed temple, containing an emblem of S'iva, over 
 which a goblet is suspended, from which water drops 
 incessantly upon the idol, through a hole in the bottom. 
 
 To the north of Sankata Ghat is Earn Ghat, on the 
 steps of which is a temple, or, more properly, a room, 
 filled with the most grotesque collection of deities to 
 be found in Benares. The images are dressed in bright- 
 coloured garments interwoven with tinsel, and are of 
 various shapes and forms. Some present a hideous 
 appearance, having large eyes and mouths, and being 
 destitute of hands and feet. The whole collection 
 looks like a doll-shop of a very vulgar description. It 
 is difficult to understand how persons in their senses 
 can pay divine homage to such frightful objects; yet, 
 on conversing with the priests, they boldly defended 
 the adoration of them, and perceived, or pretended to 
 perceive, neither the absurdity nor the degradation of 
 such a proceeding. 
 
 Most , of the ghats leading from the streets of the 
 city down into the river have been built by Kajas or 
 other powerful natives, and are, generally, provided with 
 one or more temples, especially S'ivdlayds, or temples 
 dedicated to Siva. 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 The Bengali population of Benares.— The popular Temple of Keddreswar. 
 —Legend of Kedir. — Mdnsarwar Tank and surrounding Temples.— 
 Bdlkrishna and Ohaturbhuj Idols. — Mdnes'war Temple. — The Great 
 Image of TUubhandeawar. — Ancient mutilated Statue. — Temple of 
 Duldres'war. — Peepul tree at Chauki Ghdt — Swinging gods. 
 
 The Bengalis inhabiting Benares form a considerable 
 community. They reside, for the most part, by them- 
 selves, in a quarter of the city called the Bengali Tola, 
 and are noted chiefly for the superior education which 
 many of them have received," in comparison with the 
 Hindustani portion of the population. Not a few 
 among them are more or less acquainted with the 
 English language, and pride themselves on this cir- 
 cumstance, and on the various kinds of knowledge 
 which, through its instrumentality, they have acquired. 
 In their social habits, however, many of this class are 
 not much, I fear, in advance of their neighbours j al- 
 though, I rejoice to be able to say, there is reason to 
 believe that some have made considerable progress in 
 such matters, of late years. Being more enlightened 
 than Hindus generally, it is strange that, in many 
 respects, their inner domestic life is scarcely better 
 than theirs. Some of them are beginning to educate 
 their wives and daughters, and are anxious for their 
 intellectual improvement. Tet the uneducated portion 
 of the Bengali community adhere to the customs of 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 147 
 
 Hindu society just as rigidly as other inhabitants of 
 the city, cling with equal pertinacity to caste, and ex- 
 hibit the same blind and senseless attachment to idol- 
 worship. A great difference is observable amongst Ben- 
 galis, however ; and numbers of them are utterly un- 
 sound in the faith of Hinduism ; for their understandings, 
 having been strongly affected by their English studies, 
 have become sufficiently cleared to perceive the foolish- 
 ness of idolatry. These occupy the position of great 
 social and religious reformers, and are engaged in a 
 very important work, which is none other than the 
 entire regeneration of native society. I look upon this 
 class of Bengalis, together with the educated Parsees, 
 as in the van of national improvement and progress. 
 
 The Bengali Tola, with its neighbourhood, is bestrewn 
 with shrines and deities, which seem to be as numerous 
 here, or nearly so, as in that quarter of the city 
 occupied by the temple of Bisheswar. But the temple 
 most frequented by the Bengalis, and which holds the 
 position of a cathedral or chief ecclesiastical edifice in 
 this district of the city, is the temple of Kedares- 
 war, or, as it is called, with equal propriety, Kedar- 
 nath. This is a large building, rising from the banks 
 of the Ganges, from which a fine stone ghat descends 
 to the bed of the river. It stands in the middle of a 
 spacious court, at the four corners of which are four 
 temples crowned with domes. The verandah running 
 round the inner side of the enclosure contains several 
 small shrines and a numerous collection of idols. Most 
 of these latter are of a diminutive size, but not all ; for 
 two figures in brass, covered over with cloth, so far as 
 
148 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 I could judge, appeared to be of imposing dimensions. 
 They stand in a cage-like looking place ; but why they 
 are so concealed from the public gaze by the wrappings 
 about them, it is hard to say. Perhaps it is in order to 
 protect them from the dust and filth of the enclosure, 
 or because they have not been, as yet, properly con- 
 secrated and transformed into deities worthy of wor- 
 ship, by means of certain ceremonies prescribed by the 
 sacred books and performed by the Brahmans, which, 
 as is fondly asserted, are capable of producing such an 
 astounding and impossible result. The principal temple 
 in the centre of the quadrangle, like the temples at each 
 of its corners, is surmounted by a dome. Its outer 
 walls, as high as the ceiling of the court, and, indeed, 
 all the walls of the court and passages, and the pillars 
 of the inner verandah, are painted red and white, the 
 former colour predominating. The entrance to the 
 temple itself is on its eastern side, from which a broad 
 path leads down to the Ganges. Two black stone 
 statues in bass-relief, six feet in height, stand on either 
 side of the doorway, and are supposed to guard the 
 approach to the inner chamber. The figures are ex- 
 ceedingly weU executed, and have a striking and life- 
 like appearance. Each has four hands, and, in form 
 and posture, is the exact counterpart of the other. In 
 one hand they hold a trident, in the second a club, in 
 the third a flower, while the fourth is empty, and is 
 raised for the purpose of attracting attention, one finger 
 being extended as though expressive of prohibition or 
 warning. The meaning of this peculiar position of the 
 finger is, I understand, as if these doorkeepers stopped 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 149 
 
 the worshipper, wishing to cross the threshold into the 
 sacred chamber where the idol dwells, and addressed 
 him as follows: — "Wait a little, and, when you get 
 permission from the god, then you may enter." This 
 may explain the circumstance, that the door of the 
 temple is, for a certain time in the day, kept closed, 
 and the worshippers have to remain outside until it is 
 thrown open again, when they are allowed to enter. 
 
 Between the statues is a door leading into the in- 
 terior of the shrine, and to its outer framework sixty- 
 seven small lamps are attached, which are lighted up 
 with oil every evening. Within the temple is the god 
 Kedareswar, who is represented simply by a stone, the 
 emblem of Siva; for Kedareswar is, strictly speaking, 
 only another name for this divinity. Kedar is, properly, 
 no' name of a person, but of a place in the Himalayas. 
 Siva, it is believed, resided there ; and hence is called 
 Kedareswar or Kedarnath, ' Lord of Kedar.' Yet, in , 
 Benares, there is a tradition, that Kedar was a devout 
 Brahman, who, in company with the Muni Vasish- 
 tha, visited a mountain forming part of the Hima- 
 laya range, where he died. At his death, it is said, 
 Siva endowed him with the attributes of deity, and 
 allowed him to be worshipped in conjunction with him- 
 self, and through the same symbol. Appearing to 
 Vasishtha in a dream, he said he would comply with any 
 request he might make ; whereupon Vasishtha requested 
 that he would take up his residence in Benares. Such 
 is the origin of the temple here, as given in the Kd'si- 
 khanda. There is a temple dedicated to Kedareswar 
 near the famous temple of Harinath, on Mount Hima- 
 
150 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 chal, to which so many pilgrims yearly resort, besides 
 that in Benares. 
 
 Other idols are also associated with the presiding di- 
 vinity here, such as Lakshminarayan, Bhaironath, Ganes, 
 and Annpurna. Upon the wall of the passage leading 
 to the ghat is a long inscription, in Bengali and Hindi 
 characters, setting forth the glory and excellency of 
 Kedareswar. Just within the passage, and near to the 
 threshold, I observed a man, of respectable appearance, 
 lying prostrate on the ground across the path. He had 
 thrown himself there, as an act of homage to the idol. 
 The outer enclosure of the temple is frequented by large 
 numbers of poor persons, who sit by the side of the pas- 
 sages, in a row, spreading out their laps, or pieces of 
 cloth, or extending their hands for food and money. In 
 this respect, the Kedareswar shrine reminds one very 
 much of the temple of Annpurna, where crowds of beg- 
 gars are to be seen. The ghat descends from the eastern 
 wall of the temple. Upon its staircase are several small 
 shrines ; and, at its base, is a well, in the shape of a 
 parallelogram, containing water. This well is called 
 Gauri-kund ; and its water is famous for the imaginary 
 virtue of removing three kinds of fever. 
 
 To the west of Zedarnath temple, at the distance of 
 about one-third of a mile, is Mansarwar, which con- 
 sists of a deep tank and a large collection of shrines 
 all around it. These shrines are not fewer than fifty 
 in number, each containing one idol, at least ; and 
 several, a great many. One of the most considerable 
 is dedicated to the brothers Eam and Lakshman. In 
 a niche in the enclosure of this temple is an idol of 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 151 
 
 Dattatreya. This Togi, with the Moon and Durvasas 
 for brothers, was son of Atri. He is a rare object of 
 homage in the present day. Mansarwar was built by 
 Eaja Miin Sinh. At this one spot there are, I con- 
 jecture, upwards of one thousand idols. 
 
 Near the eastern entrance of Mansarwar, at the corner 
 of a street, are two antique figures, one of which stands 
 on a pedestal, while the other is inserted in the wall 
 of a house. The former is Balkrishna, who is kneel- 
 ing down, while his head and chest are thrown back 
 so as to assume a very remarkable appearance ; the 
 head being in a horizontal instead of a perpendicular 
 position. The other is Chaturbhuj. A few steps 
 further off is Maneswar, a temple erected by the same 
 Eaja Man Sinh spoken of above. The Eaja was in- 
 fluenced, most probably, by his own name, in selecting 
 the divinity he has here honoured with a shrine. 
 
 In this neighbourhood, but in a south-westerly direct- 
 ion from Mansarwar, is the monstrous idol Tilubhan- 
 deswar, which is, by measurement, fifteen feet round and 
 four and a half feet high. It is simply a large stone, and 
 resembles the idol Jageswar, in the Ausanganj Mahalla 
 of the city, to which, as already observed, the gentry 
 and nobility of Benares pay their devotions. Tilubhan- 
 deswar is so called because, it is said, the god daily 
 increases in size to the extent of one til, a seed of 
 sesamum, from which oil is extracted and sold in the 
 shops. The god inhabits a temple, the basement of 
 which, together with a small piece of ground in con- 
 nexion with it, is raised to a considerable height above 
 the streets in the neighbourhood, the ascent being ef- 
 
152 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 fected by steps. The temple, consequently, is a promi- 
 nent object in this quarter of the city. A sculptured 
 bull lies crouching in the verandah opposite the idol. 
 On either side of the entrance to the temple are small 
 shrines, containing a number of idols, one of which 
 bears the strange name of Samkatik. This idol is rare 
 in the Benares temples. Passing round to the east 
 side of the temple, several niches in the wall are seen. 
 These contain numerous idols. In one is a representa- 
 tion of the sole of Yishnu's foot, in marble, besides 
 three snake-gods, three emblems of Mahadeva, and an 
 old figure of Ganes. Another has a large black idol 
 of Siva, with head, hands, and feet. This idol is very 
 seldom found in Benares ; as Siva is almost always 
 worshipped through a phallic symbol, which is the 
 commonest and most popular object of adoration in 
 every quarter of the city. The idol is good-looking, 
 and is seated in a meditative posture, its hair falling 
 in ringlets upon its shoulders. A plantain-tree, carved 
 in stone, stands on either side of him ; and, in a 
 corner, is a figure of Samkatik who is reading to Siva. 
 The verandah of the temple was once beautifully embel- 
 lished ; but the small and delicate paintings which crowd 
 the roof and capitals of the pillars are exceedingly faded. 
 On a second platform, lower than that on which the Ti- 
 lubhandeswar temple stands, is a peepul tree, resting 
 upon which is a large mutilated statue. Its head is two 
 feet in height, and a foot iu breadth ; and its body is of 
 proportionate size. The height of the head is partly 
 owing to the mode in which the hair is arranged upon 
 it ; for it is plaited and bound round the crown, so as to 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEB8ENT. 153 
 
 have the appearance of a high head-dress. The face is 
 round, and not at all of the Hindu expression. The 
 Brahmanical cord passes over one .shoulder, and des- 
 cends to the waist ; but, notwithstanding this circum- 
 stance, I am strongly inclined to think that the figure 
 is rather of the Buddhist than of the Hindu era. The 
 presence of the cord is no difficulty in the way of this 
 supposition; inasmuch as several of the pre-historical 
 Buddhas were Brahmans. The hair is arranged in a 
 manner altogether different from that which the modern 
 Hindus practise. It is said that Aurungzeb mutilated 
 this statue. The thighs are imbedded in the ground; 
 but the legs, I was told, from the knees downwards, 
 are not in existence. The statue is symmetrically pro- 
 portioned, and its parts are finely chiselled. Hindu 
 sculptors of the present day are utterly incapable of 
 producing such a piece of workmanship; and, therefore, 
 one is curious to know how it came here, and from 
 what place it was brought. The priest in attendance 
 gave it the name of Birbhadra, a famous messenger 
 of Siva. A multitude of idols, not fewer than thirty, 
 are placed around him and the trunk of the tree against 
 which he leans. There is a neem tree a few paces ofi', 
 at the foot of which reclines the eight-handed goddess 
 Ashtbhuji; and close to her is a collection of nine deities. 
 In the enclosure of this temple are several images of 
 considerable antiquity. A bull, especially, in the lower 
 enclosure, bears marks of immense age, and formerly, 
 it is said, stood in front of the idol Tilubhandeswar. 
 
 On the way from Eedamath temple to Dasasamedh 
 temple various objects of interest are to be seen. At 
 
154 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 one place several strange idols have been fixed into 
 the walls, from which they jut out in bass-reliefs, 
 and catch an occasional sprinkling of holy water, or 
 flower blossoms, from the passers-by. Among them 
 are the Naugrah, or planets, represented as deities. 
 The temple of Dulareswar, also, although modern, is 
 worthy of notice. It was erected by a Bengali, 
 named Satu Babii, more than fifty years ago, and is 
 dedicated to Siva. It contains a large symbol of this 
 divinity, in jet-black stone or marble, from which a 
 slab, of the same kind of stone, projects at right 
 angles. The lofty temple stands in the centre of the 
 enclosure ; and on either side is a row of seven temples, 
 all built uniformly, with towers above, and conical sym- 
 bols of Siva below. The god in each of the fifteen 
 temples in. this enclosure is decorated with a white 
 streak, made with sandal-wood, which is renewed and 
 obliterated daily. 
 
 At Chauki Ghat, on the banks of the river, is 
 a peepul tree, part of the trunk of which is en- 
 compassed with masonry, to the height of several 
 feet; and out of its centre the tree seems to spring. 
 The pedestal thus formed is literally crowded with 
 idols. Several are figures of snakes; and one repre- 
 sents the heads of five snakes in a row, the necks 
 being erect, and the heads curved, as though in the 
 attitude of springing. All are in stone ; and the en- 
 tire collection does not number fewer than fifty. In 
 front of this peepul tree is the temple of Eukmes- 
 war; and several other temples are close at hand. In 
 Ahyabar Gali, a narrow street, is a banyan tree, which 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 155 
 
 has a pedestal round its base, somewhat similar to that 
 of the peepul tree just described; but, in this case, 
 a small shrine . is attached to the pedestal. Near it is 
 an old figure of Ganes. In Kewal Gali a swing is 
 hung up in what, at first sight, appears to be a shop. 
 Beyond the swing, by the opposite wall, sits the ten- 
 armed goddess Durga, with a crown on her head, 
 decorated with gay clothing, and set off by a nimbus 
 painted on the wall behind ; her priest having intended 
 her to look, not like a mere queen of earth, but like 
 the queen of heaven. By the swing sits the priest, 
 who, when so disposed, places in it some of the idols 
 of the shrine, but not Durga herself, and gratifies 
 them with a swing. 
 
 The idols and fanes in the Bengali Tola, and, in- 
 deed, in this neighbourhood generally, are exceedingly 
 numerous. All the latter, with, perhaps, one exception, 
 and most of the former, are of comparatively recent 
 date. In regard to the temples, it is possible that 
 part of the Tilubhandeswar temple may be old. The 
 priest told me, that, at the back of one of the small 
 shrines at the entrance to the temple, was an inscrip- 
 tion, which stated that the temple was erected by a 
 Kaja upwards of four hundred and sixty years ago. 
 He rubbed off part of the whitewash, in order that I 
 might see a portion of it. The horizontal lines of the 
 inscription, however, were intercepted by the idol in 
 the shrine; and, therefore, it was impossible to in- 
 terpret what was written. It would be interesting to 
 have the entire inscription copied; for, if the temple 
 is really of the date traditionally assigned to it, this 
 
156 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 quarter of tlie city must have been frequented, if not 
 partially inhabited, at the same epoch. The few idols 
 of an ancient appearance found in this part of Benares, 
 prove, in themselves, nothing; as they may have been 
 brought from other parts of the city, or, indeed, from 
 elsewhere. Some of them are stuck into the walls, 
 and the sides of houses, built ten or twenty years 
 ago; while others are placed by the trunks of trees, 
 planted within the memory of living men, or upon, 
 or in, the walls of the pedestals of masonry formed 
 round their base. Neither the Kedar nor the Easi 
 quarter of Benares contains, so far as my investigations 
 have gone, any bona fide remains of ancient temples, 
 such as the Trilochan or Benares quarter presents, 
 unless it may be the walls of the former temple of 
 Bisheswar, now part of a mosque, built by Aurungzeb, 
 and the temple of Briddhkal, on the boundary between 
 the Kasi and the Benares quarters. Still, it must be 
 confessed, that time-worn idols do exist in the Kedar 
 quarter, as well as in the two remaining quarters of 
 Benares. These, no doubt, furnish a strong proof of 
 the antiquity of the city itself, though not of this 
 individual portion of it ; and their existence, to a 
 small extent, in it throws no light upon its real epoch. 
 On the contrary, however, temples and other buildings 
 which are stationary and immoveable, so long as they 
 stand, do determine the era of their own neighbour- 
 hood, and furnish some reasons for supposing that 
 other edifices may possibly be found near them, of 
 
 equal antiquity with themselves. 
 
 * 
 
157 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 DuRGA Kund Temple. ■ — Bloody Sacrifices ; their raeaning, — Sacred 
 Monkeys. — Legend of Durg and Durg4. — A Devotee. — Durg4 Kund 
 or Tank.— Kurukshetr TdJ^o or Tank— The Lol^rik KMh or "WeU.— 
 Ancient Sculptures. 
 
 One of the popular and most frequented temples in 
 Benares is that of Durga, wife of Mahadeva or S'iva, 
 situated at the southern extremity of the city. Bloody 
 sacrifices are offered to the goddess in great abundance, 
 by persons wishing to obtain her aid in cases of sick- 
 ness, under the impression that she will accept the 
 life of an animal in exchange for the life of a human 
 being. Not that they have any notion whatever of 
 atonement effected thereby, or of the sacrifices having 
 any connexion with sin and its forgiveness; but their 
 simple idea is, that the goddess delights in blood, 
 that she takes pleasure in the sickness and death of 
 mankind, and that she can only be appeased, if ap- 
 peased at all, by an irrational creature being dedicated 
 to her, in the place of a rational one, whom she had 
 doomed to sickness or death. Sacrifices are also pre- 
 sented to her for all kinds of objects. For instance, 
 men out of employment will offer a kid to Durga, 
 in order that, through her, they may speedily obtain 
 
158 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 work. Formerly, a small shrine was situated on this 
 spot, in the midst of what, it is asserted, was then 
 wild jungle: but it seems to have been very little 
 resorted to ; and it is far from clear when, or by what 
 means, the shrine began to be famous. At the time 
 that the new temple and tank were erected by the 
 famous Marathi, Eani Bhawani, no doubt their 
 splendid appearance constituted a strong reason why 
 larger numbers were attracted to the place. Now, no 
 Hindu in the neighbourhood, of any pretensions to 
 earnestness in his religion, neglects to visit the temple 
 occasionally. Pilgrims, also, from a distance find their 
 way to it. Throughout the day worshippers may be 
 seen performing their devotions in the presence of the 
 idol, while, every Tuesday, a meld or fair is held in 
 its honour; and, on the Tuesdays of one month of 
 the year, namely, the month of Sawan, these melds 
 are attended by an enormous multitude of people, who 
 fill the road and spacious gardens adjacent to the temple. 
 Connected with the Durga shrine is what may, with 
 as much appropriateness as is often attached to the 
 word, be called the ' institution ' of monkeys. These 
 creatures, — all living deities, gods, and goddesses, — 
 literally swarm upon the private houses, and about 
 the streets and bazars, in a wide circuit around the 
 temple. They are of all sizes and ages, of all tempers 
 and peculiarities, and, I venture to say, represent, in 
 their aggregation, all the trickery and cunning of which 
 monkeyhood is capable. I was told that they number 
 one hundred thousand; but this, of course, is a great ex- 
 aggeration. But that they amount to several thousand 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 159 
 
 is indisputable. The presence of such a host of mis- 
 chievous and destructive animals, scampering over the 
 tops of houses, and wherever their fancy leads them, 
 sitting on walls, and on a hundred places from which 
 they may watch their opportunity for thieving and 
 perpetrating divers other kinds of evil on the property 
 of their human fellow-creatures, is nothing less than 
 a calamity to the natives. Yet, as they think otherwise, 
 and regard the monkey-race as of greater sanctity than 
 themselves, — ^investing them, indeed, with the attributes 
 of divinity, — there is no help for them. To kill one 
 rascally monkey might produce a disturbance; and to 
 kill many would certainly excite the whole city to 
 rebellion. The civil authorities, therefore, are wise in 
 not interfering in the matter, but suffer the natives, 
 in this instance, to reap the fruits of their superstitions 
 and delusions. The monkeys are fed with various kinds 
 of grain, distributed by the worshippers, who regard the 
 patronizing of these chattering, pilfering, incorrigible 
 deities as a highly religious and meritorious act. 
 
 Before describing the temple, I will briefly narrate 
 the mythic history of the goddess Durga, as given in 
 the Kd'si-'khanda. The story runs, that there was, once, 
 a famous demon named Durg, son of another demon 
 named Euru, who devoted himself to the performance 
 of ascetic rites, and so severely and successfully ap- 
 plied himself to their exercise, that he acquired a 
 prodigious stock of merit, and, together with it, un- 
 bounded power. By degrees, he became superior to all 
 the deities, who fled from his presence, and hid them- 
 selves ; while Durg, entering their dominions and usurp- 
 
160 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 ing their authority, began to transact the affairs of the 
 world. Indra himself, the king of the gods, was ob» 
 liged to surrender his sceptre to him ; and, in like 
 manner, Agni (the god of Fire), Pavana (the god of 
 the Winds), and Jala (the god of "Water) submitted to 
 his irresistible authority. The demon put a stop to 
 religion among men; and injustice, tyranny, and op- 
 pression spread over the earth. He treated the gods 
 most ignominiously, and ordered them to feed his 
 cows. These divine personages, in their distress, went, 
 in a body, to Mahadeva, to whom they represented 
 their miserable condition. Taking pity on them, Maha- 
 deva commanded Gauri, his wife, to go and kill the 
 demon, and deliver the gods from their calamities. 
 Thereupon Gauri summoned the bloody goddess Maha- 
 kali, and instructed her to slay the demon. In obe- 
 dience to her instructions, Mahakali set out to attack 
 Durg; but Durg, hearing of her approach, called to- 
 gether his relatives and servants, and said to them: 
 " Seize this woman, and take care she does not escape !" 
 They then seized Mahakali, and were carrying her 
 off to the house of the demon; but, on the way, in 
 her anger, she darted fire from her mouth, and burnt 
 them all to ashes. On witnessing this mishap, Durg 
 gathered together a larger number of his adherents, 
 and sent them to recapture the goddess. But these 
 fared no better than their predecessors, and were de- 
 stroyed in a similar manner. The demon was now ex- 
 ceedingly annoyed, and assembled an immense army, 
 numbering several millions of persons, and sent it 
 against the goddess. Daunted by such a host, Mahd- 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 161 
 
 kali fledj and ascended to heaven in the form of a 
 balloon, followed by the army, which soared up to the 
 skies in pursuit of her. After a time the army des- 
 cended to the earth again, and encamped on Bindhya- 
 chal ; but Mahakali kept on her way, until she came to 
 Gauri, to whom she narrated the circumstances of her 
 journey, adding that a vast army was on its way to 
 capture her. On receiving this intelligence, Gauri be- 
 came incarnate in a body, possessing a thousand arms, 
 of such gigantic dimensions, that it reached from earth 
 to heaven. When Durg beheld her, he was smitten 
 with her beauty, and declared to his people, that who- 
 ever amongst them should capture her should sit on 
 the throne of Indra. 
 
 Excited by the prospect of obtaining such a high dis- 
 tinction, several regiments of the army made a rush 
 upon Gauri, with so great an uproar, that the four 
 elephants which supported the earth on their backs 
 became terrified, and fled, in dismay, to Bindhyachal. 
 Gauri was delighted at seeing them, and, in her own 
 defence, immediately created an army of gods and in- 
 struments of warfare. A large number of the enemy 
 were slain through the power and activity of the god- 
 dess ; and Durg himself, smarting under the loss he 
 had sustained, now took part in the conflict. Holding 
 in his hands a trident, a sword, a bow, and arrows, he 
 came on with irresistible impetuosity, and, approaching 
 Gauri, inflicted upon her a heavy blow. The goddess 
 fainted, but, presently recovering herself, arose and 
 ordered the gods to engage with the foe. The battle 
 between the gods and the demons now became general, 
 
 11 
 
162 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 during wMch Durg and Gauri fought together, and, 
 fighting, ascended to heaven and descended to the earth 
 again. On reaching the earth, the demon seized a stone, 
 and threw it at the goddess, who, on. its coming near, 
 breathed a curse upon it, and reduced it to powder. He 
 then laid hold of an entire mountain, and, raising it up, 
 hurled it at Gauri ; but she crumbled it, also, to powder, 
 and, with her weapon, struck the demon, who, uttering 
 a loud cry, fell to the ground. The merciless goddess 
 then cut off the head of Durg ; and, all the enemies 
 being slain, the battle was most satisfactorily ended. 
 The gods now approached Gauri, and began to extol 
 her for her valour and exploits, and showered flowers 
 from heaven on the earth below. The celestial dan- 
 seuses, musicians, and minstrels, — Apsarases, Gandhar- 
 vas, and Einnaras, — were summoned, and, together with 
 the gods, Munis, and Eishis, joined in rendering praise 
 to Gauri. Gratified with the honour paid to her, the 
 goddess gave utterance to these words : "Whoever shall 
 repeat what has been written in my praise shall be de- 
 livered from pain and fear; and I will make myself 
 present, when invoked with eulogies that name me. 
 I will, also, change my appellation to Durga, by which, 
 in future, I wish to be addressed, because I have slain 
 the demon Durg." Having said this, she vanished ; and 
 order was everywhere re-established. 
 
 Such is the history of this Hindu deity, which, for 
 wildness and marvel, is not surpassed by the legendary 
 stories connected with the Middle Ages. Let us look 
 at the temple where the goddess holds her court. This 
 is situated in the midst of a quadrangle surrounded 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 163 
 
 by high walls. The main entrance is on the western 
 side, opposite the high road. In front of the door- 
 way, and contiguous to the road, is a building, called 
 the Naubat-Mdnd, in which a large kettle-drum is 
 beaten three times a day, in honour of the goddess. 
 The upper part of this building is open on its four 
 sides, the efifect of which is, that the sound proceeding 
 from the drum is obstructed as little as possible. On 
 either side of the Naubat-Tchdnd^ but more retired from 
 the road, and nearer the wall of the quadrangle, are 
 two small temples, and, in the space between them, 
 two stone pillars. The first of these is about ten feet 
 in height, with a basement of a foot more, and is 
 surmounted by a large figure of a lion. The other is 
 about two feet in height, and is used as an altar for 
 sacrifices. Kear it is a wooden post, to which the 
 yictim is bound. On its being slaughtered, the head 
 is laid on the altar, and ofiered to Durga. 
 
 Passing through the narrow doorway into the interior 
 of the enclosure, the first objects that meet the eye 
 are two sculptured lions, one on either side of the path- 
 way, with their faces directed towards the chief entrance , 
 to the temple, leading through the porch straight to 
 the goddess. They are in a couching posture, and are 
 intended for the use of Durga, whenever she wishes 
 to ride out for an airing. Immediately on the left of 
 the lions are two small shrines, one of which is dedi- 
 cated to Ganes, whose figure, in bass-relief, juts out 
 from the inner wall ; and the other is dedicated to 
 Mahadeva, the emblem of which deity, in white marble, 
 stands on the floor of the shrine, while a diminutive 
 
164 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 figure of a bull, also of marble, kneels in front. To 
 their right is another shrine, in honour of Mahadeva. 
 On the sides of the enclosure, extending all round it, 
 is a platform or terrace, built into the four walls, and 
 coYered in with a roof: it furnishes room for accom- 
 modating large numbers of persons, and protecting them 
 from the sun and rain. Here I saw a painted devotee, 
 absorbed in meditation, seated before a few leaves of 
 a Sanskrit book. His right hand was in a sock, and 
 held a mala or rosary, which, concealed from observation, 
 it revolved ; and, as he muttered his mantras, he counted 
 the beads unceasingly. Upon this platform is a curious 
 little building, with an iron grating in front, looking 
 like a cage or den for the abode of some wild beast, 
 but which is none other than the residence of the 
 golden-faced goddess Bageswari. A short distance 
 from this shrine is an immodest figure of a woman, in 
 bass-relief. 
 
 Between the platform and the temple, which, together 
 with its porch, occupies most of the remaining space 
 of the quadrangle, a broad path runs, separating the 
 former from the latter. In this path, on the south side, 
 is a stone scafi'olding, from the arch of which a bell is 
 suspended, the gift of a Eaja of Nepal ; and on either 
 side of the arch is a small figure of a lion. The temple 
 and the porch, although united together, forming one 
 edifice, are, in reality, two distinct buildings, and were 
 erected at two different periods. The temple was erected 
 by Eani Bhawani, as before mentioned, during the last 
 century; while the porch was erected by a Subahdar, 
 or superior commissioned native officer, a few years ago. 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 165 
 
 The porch stands upon twelve elaborately-carved pillars, 
 the designs of which are fantastic, yet not without taste. 
 All the pillars are similarly carved. Their base rests 
 upon a floor raised about four feet from the ground ; 
 and they are surmounted by a dome, with cupolas at 
 each corner, connected together by a breast-work. The 
 inner part of the dome is embellished with a variety 
 of colours; but the painting, in several places, has suf- 
 fered injury. Trom the centre of the dome a large bell 
 is suspended, which, it is reported, was presented to the 
 temple, by a European magistrate of Mirzapore, about 
 forty years ago. This tale, incredible as its sounds, and 
 the truth of which I am not prepared to vouch for, is 
 commonly believed by the people. 
 
 The temple is built after the orthodox model of Hindu 
 temples, but not with that excessive display of minute 
 carving and sculpture, representing monstrous and inde- 
 cent figures, which may be seen on many Hindu edifices 
 of more modern times. Tet its carving is not scanty. 
 The cornices, indeed, of the doors, situated on each of the 
 four sides, are so covered with carving, as to be liable, 
 to some extent, to the remark just applied to more re- 
 cent buildings. But the upper part of the temple, not- 
 withstanding the multitude of small cupolas surrounding 
 the steeple and rising up to its very apex, exhibits a 
 simplicity of design which every one must behold with 
 pleasure and admiration. Each cupola terminates in a 
 gilded point ; and the steeple has a gilded trident crown- 
 ing its summit. The cornices of the doors above spoken 
 of have the peculiarity of a double arch, — an inner and 
 an outer. Over the outer arch are figures of men, in 
 
166 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 bass-relief, each seated on a bird, and holding a kind of 
 guitar in bis bands ; wbile tbe second or inner arcb is 
 ornamented witb figures of Durga and other deities. 
 The cornices of the door, at tbe main entrance to tbe 
 temple leading through tbe porch, exhibit designs of a 
 different character from the rest. Figures of men riding 
 on lions are carved upon the face of tbe outer arch ; 
 and of Ganes and two women, upon the face of tbe inner. 
 
 In the interior of the temple is a small shrine, tbe 
 residence of the goddess, painted over with bright 
 glaring colours. Tbe idol within is covered with tin- 
 selled cloth, and has a face of brass, or of silver, or 
 of other kind of metal, according to tbe whim of tbe 
 priests, who keep a stock of masks on band, which fit 
 on tbe head of tbe image. It is also decorated with a 
 garland, rising like horns above its bead ; and with 
 several necklaces of gold coins banging low down as 
 far as tbe chest. A small lamp burns inside tbe shrine ; 
 and immediately in front of tbe latter is a silver bath 
 sunk into tbe ground. Flowers are strewn about, the 
 offerings of the worshippers, and, being permitted to 
 decay, emit an effluvium in the highest degree per- 
 nicious to all who approach tbe place. 
 
 On tbe north side of the outer wall of the quadrangle 
 is one of those noble tanks which abound in northern 
 India. It is within tbe jurisdiction of tbe temple, and, 
 so far, may be regarded as sacred ; but its waters are 
 not held in special estimation for religious purposes, 
 although they are of great domestic utility to the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 A short distance to the east of Durga Kund, in the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PIIBSENT. 167 
 
 direction of the river, is Kurukshetr Talao, wliicli is a 
 tank constructed by Eani Bhawani, in commemoration 
 of the battle fought at Kurukshetr, an account of which 
 is found in the Mahdhhdrata. The tank is square, 
 and is built with stone stairs, leading down to the 
 water. It is famous as a place of pilgrimage at the 
 time of a solar eclipse, on which occasion vast crowds 
 of people bathe in the water, with the view of frustra- 
 ting the efforts of the voracious demon, who persists in 
 temporarily swallowing the moon. On its western side 
 is a temple built by the same l^dy. 
 
 In this Mahalla, which is called Bhadaini, to the 
 north-east of Kurukshetr Talao, is the Lolarik Kuan 
 or well. This sacred well has a double mouth, or 
 entrance, the water being in one reservoir, communi- 
 cating with the two shafts or mouths from below. At 
 the time of my visit, it was about twenty feet deep, 
 and the height of the shafts above the water, about 
 fifty feet. Each shaft is of stone, and is surrounded 
 by a parapet ; and, between the two parapets, a path 
 runs, broad enough for walking purposes. The two 
 shafts differ, both in form and size. That to the east 
 is round, and is some forty or forty-five feet in circum- 
 ference. The shaft to the west is in the form of a 
 parallelogram, and is three hundred feet, or upwards, 
 in circumference. On three of its sides are broad stairs, 
 leading down to the water. Descending one of these 
 stairs, you come to the water below, which flows beneath 
 a high arch, connecting together the two shafts. The 
 entire well, as it now exists, was the work of three 
 persons, namely, Eani Ahalya Bai, a Eaja of Behar, 
 
168 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESEliTT. 
 
 and Amrit Eao ; but it is uncertain by -wlioni the 
 original well was built. In a niche on the stairs is a 
 disk of the sun, which is so much worn, that it was with 
 some difficulty that, by the fading light of the waning 
 day, I could distinguish the carving upon it. This sacred 
 object is worshipped on the day devoted to the sun, 
 that is, our Sunday. On a platform, about half-way 
 down, is a figure of the god Ganes, in a standing posture, 
 which gives a very ludicrous appearance to his protu- 
 berant abdomen, and his elephant-head. By his side 
 is a mutilated figure, — not, I am satisfied, of Hindu 
 origin, — with a head-dress rising to an apex, having a 
 knob standing out in front. The temples are bound by a 
 fillet ; and around the neck is a double necklace fastened 
 by a clasp. Several other sculptures on the walls of the 
 south stairs arrested my attention, as being very different 
 from modern works of Hindu art, both in design and in 
 execution. They are partly bass-reliefs of figures cut on 
 separate stones and inserted into the walls. They must, 
 therefore, have been brought from some other building, 
 of a date anterior to the erection of the walls now con- 
 taining them. The temple of Bhadreswar stands on 
 the south side of the wall, and displays a large emblem 
 of Siva. 
 
169 
 
 CHAPTEE Xiy. 
 
 Temple of the Maharaja of Benares at Edmnagar. — Eaja Cheit Singh's 
 Tank — Virtue of Pilgrimage to the Edmnagar side of Benares. — 
 Temple of Vedavyis, — The Panch-kosi Eoad or Sacred Boundary 
 of Benares. — Pilgrimage of the Panch-kosi. — Sanitary condition of 
 Benares. — Improvements suggested. 
 
 At a distance of a mile from tlie Fort of Eamnagar, 
 the residence of the Maharaja of Benares, is a hand- 
 some temple, situated on the eastern side of a capacious 
 tank. Its foundations were laid, and the finest portions 
 of its tower was erected, about one hundred years ago, 
 by Eaja Cheit Singh ; but it was completed by the 
 present Eaja. The temple, including the platform on 
 which it rests, is fully one hundred feet high. Each 
 of its four sides, from the base to a height of thirty- 
 five or forty feet, is crowded with elaborately-carved 
 figures, in bass-relief. These are, in some places, broken, 
 but, generally speaking, are in a good state of pre- 
 servation. They are in five rows, six being in a row ; 
 so that each side of the tower contains thirty figures, 
 and the four sides, one hundred and twenty. As no 
 expense has been spared in the execution of this pro- 
 digious work, it may be regarded as fairly representing 
 what Hindu genius, in modern times, can accomplish 
 in the art of sculpture, and should be visited and 
 studied as such. The lowermost row is filled with 
 
170 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 elephants, and the next, in succession, -with, lions, each 
 of which stands on two small elephants. The lions 
 have very spare bodies, and, in this and other respects, 
 are grotesquely made ; showing that the sculptors had 
 no living model before them, and drew liberally on 
 their own imaginations. The three upper rows exhibit 
 divers figures of deities, incarnations, and other sacred 
 objects. The three goddesses of the Ganges, the Jumna, 
 and the Saraswati have, each, a separate niche. Krishna, 
 too, has his place ; but he is not alone, for two of his 
 favourite gopis or milk-maids are close by. Indra (the 
 king of the gods), Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahadeva or 
 Siva (the three deities of the Hindu triad), Euber 
 (the god of wealth), Bhairo (the Divine Magistrate of 
 Benares), the hero Kam and his wife Sita, Hanuman 
 (the monkey-god), Ganes, Baldeo (brother of Krishna), 
 etc., are, each, honoured with a statue. Here, too, is 
 Yayu, or the wind ; Surya, or the sun ; Agni, or fire ; 
 and Chandrama, or the moon; the latter having rays 
 of glory darting from her head, and being seated in a 
 carriage drawn by two deer. A number of sacred per- 
 sonages, Eishis, are also represented, .such as Narad 
 and Gajendramoksh, and, likewise, the thousand-armed 
 Arjuna or Kartavirya, whom Parasurama fought and 
 killed. In the centre of the uppermost row, on the 
 south side, is a figure of the goddess Durga, wife of 
 Mahadeva; and, in a similar position, on the east 
 side, is a figure of the bloody goddess Mahakali, who 
 thirsts continually for human victims. In a niche on 
 the north side a strange feat of Krishna is depicted. 
 This versatile deity, it is said, on one occasion diverted 
 
BENAEES, past' AND PRESENT. 171 
 
 the homage and adoration due to Indra to himself, at 
 which Indra became exceedingly indignant, and deter- 
 mined to punish the worshippers of Krishna who had 
 so dishonoured him and defrauded him of his rights.. 
 Gathering together the clouds of heaven, he commenced 
 pouring down upon the earth a prodigious flood of 
 water, with the object of drowning the people ; but 
 Krishna, lifting up the mountain Govardhan, held it 
 over the country like an umbrella, balanced on his little 
 finger, so that, over an extent of one hundred and sixty 
 miles, no rain fell, and the people were preserved in 
 safety. In the sculpture, Krishna is seen standing with 
 his hand held up, supporting the mountain on the ex- 
 tremity of his little finger, while cattle are grazing in 
 perfect security underneath. 
 
 On each of the four sides of the tower are two gilded 
 faces, surrounded by a halo, one above the other, em- 
 blematic of the Sun; and, on the apex of the tower, 
 is a circular, flat, gilded object, intended to serve 
 the purpose of a glory to the head of Durga in the 
 shrine below. On the platform facing three of the 
 entrances to the temple are three figures in marble, 
 one of which, namely, that opposite the south door, 
 consists of a Nandi, or bull, designed for the service 
 of Mahadeva, A second is opposite the north door, 
 and is a Garud, a being in the form of a man, with 
 wings behind the shoulders. The countenance is pleas- 
 ing, and has been executed with much taste. The 
 statue is surrounded by an iron palisade tipped with 
 small brass knobs. 
 
 In front of the main entrance is the third figure. 
 
172 BENAEES, PAST AOT) PRESENT. 
 
 •whicli is that of a lion, intended as the Yahan or 
 riding animal of Durga. Over the entrance itself are 
 peacocks, in bass-relief, standing with their heads to- 
 . wards each other. The door is not large, but is ribbed 
 and massive, and is covered with brass; so that, viewiog 
 it from the front, it has the appearance of being made 
 entirely of that metal. 
 
 The interior of the temple, like most Hindu shrines, 
 is confined and gloomy. Directly opposite the door 
 stands the goddess Durga. Her body is of marble, 
 covered with gold, and is arrayed in a yellow dress 
 partially concealed by a scarf. The image is iu a small 
 shrine, in front of which is a table; and on the table 
 lie various vessels used at the hour of sacrifice. It 
 is over this table, and before the face of the idol, that 
 the sacred fire is waved. To the left is another table, 
 of smaller dimensions, which, when I saw it, was com- 
 pletely covered with white blossoms of flowers. Near 
 by, in a niche in the wall, are two idols, representing 
 Krishna and his wife Eadha. To the right of Durga 
 is her five -headed husband Siva. 
 
 The tank and a garden in the neighbourhood were 
 also the work of Eaja Cheit Singh. The former is 
 surrounded by a spacious ghat, the stairs of which are 
 built of stone. On occasion of the natives of Benares 
 proceeding on pilgrimage to this spot, they are ac- 
 customed to bathe in the tank; and sometimes large 
 crowds may be seen assembled on the stairs. But so 
 extensive are the ghats, that hundreds of persons might 
 dress and undress upon them, without incommoding one 
 another. The tank is a square, at each corner of which 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 173 
 
 is a temple. The pilgrims who come to bathe, there- 
 fore, pass and repass at least one temple. 
 
 The object of the pilgrimage to Eamnagar is some- 
 what amusing. It is said that Yedavyas, the compiler 
 of the Yedas, once paid a visit to Eamnagar, intending 
 to proceed to Benares ; but, on reaching this place, and 
 beholding the city in the distance, his soul was so 
 ravished with delight, that he did not desire to enter 
 the city itself. Eemaining at Eamnagar, he signalized 
 his visit by the institution of a pilgrimage, which should 
 conduce to the welfare of its inhabitants and of all 
 others in danger of future degradation. The sanctity 
 of Eamnagar, it appears, was never equal to that of 
 Benares; and, while all persons who died in the latter 
 place, perforce, it is believed, obtained, after death, 
 happiness and heaven, all those, on the contrary, who 
 died in the former, had the misfortune to enter upon 
 another life in the degraded and miserable condition 
 of an ass. It was, consequently, the custom, report 
 says, in the age of Yedavyas, and is still, for persons 
 residing on the Eamnagar side of the river, which is 
 called maga^ when taken seriously ill, to repair to the 
 Benares side, in order, if death should come, to die 
 there, and so escape an asinine condition in the next 
 birth. Yedavyas, however, taking pity on the maga 
 land, established at Eamnagar a iirth or place of pilgrim- 
 age, to be honoured in the month of Magh (January- 
 February), promising, that whoever attended it should 
 be delivered from the danger of becoming an ass ^.fter 
 death. Not only do the people of Eamnagar perform 
 this pilgrimage, but great multitudes from Benares, 
 
174 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 likewise, resort thither, that they may make their own 
 deliverance from asshood doubly sure. Pilgrims con- 
 tinually arrive during the whole of the month; but 
 Mondays and Fridays are days especially preferred, and 
 on which the assemblages are greatest. 
 
 There is a temple dedicated to Vedavyas in the 
 Eaja's fort of Eamnagar. It is situated above the para- 
 pet overlooking th6 river. The approach to it is by 
 the main stairs or ghat leading up from the Ganges 
 into the fort. Upon the stairs to the left, in a small 
 shrine, is a richly-dressed figure of Ganga, or the god- 
 dess of the Ganges, in white marble, seated on a croco- 
 dile, and having a crown on her head. She has four 
 hands: one of them hangs down, a second is uplifted, a 
 third grasps a lotos, and the fourth holds a brass vessel. 
 Proceeding to the top of the stairs, and turning to the 
 left, you enter a court, bounded on one side by the para- 
 pet of the fort, and open to the sky. Here are several 
 shrines. In the first, Mahadeva resides. Another 
 rests against the trunk of a tree, and contains various 
 small deities. Near to this shrine is a platform, on 
 which is a temple bearing the name of Vedavyas. 
 There is, however, no image of him inside; and the 
 object of worship is the emblem of S'iva. On the floor 
 of the platform is a carved disk representing the Sun; 
 and, a short distance off, a figure of Ganes. 
 
 Mention has already been made of the Panch-kosi 
 road, which encompasses Benares. This famous road 
 forms the boundary of the sacred domain, on the ex- 
 treme east of which the eity stands. Its length is about 
 fifty miles. Commencing at the river Ganges, and quit- 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 175 
 
 ting the city at its southern extremity, it pursues its 
 sinuous course far into the country, though never at any 
 point being more distant from Benares than pdnch Jcos, — 
 that is, five cos, or ten miles. It is reputed to be a very 
 ancient road ; but that it is so, I have grave doubts, the 
 reasons for which I shall presently bring forward. The 
 celebrated lady, Eani Bhawani, who constructed the 
 Durga temple and tank, also repaired the Panch-kosf, 
 and restored some of its temples which had been de- 
 stroyed by the Mohammedans ; and, since her time, the 
 road has been kept in order. There are, now, hundreds 
 of shrines scattered along the road ; so that the pilgrim, 
 as he pursues his journey, is constantly reminded of his 
 idols. The deities tenanting these shrines are supposed 
 to perform an important part in preserving the stability, 
 the purity, and the peace of Benares and of the entire 
 enclosure. They are, in fact, watchmen appointed by the 
 ruling monarch Bisheswar, to keep the boundary of Be- 
 nares, and to defend it against all spiritual adversaries. 
 The Panch-kosl is regarded as an exceedingly sacred 
 road. "While even a foot or an inch beyond its pre- 
 cincts is devoid of any special virtue, every inch of 
 soil within the boundary is, in the Hindu's imagina- 
 tion, hallowed. It would seem, too, that every object, 
 animate and inanimate, existing within the enclosed 
 space participates in the general and all-pervading sanc- 
 tity. The entire area is called Benares; and the religious 
 privileges of the city are extended to every portion of 
 it. Whoever dies in any spot of this enclosure is, the 
 natives think, sure of happiness after death ; and so 
 wide is the application of this privilege, that it em- 
 
176 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 braces, they say, even Europeans and Mohammedans, 
 even Pariahs and other outcasts, even liars, murderers, 
 and thieves. That no soul can perish in Benares is, thus, 
 the charitable superstition of the Hindus. 
 
 To perform the pilgrimage of the Panch-kosi is ac- 
 counted a very meritorious act. It is necessary that 
 every good Hindu residing in the city of Benares should 
 twice a year accomplish this pilgrimage, in order that 
 the impurity which the soul and body have contracted 
 during the year may be obliterated ; for it is held to be 
 impossible even to reside in such a holy city as Benares, 
 without contracting some defilement. Not only the in- 
 habitants of Benares, but also multitudes of persons 
 from various parts of India, traverse the road, and seek 
 to obtain the blessing which, they are told, such a pious 
 act ensures. It is customary for a large number of pil- 
 grims to travel together on this journey. Before setting 
 out each morning, they must bathe in a tank or stream, 
 and, on terminating their march each day, must perform 
 the same rite. They do not permit themselves the 
 luxury of shoes ; nor do they relieve the fatigue of the 
 journey by the assistance of either horse, or ass, or camel, 
 or elephant, or of any carriage, or cart, or vehicle what- 
 ever. Anxious to secure a full measure of merit, they 
 cannot afford that it should be lessened by the appliances 
 and arts of civilized life. All, therefore, men, women, 
 and children, rich and poor, princes and peasants, travel 
 on foot. The only exception to this stringent rule is 
 in the case of the sick and infirm; and it is questionable 
 if even they will obtain such a full meed of merit as the 
 rest. On the way; the pilgrims must not eat fawn^ of 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 177 
 
 which, all natives are passionately fond ; and they must 
 take great care that the Benares side of the road is not 
 defiled. They must not quarrel, or give one another bad ; 
 language ; must not receive any present, and must not ' 
 give any food, or water, or anything else even to a friend, | 
 or take any such things from him. This last require- ^ 
 ment has been dictated by a spirit of selfishness ; for the 
 pilgrim is so intent on the acquisition of merit, that he 
 cannot bring himself to share it with any one, — though 
 it be even his dearest friend. He will render no assist- 
 ance to his neighbour to enter the gates of heaven, un- 
 less he can do so without loss to himself. While striving 
 to enter within the sacred gates himself, he will suffer 
 his fainting, foot-sore brother to die upon the road. 
 Such is the hard selfishness of Hinduism. Indeed, sel- 
 fishness is the very root of Hinduism, is its sap and life, 
 is its branches, and blossoms, and fruit. 
 
 Starting from the Manikarnika Ghat, the pilgrim keeps 
 along the banks of the Ganges until he arrives at the Asi 
 Sangam and Asi Ghat, where a petty stream flows into 
 the great river. Erom this spot he proceeds to a temple 
 of Jagannath close by, and thence on to the village of 
 Kandhawa, where he stays for the remainder of the day, 
 having performed a journey of six miles. The second 
 day's march is to the village of Dhupchandi, ten miles 
 further on, where he worships the tutelary goddess of 
 that name. On the third day he arrives at Eameswar, 
 after a long walk of fourteen miles. The fourth day 
 brings him to S'ivapur, where he visits the famous 
 shrine of the Panch Pandav, or five brothers who were 
 all married to one woman. 
 
 12 
 
178 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT, 
 
 On this day he travels eight miles, and, on the fifth 
 day, six more, namely, to the village of Kapildhara, 
 where he worships the god Mahadeva. The sixth and 
 last stage is from Kapildhara to the Barna Sangam, and 
 thence to Manikarnika Ghat, from which he first set out, 
 which is also six miles in length. He has thus com- 
 pleted, in six days, a march of nearly fifty miles, 
 about six of which, — namely, the space between the 
 Barna Sangam and Asi Sangam, the two extremities of 
 Benares, — are along the banks of the Ganges. All the 
 way from Kapildhara to Manikarnika Ghat, the pilgrim 
 scatters on the ground grains of barley, which he carries 
 in a bag made for the purpose: this curious custom is 
 in honour of Siva. On reaching the ghat, he bathes in 
 the river, makes his offering of money to the priests in 
 attendance, and then goes to the temple of Sakhi-vina- 
 yak, or the witness-bearing Ganes, — in order that the 
 fact of his pilgrimage may be duly attested by that 
 deity, — and thence to his home. A few grains of barley 
 are reserved for an oblation to the idol Tava-vinayak, 
 or Barley-Ganes, whose temple rises immediately above 
 the Manikarnika Ghat. 
 
 With the exception of the temple of Kardameswar at 
 Eandhawa, which is of considerable antiquity, and is 
 the finest specimen of ancient Hindu architecture in 
 this part of India, no temple along the road can, in my 
 opinion, date further back than two hundred and fifty 
 years. There may be a few of about this age ; but I 
 should say that more than five hundred out of the six 
 hundred temples, which I compute to be now standing 
 there, have been erected since the English came into 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 179 
 
 possession of India. There are some remains of old i 
 sculptures to be found on the road and in its vicinity ; 
 but they are few in number. It is exceedingly remark- 
 able that the traces of its antiquity, so far as the build- 
 ings skirting it furnish proof, are so slender, especially 
 when we remember that the Hindus believe it to be of 
 high antiquity. 
 
 Moreover, the road is, for the most part throughout 
 its whole extent, ornamented by a double row of trees, 
 one on either side. Many of them haVe massive trunks, 
 and present a noble appearance. Some of the trunks 
 measure from twelve to seventeen feet in girth. Most 
 of the trees are mango; and many of those of large 
 size are of this kind. Undoubtedly, such trees may 
 fairly be regarded as not of recent planting : never- 
 theless, I do not see that they can lay claim to a 
 greater age than that of the earliest built temples found 
 on the road, — excepting, of course, the temple of Kar- 
 darmeswar, — namely, about two hundred and fifty years. 
 But it is not improbable that many of the trees were 
 planted by the Hindu lady before-mentioned, who re- 
 paired the Panchkosi road, on the decline of the Moham- 
 medan power. 
 
 None of the five tanks and dharmsdlds on this road 
 exhibit any signs of antiquity. It is said that a tank 
 at Bhimchandi has, somewhere about it, an inscription, 
 written upwards of four hundred years ago. If this 
 be true, — and here I am very sceptical, — it would be 
 only good testimony that this individual tank was of 
 that age : taken simply by itself, it would aiford no 
 proof of the antiquity of the road. On the northern 
 
180 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 division of tHe road, towards Kapildhara, certain in- 
 disputable marks and signs of age are apparent; but 
 these, I hold, are not connected with the Panchkosi 
 road, but rather with Sarnath and other Buddhist sites 
 in this neighbourhood. 
 
 Again, roads which have been trodden for many cen- 
 turies, not to say thousands of years, are commonly 
 much worn, and, occasionally, sink far below the ad- 
 jacent soil. The limestone soil of Benares and the 
 surrounding country is no exception to this rule. The 
 old Ghazeepore road, which crosses the Panchkosi to 
 the west of Kapildhara, is, in one place, several feet 
 below the fields on either side ; which circumstance is 
 valid proof of its being, to say the least, somewhat 
 ancient. But the Panchkosi is, throughout, on a level 
 with the land through which it winds its way, or 
 nearly so. If the road were traversed by only a few 
 persons yearly, this argument would not be very strong; 
 but, seeing that innumerable pilgrims pass along it 
 in the course of the year, it is, in my opinion, al- 
 most physically impossible that it should be of ancient 
 date. Upon the whole, I am inclined to the belief, 
 that, previously to the repair of the road by Eani 
 Bhawani, there was a narrow path only, which the 
 Hindus, dreading the vengeance of the Mohammedans, 
 occasionally traversed in small numbers; but for how 
 long this path had been a pilgrim's walk, it is impos- 
 sible to conjecture. From the very great scarcity of 
 old remains, however, it is my firm belief that it can 
 lay no claim whatever to antiquity, properly so called- 
 and the probability is, that it was originated by some 
 
BENABES, PAST AND PRESENT. 381 
 
 zealous devotee, wlio conceived the novel idea of honour- 
 tug the sacred city by describing an immense circuit 
 round it, which he, first of all, trod himself, and which, 
 doubtless to his surprise, was afterwards trodden by 
 other persons, until, gradually, the custom was estab- 
 lished, — an idea no more novel and strange than others 
 which the Hindus every day put in practice. 
 
 It ought to be remembered with gratitude, by the 
 Hindus of Benares and Northern India generally, that 
 the British Government of India, instead of pursuing 
 the destructive and prohibitive policy of the Moham- 
 medan rulers, has taken the Panchkosi road under its 
 own charge, and, in a spirit of beneficence deserving of 
 the highest praise, defrays the expenses of its annual 
 repairs. It would be a happy circumstance if Benares 
 itself received the same proportion of attention as this 
 road around it. Threaded with narrow streets, above 
 which rise the many-storied edifices for which the city 
 is famous, it is, without doubt, a problem of con- 
 siderable difficulty, how to preserve the health of its 
 teeming population. But, when we reflect on the foul 
 wells and tanks in some parts, of the city, whose water 
 is of deadly influence, and the vapour from which 
 fills the air with fever-fraught and cholera-breeding 
 miasma; when we consider the loathsome and disgust- 
 ing state of the popular temples, owing to the rapid 
 decomposition of the ofi'erings, from the intense heat 
 of the sun; when we call to mind the filthy condition 
 of nearly all the by-streets, due to stagnant cesspools, 
 accumulated refuse, and dead bodies of animals ; 
 and when, in addition, we remember how utterly re- 
 
182 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 gardless of these matters, and incompetent to correct 
 them, is the police force scattered over the city, the 
 difficulty becomes almost overwhelming. The import- 
 ance, however, of cleansing the city cannot be over- 
 estimated. And it is because it is at once so immensely 
 important as well as difficult, that the undertaking 
 should not be left in the hands of one man, though 
 he should be the ablest and most energetic in all 
 India. The Magistrate of Benares, and his assistants, 
 have a multitude of duties to perform, besides watching 
 over the interests of the city ; and, therefore, they are 
 totally unable, and, I believe, must feel themselves so, 
 to originate and carry out all those schemes of utility 
 which are required. What is needed in Benares is the 
 establishment of a municipal corporation, similar to that 
 which exists in various other cities of India. Such a 
 body would accomplish great results in promoting, in 
 various ways, the social welfare of the people. I am 
 satisfied that there is no city in the country where 
 such a corporation is more urgently required, and where 
 its establishment would be more beneficial. In other 
 respects, too, besides those mentioned, I regard the 
 present time as peculiarly favourable for carrying out 
 this project. The staff of Government officials in 
 Benares, just now, is well adapted for aiding in the 
 promotion of the objects of a municipality. Men of in- 
 dustry and enterprise, as some of them are, would" find 
 ample scope for their talents. Europeans of ability, 
 unconnected with the Government, and, also, natives 
 of influence, fitted to render useful assistance, might 
 readily be found. With men like the Maharaja of Vizi- 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 183 
 
 anagram and Eaja Deo Narain Singh, late members of 
 the Legislative Council of India, and other natives of 
 this stamp, united with well-selected Europeans, not all 
 Government officers, — men of observation, and capable 
 of deviating, if need be, from old stereotyped forms 
 and beaten tracks, and striking out a path for them- 
 selves, — the prosecuting of wholesome sanitary reforms, 
 the completing of effectual drainage, the opening out 
 and widening of thoroughfares for the free admission 
 of air, and the purifying of the religious edifices, should 
 be a labour undertaken heartily, and prosecuted with 
 enthusiasm. Under the auspices of a corporation thus 
 constituted, we should soon see a thorough transform- 
 ation of the city; but, at the same time, we are 
 perfectly sure that it is only by such a body that the 
 radical changes, so imperatively demanded in this region 
 of palaces and filth, in this hot-bed of periodical disease, 
 can be effected. It is my earnest hope, that, in these 
 days of progress, the time-honoured city of which I 
 have been writing will not be left in the rear, as, in 
 some respects, it now undoubtedly is, but will soon be 
 ranked amongst the foremost cities in the land, in regard 
 to all measures tending to advance the prosperity and 
 happiness of the native community. 
 
184 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Babna Sangam or Confluence of the Bama and Ganges. — ^dkesav 
 Temple. — Barna Ghflt. — Hij GMt Fort : its use in 1857. — Remains 
 of Buddhist Monastery. — Tank of Bhairo. — Zdt or Pillar of Siva. — 
 Ancient Pillar. — Account of Disturbance in Benares when the pillar 
 was thrown down. — The Ghazeepore Eoad. — Ancient Bridge over the 
 Bama. 
 
 Baena Sangam, so called from the confluence of the 
 river Barna with the Ganges, is a highly venerated 
 spot. To bathe in the uniting waters is regarded as a 
 very meritorious act, sufl&cient to wash away the trans- 
 gressions of a life-time. This Sangam is one of the 
 five celebrated places of pilgrimage on the banks of 
 the Ganges at Benares, and is, consequently, visited by 
 the crowds of pilgrims which, at certain seasons, pour 
 into the city. It also occupies an important place, as 
 intimated in the preceding chapter, in the pilgrimage 
 of the Panchkosi road. The pilgrims, having issued from 
 the city at the Asi Sangam, return to it by the Barna 
 Sangam ; the former being its southern, and the latter 
 its north-eastern, boundary. Here they halt, to perform 
 the ceremonies prescribed for so sacred a place. Above 
 the steep bank are four temples, which the Government 
 has forbidden to be used. During the rebellion, they 
 were in the hands of a man of a seditious and tur- 
 bulent spirit, and were, consequently, seized by the 
 
EENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 185 
 
 authorities and closed. Subsequently, however, they 
 were permitted to be reopened for religious purposes; 
 but they have been again closed,, though from what 
 cause I am in ignorance. These temples were all 
 erected by the Diwan of the Maharaja Scindia, about 
 one hundred years ago. The largest of them is dedi- 
 cated to Adkesav or Vishnu, a statue of which deity, 
 dressed in gay robes, with a crown on its head, stands 
 in the interior of the shrine. In the same chamber is 
 another image, that of the Sun. The porch of the temple 
 rests on ten pillars, and is situated on its eastern side. 
 Below the porch various idols are deposited, two of 
 which are worthy of notice. One is called Sangames- 
 war, or the deity presiding over the confluence of the 
 two rivers, which is simply S'iva under another name. 
 The other is the four-faced Brahma-iswar or the god 
 Brahma. It is remarkable that this deity, — who, al- 
 though the first member of the Hindu Triad, is rarely 
 worshipped in any part of India, on account of his 
 incest with his own daughter Saraswati, as stated in 
 Hindu writings, and believed by the people, — should 
 have found a habitation here. Perhaps the reason of 
 this circumstance may be, that, inasmuch as both 
 Yishnu and S'iva were already represented in these 
 fanes, an image of Brahma also was added, in order 
 to complete the Triad. This union of the three mem- 
 bers, in any one spot, is a most unusual occurrence ; 
 for, instead of cherishing love towards one another, 
 they are supposed to be, and are generally represented 
 as being, exceedingly jealous of each other's glory ; and 
 the sacred writings extol and disparage each in turn. 
 
186 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 As worshippers are prohibited from entering these 
 temples, a small platform has been erected on the 
 ghat below, which is decorated with a select group of 
 deities, who receive the homage due to the gods in 
 the temples above. Here may be seen Sangameswar 
 and, likewise, the sacred feet of Yishnu. The latter are, 
 also, found at Manikarnika Ghdt. Here are, also, the 
 Monkey-god, two small stone figures of Satis, and a 
 curious mythological stone, on the sides of which eight 
 incarnations are carved in bass-relief. 
 
 On the summit of the Barna Sangam Ghat, a few 
 remains of an old fort are visible. There is no doubt 
 that, at one time, this fort commanded the city, which 
 was then situated much nearer this spot than it now 
 is. The population in the neighbourhood is exceed- 
 ingly scanty; and the locality itself is now so far re- 
 moved from the city, that it can be regarded as only 
 a somewhat distant suburb of Benares. 
 
 To the west of the Barna Ghat is a plateau of ele- 
 vated land, nearly a mile long and four hundred yards 
 broad, overlooking both the city and the Ganges. The 
 river Ganges forms a defence to the entire south-east 
 face ; the river Barna constitutes a wet ditch to the 
 north and north-east faces ; while an 9,brupt depression 
 of the ground to the north-west, — said to be an old bed 
 of the same stream, — completes the natural strength of 
 the position. The advantage of this position, in a mili- 
 tary point of view, was perceived by the old native 
 rulers of Benares, who erected the fort above spoken 
 of on the eastern edge of this tract, immediately above 
 the Barna Sangam, but was not recognized by its British 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 187 
 
 governors until the year 1857, "of scarlet memory." 
 The terrible events of that year Tsrought out, in bold 
 reKef, the fatal absurdity of the policy which had led 
 our military authorities to neglect the banks of the 
 Ganges, and to place some of their largest and most 
 important cantonments at an insecure distance from that 
 river. On the 4th of June, 1857, the mutiny broke 
 out at Benares, and, through the good providence of 
 God, was speedily quelled, although, in the action that 
 was fought, one hundred and eighty gallant British 
 soldiers had to contend with two regiments of native 
 infantry and one of cavalry. After the battle, the posi- 
 tion of the European residents, — who were all cooped 
 up in one large building, known as the Old Mint, — and 
 of the few English soldiers who protected them, was 
 one of extreme peril; inasmuch as the military lines, 
 including the Mint, were at a distance of at least three 
 miles from the Ganges, with the city lying between; 
 and it seemed a probable contingency that the routed 
 sepoys, rallying again, would return to Benares, and, 
 having excited to revolt its disaffected inhabitants, 
 would come, in overwhelming numbers, upon the small 
 and isolated party of Europeans, and cut off from them 
 all means of escape, and all hope of successful resist- 
 ance. This contingency, apparently so likely at the 
 time, fortunately was not realized. The insecurity of 
 the position held by the authorities was, however, soon 
 discerned ; and, at an early stage of the rebellion, mea- 
 sures were taken for fortifying the elevated land in the 
 rear of the Barna Ghat and in the neighbourhood of 
 the old native fort. Embankments were thrown up 
 
188 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 with incredible speed ; and a citadel was soon completed, 
 capable of making a stout resistance to a numerous 
 enemy. The fortress was gradually strengthened, so that 
 it may be regarded as having been, until abandoned, 
 one of the strongest and most extensive in India. 
 The heights overlook the entire city, which lies com- 
 pletely at the mercy of the force in occupation of them. 
 
 Several objects of interest to the antiquary are en- 
 closed within the falls of the new fort. A spacious 
 tomb, built by Lai Khan, a Mohammedan servant of a 
 former Eaja of Benares, is standing here. Passing 
 through the western gate of the fort, you presently 
 come to the building, which is situated a short dis- 
 tance off the road, on the right hand side. It occupies 
 the centre of an extensive quadrangle, which is orna- 
 mented with four towers, one at each corner. The 
 tomb itself consists of a massive tower, rising high 
 above the rest, and is crowned with a dome, from the 
 middle of which a spire emerges, pointing to the 
 heavens. A large portion of its outer surface is still 
 bright with the colours, chiefly blue, with which it 
 was originally embellished. The colouring plaster, when 
 minutely examined, has a glassy appearance, not un- 
 like porcelain; and, although it has been for years 
 exposed to a burning sun and to the periodic rains, 
 yet it is questionable whether the colours have lost, 
 from this cause, any of their freshness. The decay of 
 the underlying masonry has, in some places, been a 
 source of injury to the external plaster, by causing it 
 to crumble away; but, where it has been preserved, 
 the colours are strong and vivid. Within the building 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 189 
 
 are tliree tombs, and on th.e platform outside are four 
 more. 
 
 A few steps from the outer wall of the fort is a 
 long building, sustained by a quadruple row of stone 
 columns. On examination, it is evident that the build- 
 ing, although now a continuous whole, may formerly 
 have consisted of two detached parts. One proof of 
 this is, that the pillars of one portion are alln uni- 
 form, while those of the other are very different in 
 character, and that the roof of the first division is 
 lower than the roof of the second. All the pillars 
 are carved; and some of them, namely, those in the 
 loftier room, which are of a variety of patterns, are 
 most elaborately sculptured. As specimens of native 
 art, they occupy a high position : indeed, I know of 
 nothing superior to them among genuine native pro- 
 ductions. They exhibit a refinement of taste, and yet 
 a correctness and beauty of execution, that are rarely 
 to be met with in India, except in ancient sculpture. 
 The favourite lotos-plant, with its flower, its seed-pod, 
 its stalk, and long flowing leaves, which have an ex- 
 quisite effect in representing the tracery known as the 
 scroll-pattern, and the Brahmani duck in various atti- 
 tudes, are some of the prominent objects carved upon 
 the pillars. 
 
 It is because this style of architecture has not been 
 produced in India in later days, that we must assign 
 this fine colonnade to an ancient epoch. Nor are we in 
 doubt as to the period to which it should be referred. 
 Its similarity to the later Buddhist architecture of the 
 opening centuries of the Christian era is amply suflS.- 
 
190 BENAKES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 eient to solve the question of its date. In my belief, 
 there existed, on this spot, a Buddhist monastery, of 
 which the colonnade formed a portion of one side of 
 its enclosure. A further description of this building is 
 given in the twentieth chapter. 
 
 At Eaj Ghat a pontoon bridge crosses the Ganges 
 in the dry season, but not during the rains; and along 
 it ait immense amount of traffic of all kinds passes 
 to and from the railway station on the other side. To 
 the south of Eaj Ghat, but at some distance off, is 
 Praladh Ghat, stretching out a little into- the stream. 
 It is picturesquely situated, and commands a fine view 
 of Benares and its suburbs. 
 
 To the north of the road leading from the Eaj Ghat 
 Port to the cantonments, at a distance of from three 
 quarters of a mile to a mile from the former place, is 
 the Kapilmochan Tank. It is also called Bhairo ka 
 Talao, or the tank of Bhairo. This is a strong and well- 
 built structure, the stairs and foundations being of solid 
 stone. On the high ground to the north of the tank 
 stands a pillar, from seven to eight feet in height, and 
 three in thickness, situated in the midst of a slightly- 
 elevated stone chabutra or platform. This is the Ldt 
 or pillar of Siva. It is representative of an ancient 
 pillar, which formerly stood on this spot, and was 
 thrown down by the Mohammedans, in a struggle be- 
 tween them and the Hindus, some sixty years ago. 
 The original Ldt was famous among the Hindu popula- 
 tion, both for its antiquity and for its sanctity. There 
 is some ground for supposing that the present pillar 
 is a fragment of the ancient one; and that it, very 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 191 
 
 likely, bears a portion of the carving known to have 
 been on the original column. The probability is in- 
 creased by the circumstance that it is encased in 
 copper, and is carefully watched over by the Brahman 
 priests. It would be interesting to examine it, and to 
 determine the age of its carvings, or of any inscription 
 which may be upon it. 
 
 Previously to this outbreak, the Hindus must have 
 cherished, for a prolonged period, very bitter feelings 
 against the Mohammedans, on account of the insult 
 which, ever since the time of Aurungzeb, had been 
 heaped upon their religion in this locality. The pillar 
 was once situated in the enclosure of a Hindu temple ; 
 but that ruthless monarch destroyed the temple, and, 
 in its place, erected a mosque, leaving the curiously 
 carved pillar either as an ornament to the grounds, or 
 under a wholesome dread of provoking to too great a 
 pitch the indignation of his Hindu subjects. The 
 Hindus, however, continued to pay divine homage to 
 the pillar, which, although repugnant to the feelings 
 of the Mohammedans, was, nevertheless, endured by 
 them, especially as they were permitted to receive a 
 portion of the offerings. The natives say, that, after 
 the serious collision between these two great sections 
 of the people in the city, the pillar was removed to 
 the banks of the Ganges, and thrown into the river. 
 
 The history of this famous disturbance is singular. 
 It occurred during the Mohurram festival, a season 
 when the fanaticism which is inherent in the disposition 
 of a Mohammedan reaches its boiling point. It so hap- 
 pened, that, in that year, the popular Hindu festival 
 
192 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 of the Holi took place at the same time. The pro- 
 cessions of both classes of religionists were traversing 
 the streets together; and it was, consequently, almost 
 impossible for the violent passions of either section 
 not to display themselves, when the processions passed 
 one another. And so it turned out; for, on occasion 
 of two large processions coming near each other, the 
 one refused to give place to the other, imagining 
 that the honour of the religion which it advocated 
 would be sacrificed by so doing. As neither party 
 would yield, the altercation proceeded to blows, each 
 struggling to force a passage through the ranks of the 
 other. The fight ended in the defeat of the Moham- 
 medans, who, stung with resentment at the insult 
 which had been cast upon their faith, determined to 
 take a revenge so terrible and deep, that it should 
 have the effect of exasperating to frenzy the entire 
 Hindu population of the sacred city. They retired to 
 the court-yard of Aurungzeb's mosque, in which stood 
 the highly venerated Ldt of Siva, and, combining to- 
 gether, threw it to the ground. 
 
 " The Hindus had a tradition," writes the Eev. "Wil- 
 liam Buyers, in his ' Recollections of Northern India,' 
 "that the pillar was gradually sinking; it having, ac- 
 cording to report, been, once, twice its present height; 
 and it was also prophesied, that, when its top should 
 become level with the ground, all nations should be 
 of one caste. The throwing down, therefore, of this 
 pillar was regarded as most ominous and dangerous to 
 Hinduism. The whole Hindu population, headed by 
 the Brahmans and devotees, rose in fury on the Mus- 
 
BENAEBS, PAST AND PEESBNT. 193 
 
 Salmans, and attacked them witli every sort of weapon 
 within their reach. One mosque was pulled down ; 
 and they determined to destroy every other in the city : 
 but the civil authorities, with all the military force 
 that could be collected, interposed, and, by putting 
 guards to defend the mosques, succeeded in saving 
 them. 
 
 "It was difficult, indeed, to trust to the native 
 soldiers : but they did their duty well ; for, though 
 many of them were Brahmans, they kept guard man- 
 fully on the mosques, in i&delity to their military oath ; 
 though, doubtless, it would have been more agreeable 
 to their own feelings to have joined in pulling them 
 down. Yet they kept off the Brahmans, as well as 
 others, at the point of the bayonet. Two Brahman 
 soldiers, keeping guard where the pillar was lying 
 prostrate, were overheard thus conversing on the sub- 
 ject : ' Ah,' said one, ' we have seen what we never 
 thought to see — Siva's Lat has its head level with the 
 ground. "We shall all be of one caste shortly. What 
 will be our religion then?' 'I suppose the Christian,' 
 answered the other; 'for, after all that has passed, I 
 am sure we shall never become Mussulmans.' " 
 
 Although the storm was allayed through the inter- 
 ference of the authorities, yet the religious feelings of 
 the Hindus, which had been so violently roused, were 
 by no means pacified. " In the early part of the 
 quarrel," says Mr. Buyers, " the Mussalmans, in order 
 to be revenged on the Hindus for the defeat they had 
 sustained, had taken a cow, and killed it on one of 
 the holiest ghats, and mingled its blood with the sacred 
 
 13 
 
194 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 water of the Ganga. This act of double sacrilege was 
 looked on, by the Brahmans, as having destroyed the 
 sacredness of the holy place, if not of the whole city, 
 so that salvation in future might not be attainable by 
 pilgrimage to Benares. They were, therefore, all in 
 the greatest afliction; and all the Brahmans in the 
 city, many thousands in number, went down, in deep 
 sorrow, to the river side, naked and fasting, and with 
 ashes on their heads, and sat down on the principal 
 ghats, with folded hands, and heads hanging down, to 
 all appearance inconsolable, and refusing to enter a 
 house or to taste food. Two or three days' absti- 
 nance, however, tired them; and a hint was given to 
 the magistrates and other public men, that a visit of 
 condolence and some expression of sympathy would 
 comfort them, and give them some excuse for re- 
 turning to their usual course of life. Accordingly, the 
 British functionaries went to the principal ghat, and 
 expressed their sorrow for the distress in which they 
 saw them, but reasoned with them on the absurdity 
 of punishing themselves for an act in which they had 
 no share, and which they had done all they could to 
 prevent or avenge. This prevailed ; and, after much 
 bitter- weeping, it was resolved that '■Ganga was Gangd 
 still j' and that a succession of costly offerings from 
 the laity of Benares, — the usual Brahmanical remedy 
 for all evils, — might wipe out the stain which their 
 religion had received, and that the advice of the judges 
 was the best and most reasonable. Mr. Bird (the chief 
 English official in Benares), who was one of the ambas- 
 sadors on this occasion, said that 'the scene was very 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PHESENT. 195 
 
 impressive, and even awful. The gaunt, squalid figures 
 of the devotees, their visible and, apparently, unaffected 
 anguish and dismay, the screams and outcries of the 
 women who surrounded them, and the great numbers 
 thus assembled, altogether constituted a spectacle of 
 woe such as few cities but Benares could supply.' " 
 
 Formerly, a large annual meld or fair used to be 
 held on this venerated spot; but, of late years, the 
 place has been well-nigh abandoned, so that even the 
 meld fails to attract more than a few dozens of people. 
 
 By the side of the Kapilmochan Tank a narrow 
 road branches off from the high road, at right angles 
 to it, and runs on to the river Barna, which it crosses, 
 and thence winds, through the country, to the city of 
 Ghazeepore. Judging from the depth to which it oc- 
 casionally sinks, as compared with the fields on either 
 side, it must be of considerable antiquity. The road 
 is traversed by large numbers of people, and may be 
 regarded as one of the chief outlets of the city in 
 this direction. In the dry season a dam is thrown up 
 across the Barna, over which passengers are permitted 
 to pass, on the payment of a small toll ; in the 
 rains the river becomes swollen and deep, and, con- 
 sequently, the traffic of the road is conveyed over by 
 means of a ferry. In olden times a spacious bridge, 
 erected by the Mohammedan rulers of the country, 
 spanned the river at this place, but fell into decay, 
 and, eventually, into utter ruin. Its foundations are 
 still visible in the bed of the stream ; but they are 
 very limited in extent. A few years ago most of the 
 stones of the ruined bridge were taken away, and 
 
196 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT 
 
 utilized for the erection of the present Bama bridge, 
 connecting the civil with the military lines. It has 
 seemed to my mind a somewhat inconsiderate policy, 
 on the part of the local authorities, that, while col- 
 lecting a revenue from the ferry and the dam, they 
 have never projected a new bridge, but have left the 
 entire northern boundary of the city, for the space of 
 between thi^e and four miles, without any proper and 
 adequate means of communication with the country 
 beyond the Barna. Purther up the river there is the 
 Iron Bridge, and also that already alluded to; but 
 these are too far off to be of any real benefit to the 
 inhabitants of the city on the one side of the Barna, 
 and of the numerous villages on the other side, through- 
 out the whole of the tract to which I am referring, 
 except by their making a considerable detour ; and 
 this, on account of the great distance to be traversed, 
 is, I fear, in the case of many of them, impracticable. 
 
197 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ^IVALA Gh4t.— The Old Fort.— Baja Cheit Singh : History of his Insur- 
 rection and of the Proceedings of Warren Hastings in Connexion 
 therewith. 
 
 SiYALA Ghat is interesting on account of its connexion 
 with, the insurrection at Benares in the time of "Warren 
 Hastings, the downfall of Eaja Cheit Singh, the former 
 Eaja of Benares, and the destruction of his family, which 
 followed that event. When Cheit Singh rebelled against 
 the British Government, he was residing in a strong fort 
 built upon the banks of the Ganges, above the S'ivala 
 Ghat. Warren Hastings was, at the time, living in the 
 garden house of Madhodas, situated in the Ausanganj 
 Mahalla, nearly three miles off, on the western side of 
 the city. The history of this famous insurrection is 
 briefly as follows. 
 
 Eaja Cheit Singh, although a great noble, exercising 
 considerable power and authority throughout his exten- 
 sive domains, — in virtue of which he might, perhaps, be 
 regarded as possessing a jurisdiction similar to that of 
 many European princes, — yet was not, in truth, a reign- 
 ing monarch, or even a great tributary chief. He had 
 no authority beyond what he derived from the East 
 
198 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 India Company; and his vast estates did not pay tribute, 
 but a fixed annual rent, to the British Government. 
 Warren Hastings says, " that his father, Balwant Singh, 
 derived the degree of independence which he possessed 
 during the latter part of his life from the protection 
 and intervention of our Government. His son, Cheit 
 Singh, obtained from our influence, exerted by myself, 
 the first legal title that his family ever possessed of 
 property in the land of which he, till then, was only 
 the Aumil, and of which he became the acknowledged 
 Zemindar by a Sannad granted to him by the Nabob 
 Shujah-ud-Dowlah (king of Oude, whose dominions, in 
 those days, extended as far as Benares), at my instance, 
 in the month of September, 1773. On the succession of 
 the Nabob Assof-ud-Dowlah, the rights of sovereignty 
 which were held by him over the Zemindary were trans- 
 ferred, by treaty, to the Company. Those rights were 
 indisputably his, and became, by his alienation of them, 
 as indisputably the Company's ; and every obligation 
 and obedience which is due from a Zemindar to the 
 superior magistrate, by the constitution of Hindustan, 
 became as much the right of the Company from Cheit 
 Singh as it had been due to his former sovereign, with 
 the additional ties of gratitude for the superior advan- 
 tages which he was allowed to possess with his new 
 relation. The unexampled lenity of our Government in 
 relinquishing to him the free and uncontrolled rule of 
 his Zemindary, subject to a limited annual fine, and the 
 royalties of the Mint, administration of justice and 
 police, ought to have operated as an additional claim 
 on his fidelity, but evidently served to stimulate his 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 199 
 
 ambition, and, perhaps, to excite in his mind an 
 opinion that he possessed an inherent right of self- 
 dependency." ^ 
 
 Such being the nature of the relation subsisting be- 
 tween the Eaja and the Indian government, it was only- 
 just and right, that, at a time of national peril, he should 
 be called upon to contribute his quota of men and money 
 towards the defence of his own estates and of the country 
 in general. " On the first intelligence of the war with 
 France, in July, 1778, it was resolved, in Council, that 
 Eaja Cheit Singh should be required to contribute an 
 extraordinary subsidy for the expense which this new 
 exigency had imposed on our Government ; and the sum 
 was limited to five lacks of rupees for the current year. 
 After many excuses and protestations of inability, he, at 
 length, consented, with a very ill grace, to the payment, 
 and, with a much worse, discharged it. The next year 
 the same demand was repeated ; and he attempted, in 
 like manner, to elude it, affecting to borrow money in 
 small sums, and to sell his plate and jewels to raise it : 
 nor was it paid at last, till he had reduced the Board to 
 the extremity of ordering two battalions of sepoys to the 
 neighbourhood of Eamnagar, and quartering them upon 
 him, with their pay charged to his account, until the 
 whole payment was completed." ^ 
 
 Fearing the anger of the (Grovernor-General, the Eaja, 
 in the early part of the following year, despatched his 
 confidential manager, Lala Sadanand, to him "to solicit," 
 says Warren Hastings, "my forgivenesss of his past 
 
 ' "Warren Hastings's Insurrection in Benares, pp. 8, 9. 
 '^ Insurrection in Benares, p. 3. 
 
200 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 conduct, and to give me assurances, confirmed by oath, 
 of Ms future submission to the orders of my government, 
 and compliance with my advice. I accepted his excuses, 
 and promised him an oblivion of all that had passed 
 exceptionable in his conduct, and my future protection, 
 and every good office in my power, so long as he adhered 
 to his professions ; requiring only, as the pledge of their 
 sincerity, that he would immediately notify his ready and 
 unreserved consent to the demand which would be made 
 upon him — this being the period for it — of the subsidy 
 for the current year, and that he would use no delay in 
 discharging it." The Lala " vowed the fullest obedience 
 on the part of his master ; the demand was accordingly 
 made ; and the Kaja answered it with a liberal and un- 
 reserved declaration of his acquiescence." Notwith- 
 standing these protestations of obedience, the Eaja failed 
 to act up to them. The whole payment of the money 
 was due in July ; but " it was not until the month of 
 October, nor until the same constraint was practised, to 
 compel his obedience, as had been used in the preceding 
 year, by an order for the advance of two battalions of 
 sepoys for that purpose, that the balance of the subsidy, 
 which was two lacks and a half of rupees, was dis- 
 charged. In the meantime, the Eesident received an 
 order from the Board to remit the money, as he received 
 it, by bills, to the Paymaster of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Carnac's detachment; but these, from the lateness of 
 the receipts, were not sent until the detachment had 
 suffered the extremity of distress from the want of 
 money, and very great desertions ; all which calamities 
 I charge to Eaja Cheit Singh's account ; as it is certain 
 
BENAEBS, PAST AND PRESENT. 201 
 
 that my reliance on his faith, and his breach of it, were 
 the principal causes that no other provisions had been 
 made for the detachment, and that it suffered much 
 want in consequence." ^ 
 
 Such was the first serious charge brought against the 
 Eaja. The second was, in principle, the same. I again 
 quote the words of Warren Hastings. " On the second 
 of the month of November, 1780, a resolution passed 
 the Board, that a letter should be written to the Nabob 
 Vizier, advising him to require from the Nabob Fyz- 
 Oolla E!han the number of troops stipulated by treaty, 
 expressed, as it was then understood, to be 5000 horse ; 
 and that the like demand should be made on Eaja Cheit 
 Singh for all the cavalry in his pay which he could spare 
 for our service. At that time we stood in need of every 
 aid that could be devised, to repel the multiplied dangers 
 which surrounded us. The Eaja was supposed to main- 
 tain a very large and extensive standing force ; and the 
 strength of his cavalry alone was estimated at two thou- 
 sand. I had formerly experienced their utility, in the 
 war with the Seneasses, in which they were successfully 
 employed, and liberally rewarded. The demand was 
 formally made, both in a letter from myself, and, in 
 person, by the Eesident, Mr. Fowke, in the easy and 
 indefinite terms mentioned above. His manners were 
 evasive, pleading (as I recollect, for I am not in pos- 
 session of them,) scantiness of the establishment, its 
 employment in enforcing the collections, and the danger 
 of these failing, if the detachment were withdrawn. At 
 length, a more peremptory order was sent to him, 
 ' Insurrection in Benares, pp. 3, 4, 5. 
 
202 BENARES, PAST AJSTD PEESENT. 
 
 and repeated by the present Eesident, Mr. Markham. 
 The number required was 2,000, and afterwards reduced 
 to the demand of 1,500, and, lastly, to 1,000, but with 
 no more success. He offered 250, but furnished none.''^ 
 It was not to be imagined that such acts of contu- 
 macy, disrespect, and implicit rebellion, should be left 
 unnoticed. The honour and reputation of the Indian 
 Government demanded that the Eaja should be called 
 on to explain his extraordinary conduct. Warren 
 Hastings regarded these instances of disobedience as 
 "evidences of a deliberate and systematic conduct, aim- 
 ing at the total subversion of the authority of the 
 Company, and the erection of his own iii dependency 
 on its ruins." "This," he adds, ''had been long and 
 generally imputed to him. It was reported that he 
 had inherited a vast mass of wealth from his father, 
 Balwant Singh, which he had secured in the two strong 
 fortresses of Bidjeygur and Lutteefpoor, and made yearly 
 additions to it; that he kept up a large military estab- 
 lishment, both of cavalry, of disciplined and irregular 
 infantry, and of artillery ; that he had the above and 
 many other fortresses, of strong construction and in good 
 repair, and constantly well-stored and garrisoned; that 
 his aumils and tenants were encouraged and habituated 
 to treat English passengers with inhospitality and with 
 enmity ; that he maintained a correspondence with the 
 Mahrattas, and other Powers who either were, or might 
 eventually become, the enemies of our state ; and, if the 
 disaffected Zemindars of Fyzabad and Behar were not 
 included in the report, which I do not recollect, we have 
 ' Insurrection in Benares, pp. 6, 7. 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 203 
 
 had woful proof that there was equal room to have sus- 
 pected the like intercourse between them ; and, lastly, 
 that he was collecting, or had prepared, every provision 
 for open revolt, waiting only for a proper season to de- 
 clare it, which was supposed to depend either on the 
 arrival of a Trench armament, or a Mahratta invasion."^ 
 The Governor General determined, therefore, that 
 some measures should be taken with the Eaja, in order 
 to bring him to his senses. Moreover, he says : " I 
 was resolved to draw from his guilt the means of re- 
 lief to the Company's distresses, and to exact a penalty 
 which, I was convinced, he was able to bear, from a 
 fund which, I was also convinced, he had destined for 
 purposes of the most dangerous tendency to the Com- 
 pany's dominion. In a word, I had determined to make 
 him pay largely for his pardon, or to exact a severe 
 vengeance for his past delinquency." Opportunity was, 
 first of all, given to the Eaja to clear himself; and 
 Warren Hastings, on his arrival in Benares, in the 
 month of August, 1781, sent a letter to him, setting 
 forth the leading charges against him, to which he re- 
 quested an immediate reply. The answer which the 
 Eaja returned was regarded as "not only unsatisfactory 
 in substance, but offensive in style ; and less a vindi- 
 cation of himself than," says Warren Hastings, "a re- 
 crimination on me. It expresses no concern for the 
 causes of complaint contained in my letter, or desire to 
 atone for them; nor the smallest intention to pursue 
 a different line of conduct. An answer couched nearly 
 in terms of defiance to requisitions of so serious a 
 ' Insurrection in Benares, pp. 7, 8. 
 
204 BEKARES, PAST AOT) PRESENT. 
 
 nature, I could not but consider as a strong indication 
 of that spirit of independency wHch. the Eaja has for 
 some years past assumed, and of -which, indeed, I had 
 early observed other manifest symptoms, both before 
 and from the instant of my arrival." 
 
 On the receipt of this communication, the Governor 
 General ordered the Eesident, Mr. Markham, to pro- 
 ceed, on the following morning, to the fort at Sivala 
 Ghat, and there arrest the Eaja. In obedience to his 
 instructions, the Eesident, accompanied by his usual 
 guard, visited the Eaja, who submitted, without oppo- 
 sition, to the arrest. Shortly after, two companies of 
 grenadier sepoys arrived, under the command of three 
 lieutenants, when Mr. Markham returned to the Go- 
 vernor General, to report the success of his enterprise. 
 In the course of the day, three letters were sent by 
 the Eaja to Warren Hastings, two of which were ex- 
 pressive of much anxiety and terror. Seeing the 
 apprehension and alarm which had seized hold of his 
 mind, the Governor General wrote a note to Cheit 
 Singh, wishing him to keep calm, and not to allow 
 himself to be unduly distressed, or to imagine that 
 any evil would befall him. The Eaja's third letter 
 was in answer to this, and was expressive of his grati- 
 tude for the gentle tone of the Governor General's 
 communication. 
 
 The fort in which Cheit Singh was confined must, 
 originally, have been a very strong place, capable of 
 making a strong resistance, in case of an attack. It 
 stands upon the banks of the Ganges, and, as seen 
 from the river, has an appearance of great solidity. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 205 
 
 Its high, walls and buttresses are built with such com- 
 pactness and strength, that, even now, not a trace of 
 decay is noticeable in them; and they possess, more- 
 over, all the freshness of new-built structures. In the 
 direction of the city the fort is almost contiguous to 
 a multitude of houses, the interval being but slight. 
 The interior of the fort is spacious, and is sufficient 
 to accommodate a large body of men. The two com- 
 panies of sepoys who had charge of the Eaja were 
 quartered within the walls, a circumstance which, 
 seeing that they were in possession of the fort, 
 would have mattered little, had they had sufficient am- 
 munition with which to defend themselves. Strange 
 to say, these troops had been dispatched through a 
 hostile city, on a most perilous errand, without am- 
 munition. It is impossible to comprehend the cause 
 of such astounding and culpable neglect. There is 
 reason for believing that the Eaja's followers were 
 acquainted with this circumstance, and, consequently, 
 hastily formed their plans for surprising the garrison 
 and rescuing the Eaja. In the afternoon, intelligence 
 reached the Governor General, that large bodies of 
 armed men were crossing the river from Eamnagar, 
 another fort belonging to Cheit Singh, situated on 
 the opposite side of the river, but lower down. The 
 apartments which the Eaja was at this time occupy- 
 ing opened on a small square, in which the troops 
 were stationed. Another detachment of sepoys was 
 dispatched "with ammunition, to reinforce and sup- 
 port the first party. When the latter arrived at the 
 Eaja's house, they found it surrounded, and all the 
 
206 
 
 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 avenues blockaded by a multitude of armed men, who 
 opposed their passage. The minds of this tumultuous 
 assembly becoming soon inflamed, some of them began 
 to fire upon the sepoys within the square; and, im- 
 mediately, as if this had been the concerted signal, 
 made an instantaneous and fierce attack on the sepoys, 
 who, wanting their accustomed means of defence, were 
 capable of making but a feeble resistance, and fell an 
 easy sacrifice to the superior numbers of their assail- 
 ants, who cut almost every man of the unfortunate 
 party to pieces. The officers, it is supposed, were the 
 first victims to their fury, but not until they had, 
 by astonishing efforts of bravery, and undismayed 
 amidst the imminent dangers which surrounded them, 
 involved a much superior number of their enemies in 
 their fate. In the midst of this confusion, the Eaja 
 found means to escape through a wicket which opened 
 to the river; and, the banks being exceedingly steep 
 in that place, he let himself down, by turbans tied 
 together, into a boat, which was waiting for him, and 
 conveyed him to the opposite shore. Those who had 
 effected his escape followed him across the river, in the 
 same tumultuous manner in which they had assembled, 
 leaving the party of our sepoys which had arrived, in 
 possession of the house. On the first intelligence of 
 this commotion, I had directed Major Popham to repair 
 immediately to his camp, which was about two miles 
 from the Eesident's, and at the same distance from 
 the Eaja's house, and to march instantly, with the 
 remainder of his detachment, to the support of the 
 party. The order was executed with all possible ex- 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 207 
 
 pedition; but Major Popham arrived too late, and had 
 the mortification to be a spectator of the effects of a 
 massacre which he could neither prevent nor revenge." ^ 
 In this massacre no less than two hundred and five 
 persons were either killed or wounded. On the upper 
 part of the northern wall of the fortress are five small 
 windows, or wickets, in a row, from one of which, — but 
 which one I was unable to learn, — Eaja Cheit Singh 
 escaped. In the dry season the wall stands at some 
 distance from the bed of the river; but in the rains 
 the stream reaches the wall, and rises to a consider- 
 able height above its foundations. As it was the middle 
 of the rainy season when the Eaja escaped, he could 
 hav-e found no difficulty whatever in dropping down 
 from the wicket into a boat below. On the west side 
 of the small square, which was occupied by the un- 
 fortunate troops, the pinnacles of eleven temples are 
 seen. These were, doubtless, frequented by Cheit 
 Singh's family, but are now employed as store- 
 houses by the Mohammedans residing in the fort. 
 Temples, also, are found in other places in the interior 
 of the fort; but in none of them, I believe, is any 
 religious , service ever performed. The entire building 
 is the property of the Government, and is inhabited 
 by a branch of the old Taimur family, the head of 
 which was the late king of Delhi. These Delhi princes 
 have resided in Benares for years past, and are per- 
 mitted to occupy the extensive range of buildings 
 formerly known as Cheit Singh's fort. In the recent 
 rebellion they remained faithful to the British Govern- 
 
 ' Insurrection in Benares, pp. 24, 25, 
 
208 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESEKT, 
 
 ment, and have, consequently, been saved from the ruin 
 which has involved the other branches of the family. 
 
 The situation of Warren Hastings, at the time of the 
 flight of Cheit Singh, was perilous to the last degree. 
 He had, as before remarked, made Madhodas' garden 
 his head-quarters. This was a quadrangle surrounded 
 by high walls, and containing several separate build- 
 ings, which are still standing, but in a dilapidated 
 state. The garden is in the suburbs of the city, on 
 its western side, and is encompassed by houses on all 
 sides. It was never intended for defensive purposes; 
 and the walls which surround it could never have been 
 able to resist a determined attack made by a numerous 
 foe. Warren Hastings says: "If Cheit Singh's pedple, 
 after they had effected his rescue, had proceeded to my 
 quarters, at Mahadew Dass's garden, instead of crowd- 
 ing after him in a tumultuous manner, as they did, in 
 his passage over the river, it is most probable that my 
 blood, and that of about thirty English gentlemen of 
 my party, would have been added to the recent carnage ; 
 for they were above two thousand in number, furious 
 and daring from the easy success of their last attempt; 
 nor could I assemble more than fifty regular and armed 
 sepoys for my whole defence." It is a wonder that 
 the inhabitants of the city did not rise and invest the 
 garden ; for they might easily have done so, and have 
 slain every man in it. The Governor General remained 
 in this garden for several days ; but his position, instead 
 of improving, became more critical. The Eaja had, 
 first of all, entered his fort at Eamnagar, but, subse- 
 quently, quitted it, and proceeded to another fort, at 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 209 
 
 Latifpur, leaving a strong force behind Mm. Unfor- 
 tunately, the troops sent from Chunar against the for- 
 tress of Eamnagar became prematurely engaged with 
 the enemy, and, after a loss of one hundred and seven 
 killed and seventy-two wounded, were obliged to beat a 
 retreat. 
 
 This was a most disastrous circumstance at such a 
 time, for it damaged greatly the already waning prestige 
 of the British arms in these parts. The enemy were 
 rendered enthusiastic and daring by it, and began to 
 assume the offensive. Intelligence reached Warren 
 Hastings of a plan they had formed to cross the river 
 on the night of the 20th of August, and to attack 
 him' at his quarters, in Madhodas's garden. He thus 
 describes the difficulties in which he was placed : — 
 "Successive notices," he says, "were brought to me, 
 by various channels, of preparations making at Eam- 
 nagar for an assault on my quarters, which stood in 
 the midst of the suburbs of Benares, and consisted of 
 many detached buildings within one large enclosure, 
 surrounded by houses and trees, which intercepted every 
 other prospect. The whole force which I had left 
 amounted to about four hundred and fifty men. The 
 reports of an intended assault, which was fixed for 
 that night, grew stronger, as the day advanced ; the 
 boats on the other side of the river were seen to be 
 in motion ; and, besides the moral certainty of the 
 real existence of such a design, the obvious advantages 
 which it presented to the enemy, who had nothing left 
 to fear, and nothing else to do, precluded all hesitation 
 but on the choice of expedients for defeating it. There 
 
 u 
 
210 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT 
 
 were but two, whicli were, to wait the danger and try • 
 the chance of repelling it, or to retreat to a place of 
 greater security, or of equal advantage for the en- 
 counter. The confined state of the place, of which 
 any description will be insufficient to convey an ade- 
 quate idea, rendered the first plan impracticable. We 
 had not a force sufficient to guard all the defences of 
 that place, nor a store for the provisions of a day, 
 even of that small number. The only arguments for 
 it were the disgrace of a flight, and the consideration 
 of our wounded sepoys, whom it might leave at the 
 discretion of a merciless enemy. The former consider- 
 ation yielded to the superior might of necessity ; the 
 latter, to the impossibility of protecting the wounded 
 men in either case, as they were quartered at a distance 
 of near a mile from Mahadew Dass's garden ; nor would 
 it have been possible, in their condition, and in the 
 multiplicity of pressing exigencies which the resolution 
 to remain would have created, to remove them. Yet 
 these considerations held me suspended during the whole 
 course of the day. In the evening it became necessary 
 to come to a final determination, as the delay of a 
 few hours might now preclude every option." After 
 consulting with several officers of the army who were 
 there with him, the Governor General concluded that 
 the safest and wisest policy would be for himself and 
 the entire European community in Benares to retire 
 from the city to the fort of Chunar. " My resolution," 
 he says, "was taken and declared, and orders given 
 to form our little corps, that we might have time to 
 gaia the open country before the enemy, having notice 
 
BENAEE8, PAST AND PEBSENT. 211 
 
 of the design, could cross and attack us at tlie dis- 
 advantage of the streets, lanes, and broken ground, 
 which we had to pass before we could reach it. These 
 orders were issued between seven and eight o'clock; 
 and, by eight, the line was in motion, having been 
 much retarded and impeded by an incredible tumult 
 of servants, palanquins, and baggage of every denomi- 
 nation, which, for a time, threatened a total destruction 
 to our march, fortunately, the enormous mass took 
 the wrong road, which left the right with a free and 
 undisturbed passage for the sepoys." ' On the follow- 
 ing morning all the party arrived safely at Chunar. 
 
 The evacuation of Benares by the English, as was 
 anticipated, did not fail to exercise an immediate in- 
 fluence on the surrounding country. Half Oude was 
 in insurrection; and many of the Zemindars of Behar 
 were disaffected. Had not a strong blow been quickly 
 struck, or had Warren Hastings been less sagacious and 
 firm, England would speedily have lost her hold of all 
 the provinces lying to the north-west of Bengal Proper. 
 But his dauntless spirit was fully equal to the emer- 
 gency ; and, by the end of September, he had defeated 
 the Eaja's troops, had captured several of his forts, and 
 had returned to his old quarters in Madhodas's garden 
 at Benares. The excitement of the people in this and 
 the neighbouring provinces subsided even more rapidly 
 than it had arisen. " The allegiance of the whole 
 country," he enthusiastically remarks, " was restored 
 as completely, in the course of a few hours, from a 
 state of universal revolt to its proper channel, as if it 
 ^ Insurrection in Benares, p. 32. 
 
212 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 had never departed from it." Eaja Cheit Singli, having 
 rebelled against the Indian Grovernment, and, having 
 been guilty of the "deliberate murder of our soldiers, 
 and even defenceless passengers " who had the mis- 
 fortune to fall into his hands, was declared to have 
 forfeited his right to the estates he formerly possessed. 
 These estates, with the title of Eaja, were presented 
 to his nephew, Babu Mahipnarain, grandson of Eaja 
 Balwant Singh. This Eaja's daughter was wife of Babu 
 Durgbijay Singh, from whom the present Maharaja is 
 descended. 
 
213 
 
 CHAPTEE XYII. 
 
 Hindu and Mohammedan MeMs or Religious Festivals held periodically 
 
 in Benares. 
 
 Eestivals, or melds, as they are commonly called, are 
 very numerous in all parts of India, and present a pecu- 
 liar phase of the social life of the people, such as is rarely 
 found in civilized countries. They are more or less con- 
 nected with religion ; and their origin can be, in every 
 case, traced to certain religious ceremonies performed, 
 or said to have been performed, in some sacred locality, 
 as on the banks of a river, or near a holy vrell or tank, 
 once famous for the exploits of their deified heroes or 
 gods. At the same time, many of them have a secular 
 end, in addition to their religious character, and are 
 held as much for amusement and trade as for graver 
 purposes. They are, in fact, fairs ; and, in some in- 
 stances, they are of prodigious extent. 
 
 The word meld signifies a concourse or assemblage 
 of persons, and is derived from the Sanskrit root mil, 
 meaning ' to meet,' ' to congregate.' A meld is of two 
 kinds : that at which religion and amusement are com- 
 bined, and that which is simply and solely devoted to 
 religion. To the former the people go gaily dressed; 
 but they are present at the latter in their ordinary 
 
214 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 costume. The first kind of meld may be divided into 
 two classes, namely, that which is of a moral tendency, 
 and is frequented by persons of respectability, and that 
 which is notoriously immoral, and visited by only the 
 loose and licentious. The mela of the second order, 
 although professedly purely religious, must, on account 
 of the opportunities for vice which it occasionally fur- 
 nishes, be regarded as immoral, so far as its neces- 
 sary connexion with vice is concerned. For instance, 
 at the Panch-Ganga Mela, in the month of Eartik, men 
 and women bathe promiscuously in the Ganges. The 
 Mohammedans also have their melds, but to a limited 
 extent as compared with the Hindu population. 
 
 I shall now give a list of the Hindu and Moham- 
 medan melds held in Benares, with a few circumstances 
 of interest connected with each of them. The great 
 Mohurram Festival of the Mohammedans, not being 
 peculiar to Benares or even to India, I shall omit al- 
 together. 
 
 1. The Navaratri Mela, held at Durga Eund during 
 the first nine days of the month of Chait. Hindus, 
 both male and female, visit the temple of Durga from 
 about 3 o'clock in the morning. On the 7th and 8th 
 days, the crowd of votaries increases to upwards of ten 
 thousand. At this festival thousands of sheep and goats 
 are offered in sacrifice. The worshippers visit not only 
 this shrine, but also the temples of Annpurna, Sankata, 
 and Bageswari. 
 
 2. The Gau-gaur Mela, held at Edjmandira Ghat, on 
 the 3rd day of Chait. This festival is celebrated by 
 Marwadis and Deswalis (people from the territory of 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEBSENT. 215 
 
 Jeypore). In the evening, persons of both sexes as- 
 semble at the ghat ; and some put oflf into the stream, 
 in boats, in order to witness the procession of a Hindu 
 idol. 
 
 3. The Eam-naumi Mela, held at the Earn Ghat, on 
 the 9th day of Chait. In the early morning, Hindus 
 of the higher and middle classes, male and female, 
 bathe together at the ghat, and worship Eam in the 
 neighbouring temple. Eespectable women, on these 
 occasions, are apt to be molested by evil-disposed per- 
 sons who loiter about the spot. 
 
 4. The Narsihh Chaudas Mela, held in the Bara 
 Ganes Mahalla, on the 14th day of Baisakh. This 
 meld is in honour of Narsihh, the fourth incarnation 
 of Yishnu. The people fast during the day, and, in 
 the evening, assemble in this Mahalla or Ward, to 
 witness the dramatic performance of the destruction or 
 tearing to pieces of Hiranyakasipu by Narsihh. 
 
 5. The Gazi-miyah Mela, held at the Gazi Miyah Dar- 
 gah, Bakariya Kund, on the 1st Sunday in Jeth. This 
 is a Mohammedan festival, celebrated in honour of the 
 nephew of the celebrated Sultan Mahmud of Ghizni. 
 This monarch sent his brother-in-law, Salar Sahu, on a 
 mission into India. On the journey, his wife, Satar-i- 
 Mualla, gave birth to a son, in the city of Ajmere, 
 A.D. 1002, This child was called Salar Masaud; and, 
 being unfortunately killed in battle with the Hindus, 
 in his ninteenth year, was buried in Baraitch, in Oudh, 
 where the battle had been fought. As he was con- 
 sidered a martyr to the Mohammedan faith, after his 
 death, he was spoken of as Sultan-us-Shuhada, chief of 
 
216 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT 
 
 Martyrs ; and Sultan Gazi, chief of knights of religion. 
 In the neighbourhood of Delhi, he is also known by 
 the appellation of Pir Alim, Saint Alim. Pilgrimages 
 are made to his tomb every year. In Benares, thou- 
 sands of persons of the lower classes of native society, 
 Hindus and Mohammedans of both sexes, resort to the 
 Dargah of Gazi Miyah, the latter word being added to 
 the name of Gazi, as an epithet of respect. There 
 multitudes of singers, called dafdlis, are seated under 
 hundreds of standards erected for the occasion, and 
 sing the exploits of the martyr. Their songs produce 
 a singular effect upon the female listeners ; as some of 
 them spread out their hair, and turn their heads in a 
 violent manner, so as to appear to be under the in- 
 fluence of a supernatural power. Whatever words are 
 uttered while they are in this state, are received as 
 an oracular message. This festival is one of the most 
 immoral held in Benares, Indeed, the flagrant licen- 
 tiousness practised at Bakariya Kund, close by, is a 
 scandal to the city, and demands the interference of 
 the magistrate. The festival terminates with the flying 
 of kites. In the morning, the people assemble, for this 
 purpose, in the vicinity of the Dargah ; and, in the 
 evening, at Marhiya Ghat, on the banks of the Barna. 
 
 6. The Ganga-Saptami Mela, held on the banks of 
 the Ganges, on the 7th day of Jeth. This day is 
 regarded, by Hindus, as the birthday of the goddess 
 of the Ganges, who is said to have sprung out of 
 the thigh of Jahnu Eishi. Formerly, the idol repre- 
 senting the goddess was simply worshipped; but, of 
 late years, a meld has been held, accompanied with 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 217 
 
 the ndch or dancing. At night thousands of persons 
 assemble to take part in the festivities. 
 
 7. The Dasahra Mela, held on the banks of the 
 Ganges, on the 10th day of Jeth, light fortnight ; on 
 which day the birth of the river Ganga or Ganges is be- 
 lieved to have occured. Hindus, both male and female, 
 bathe in the river, and give alms to the Brahmans. A 
 curious custom prevails amongst the young girls of the 
 middle classes, who, on this day, float their guriyds or 
 dolls on the river, and, for the next four months, re- 
 frain, not only from amusing themselves with them, but 
 also from the use of all playthings. 
 
 8. The Nirjala Ekadasi Mela, held on the banks of 
 the Ganges, on the 11th day of Jeth. Tradition affirms 
 that Bhim, one of the five Pandav brothers, whose 
 wonderful story is told in the Mahdhhdrata^ resolved 
 to fast on this day, but, after mid-day, fainted from 
 hunger and thirst; whereupon his friends threw him 
 into the water, to bring him to his senses. Ever since 
 this event the Hindus have observed the day by bath- 
 ing in the Ganges in the evening. After ablution, their 
 bodies are besmeared with chandan or powdered sandal- 
 wood. Hence, the day is called Chandan Ekadasi. 
 Formerly, at this festival, residents of different wards 
 of the city used to swim across the Ganges, and engage 
 in sham fights ; but the custom has been discontinued. 
 
 9. The Asnan Jatra Mela, held at Asi Ghat, at the 
 temple of Jagannath, on the J 6th day of Jeth. The 
 image of Jagannath is bathed on this day, and towards 
 evening is exhibited to his votaries, on the terrace of the 
 temple. This meld is less frequented than in former times. 
 
218 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 10. The Eath-Jatra Mela, held in the garden of 
 Pandit Beni Earn, on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days of 
 Asarh. The idol of Jagannath is brought out of the 
 temple at Asi Ghat, and placed upon a rath or car, — a 
 peculiar vehicle, with a large number of wheels, — for 
 three successive days, in imitation of the grand festival 
 that takes place at the temple of Jagannath, in Orissa. 
 Throngs of people of all classes attend this meld; and 
 on the third day as many as thirty thousand persons 
 are supposed to be present. 
 
 11. The Batasparikhsha Mela, held at Chaukha Ghat, 
 on the 15th day of Asarh. On this day Hindus 
 worship their Gurus or spiritual teachers ; hence it is 
 called Guru-purnima. In earlier days astrologers 
 were accustomed to meet at the ghat on the evening 
 of this day, for the purpose of ascertaining the direc- 
 tion of the wind, and of prophesying, in accordance 
 therewith, respecting the nature of the approaching 
 harvest, rainy season, and so forth. This folly, how- 
 ever, has been abandoned, thanks to Christianity and 
 education. 
 
 12. The Sankudhara Mela, held at the Sankudhara 
 Tank, which is also called the Dwaraka-tirth or place 
 of pilgrimage. According to the Kdsi-khanda, it is 
 esteemed a sacred act to bathe in this tank on this 
 day. Formerly, the native aristocacy used to assemble 
 here, in the garden of Champat Eai Amin, in order 
 to witness the ndch or dancing ; but this custom seems 
 to have been discontinued. Indeed, the meld itself is 
 now in a state of decline. 
 
 13. The Briddhkal Mela, held in the Briddhkal Ma- 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 219- 
 
 halla or ward, near the temple of the same name, every 
 Sunday in the month of Sawan. In one of the nu- 
 merous courts of the temple is a well in which is a 
 mineral spring, an account of which, written by Mr. 
 James Prinsep, is found in the Asiatic Researches. The 
 reason assigned by the Hindus for the medicinal virtues 
 of the well is curious. It is said that Dhanwantari, 
 a great Hindn physician of antiquity, threw his medi- 
 cine bag into the spring ; hence the healing virtues 
 which it is believed to have acquired. The water is 
 used by the natives both for bathing and drinking, 
 as a remedy for diseases of all kinds, but especially 
 for those affecting the skia. Near the well is a reser- 
 voir, a few feet deep, of dirty and refuse water, called 
 Amrit Kund or "Well of Immortality. This is also 
 held to be of great virtue in removing cutaneous dis- 
 eases of a contagious character, and likewise leprosy. 
 Sick persons, first of all, bathe in the filthy water of 
 this reservoir, and afterwards wash their bodies with 
 the water of the well. 
 
 14. The Durga Mela, held at Durga Kund or Tank, 
 every Tuesday in Sawan. Durga- Kund and the temple 
 being in the suburbs of the city, with many spacious 
 gardens in their vicinity, the people , avail themselves 
 of this meld, which occurs at the commencement of 
 the rainy season, to visit the gardens and enjoy them- 
 selves. Upwards of thirty thousand persons are present 
 on the last Tuesday of the month. 
 
 15. The Fatima Mela, held at the Dargah of Fatima, 
 every Thursday in Sawan. The Mohammedans have 
 instituted this festival in imitation of the Hindus. 
 
220 BENAEES, PAST AJTD PRESENT. 
 
 Dancing girls, from the city, appear in their gay dresses 
 and brilliant jewels; and, consequently, the place is, 
 for the most part, the resort of persons of voluptuous 
 habits. Indeed, persons of respectable character will 
 take care not to be found there. 
 
 16. The Nag-Panchami Mela, held at Nag Kuan or 
 Serpent's Well, on the fifth day of Sawan. This well is 
 spoken of, in Hindu writings, as Karkotak Nag Tirth or 
 Place of Pilgrimage. Hindus of all ranks, and of both 
 sexes, attend the meld, and bathe in the well, returning 
 quickly to their homes ; and only persons of loose 
 character prolong their stay. As snakes increase in 
 this season, and as Nag is regarded as the serpent- 
 god, the people worship him as a security against snake- 
 bites. It is common to purchase idols representing 
 this deity, and to carry them home for worship. In 
 the evening of the day, cowherds, or people of the 
 Ahir caste, assemble together in various places, for 
 wrestling and other sports. 
 
 IV. The Kajri Meld, held at S'ankudhara, and also 
 at Iswar-gangi, on the 3rd day of Bhadon. This festi- 
 val is said to have originated with a Eaja of Eantit, 
 in the district of Mirzapore, who established it for the 
 benefit of women, that they might have a meld especially 
 their own. There is a song called Kajri, which is com- 
 monly sung during the months of Sawan and Bha- 
 don. At this meld women fast, and bathe in groups, in 
 places of reputed sanctity. Gangs of Gunahris, female 
 singers of a very low and abandoned character, visit 
 Sankudhara and Iswar-gangi, singing Kajri songs to 
 the bathers. Men of the same vicious tastes also 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 221 
 
 resort to the same places, and listen to the songs, and 
 pay the Gunahris money. People of reputation do 
 not go to this meld. 
 
 18. The Dhela Chauth Mela, held at Bara Ganes, on 
 the 4th day of Bhadon. The Hindus fast on this day, 
 in honour of the god Ganes, and visit his temple in 
 crowds. The origin of the meld is as follows. It is 
 a current belief, among the natives, that whoever, on 
 the evening of this day, looks up at the moon, will 
 assuredly be charged with a false accusation in the 
 course of the year; and the only way to be delivered 
 from this prospective ignominy is for the person who 
 has, unfortunately, looked at the moon, to be abused 
 and in some way dishonoured on this day. It was, at 
 one time, the custom for people in this predicament 
 to invite anybody they could procure to throw dheld or 
 stones at their houses. Vagabonds of the city used 
 to take advantage of this custom, by amusing themselves 
 with throwing large stones at people's houses ; but this 
 has been partially, though not entirely, stopped by 
 the police. 
 
 19. The Lolarik Chhath Mela, held at the Lolarik 
 "Well, near Asi Sangam, on the 6th day of Bhadon. 
 Hindus of both sexes bathe in the well on this day, 
 in honour of the Sun. The Gunahris visit this place, 
 as at the Eajri meld ; and, hence, this festival is rather 
 a concourse of dissolute persons. 
 
 20. The Bawan-dwadasi Mela, held at Chitrkot and 
 Barna Sangam, on the 12th day of Bhadoii. Hindus, 
 male and female, resort to the confluence of the Barna 
 and the Ganges in the morning; and in the evening, 
 
222 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 those of the male sex go to Chitrkot, to witness the 
 dramatic performance of the Bawan Avatar or Dwarf 
 Incarnation of Vishnu. 
 
 21. The Anant Chaudas Mela, held at Eamnagar, on 
 the 14th day of Bhadoii. This is a private fast day. 
 On this day the great festival of the Earn Lila begins 
 at Eamnagar. 
 
 22. The Suraya Mela, held at Lakshmi Kund or Tank, 
 from the 8th of Bhadoh Sudi to the 8th day of the 
 waning moon of Kuar, and kept up, therefore, for six- 
 teen days. Hindus, especially females, bathe in Lakshmi 
 Kund, and visit the temple of Lakshmi, goddess of 
 wealth. On the last day of the meld thousands throng 
 the temple from morning to night. 
 
 23. The Eam Lila Mela, held at Chitrkot, and in 
 many other places, from the 8th day of the waning 
 moon of Kuar to the 15th day of Kuar Sudi. This 
 festival consists of a public dramatic exhibition of the 
 exploits of Eam. Chitrkot is the most ancient place in 
 the city in which it is held; but various wealthy natives, 
 and, especially, the Maharaja of Benares, gratify them- 
 selves, and, at the same time, indulge the populace, by 
 giving similar entertainments at their own expense. At 
 one, and, perhaps, more of these places, the Rdmdyana, 
 which gives a long and detailed account of Eam's 
 achievements, is publicly read from the beginning to 
 the end. Figures of Earn, his friends, and adversaries, 
 dressed up fantastically, take part in the exhibition, 
 and are made to fight together, until the enemies of 
 Eam are mutilated and dishonoured, and, at length, 
 utterly destroyed. The festival of the Earn Lila is, 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 223 
 
 perhaps, the most popular and most numerously at- 
 tended of any held in Benares. There is a great deal 
 of barbaric pomp and oriental splendour connected with 
 it; and native gentlemen vie with each other in the 
 amount of tinsel and tawdry they can display. On that 
 day of the festival, — namely, the 10th day of Kuar 
 Sudi, on which the Dasahra or Bijai Dasami meld is 
 held at Chaukha Ghat, when Earn fights with Eavana, 
 and the latter is killed, — an immense crowd, estimated 
 at upwards of thirty thousand persons, is present. On 
 leaving for their homes, the people carry away, as spoils 
 from Lanka, of which island Eavana was formerly the 
 king, a small quantity of earth, picked up at Chaukha 
 Ghat, deeming it to be gold, of which, in common be- 
 lief, the island was entirely composed. The Sami tree 
 is worshipped on this day ; and it is considered a good 
 omen to catch sight of a nilkanth or blue jay. 
 
 24. The Durga Mela, held by the Bengalis of Benares 
 from the 1st to the 3rd day of Kuar Sudi. During 
 these days, large numbers of the Bengali population 
 make idols of the goddess Durga, and then worship 
 them. On the day called Dasami, there is a procession 
 of idols at the Dasasamedh Ghat, in the presence of 
 thousands of persons, which are all, at length,- thrown 
 in the Ganges by their Bengali masters. 
 
 25. The Dhan Teras Mela, held at Thatheri Bazar and 
 Chaukhambha, on the 13th day of the waning moon 
 of Eartik. On this day the people, especially bankers, 
 worship Dhan or Wealth, at night. In the shops of the 
 Thatheri Bazar, or the bazar in which metal pots and 
 pans are sold, there is a great display of vessels of 
 
224 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 brass, copper, and other metals. Moreover, the shops 
 
 are illuminated. In the bazar of Chaukhambha, the 
 
 shopkeepers make an exhibition of earthen images. It 
 
 I is customary, on this day, for the richer classes in the 
 
 I city to purchase metal vessels in the Thatheri Bazar. 
 
 26. The Anark-Chaudas Mela, held at Mir Ghat, and 
 in the Bhadaini Ward, in the month of Kartik, on the 
 14th day of the decline of the moon. On this night, 
 the Monkey-god, Hanuman, is believed to have been 
 born. About three o'clock on the following morning, 
 Hindus rub scented oil and other perfumes on their 
 bodies, and bathe in warm water, with certain religious 
 ceremonies, which they imagine to be a preservative 
 from disease during the coming year. At sunrise, 
 newly clad in their winter clothing, they proceed to 
 the shrines of Hanuman, at the two places above re- 
 ferred to. 
 
 27. The Diwali Mela, held throughout the city, on 
 the 15 th day of the waning moon in Kartik. This is 
 a day of great and general rejoicing with the Hindus, 
 in which the Mohammedans, also, to some extent, parti- 
 cipate. The whole city is illuminated; and even the 
 poorest man lights his little chirdg or tiny lamp, and 
 places it before his door. The wells, and temples, and 
 idols, and, indeed, every spot of any interest at all to 
 the natives, is decorated with one or more of these 
 lamps. Sweetmeats and parched grain are distributed 
 amongst friends, and are given to the poor. The festival 
 is in honour of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. During 
 the night of the Diwali, it is the custom with all the 
 people, high and low, and of every caste, to gamble; 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 225 
 
 and many persons who will not gamble at any other 
 time will do so at this season. The custom has a most 
 demoralizing and vicious influence on the minds of the 
 people generally. 
 
 28. The Yamadwitiya (vulgarly, Jamditiya) Mela, held 
 at Jam Ghat, on the 2nd day of Kartik, light fortnight. 
 This festival has reference to the mutual attachment of 
 Yama and his sister Yami ; and, accordingly, brothers, 
 on this day, receive from their sisters the tilah or re- 
 ligious symbol affixed to the forehead, and join in their 
 entertainments, hoping thereby to escape the miseries of 
 hell. They first bathe in the Ganges at Jam Ghat, and 
 then dine at the houses of their sisters, giving them 
 presents in return. To bathe in the river Jumna on 
 this day is, also, believed to have the same effect of 
 delivering from future punishment. 
 
 29. The Kartik Piirnima Mela, held at the Panch 
 Ganga Ghat, on the last day of Kartik. During the 
 whole of this month it is regarded as specially meri- 
 torious to bathe at this ghat every morning at sunrise. 
 On the last day multitudes bathe here ; and, in the 
 evening, the ghat is illuminated. Formerly pugilis- 
 tic combats used to take place; but they have now 
 ceased. 
 
 30. The Barna Piyala Mela, held at Chaukha Ghat 
 and S'ivapur, on the 1st Tuesday or Saturday of Aghan. 
 People of the lower castes resort to Chaukha Ghat, 
 and there offer wine or sherbet, mixed with Ihdng^ — a 
 highly intoxicating drug much eaten by the Brahmans, 
 — in honour of Kalka and Sahja, the former being a 
 Brahman woman, and the latter a chamdyin, or woman of 
 
 15 
 
226 BENAEES, PAST AJ^D PRESENT. 
 
 the sweeper caste. They then proceed to the village of 
 S^ivapur, and spend the day in revelry, returning home 
 ; on the following morning. 
 
 31. The Panchkosi Mela, held at S'ivapur on the 7th 
 and 8th of the declining moon in Aghan. The pilgrim- 
 age along the Panchkosi road, or sacred boundary of 
 Benares, occupies five days. On the fourth day, when 
 the procession reaches Sivapur, people from the city go 
 out to meet the pilgrims at this place, and unite with 
 them in merry-making. 
 
 32. The Lota-bhanta Mela, held at Pisachmochan, 
 on the 14th day of Aghan. Many persons from the 
 city and from the neighbouring villages, of both sexes, 
 bathe together in the Pisachmochan Tank, in the 
 morning. Afterwards they remain there for some 
 hours, make bread or cakes, which they cook and eat 
 with roasted Bhanta or the egg-plant, which abounds 
 at this season. By way of ridicule, the meld was origi- 
 nally called Botd-bhantd, in allusion to the bread (roti) 
 and bhantd which are eaten there; but the name has 
 latterly been changed to Lotd-bhanfd, in allusion, I sup- 
 pose, to the lotd or drinking vessel used on the occasion. 
 Persons of respectability visit the Taak on the 14th of 
 the light fortnight of the month Pus, and again on the 
 14th of the waning moon of the same month, for the 
 performance of religious ceremonies. 
 
 33. The Nagarpradakshana Mela, held at Chaukha 
 Ghat and Barhiya Tank, on the 15th day of Aghan. 
 This consists of a pilgrimage round the city, performed 
 in two days, on the first of which the pilgrims stay at 
 Chaukha Ghat. Formerly a set of licentious vagabonds 
 
227 
 
 used to perform the Krishna Lila here, but the abomin- 
 able practice is now discontinued. 
 
 34. The Ganes Chauth Mela, held at Bara Ganes, on 
 the 4th day of the declining moon in Magh. The 
 temple of Bard Ganes, the god of learning, is visited 
 on this day. It is customary for vidydrthis or young 
 students of Sanskrit, to stand in different parts of the 
 temple from sunrise to sunset, until the rising of the 
 moon, under the belief that praying there in this posture 
 will make themjj,learned. 
 
 35. The Vedavyas Mela, held at the Fort and in the 
 Tank at Eamnagar, on every Monday of Magh. The 
 temple of Yedavyas, the celebrated compiler of the 
 Yedas, is situated within the Maharaja of Benares' Fort 
 at Eamnagar. On this day Hindus from the city wor- 
 ship the idol in the temple, and then bathe in the Tank. 
 The crowd of votaries is greatest on the last Monday of 
 the month. 
 
 36. The S'iva-ratri Mela, held at the Bisheswar and 
 Baijnath Temples, on the 14th day of the declining 
 moon in Phagun, This is a general fast-day in honour 
 of Siva, the chief god of the city. The temples referred 
 to are much crowded with worshippers during the day. 
 
 37. The Holi Mela, held throughout the city, from 
 the 11th to the 15th day of Phagun. This festival 
 is chiefly noted for obscene representations, and the 
 use of abusive language. No woman can venture into 
 the streets, on these days, without being exposed 
 to insult. All classes join in it; and, as the grossly 
 indecent festival is immensely popular in the city, it is 
 very difficult for the Government to interfere beyond 
 
228 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the suppression of licentious pictures, and, to some ex- 
 tent, the general giving of abuse. StiU, I think that 
 public morality loudly demands active and even strin- 
 gent measures on the part of the Government; and I 
 am satisfied that they would meet with the approval 
 of all right-minded natives. On the Purnima, or last 
 day of the month, the people burn the Holika, or piles 
 of wood, in their respective wards, the expense being 
 raised by subscription. No regular meld is held in any 
 one place ; but in every ward there i^ much festivity 
 and merry-making. Many wear coloured clothes, and 
 discharge red water on passers-by. 
 
 38. The Dharaddi Mela, held at Dasasamedh and 
 Chausathi, on the first day of the waning moon in 
 Chait. On this day the people cast upon each other 
 the ashes of the Holika pile burnt on the previous day, 
 and then wash themselves, and change their coloured 
 clothes. Crowds of people, with obscene shows, come 
 in the evening, from opposite directions, to the Dasasa- 
 medh Ghat, where multitudes of natives of all ranks, 
 some on the banks, and others in boats on the river, 
 assemble to witness the immoral spectacle. On re- 
 turning from the ghat, the people visit the shrine of 
 Chausathi Devi or goddess. 
 
 39. The Btirwa-Mangal Mela, held on the river 
 Ganges, the Tuesday after the Holi Festival. For- 
 merly it was customary for Hindus to visit the temple 
 of Durga on the first Tuesday following the Holi ; but 
 Eaja Cheit Singh added to this meld what is called 
 the Burwa Mangal. On this occasion, a very con- 
 siderable portion of the inhabitants of the city spend 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 229 
 
 the night on the river, in large boats, some of which 
 are beautifully decorated, where dancing and singing 
 go on for hours. The scene is exceedingly picturesque ; 
 and its effect is much heightened by the brilliant lights 
 on the large boats. The festival continues till the 
 evening of "Wednesday, and was originally called Bud- 
 dhuwa Mangal (Budh, Wednesday), but is now corrupted 
 into Burwa Mangal. 
 
 40. The Dangal Mela, held at the temple of Jagan- 
 nath and at Eamnagar, on the Thursday following the 
 Burwa Mangal. This, too, is a singing and dancing 
 festival. Singing parties proceed to the temple, ac- 
 companied by crowds of listeners ; and boats, laden 
 with people, attended by singing and dancing girls, 
 row about the river, proceeding as far as Eamnagar. 
 This meld is of recent date. 
 
230 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 The Buddhist Ruins at SSrnith — Their Antiquity. — Summary of the 
 Narratives of Fa Hian and Hiouen Thsang, respecting the buildings 
 formerly existing at S4m4th and in its neighbourhood. — Points of 
 agreement in the Narratives. — Modem Explorers of the Ruins. — Ex- 
 tent and Nature of the Remains. — The Great Tower — Description of 
 it by Major-General Cunningham, and Account of his Excavations. 
 — Age of Buddhist Topes or Towers. — Remains of a Buddhist Mon- 
 astery — Mr. Thomas's Account of them. — Discovery of large num- 
 bers of Statues and Bass-reliefs. — Excavated Chamber. — Foundation 
 of an Ancient Tower — Major-General Cunningham's Description of 
 it. — The Chaukandl Tower. — The I'sipattana Hall, or Abode of Bud- 
 dhist Devotees. — Remains of Vih&ra or Temple-monastery. — Small 
 Building, containing Sixty Sculptures. — The Seal Chaityas. — The 
 Buddhist Formula. — S'&kya Muni, the historical Buddha — His visit 
 to Benares. — Spread of Buddhism from Benares. — Decline of Bud- 
 dhism in India. — Destruction of Buddhist Structures at S4rndth, by 
 fire. — Fall of Buddhism. 
 
 These ruins have, for years, excited much, interest 
 in the public mind, both on account of their antiquity 
 and of their connexion with the Buddhist religion. The 
 latest of them date, perhaps, from about the sixth or 
 seventh century of the present era ; while the earliest 
 may belong to a period several hundred years prior 
 to that. Indeed, it is a historical fact, which admits 
 of no question, that there were buildings in existence 
 on this spot in the first ages of Buddhism ; and, 
 although we can hardly suppose that remains of any 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 231 
 
 of them are still to be found, nevertheless, it is not 
 improbable that portions of edifices erected previously 
 to the Christian era, — such as foundations, walls, and 
 sculptured stones, in a more or less fragmentary state, — 
 are amongst the relics which have been preserved down 
 to our own times. 
 
 Two Chinese pilgrims, Ta Hian and Hiouen Thsang, 
 have thrown considerable light on the condition of 
 Sarnath during the later period of Buddhism. The 
 former visited India in the beginning of the fifth 
 century, a.d, ; and the latter, towards the middle of 
 the seventh. These keen and sagacious observers have 
 left records of their travels in India, of the utmost 
 importance to the historian and antiquarian. Their 
 narratives are, for the most part, plain matter-of-fact 
 productions, free from the haze and uncertainty of 
 Hindu writings; and, wherever they have been tested 
 by extraneous evidence, have been found to be, to a 
 large extent, singularly correct. As great interest 
 attaches to the accounts which they furnish respecting 
 Sarnath and Benares at those epochs, I have given 
 them entire, in appendices to this work. That of Fa 
 Hian I have extracted from " The Pilgrimage of Fa 
 Hian," translated by Mr. J. W. Laidlay, from the 
 French edition of the " Foe Koue Ki " of MM. Eemusat, 
 Klaproth, and Landresse. This is very brief; but the 
 narrative of Hiouen Thsang, od the contrary, is in 
 detail. This I have myself translated from the " Me- 
 moires de Hiouen Thsang," the French version of the 
 original Chinese work, executed by the celebrated Sino- 
 logist M. Stanislas Julien. 
 
232 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Before describing the Buddhist ruins at Samath, I 
 will give a short summary of the buildings existing 
 at the two periods referred to, according to the repre- 
 sentations of those distinguished travellers. Fa Hian 
 says, that, "to the north-west of the town (Benares), 
 at the distance of ten li (less than two miles), you come 
 to the temple situated in the Deer-park of the Im- 
 mortal." He also makes mention of a chapel, which, 
 perhaps, was a small shrine; and 06 four towers, erected 
 on spots celebrated in the life of Buddha, one being 
 that where he delivered his first discourse on the new 
 religion of Buddhism he was then founding. He states, 
 in addition, that there were two seng Ma lan^ or mon- 
 asteries, inhabited by ecclesiastics.^ 
 
 Hiouen Thsang, first of all, furnishes a brief account 
 of the kingdom of Varanasi, or Benares, as it existed 
 in his day, which was, he says, four thousand li, or 
 about six hundred and sixty-seven miles, in circum- 
 ference. It possessed thirty Buddhist monasteries, to 
 which three thousand religious persons, or monks, were 
 attached ; and a hundred Hindu temples, with ten thou- 
 sand heretics, priests, devotees, and others connected 
 with them. The greater portion of the population ad- 
 hered to the Hindu doctrines. In the capital were 
 twenty Hindu temples ; so that the rest must have been 
 scattered over the province : but what proportion of 
 the Buddhist monasteries were there likewise, he does 
 not mention. Towers, with many stories, and magni- 
 ficent chapels, beautifully carved and richly painted, 
 he saw in the city; and, also, a brazen statue of the 
 
 ' See Appendix A. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 233 
 
 Hindu deity Maheswara, nearly a kiandred feet high. 
 To the north-east of Benares, and to the west of the 
 Ganges, — but at what distance he neglects to say, — 
 was a Stupa, or sacred tower, built by Asoka, about 
 a hundred feet in height; and, opposite to it, a stone 
 column, "of blue colour, bright as a mirror." 
 
 About ten U (or one-third less than two miles) to 
 the north-east of the Ganges, was the monastery of 
 the Deer Park (now called Sarnath), divided into eight 
 parts, and entirely surrounded by a wall, within which 
 were balustrades and two-storied palaces, of splendid 
 construction, and a Vikdra, or temple-monastery, two 
 hundred feet in height, surmounted by a huge An-mo- 
 lo (or mango), in embossed gold. The foundations and 
 stairs were of stone. Surrounding the monument were 
 a hundred rows of niches, made of brick, each con- 
 taining a statue of Buddha, in embossed gold. In the 
 midst of the Vihdra was a statue of Buddha, in bronze. 
 To the south-west of this Vihdra was a Stupa, of stone, 
 raised by Asoka ; and, in front of it, a column, seventy 
 feet in height, erected on the spot where Buddha de- 
 livered his first discourse. Near by were seven other 
 Stupas, and, also, a nur^ber of ancient stone seats, fifty 
 paces long, and seven feet high, placed there to com- 
 memorate the site where the four last Buddhas are said 
 to have taken exercise. A statue of Buddha, in the 
 attitude of walking, was likewise to be seen. 
 
 Within the walls of the monastery were a multitude 
 of sacred monuments, including several hundred Vihdras 
 and Stupas. To the west of the walls was a sacred tank, 
 in which Buddha formerly bathed ; a little to the west of 
 
234 BEXAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 that -was another, in which he washed his monk's water- 
 pot ; and, a short distance to the north, was a third, in 
 which he washed his garments. On one side of this 
 last tank was a large square stone, which exhibited, 
 it was believed, the marks of the threads of the 
 Kachdya, or brown vestment, worn by Buddha. Not 
 far from the tanks was a Stupa ; and, near to that, 
 another ; and, further off still, but at no great distance, 
 was one more, situated in the midst of a large forest. 
 
 ITearly half a mile to the south-west of the mon- 
 astery was a large and lofty Stupa, about three hundred 
 feet in height, resplendent with the most rare and 
 precious objects, and surmounted by an arrow. By 
 its side was another Stupa, but of small size. About 
 half a mile to the east of the Deer Park was a Stupa; 
 and, close by, a dry tank, respecting which Hiouen 
 Thsang gives a singular legend. To the west of the 
 tank was the Stupa of the Three Quadrupeds.^ 
 
 The narratives of Fa Hian and Hiouen Thsang strik- 
 ingly agree in two respects. They both state, that, 
 alike where Buddha delivered his first discourse, and 
 where the five hermits came forward and paid him 
 reverence, a Stupa or sacred tower has been erected. 
 It is very probable that they saw the same towers. 
 Indeed, in regard to the first, if any reliance can be 
 placed on the assertion of Hiouen Thsang, that the 
 tower which existed in his day was built by Asoka, 
 the conjecture amounts to an established fact. This 
 tower commemorated a most important circumstance in 
 the history of Buddhism, and was spoken of as one 
 ' See Appendix B. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 235 
 
 of the " eight divine towers ; " all of them having 
 reference to certain leading events in the life of Bud- 
 dha. It might he difficult to point decidedly to any 
 further agreement in the two narratives ; although I 
 am inclined to the belief, that " the temple of the 
 Deer Park," referred to in such a special manner by 
 Fa Hian, was the Vihdra, or temple-monastery, so par- 
 ticularly described and so prominently distinguished by 
 Hiouen Thsang. 
 
 The mystery connected with these ruins, united with 
 the indisputable fact that Buddhism once reigned para- 
 mount in India, and that Benares was long one of 
 its principal seats, has excited the curiosity of multi- 
 tudes of persons who have burned with desire to know 
 the secrets which, it was supposed, were enshrined 
 within them. It is no wonder, therefore, that the ex- 
 cavations which have been carried on at Sarnath, at 
 various times, have been viewed with great interest 
 by the educated portion of Europeans in India. It is 
 to be regretted that their superintendence has occasion- 
 ally fallen into the hands of inexperienced persons — 
 inexperienced, I mean, so far as the ability to decipher 
 inscriptions and intelligently describe what has been 
 from time to time discovered is concerned. The most 
 extensive excavations which have been made were 
 effected under the personal superintendence of Major- 
 General Cunningham and Major Kittoe, who dug out 
 of the ruins an immense number of statues, bass- 
 reliefs, and other curious objects. The former alone, 
 in 1835, found about a hundred statues and bass-re- 
 liefs, all which worth preserving were sent to the 
 
236 
 
 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Museum of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. Mr. E. 
 Thomas (late Judge of Benares), and Dr. E. Hall, 
 also, following iii the track of these great explorers, 
 both made interesting discoTeries. A considerable 
 number of the Sarnath reliea have been- deposited in 
 the Government College of Benares,, and are found 
 both in the Museum and in the College grounds. 
 
 The ruins at Sarnath consist of two towers, — separ- 
 ated by a distance of about half a mile or thereabouts, — 
 and of the walls and foundations of buildings which, 
 for many years, remained covered over with earth, but 
 have been lately exhumed. Moreover,, there is a vast 
 amount of broken bricks lying thickly scattered over 
 the plain, some of which are grooved and carved, while 
 all are hard and well-seasoned. Here and there, too, 
 a statue, more or less mutilated, is to be seen. Wear 
 a stream which flows to the north of the plain,, ia a 
 large stone figure, the base of which is imbedded in 
 the soil. This may have been a representation of 
 Buddha; but it is now worshipped by the Hindus,, 
 who profess to derive great benefit from their homage 
 to it. The figure is so mutilated, that it ia difficult 
 to say what it was originally. 
 
 The account given of the great tower by Major-General 
 Cunningham, in his Archaeological Eeport, printed in 
 the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (vol., 
 xxxii,), is so elaborate and exhaustive, and, withal, so 
 interesting, that, although lengthy, I give the extract 
 almost entire. He says : " The Buddhist Stupa called 
 Dhamek is a solid round tower, ninety-three feet in 
 diameter at base, and one hundred and ten feet in 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 237 
 
 height above the surrounding ruins, but one hundred 
 and twenty-eight feet above the general level of the 
 country. The foundation or basement, which is made 
 of very large bricks, has a depth of twenty-eight feet 
 below the level of the ruins, but is sunk only ten feet 
 below the surface of the country. The lower part of 
 the tower, to a height of forty-three feet, is built en- 
 tirely of stone from one of the Chunar quarries ; and, 
 with the exception of the upper five courses, the whole 
 of this part of the building is a solid mass of stone ; 
 and each stone, even in the very heart of the mass, is 
 secured to its neighbours by iron cramps. The upper 
 part of the tower is built entirely of large bricks ; but, 
 as the outer facing has long ago disappeared, there is 
 nothing now left to show whether it was formerly cased 
 with stone, or only plastered over, and coloured to imi- 
 tate the stone-work of the lower portion. I infer, how- 
 ever, that it was plastered ; because the existing stone- 
 work terminates with the same course all round the 
 building, a length of two hundred and ninety-two feet. 
 Had the upper part been cased with stone, it is scarcely 
 possible that the whole should have disappeared so com- 
 pletely that not even a syigle block out of so many thou- 
 sands should not remain in its original position. In one 
 part I observed some projecting bricks, which appeared 
 very like the remains of a moulding at the base of the 
 dome. On the top I found a small brick cap, eight feet 
 in diameter and only four feet high. Prom its size, I 
 infer that this was the ruin of the base of a small pin- 
 nacle, about ten feet square, which, most probably, once 
 supported a stone umbrella. I infer this, because the 
 
238 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 figures of Buddha, tlie Teacher, are usually represented 
 as seated under an umbrella. 
 
 " The lower part of the monument has eight project- 
 ing faces, each twenty-one feet six inches in width, with 
 intervals of fifteen feet between them. In each of the 
 faces, at a height of twenty-four feet above the ground, 
 there is a semi-circular headed niche, five and a half feet 
 in width, and the same in height. In each of the niches 
 there is a pedestal, one foot in height, and slightly hol- 
 lowed on the top, to receive the base of a statue ; but 
 the statues themselves have long disappeared, and I 
 did not find the fragment of one, in my excavation at 
 the base of the monument. There can be little doubt, 
 however, that all the eight statues represented Buddha, 
 the Preacher, in the usual form, with his hands raised 
 before his breast, and the thumb and forefinger of the 
 right hand placed on the little finger of the left hand, 
 for the purpose of enforcing his argument. Judging by 
 the dimensions of the niches, the statues must have been 
 of life-size. 
 
 " From the level of the base of the niches, the eight 
 projecting faces lessen in width to five feet at the top ; 
 but the diminution is not uniform, as it begins gradually 
 at first, and increases as it approaches the top. The out- 
 line of the slope may have been, possibly, intended for a 
 curve ; but it looks much more like three sides of a large 
 polygon. Around the niches, seven of the faces are 
 more or less richly decorated with a profusion of flower- 
 ing foliage. The carving on some of the faces has been 
 completed ; but, on others, it is little more than half 
 finished, while the south face is altogether plain. On 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 239 
 
 the unfinished faces, portions of the unexecuted orna- 
 mentation may be seen traced in outline by the chisel, 
 which proves, that, in ancient times, the Hindus followed 
 the same practice as at present, of adding the carving 
 after the wall was built. 
 
 " On the western face, the same ornamentation of flow- 
 ing foliage is continued below the niche ; and, in the 
 midst of it, there is a small plain tablet, which can only 
 have been intended for a very short inscription, such, 
 perhaps, as the name of the building. A triple band 
 of ornament, nearly nine feet in depth below the niches, 
 encircles all the rest of the building, both faces and re- 
 cesses. The middle band, which is the broadest, is 
 formed entirely of various geometrical figures, the main 
 lines being deeply cut, and the intervening spaces being 
 filled with various ornaments. On some of the faces, 
 where the spaces between the deeply-cut lines of the 
 ruling figures are left plain, I infer that the work is 
 unfinished. The upper band of ornamentation, which 
 is the narrowest, is, generally, a scroll of the lotus plant, 
 with leaves and buds only ; while the lower band, which 
 is also a lotus scroll, contains the full-blown flowers, as 
 well as the buds. The lotus flower is represented full 
 to the front, on all the sides except the south south-west, 
 where it is shown in a side view with the ChaJcwa or 
 Brahmani goose seated upon it. This, indeed, is the 
 only side on which any animal representations are given; 
 which is the more remarkable, as it is one of the recesses, 
 and not one of the projecting faces. In the middle of 
 the ornament there is a human figure seated on a lotus 
 flower, and holding two branches of the lotus in his 
 
240 
 
 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESEIST. 
 
 hands. On each side of him there are three lotus 
 flowers, of which the four nearer ones support pairs of 
 Brahmani geese; while the two farther ones carry only 
 single birds. Over the nearest pair of geese, on the 
 right hand of the figure, there is a frog. The attitudes 
 of the birds are all good ; and even that of the human 
 figure is easy, although formal. The lotus scroll, with 
 
 Photographed bg B. Tresham, Esq. 
 
 Caeving on the Btjddhist Towee, Saenath. — No. I. 
 
 its flowing lines of graceful stalk, mingled with tender 
 buds, and full blown flowers, and delicate leaves, is very 
 rich and very beautiful. Below the ornamental borders 
 there are three plain projecting bands. 
 
 " The breadth of one projecting face and of one re- 
 cess is thirty-six feet six inches, which, multiplied by 
 
BENARESj PAST AND PRESENT. 241 
 
 eight, give two kundred and ninety-two feet as the cir- 
 cumference, and a trifle less than ninety-three feet as 
 the diameter. 
 
 
 «» 
 
 ^n _ _ • ..^K-ft^fc •»- „, - ^ ■ ■ ' I iif fa U ■ ^ "^ 
 
 Fhotographed by ^, ^, ..., ^„^. 
 
 Caetdtgi. on the Buddhist Towee, SIenAth. — No. II. 
 
 "Near the top of the north-west face there are four 
 projecting stones, placed like steps — that is, they are not 
 immediately over each other; and above them there is 
 a fifth stone, which is pierced with a round hole for the 
 reception of a post, or, more probably, of a flag-staff. 
 The lowest of these stones can only be reached by a 
 ladder; but ladders must have been always available, 
 if, as I suppose, it was customary, on stated occasions, 
 to fix flags and streamers on various parts of the build- 
 ing, in the same manner as is now done in the Buddhist 
 countries of Burmah and Ladak. 
 
 16 
 
242 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 " On the 18th January, 1835, my scaffolding was 
 completed, and I stood on the top of the great tower. 
 On cutting the long grass, I found two iron spikes, each 
 eight inches long, and shaped like the head of a lance. 
 On the following day I removed the ruined brick pin- 
 nacle, and began sinking a shaft or well, about five feet 
 in diameter. At three feet from the top, I found a 
 rough stone, twenty-four inches by fifteen inches by 
 seven inches ; and, on the 25th January, at a depth of 
 ten and a half feet, I found an inscribed slab, twenty- 
 eight inches and three-quarters long, thirteen inches 
 broad, and four inches and three-quarters thick, which 
 is now in the Museum of the Bengal Asiatic Society. 
 The inscription consists of the usual Buddhist formula 
 or profession of faith, beginning with the words, " Ye 
 Dharmmd hetu jpralhavd^'' etc., of which translations 
 have been given by Mill, Hodgson, Wilson, and Bur- 
 nouf. The following is Hodgson's translation, which 
 has received the approval of Bumouf : — " Of all things 
 proceeding from cause, their causes hath the Tathdgata 
 (Buddha) explained. The Great Sramana (Buddha) hath 
 likewise explained the causes of the cessation of exist- 
 ence." The letters of this inscription, which are all 
 beautifully cut, appear to me to be of a somewhat earlier 
 date than the Tibetan alphabet, which is known to have 
 been obtained from India in the middle of the seventh 
 century, I would, therefore, assign the inscription, and, 
 conseqiiently, the completion of the monument, to the 
 sixth century. 
 
 <' On the 22nd January I began to excavate a hori- 
 zontal gallery on the level of the top of the stone-work ; 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 243 
 
 and, on the 14th. of February, at a distance of forty-four 
 feet, the gallery joined the shaft, which had been sunk 
 from above. As I now found that the upper course of 
 stone was only a facing, I sank the gallery itself down 
 to the level of the stone-work, and continued it right 
 through to the opposite side. I thus discovered, that 
 the mass of the inner stone-work was only thirty-three 
 feet in height, while the outer stone-work was forty- 
 three feet. In the middle, however, there was a pillar 
 of stone-work, rising six feet higher than the inner 
 mass. This was, perhaps, used as a point from which 
 to describe the circle with accuracy. Small galleries 
 were also made to reach the tops of the east and west 
 faces ; but nothing was discovered by these works. 
 
 " The labour of sinking the shaft through the solid 
 stone- work was very great, as the stones, which were 
 large (from two to three feet in length, eighteen inches 
 broad, and twelve inches thick), were all secured to 
 each other by iron cramps. Each stone had, usually, 
 eight cramps, four above, and as many below, all of 
 which had to be cut out before it could be moved. 
 I, therefore, sent to Chunar for regular quarry-men, 
 to quarry out the stones; and the work occupied them 
 for several months. At length, at a depth of one hundred 
 and ten feet from the top of the monument, the stone 
 gave place to brick-work, made of very large bricks. 
 Through this the shaft was continued for a further 
 depth of twenty-eight feet, when I reached the plain soil 
 beneath the foundation. Lastly, a gallery was run right 
 through the brick-work of the foundation, immediately 
 below the stone-work, but without yielding any result." 
 
244 
 
 BEIfAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The remark of Major-General Cunningham, that the 
 antiquity of the Buddhist tower may be judged of from 
 its form, is worthy of great attention ; for, if his obser- 
 vations be just, — andj it must be confessed, few men 
 have had the same extensive experience in exploring 
 Buddhist remains in India, — it would be an ascertained 
 fact, that the large tower at Sarnath could not date from 
 earlier, but from later, Buddhist times. The oldest kind 
 of tower, such as those existing at Sanchi and Satdhara, 
 was, he says, "a simple hemisphere." The epoch of these 
 two was, he conjectures, the middle of the sixth century 
 B.C. "The next, in point of antiquity, are the topes 
 (towers) around Bhilsa, which contain the relics of 
 Asoka's missionaries, and of the venerable Mogaliputra, 
 who conducted the proceedings of the Third Synod. 
 In these, which were built in the end of the third 
 century B.C., the dome is raised a few feet above the 
 basement, by a cylindrical plinth. The third class of 
 topes are those represented in the Sanchi bass-reliefs, 
 which date between 19 and 37, a.d. In these, the 
 hemisphere is placed upon a plinth of equal height; 
 so that the centre of the dome is the centre of the 
 whole building. Six representations of this kind 
 of tope occur among the Sanchi bass-reliefs. The 
 topes in Afghanistan are, mostly, of this shape. In 
 the latest topes, — of which Sarnath, near Benares, 
 is a magnificent specimen, — the plinth is equal, in 
 height, to the diameter of the hemisphere. From 
 these remarks it is evident that the age of almost 
 every tope may be obtained, approximately, from its 
 shape ; the most ancient being a simple hemisphere, 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 245 
 
 and the latest, a tall round tower, surmounted by 
 a dome." ^ 
 
 To th.e west of the great tower, and very near to 
 it, are the remains of an old Buddhist monastery, which 
 retreat from it in both a northerly and southerly direc- 
 tion. The excavations here have established the singular 
 fact, that this monastery was partly built upon the 
 foundations of a former edifice. Very little is known 
 respecting this more ancient building. The excavations 
 have been suspended for several years, which is much 
 to be regretted, as the interest attached to this earlier 
 edifice is far greater than any which can possibly be 
 attached to the later one. The excavations, though in- 
 complete, have, nevertheless, been conducted on an 
 extensive scale, and have brought to light some of 
 the chambers, walls, doorways, and foundations of the 
 later monastery, and, also, certain undeniable traces 
 of an earlier edifice. Mr. E. Thomas, in a communi- 
 cation to the Bengal Asiatic Society, in the year 1854, 
 observes, that " the excavations already completed, 
 viewed with reference to the substance of which the 
 covering bodies were severally composed, tends to show, 
 that, previous to the erection of the comparatively 
 modern building with which we are more immediately 
 concerned, and without, at present, adverting to the 
 lower walls, the general line of the original bank sloped 
 from east to west; and that the later monastery was 
 erected on the slope of the shelving bank, forming the 
 westward face of the Kherah, or natural mound, to the 
 extreme eastward of which is situated the celebrated 
 
 » Bhilsa Topes, pp. 177, 178. 
 
246 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 tope, which dates from a far earlier period. The out- 
 line profile, therefore, of that portion of the accumu- 
 lations, which served to fill in the higher, but unequal, 
 line of the broken walls now exposed, formed, by sub- 
 sequent deposits, a mere continuation, to the westward, 
 of that face of the original bank; taking, however, a 
 more gradual slope than the sides of the clean earth 
 mound appear to have done." He also states, that, at 
 the south-east corner of the clearings, "the modern 
 half wall, erected upon the remains of the more ancient 
 edifice, was evidently built into an already existing 
 bank, consisting, at the point of contact, of a debris of 
 broken bricks, etc." In front of the chamber, to the 
 east, he says, "we see traces of a verandah; and, at 
 the north-east corner, we again observe the ancient walls 
 performing the part of foundations for their modern 
 successors. There would seem to have been an outlet 
 from the main square at this point, though, as far as 
 the excavations have yet been extended in this direction, 
 it is difficult to say where this passage led to, inasmuch 
 as, on the east, we encounter a mere retaining wall, 
 supporting a corner of the high bank ; and, on the 
 north, we meet with a singular elbow-shaped superficial 
 continuation of the outer wall of the main building. 
 What this strange angular affair may indicate, or how 
 far it may extend into the bank, must, for the present, 
 be allowed to pass." 
 
 These chambers (Constitute portions of a complete square 
 of the monastery, the outline of which, Mr. Thomas 
 states, has been "preserved, as far as the foundations 
 go, to the outside of the doorway block ; and the line 
 
BEKARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 247 
 
 is further continued through the thick angular wall, 
 at which point the deep foundations cease. Passing 
 hy three ordinary chamhers on the northern face, we 
 come to one of the image-houses. The entrance is from 
 the inner square. The brick and the stone platform 
 may both be supposed to have formed pedestals of erect 
 statues of Buddha. The retreated wall in the corner, 
 between these platforms, combined with the otherwise, 
 apparently, isolated position of the second platform 
 chamber adjoining towards the north, would haye led 
 to the idea that the wall had been pierced for the 
 purpose of communication between one chamber and 
 the other ; but, as far as the standing walls admit of 
 a decision on the point, there certainly was no door- 
 way at this spot, whatever means of oral or ocular 
 communication may have existed in the screen at a 
 higher level. Such portion of the western face of the 
 monastery as has yet been exposed seems to have con- 
 sisted of cells. These bear less traces of fire than 
 those on the opposite side of the square ; but, on the 
 other hand, a much smaller proportion of their walls re- 
 mains standing, seeming as if this side of the building, — 
 situated, as it was, on the more exposed slope of the 
 bank, — was less early inhumed. Indeed, as far as can 
 be seen, the south-west corner has been almost entirely 
 swept away; its surviving portions having been covered 
 in, at a much later period, by the gradual operation of 
 the manufacture of pottery, etc., whose kilns, for the 
 supply of successive generations, have been pushed on 
 in this direction, to meet the prevailing wind. At this 
 corner we again find traces of the verandah of the court; 
 
248 
 
 :benaees, past and present. 
 
 and the centre chamber, on the eonthern aspect, brings 
 us to the shrine. All that now remains is the square 
 elaborately-corniced block in the centre of the chamber, 
 which formed the Sinhasan, or throne, for the seated 
 figure of Buddha. The wall to the rear of the statue 
 rhas been completely destroyed ; but the original opening 
 in front of the Sinhdsan is seen to have been enlarged 
 beyond the breadth of the other doorways, probably 
 to afford a free view of the object of worship, without 
 necessitating too near an approach on the part oi the 
 ordinary votaries." ' 
 
 It has been already remarked, that the excavations 
 have brought to light a large number of statues and 
 bass-reliefs : they amount, in fact, to some hundreds, 
 many of which are representations of Buddha. These 
 figures were, for the most part, discovered in two places, 
 one of which, now that the mound containing them has 
 been removed, is almost on a level with the surface 
 of the ground, and exhibits several circular bases of 
 brick, on which, probably, stone pillars formerly stood. 
 Ajmongst them, occupying a central position, is one 
 much larger and more elevated than the rest, which, it 
 is supposed, constituted the foundation of the Sinhdsan 
 or throne of a gigantic statue of Buddha. The other 
 place is an excavated chamber, in which a large number 
 of images and other ancient remains were discovered. 
 As it is, next to the great tower, perhaps the most re- 
 markable and curious structure here, I shall proceed 
 more particularly to describe it. 
 
 The chamber is circular in form, and is depressed 
 
 ' Bengal Asiatic Journal, for 1854, p. 473. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 249 
 
 about twelve feet below the surrounding soil. It is 
 fifty-seven feet four indbes in diameter, measured three 
 feet from the floor, and is five hundred and twenty feet 
 to the west of the laijge tower. Its enclosing wall is six- 
 teen feet and a half thick, and is composed, throughout, 
 — with a single exception, which will presently be ex- 
 ;plained, — of large Buddhist bricks, placed horizontally, 
 in layers one upon another, and, in no single instance, 
 placed vertically ; the outermost layer abutting on the 
 adjacent soil. Por about two thirds of the distance 
 from the summit to the base, the wall is concave; the 
 rate of curvature being in the proportion of one inch 
 to every five inches and one-third of perpendicular 
 height. Beneath the lowest stratum of bricks in the 
 concave portion is an indurated deposit of small nodes of 
 limestone, six inches in depth ; and below it, again, a 
 thin layer of powdered brick, one inch and a half in 
 thickness. From this point to the floor the wall is 
 perpendicular ; and the upper portion is ornamented with 
 a cornice and moulding. 
 
 The lower division of the wall, when compared with 
 the upper, has a very striking appearance. Its bricks 
 are better burnt, and are larger, some of them being 
 eighteen inches in length, nearly thirteen in breadth, 
 and quite three in thickness ; whereas not one in the 
 upper section can be found of such dimensions. More- 
 over, it has an aspect of higher antiquity; and it is 
 difl&cult to reject the idea that it belongs to a prior 
 era. If this conjecture be true, it must have been a 
 portion of an earlier building, contemporaneous, it may 
 be, with the old edifice lately referred to, a few remains 
 
250 
 
 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of whose -walls have been discovered, forming part of 
 the foundations of the more modern structure, the ruins 
 of which, still visible, have just now been described. 
 Major-General Cunningham's account of his excavations 
 here, and of the views he entertains of the nature of the 
 original buildings situated on this spot, I must trans- 
 cribe, for the completeness of the narrative. It is 
 strange, however, that he has not remarked the cha- 
 racteristics in the construction and antiquity of the 
 existing wall of the chamber referred to. He writes as 
 follows : — 
 
 " This is the ruin of the large brick stupa (or tower), 
 which was excavated by Babu Jagat Singh, the Dewan 
 of Eaja Chait Singh of Benares, for- the purpose of ob- 
 taining bricks for the erection of Jagatganj. In January, 
 1794, his workmen found, at a depth of twenty-seven 
 feet, two vessels of stone and marble, one inside the 
 other. The inner vessel, according to Jonathan Dun- 
 can's account (Asiatic Eesearches, vol. v., p. 131), con- 
 tained a few human bones, some decayed pearls, gold 
 leaves, and other jewels of no value. In the 'same 
 place ' under-ground, and on the ' same occasion ' with 
 the discovery of the urns, there was found a statue of 
 Buddha, bearing an inscription dated in Samvat 1083, 
 or A.D. 1026. An imperfect translation of this in- 
 scription was given by Wilford, accompanied by some 
 remarks, in which he applies the statements of the re- 
 cord to the great tower of Dhamek, instead of to the 
 building in which it was actually discovered. 
 
 " At my suggestion. Major Kittoe made a search for 
 this statue amongst the plundered stones of Jagatganj, 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 251 
 
 where it was found, broken and mutilated. The in- 
 scription, however, was still legible; and the remains 
 of the figure are sufficient to show that the statue was 
 a representation of Buddha the preacher, and not of 
 Buddha the ascetic. Major Kittoe sent me a transcript 
 of the inscription in modern Nagarf, which I strongly- 
 suspect to have been Brahmanised by his Benares Pan- 
 dits. In its modem Nagari form, as translated for me, 
 it records that ' Mahi Pdla, Eaja of Gmda (or Bengal), 
 having worshipped] the lotus-like feet of S'ri Dharmardsi 
 (' heap of light,' Buddha), caused to be erected in Kasi 
 hundreds of Is'dna and Chitraghantd. S'ri Bthira Pdla 
 and his younger brother S'ri Vasanta Pdla, having re- 
 stored religion, raised this tower with an inner chamber 
 and eight large niches.' I strongly suspect that the 
 word Isdna, which is a name of Siva, has been obtained 
 by Brahmanical modification of the original. Wilford 
 read Bhupdla instead of ' Isana '; but I am unable to 
 offer any conjecture as to the true reading, as I know 
 not where the original is now deposited. Major Kit- 
 toe's fao-simile of the inscription is, perhaps, amongst 
 those deposited by him in the Asiatic Society's Museum. 
 
 " My reasons for fixing on the large round hole, five 
 hundred and twenty feet to the west of the great tower, 
 as the site of the stupa excavated by Jagat Singh, are 
 the following : — In 1835, when I was engaged in open- 
 ing the great tower itself, I made repeated enquiries 
 regarding the scenes of Jagat Singh's discovery. Every 
 one had heard of the finding of a stone box, which 
 contained bones, and jewels, and gold ; but every one 
 professed ignorance of the locality. At length, an old 
 
252 
 
 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 man named Sangkar, an inhabitant of the neighbour- 
 ing village of Singhpur, came forward and informed me 
 that, when he was a boy, he had been employed in the 
 excavations made by Jagat Singh, and that he knew all 
 about the discovery of the jewels, etc. According to 
 his account, the discovery consisted of two boxes, the 
 outer one being a large round box of common stone, 
 and the inner one a cylindrical box of green marble., 
 about fifteen inches in height, and five or six inches 
 in diameter. The contents of the inner box were forty 
 to forty-six pearls, fourteen rubies, eight silver and nine 
 gold earrings {karn fhul), and three pieces of human 
 arm-bone. The marble box was taken to the Bara Sahib 
 (Jonathan Duncan) ; but the stone box was left undis- 
 turbed in its original position. As the last statement 
 evidently afforded a ready means of testing the man's 
 veracity, I enquired if he could point out the spot 
 where the box was left. To this question he replied, 
 without any hesitation, in the af&rmative ,; and I at once 
 engaged him to dig up the box. We proceeded to- 
 gether to the site of the present circular hole, which 
 was then a low uneven mound in the centre of a hol- 
 low, and, after marking out a small space about four 
 feet in diameter, he began to work. Before sunset 
 he had reached the stone box, at a depth of twelve 
 feet, and at less than two feet from the middle of the 
 well which he had sunk. The box was a large cir- 
 cular block of common Chunar sandstone, pierced with 
 a rough cylindrical chamber in the centre, and covered 
 with a flat slab as a lid. I presented this box, along 
 with about sixty statues, to the Bengal Asiatic Society; 
 
BENAEES, PAST AJSTD PEESENT, 253 
 
 and it is now in their Museum, where I lately recog- 
 nized it. 
 
 " The discovery of the stone box was the most com- 
 plete and convincing proof that I could wish for of 
 the man's veracity ; and I at once felt satisfied that 
 the relics and the inscribed figure of Buddha found 
 by Jagat Singh's workmen had been discovered on 
 this spot, and, consequently, that they could not pos- 
 sibly have any connexion with the great tower of 
 Dhamek. My next object was to ascertain the nature 
 of the building in which the box was deposited. As 
 I had found the box standing on solid brick-work, I 
 began to clear away the rubbish, expecting to find a 
 square chamber similar to those which had been dis- 
 covered in the topes of Afghanistan. My excavations, 
 however, very soon showed, that, if any chamber had 
 once existed, it must have been demolished by Jagat 
 Singh's workmen. Sangkar then described that the 
 box was found in a small square hole, or chamber, only 
 just large enough to hold it. I cleared out the whole 
 of the rubbish, until I reached the thick circular wall 
 which stUl exists. I then found that the relic-box 
 had been deposited inside a solid brick hemispherical 
 stupa, forty-nine feet in diameter at the level of the 
 deposit ; and that this had been covered by a casing 
 wall of brick, sixteen feet and a half in thickness : 
 the total diameter at this level was, therefore, eighty- 
 two feet. The solid brick-work of the interior had 
 only been partially excavated by Jagat Singh's work- 
 men ; nearly one-half of the mass, to a height of six 
 feet above the stone box, being then untouched. I 
 
254 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 made some excavations round the outer wall, to ascer- 
 tain its thickness ; but I left the brickwork undisturbed. 
 
 " About eighteen years afterwards, the excavation of 
 this stupa was continued by Major Kittoe and Mr. Thomas, 
 until the whole of the inner mass had been removed, 
 and the foundations of the outer casing exposed. The 
 inner diameter is given, by Mr. Thomas, as forty-nine 
 feet six inches ; the slight excess over my measurement 
 being due to the thickness of a base moulding of the 
 original stupa. I have again carefully examined the 
 remains of this monument; and I am quite satisfied 
 that, in its original state, it was an ancient hemi- 
 spherical stupa, forty-nine feet in diameter at base, and 
 about thirty-five or forty feet in height, including the 
 usual pinnacle. Afterwards, when, as I suppose, the 
 upper portion had become ruinous^ it was repaired by 
 the addition of a casing wall, sixteen feet and a half 
 in thickness. The diameter of the renewed edifice 
 thus became eighty-two feet, while the height, inclu- 
 sive of a pinnacle, could not have been less than fifty 
 feet. On a review of all the facts connected with this 
 ruin, I incline to the opinion, that the inner hemisphere 
 was an ancient relic stupa (or tower), and that, this 
 having become ruinous, it was repaired, and an outer 
 casing added by the brothers Sthira Pala and Yasanta 
 Pdla, inA.D, 1026.'" 
 
 There can be no doubt that great spoliation has been 
 perpetrated on this ruin. Excavations have been carried 
 on to such an extent, that all the central portion of 
 the bricks, originally at the base of the ancient tower, 
 
 ' Cmmingham's Aichseological Report, pp. 104-7, 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 255 
 
 has been entirely removed; so that, now, only the bare 
 retaining walls remain, and the cavity looks like a 
 chamber, as I have designated it. Thus it comes to 
 pass, in this instance, that the repeated exploration 
 of an ancient and most singular structure means almost 
 its utter destruction. The wall, or casing, as Major- 
 General Cunningham describes it, is, most certainly, of 
 two eras. The upper portion may be of a compara- 
 tively modern date, and may have been added by Sthira 
 Pdla and his - brother, in the eleventh century a.d. ; 
 but the lower portion is much older. 
 
 From the narrative of Hiouen Thsang, it is evident, 
 that, formerly, there were many towers at Sarnath, 
 of which two only are now visible. One of these, the 
 Dhamek tower, has been described. The other is two 
 thousand five hundred feet to the south of it, and was 
 once called Chaukandi, but is now called Lori-ki-kudan, 
 or Lori's Leap, in consequence of a Hindu of the name 
 of Lori having leaped from its summit, and killed him- 
 self. There is a mound of solid brickwork, seventy-four 
 feet in height, on the top of which is an octagonal 
 building, twenty-three feet eight inches high, erected to 
 commemorate the ascent of the mound by the Emperor 
 Humayun, son of the great Baber, who succeeded to the 
 throne on the death of his father, a.d. 1531. Extensive 
 excavations have been made into the mound, but no 
 relic-chamber has been discovered in it ; and it is sup- 
 posed, therefore, that, unlike the tower erected above 
 the chamber just described, it was not a relic-tower at 
 all. Now, as Hiouen Thsang places a magnificent Stupa, 
 about three hundred feet high, at the distance of half 
 
256 
 
 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 a mile or so to the soutt-west of the monastery; and as 
 this is the distance of the Chaukandi mound from the 
 Dhamek, with its neighbouring monastery, and almost 
 its exact position in regard to the latter, there is ex- 
 ceedingly good ground for the supposition that the two 
 edifices are identical. 
 
 K^ow, it should be remembered, that Sarnath was 
 famous, amongst the Buddhists, not so much for its 
 religious edifices, solely appropriated to the worship of 
 Buddha, as for its being the spot where S'akya first 
 " turned the wheel of Law." The original building 
 which he frequented may have become decayed in the 
 lapse of time ; but it is only natural to suppose, that, 
 as the fame of the Isipattana hall, or abode of saints, 
 was very great throughout the entire Buddhist world, 
 the utmost care was taken to preserve the original 
 structure as long as it stood, and on its decay, of that? 
 erected in its room. It appears to me, therefore, highly 
 probable, that a building, representing the original Isi- 
 pattana hall, which Buddha visited on first delivering 
 the Law, was in existence both when Fa Hian and 
 Hiouen Thsang visited Sarnath. 
 
 Other excavations conducted by Major-General Cun- 
 ningham are of considerable interest. Observing^ a 
 piece of terraced floor, which he had ordered to be 
 cleared for the purpose of pitching his tent upon it, 
 he found that it terminated on what appeared to be 
 the edge of a small tank, thirteen feet nine inches 
 square. " Continuing the work," he says, " I found 
 the bases of pillars, in pairs, surrounding the square. 
 Amongst the rubbish inside the square, I found an 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 257 
 
 elaborately sculptured bass-relief, in grey sandstone, 
 representing the Nirvana of Buddha. The stone had 
 been broken into four pieces, of which one was missing; 
 but the remaining three pieces are now in the Calcutta 
 Museum. This sculpture I consider particularly interest- 
 ing, as the subject is treated in a novel and striking 
 manner. In the ordinary representations of the death- 
 bed scene, the spectators are confined to a few at- 
 tendants, who hold umbrellas over the body, or reve- 
 rentially touch the feet. But, in the present sculpture, 
 besides the usual attendants, there are the Navagraha 
 or "Mne Planets," in one line, and, in a lower 
 line, the Ashta Sakti, or " eight female energies," a 
 series of goddesses apparently belonging to one of the 
 later forms of Buddhism. 
 
 " Further excavation showed that the small pillared 
 tank, or court-yard, was the centre of a large building, 
 sixty-eight feet square, of which the outer walls were 
 four feet and a half thick. My exploration was not 
 completed to the eastward; as the walls of the build- 
 ing in that direction had been entirely removed by 
 some previous excavation, with the exception of de- 
 tached portions of the foundation, sufiicient to show 
 that it corresponded exactly with the western half 
 of the building. The central square was, apparently, 
 surrounded by an open verandah, which gave access to 
 ranges of five small rooms or cells on each of the four 
 sides of the building. In all the cells I found pieces 
 of charred wood, with nails still sticking in some of 
 them; and, in the middle cell, on the western side, I 
 found a small store of unhusked rice, only partially 
 
 17 
 
258 BENAKES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 burnt. In a few places I found what appeared to be 
 pieces of terraced roofing; and, in one place, a large 
 heap of charcoal. On the south side the central room 
 was lost by previous excavations; but on the north side I 
 found a room entirely open towards the verandah, as if it 
 was a hall, or place of general meeting for the resident 
 monks. Inside this room there was the base or pedestal 
 of what I believe to have been a small votive Stup.a, 
 the top of which probably reached to the roof, and took 
 the place of a pUlar. A small drain led under ground 
 from the north-west corner of the central square to the 
 outside of the building on the north, for the purpose, 
 as I conclude, of carrying off the rain-water. 
 
 "The building which I have just described would 
 appear to have been a Yihara, or ' Chapel Monastery,' 
 that is, a monastery with a chapel or temple, forming 
 an integral part of the building. From the thickness 
 of the outer wall, I infer that this edifice was not less 
 than three or four stories in height, and that it may 
 have accommodated about fifty monks. The entrance 
 was, probably, on the south side ; and I think that there 
 must have been a statue of Buddha in the northera 
 verandah. The bass-relief which I found in the central 
 square almost certainly formed one of the middle archi- 
 traves of the court. 
 
 " Continuing my excavations on the high ground to 
 the westward, I came upon the remains of a building 
 of a totally different description. The walls of the 
 edifice were three feet thick throughout; and I found 
 the plaster still adhering to the inner walls of what I 
 will call the verandahs, with borders of painted flowers, 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 259 
 
 quite fresh and vivid. The mass of the building con- 
 sisted of a square of thirty-four feet, with a small poreh 
 on each of the four sides. The building was divided 
 into three parts, from west to east ; and the central part 
 was again subdivided into three small rooms. I think 
 it probable that these three rooms were the shrines of 
 the Buddhist Triad, Dharmma, Buddha, and Sangha; 
 and that the walls of the two long rooms or verandahs, 
 to the north and south, were covered with statues and 
 bass-reliefs. The entrance verandah of one of the 
 vihdra caves at Eanheri, in Salsette, is adorned in a 
 similar manner ; and, even in the present day, the inner 
 walls of the temples, both in Ladak and in Burmah, 
 are covered with figures of Buddha. This, also, we 
 know from Hiouen Thsang's account, was the style 
 of the walls of the great vihdra in the Deer Park at 
 this very place ; and a similar style of ornamentation 
 prevailed both at Buddha Gaya and at Nalanda. Out- 
 side the walls, also, I found a great number — about fifty 
 or sixty — of deeply-carved large stones, which had once 
 formed part of a magnificent frieze, with a bold pro- 
 jecting cornice. The face of the frieze was ornamented 
 with small figures of Buddha, seated, at intervals, in 
 peculiar-shaped niches, which I have traced from the 
 rock-hewn caves of Dhamnar, in Malwa, to the pic- 
 turesque but fantastic Kyoungs of Burmah, A few 
 of these stones may now be seen in the grounds of the 
 Sanskrit College at Benares. As I found no traces of 
 burnt wood, I am inclined to believe that the roof of 
 the building was pyramidal, and that the general ap- 
 pearance of the edifice must have been strikingly similar 
 
260 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 to that of the great temple of Brambanan, depicted in 
 the second volume of Eaffles's ' Java.' " 
 
 I have before observed, that, for the most part, the 
 statues discovered in these ruins were found in two 
 places. One of them was the chamber, above which 
 stood the relic-tower, an account of which has been 
 already given. The other was a small building, ten 
 feet square, which contained about sixty statues and 
 bass-reliefs. Of this curious discovery, Major-Greneral 
 Cunningham, in his report, says : — " I was informed by 
 Sangkar, Eajbhar of Singhpur, the same man who had 
 pointed out to me the position of the relic box in Jagat 
 Singh's stupa, that, whilst he was engaged in digging 
 materials for Jagatganj, the workmen had come upon 
 a very large number of statues, aU collected together 
 in a small building. The walls were pulled down, and 
 the bricks were carried away ; but the statues were 
 left untouched, in their original position. I at once 
 commenced an excavation on the spot pointed out by 
 Sangkar, which was only a few feet to the north of the 
 temple just described. At a depth of two feet below 
 the surface, I found about sixty statues and bass-reliefs, 
 in an upright position, all packed closely together with- 
 in a small space of less than ten feet square. The 
 walls of the building in which they had been thus 
 deposited had been removed, as stated by Sangkar ; but 
 the remains of the foundation showed a small place of 
 only eleven feet square outside. I made a selection of 
 the more perfect figures, which, together with the bass- 
 reliefs, I presented to the Asiatic Society. A sketch of 
 the principal bass-relief, which represents the four great 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 261 
 
 events in the career of S'akya Muni, has been published 
 as Plate I. of M. Foucaux's translation of the Tibetan 
 history of Buddha. A second bass-relief represents the 
 same four scenes, but on a smaller scale. A third bass- 
 relief, which gives only three scenes, omitting the Nir- 
 vana, has a short inscription below, in two lines, which 
 records the sculpture to have been the gift of Hari 
 Gupta. The characters of this inscription, which are of 
 the later Gupta type, show that this piece of sculpture 
 is certainly as old as the third or fourth century. Some 
 of the seated figures were in excellent preservation, and, 
 more particularly, one of Buddha, the teacher, which was 
 in perfect condition, and coloured of a warm red hue. 
 The remaining statues, upwards of forty in number, to- 
 gether with most of the other carved stones which I 
 had collected, and which I left lying on the ground, 
 were afterwards carted away by the late Mr. Davidson, 
 and thrown into the Barna river, under the bridge, to 
 check the cutting away of the bed between the arches. 
 
 " As the room in which I found all these sculptures 
 was only a small detached building, and as it was quite 
 close to the large temple which I have just described, 
 I conclude that the whole of the sculptures must have 
 belonged to the temple, and that they were secreted in 
 the place where I discovered them, during a time of 
 persecution, when the monks were obliged to abandon 
 their monasteries and take refuge in Nepal. This con- 
 clusion is partly borne out by the fact, that I found no 
 statues within the walls of the temple itself. To the 
 north of the temple, at a distance of twenty-six feet, 
 my excavations uncovered a large single block of stone, 
 
262 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 six feet in length, by three feet in height, and the same 
 in thickness. The stone had been carefully squared, 
 and was hollowed out underneath, forming a small 
 chamber, four feet in length, by two feet in breadth, 
 and the same in height. This large stone has, also, 
 disappeared, which is the more to be regretted, as I 
 think it highly probable that it was the celebrated 
 stone, described by Hiouen Thsang, on which Buddha 
 had spread out his Itashdya to dry, after washing it in 
 the neighbouring tank. Certain marks on the ston« 
 appeared to the Buddhists to represent- the thread 
 lines of the web of Buddha's cloth, as 'distinctly as 
 if they had been chiselled.' Devout Buddhists offered 
 their homage before the stone daily ; but, whenever 
 heretics or wicked men crowded round the stone in 
 a contemptuous manner, tben the dragon [Ndga) of the 
 neighbouring tank let loose upon them a storm of wind 
 and rain." 
 
 One of the most curious and interesting relics found 
 at Sarnath is the cTiaiiya^ a small vessel made of baked 
 clay, flat below, and ending in a blunt point above. 
 "When the bottom is knocked off, a seal-inscription, 
 in a circular form, and, originally, made separately from 
 the vessel itself, is displayed witbin, exhibiting the 
 celebrated religious formula of the Buddhists, the 
 translation of which has already been given. These 
 words comprise the Buddhist confession of faith, which, 
 it seems, every Buddhist is well aware of, and is 
 able to repeat. " Nothing can be more complete, or 
 more fundamental," remarks Mr. Hodgson, "than this 
 doctrine. It asserts that Buddha hath revealed the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 263 
 
 causes of (animate) mundane existence, as well as the 
 causes of its complete cessation ; implying, by the latter, 
 translation to the eternal quiescence of Nirvritti, which 
 is the grand object of all Buddha vows." 
 
 Several hundreds of these chaityas have been dis- 
 covered. Mr. Thomas states, that " the entire number 
 of these diminutive prayer-temples seem to have been 
 placed as votive offerings in one and the same position, 
 to the right front of the chief figure of Buddha. 
 Whether, however, this was the appropriate spot, so 
 far removed from the statue, for the deposit of the 
 pilgrims' offering, or whether, when once dedicated at 
 the shrine itself, the officiating priest considered this 
 site of sufficient proximity for absent worshippers' leav- 
 ings, may be a question ; but the little varying uni- 
 formity of the character and execution of the legends 
 contained within the chaityas would seem to indicate 
 that they were manufactured on the premises, or, at 
 all events, that the ruling hierarchy had a beneficial 
 interest in the trade, and, possibly, went so far as to 
 make the site above indicated a location for sale and 
 delivery, at an opportune pitch of devotional excite- 
 ment on the part of the confiding votary. Besides the 
 three varieties of inclusive chaityas, there were found 
 specimens of a more primitive form, of the same manu- 
 facture, in which the entire mould of clay seemed to 
 have been prepared at one and the same operation, and 
 after the external outline had been received. The 
 impression was made by forcing the engraved seal 
 into the soft clay, from the base of the chaitya. In 
 this case the inscription remained comparatively un- 
 
264 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT 
 
 protected ; but the manipulative process was more 
 simple, and, possibly, more assuring to the mass, who 
 were then enabled to see the writing that was to aid 
 their act of worship." ' A plan was adopted, too, by 
 means of flat clay cakes, on which chaityas were repre- 
 sented, offering as many as twenty of these sacred ob- 
 jects at one and the same time. 
 
 It has already been observed that the city of Benares 
 was associated with the early history of Buddhism, and 
 was formerly one of the chief seats of that religion, 
 and that it was in Benares that the religion first de- 
 veloped itself, and whence the streams proceeded which, 
 by degrees, flowed over India, Ceylon, Burmah, China, 
 and Tibet. Some of its distinguishing doctrines and 
 principles had, indeed, been cherished in India long 
 before Buddhism, as a historical religion, sprang into ex- 
 istence ; but, as a definite and distinctive creed, holding 
 itself aloof from Hinduism, and claiming an individu- 
 ality of its own, the religion must date from the life- 
 time of him who gave it historical reality. This is no 
 other than Buddha himself, or S'akya Muni, who, some 
 say, was born in the sixth century before Christ, and 
 died B.C. 477. This wonderful personage was the son 
 of the Eaja of Kapila, a small territory, probably in 
 the neighbourhood of Goruckpore, upwards of a hun- 
 dred miles to the north of Benares. Until his twenty- 
 ninth year, Sakya paid no special attention to religion, 
 but passed his time in the pursuit of pleasure. At this 
 age, however, his habits changed; and, becoming an 
 ascetic, he practised the austere rites which were then 
 
 ' Bengal Asiatic Journal, for 1854, pp. 474, 475. 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 265 
 
 in vogue. But it was chiefly by meditation that he 
 is said to have gained that mysterious knowledge which 
 he afterwards preached, and the possession of which 
 raised him, as he imagined, to the rank of Deity, and 
 constituted him the visible representation and embodi- 
 ment of the Supreme. When he was thirty-five years 
 of age, he is said to have become Buddha, on attain- 
 ing which condition, he proceeded to Benares, and there 
 made himself known in his new character. Here his 
 ministry commenced, which continued for upwards of 
 forty-five years, during which period he visited a multi- 
 tude of places, and gathered to himself a great number 
 of followers. "At his death," says Major-General Cun- 
 ningham, "his doctrines had been firmly established; 
 and the divinity of his mission was fully recognized by 
 the eager claims preferred, by kings and rulers, for relics 
 of their divine teacher .... In the short space 
 of forty-five years, this wonderful man succeeded in 
 establishing his own peculiar doctrines over the fairest 
 districts of the Ganges — from the Delta to the neigh- 
 bourhood of Agra and Cawnpore." 
 
 Buddhism continued to advance in India, with steady 
 step, until the reign of Asoka, grandson of Chandra 
 Gupta, in the third century B.C., when, through his 
 conversion, it received a prodigious impulse. Asoka 
 showed his zeal for Buddhism by erecting, in various 
 places in his dominions, spacious Vihdras or temple- 
 monasteries, enormous topes or towers, and massive 
 stone pillars, on which his edicts for the propagation 
 of the faith were inscribed. Similar edicts were, like- 
 wise, engraven on rocks in various parts of the country. 
 
266 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 In his reign, Buddhist missionaries were sent to distant 
 places in India, and to countries out of India, for the 
 purpose of making converts to Buddhism. Among 
 them was his celebrated son, Mahendra, who, together 
 with his sister, Sangamitra, had the honour of preaching 
 the Buddhist doctrines to the inhabitants of Ceylon, and 
 of being chief instruments in their conversion. "With 
 the era of Asoka, commenced the palmy days of Bud- 
 dhism in India, which then became the popular and 
 paramount religion, and continued to remain so for 
 several hundred years. The history of this period is, to 
 a great extent, involved in obscurity ; but the evidence 
 that exists, while fragmentary and confused, is deci- 
 dedly in favour of the general prevalence of the Bud- 
 dhist, and of the depression and weakness of the Brah- 
 manical, faith. Much, though not all, of this evidence 
 is gathered from coins and inscriptions. Even in the 
 fifth century of our era, when the Chinese pilgrim. 
 Fa Hian, travelled through Northern India, the national 
 religion was Buddhism. " At the time of Fa Hian's 
 visit. Buddhism was the prevailing religion of the Pun- 
 jab and of Iforthern India, from Mathurd to the mouth 
 of the Ganges. Between the Punjab and Mathura, — 
 that is, in Brahmavarta Proper, — the law of Buddha 
 was not held in honour. But this was the original seat 
 and stronghold of the Brahmans and their religion ; and 
 its exception, by Fa Hian, is one amongst the many 
 proofs of the pilgrim's accuracy. Everywhere else. 
 Buddhism was honoured and flourishing ; the kings 
 were firmly attached to the law, and showed their rever- 
 ence for the ascetics by taking off their tiaras before 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 2GT 
 
 them. But at Shachi and at Sliewei in Oudh, the 
 heretical Brahmans had attempted to destroy a sacred 
 nettle and some holy topes. The very, attempt shows 
 the increasing power of the Brahmans, and their con- 
 fident hope of ultimate success." ■* In the seventh cen- 
 tury, when Hiouen Thsang visited India, Buddhism was 
 losing its influence, and was being supplanted by its 
 powerful rival. 
 
 Although Buddhism was in this age declining very 
 sensibly, yet it still retained considerable vigour. The 
 existence of so many sacred monuments at Sarnath is 
 strong evidence of this; especially as their number seems 
 to have been greatly increased since the visit of the 
 previous traveller, Fa Hian. It is always a work of 
 time for ideas which have been inwoven into the 
 national life of a people to undergo complete expulsion, 
 and for other ideas to be introduced in their room. 
 Eeligious ideas are, of all ideas, the most tenacious and 
 powerful; and, when once a set of dogmas, no matter 
 how false and erroneous, has taken possession of a nation, 
 those dogmas will never relax their hold of the popular 
 mind, until after a long conflict with ideas which are 
 more cogent than themselves ; and, although, through 
 exhaustion, they are compelled to give place to them, 
 they will, as they retire, nevertheless, fight every inch of 
 the way, and continue the contest even when reduced to 
 absolute weakness. Thus, it took several centuries for 
 Buddhism to expire in India. It is possible that the 
 erection of so many sacred edifices at Sarnath and in 
 its neighbourhood, between the periods of Fa Hian and 
 ' Bhilsa Topes, p. 156. 
 
268 BENAEES, PAST AM) PEESENT. 
 
 Hiouen Thsang, was an effort not unlike that of a 
 drowning man making desperate struggles to prolong 
 his existence, and actually devising some plan where- 
 by his existence is temporarily prolonged. But, at 
 length, the moment of dissolution arrived. Its adver- 
 sary, Brahmanism, became too strong for it, and, eventu- 
 ally, crushed it for ever. Its extinction occurred in 
 the eleventh or twelfth century, when, says Major- 
 General Cunningham, "the last votaries of Buddha 
 were expelled from the continent of India. Numbers 
 of images, concealed by the departing monks, are found 
 buried near Sarnath; and heaps of ashes still lie scattered 
 amidst the ruins, to show that the monasteries were des- 
 troyed by fire." And, in a note, he adds.: "I wrote 
 this passage from my own knowledge, as I made many 
 excavations around Sarnath in 1835-36. Major Kittoe 
 has since (1851) most fully confirmed my opinion by 
 his more extended excavations in the same neighbour- 
 hood. He writes to me : ' All has been sacked and 
 burned — ^priests, temples, idols, all together ; for, in some 
 places, bones, iron, wood, and stone are found in huge 
 masses : and this has happened more than once.' " ^ 
 
 Mr. Thomas gives us further information. " The 
 chambers on the eastern side of the square were found 
 filled in with a strange medley of uncooked food, 
 hastily abandoned on their floors — pottery of every- 
 day life, nodes of brass, produced, apparently, by the 
 melting-down of the cooking vessels in common use. 
 Above these, again, were the remnants of the charred 
 timbers of the roof, with iron nails still remaining 
 
 1 Bhiba Topes, pp. 166, 167. 
 
BEKAEES, PAST AND PKESENT. ■ 269 
 
 in them; above which, again, appeared broken bricks, 
 mixed with earth and rubbish, to the height of the 
 extant wall, some six feet from the original floor- 
 ing. Every item bore evidence of a complete confla- 
 gration; and so intense seems to have been the heat, 
 that, in portions of the wall still standing, the clay, 
 which formed the substitute for lime in building the 
 brick-work, is baked to a similar consistency with the 
 bricks themselves. In short, all existing indications 
 lead to a necessary inference, that the destruction of the 
 building, by whomsoever caused, was effected by fire ap- 
 plied by the hand of an exterminating adversary, rather 
 than by any ordinary accidental conflagration. Had the 
 latter been the cause of the results now observed, it is 
 scarcely to be supposed that so well-peopled a convent, 
 so time-hallowed a shrine, should have been so hastily 
 and completely abandoned." ' Food, also, was found in 
 several places ; and Major Xittoe made the singular dis- 
 covery of " the remains of ready-made wheaten cakes, 
 in the small recess in the chamber towards the north- 
 east angle of the square." On the floor of a cell, like- 
 wise, a " large quantity of rice was found, together 
 with portions of wheat and other grain, part of which 
 was spread out, or, possibly, scattered at the moment of 
 the destructive inroad that was brought to a climax 
 in the conflagration of the monastery." Again, Mr. 
 Thomas says : " In the cells to the eastward were found, 
 among other things, considerable masses of brass, melted 
 up into nodules and irregular lumps, as chance gave 
 them a receptacle amid the general ruin. Here, also, 
 
 ' Bengal Asiatic Journal for 1854, p. 472. 
 
270 ■ BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 were seen, broken or whole, the pottery vessels of every 
 day requirement ; and the iron nails which connected 
 the cross rafters, still fixed in the larger beams that had 
 escaped complete combustion. Among other bits of 
 iron-work, there remained a well-fashioned ring-bolt, 
 that might pass muster at the present day. Of matters 
 of domestic utility, I must not omit to mention a clay 
 chirdgh or lamp, of the pointed wick-holder description, 
 which, though it has retained its position in that form 
 in other parts of India, is now superseded, in local use, 
 by the ordinary small circular saucers of baked clay." ^ 
 
 Thus perished Buddhism in India, where it had 
 reigned, as the dominant religious power, for, at least, 
 seven hundred years, and had exerted an influence of 
 gradually diminishing strength during several hundred 
 years more. 
 
 ' Bengal Asiatic Journal for 1854, p 476. 
 
271 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 ANeiENT Buddhist Ruins at Bakariy& Kund. — Remains of old Wall: — 
 Carved Stones and Ancient Pillars. — Remains of small Buddhist 
 Temple.- — Remains of larger Temple. — Traces of Buddhist Monastery. 
 
 A STRICT investigation instituted in places wliere Bud- 
 dhism was once famous and powerful would, in most 
 cases, bring to light certain relics which it has left 
 behind. New discoveries of Buddhist remains are 
 continually being made in various parts of Northern 
 India, every instance of which is a fresh illustration 
 of our conviction, that Buddhism has left numerous 
 footprints of itself in all places where it eminently 
 flourished. Seeing that it existed in Benares during 
 many centuries, and was the dominant faith professed 
 there, — casting into the shade the elder creed, and as- 
 serting proudly its triumph over it, — it is highly interest- 
 ing to inquire what Buddhist remains are yet traceable 
 in the city, whereby its historical position, as one of 
 the chief seats of Buddhism, may be tested. Strange to 
 say, until very recently, few or no remains, in the city 
 proper, had been discovered ; but the reason of this was, 
 I believe, that they had never been carefully sought 
 after. The extensive ruins at Sarnath, described in the 
 
272 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 previous chapter, are, at least, three miles distant from 
 the present city. 
 
 Now, while the hope of finding any buildings of the 
 early Buddhist period in Benares might be pronounced 
 too sanguine, yet, on the other hand, he would betray a 
 singular ignorance of the raassiveness and durability of 
 Buddhist architecture, who should venture to assert that 
 it was otherwise than exceedingly likely that portions of 
 buildings of the later Buddhist period were still existing, 
 waiting to be discovered. Even as late as the seventh 
 century, a.d., when Hinduism had regained much of its 
 old prestige and influence, there were, as we have al- 
 ready seen, in the city and kingdom of Benares, accord- 
 ing to the testimony of Hiouen Thsang, upwards of thirty 
 Buddhist monasteries, — to most or all of which temples 
 were, probably, attached, — and, with them, about three 
 thousand priests and disciples were associated. It can- 
 not be, for an instant, supposed that these monasteries, 
 which were, unquestionably, built of strong material, 
 have all been swept away with the lapse of ages, and 
 have " left not a wreck behind." Several of these were, 
 doubtless, situated at Sarnath and in its immediate 
 neighbourhood. Indeed, the existence of the Sarnath 
 ruins, which are, mostly, of the later Buddhist period, 
 is a strong argument for believing that portions, more 
 or less considerable, of some, perhaps of most, of the 
 remaining edifices, are still discoverable. We must not 
 imagine, that, in any instance, they are existing in their 
 original integrity ; but, on the contrary, that, where 
 they exist at all, they have been appropriated by Hindus 
 and Mohammedans, and, principally, by the latter, for 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 273 
 
 their own purposes ; and that, therefore, they have be- 
 come blended with other buildings, from which they 
 must be disentangled. The use of numerous pillars in 
 the cloisters of Buddhist monasteries, which were fre- 
 quently of uniform patterns, greatly aids the identifi- 
 cation of the remains of this ancient period. 
 
 A careful examination of Benares will reveal those 
 portions of the city which contain buildings, or parts 
 of buildings, or sculptured stones, or other objects, of 
 undeniable antiquity. Such ancient remains are, for the 
 most part, I believe, to be found only in the northern 
 division of the city, and among the narrow streets on 
 its eastern border, running parallel with the Ganges, in 
 a narrow band, as far as the Man-Mandil Observatory. 
 
 Under the conviction that Buddhist remains were 
 to be met with in Benares, I commenced a search 
 for some of them in the course of the year 1863. On 
 the very first day of the search, the ruins at Bakariyd 
 Kund were discovered, which I shall now proceed to 
 describe. 
 
 I would here acknowledge my deep obligations to my 
 friend and fellow-labourer, Charles Home, Esq., C.S., 
 late Judge of Benares, and now Judge of Mynpoory, 
 N.W.P., a gentleman to whom I am greatly indebted for 
 much valuable information in these researches, and with 
 whom I was associated in the preparation of two papers 
 on "Ancient Eemains found in Benares," which were 
 presented to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and pub- 
 lished in their Journal, and are now, with a few neces- 
 sary alterations and corrections, introduced into this 
 volume, forming this and the succeeding chapter. 
 
 18 
 
274 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 These ruins are situated at the north-west comer of 
 the city, in the Alipore Mahalla, and are visible from 
 the Eaj Ghat road, leading from the cantonments to 
 the Ganges. The path conducting to the tank, or Zund, 
 leaves the main road a short distance to the west of 
 the 420th mile-stone. The tank commonly known as 
 Bakariya Eund is about three hundred yards distant 
 from this road; and upon the summit of its banks the 
 ruins are, in the main, to be found. In the hot season 
 very little water remains in the Kund ; but, during 
 the rains, it contains a considerable body of water. It 
 is about five hundred and fifty feet in length, and two 
 hundred and seventy -five in breadth. 
 
 On approaching the tank, you pass along the foot of a 
 high mound, on its northern side, on the top of which 
 lie several blocks of stone. Proceeding to the western 
 bank, you perceive a massive breastwork, formed by 
 large stones, bearing upon them various mason-marks, — 
 some of which are similar to those inscribed on the 
 stones at Sarnath, — and sustaining a solid platform- or 
 terrace, which runs by the side of the Kund to a great 
 distance. This terrace is twenty feet above the tank, 
 and supports two others of smaller dimensions, one 
 above the other, each of which is girded by a breast- 
 work of huge stones. The lower terrace is one hundred 
 and thirty feet broad, two hundred and seventy feet long 
 on its western face, and three hundred and thirty on 
 its eastern face, overlooking the tank. It was, originally, 
 held up by the wall of heavy stones just referred to ; 
 but this waU is, in many places, much broken down, 
 especially towards the Kund, the great blocks lying in 
 
. BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 275 
 
 disorder at its ancient base. Nevertheless, extensive 
 portions are still standing. On tlie northern face, about 
 seventy feet are visible; while the -western wall, which 
 extends two hundred and sixty-seven feet, is almost 
 continuous throughout. The height of the terrace is 
 uniform ; but the height of the wall varies greatly, 
 owing partly to its being in a ruinous state, and partly 
 to the circumstance of its forming, in one place, the 
 flank of an old edifice, where it attains a height of at 
 least thirty feet, measured from the ground on the 
 western side, which is on a higher level than the tank. 
 Two small windows or doorways open through this part 
 of the wall ; and over each a single stone projects, 
 forming its eaves. The bare appearance which the wall 
 would here have presented to the eye is provided against 
 by a broad moulding half-way down, a foot in width, 
 and by a noble cornice, parallel with it, above. 
 
 Ascending the terrace, you come to the building itself, 
 which is occupied by Musalmans, one portion being par- 
 titioned off and used as a zenana. The beams and slabs 
 constituting the roof are, in some cases, nine feet in 
 length ; and the roof is supported by three rows of im- 
 mensely thick stone columns, the capitals of which are 
 in the form of a cross. The cornice decorating the walls 
 is not of modern narrowness, but is twelve inches deep, 
 and is ornamented with carvings of various elegant de- 
 vices. As the building is divided into two distinct 
 sections, and, moreover, as the spaces between the pillars 
 are, in several instances, filled up with a mud wall, it is 
 impossible to gain a correct idea of its original character. 
 The outer wall, on the western side, is strengthened by 
 
276 BENAHES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 a huge buttress of stone, fourteen feet wide and fifteen 
 feet high. 
 
 With pillars, breastwork, and buttress, of such pro- 
 digious strength, it seems not improbable that, formerly, 
 there were several stories above this lower one ; but this 
 point is merely conjectural, and is not easy to be decided. 
 Moreover, it is not unlikely that other structures once 
 existed along the border of the terrace, throughout a 
 considerable portion of its extent, not only on its 
 western, but also on its northern and eastern, sides. 
 
 Directly in front of the building just described are 
 two other extensive elevations of the ground, or terraces, 
 one over the other, as already stated. The lower eleva- 
 tion is eighty-six feet long by sixty-two and a half feet 
 broad, and about four feet in height. The upper is 
 forty-eight and a half feet by twenty-four feet, and is 
 crowned with an ornamental cornice, which runs, in an 
 unbroken band, throughout a large portion of the circuit 
 of the terrace ; but this may, possibly, be of a compara- 
 tively modern date, the Mohammedans having selected 
 this spot for a mausoleum, and, in many cases, adopted 
 the prevailing forms of ancient ornamentation, The 
 breastworks of the two terraces, by which the enclosed 
 soil is sustained, although they have been, evidently, 
 at times, extensively repaired, appear as ancient as the 
 neighbouring building. 
 
 Beyond the two upper terraces is another raised ter- 
 race, which, in all likelihood, was originally connected 
 with one of them ; but is now isolated from them. On 
 this, possibly, stood a Buddhist shrine, connected, by a 
 cloister, with a building on the main terrace. A short 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 277 
 
 distance further on, also, are remains of the foundations 
 of what was, probably, another ; but the traces of this 
 are almost obliterated. 
 
 On the eastern side of the Kund is a mound, — two 
 hundred and twenty feet long by ninety feet broad, run- 
 ning parallel with it, — ^which might be taken for a mud 
 embankment thrown up from the tank, were it not for 
 the circumstance that layers of large Buddhist bricks, 
 lying in situ, crop out from its side, and that upon its 
 summit and slopes are numerous blocks of sculptured 
 stones, symbols of bygone glory. One brick measured 
 twenty inches in length; and the bricks of an entire 
 layer were three inches and three quarters in thickness. 
 Among the stones was an enormous segment of a Icalas, 
 or jagged circular stone found on the pinnacles of 
 temples. The original Jcalas, of which this segment is 
 exactly the fourth part, was not less than nine feet in 
 diameter, and of proportionate thickness, and must have 
 belonged to a temple of superior strength and dimensions. 
 Several small kalases are lying not far from this seg- 
 ment. Eight of these were counted at one time. Ex- 
 cavations into the mound would, probably, throw some 
 light on the buildings formerly standing here. 
 
 To the east of the mound is a small round structure, 
 called Jogi-bir, on the site of which, we were informed, 
 a devotee buried himself alive. It is made of earth ; 
 but on the top is a hollow circular stone, the exterior 
 surface of which is divided into sixteen equal sections, 
 each of which exhibits the sculpture of a man, with one 
 leg turned up, and the hands apparently grasping a gar- 
 land, which encinctures and connects together all the 
 
278 BENARES, PAST ANB PEESENT, 
 
 figures. The stone is in a reversed position. A portion 
 of one similar to it, found: at tlie foot of a tree, was 
 afterwards removed, and forms one of a group of 
 sculptured stones taken from Bakariyd Kund, and pho- 
 tographed. Both these stones were, probaWy, capitals 
 of highly-enriched columns. 
 
 To the south of the tank is a ghat, or broad flight 
 of steps, the stones of which are scattered about in 
 great disorder; so that, looking at it from a distance, 
 it has the appearance of an utter ruin. And such it 
 really is. But it is, nevertheless, a comparatively modern 
 structure ; for the stones of which it is composed, judg- 
 ing from the elaborate and finished carvings on many 
 of them, have been contributions from fallen edifices in 
 the neighbourhood. 
 
 At the south-west corner of the tank is a water-course, 
 depressed considerably below the ground on either side. 
 It is not improbable that, formerly, this was the main 
 source of water-supply to the tank. To the south of 
 this water-course, overhanging the Kund, is a huge 
 breastwork of stone, on the top of which is a spacious 
 courtyard, with a Mohammedan Dargah, or place of 
 prayer. By reason of the carved stones used in the 
 foundations, the underlying mortar, and the evident 
 frequent repairs, it is difficult to say whether any portion 
 of this breastwork, or of the buttress jutting out at its 
 base, is really ancient, although some portions seem to 
 be so. The buttress is continuous with the stone ghat, 
 and merges into it. 
 
 To the east of the Dargdh is a small mosque, thirty- 
 seven feet long by nineteen feet and a half broad, open 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 279 
 
 to the east, and supported by three rows of pillars, five 
 in each row. The pillars in the second row have deep 
 scroll carvings on their sides, with ornamented corners, 
 consisting of lotos seed-pods, one on another. Each 
 pUlar is seven feet nine inches high, including the 
 capital; and the latter is two feet six inches in length, 
 and- two feet four inches in width.. The capitals of the 
 outer pillars are somewhat larger than those of the 
 inner, and are in the form of a cross, the extremities 
 being rounded off; while the upper surface of each 
 limb exhibits a convex curve, the line of which rises 
 higher, in proportion as it recedes from the extremity. 
 The architrave is about a foot in thickness; and on it 
 rests the flat stone roof. Seven niches are placed, at 
 intervals, round the three walls of the room. The entire 
 building is of stone. The western wall, on its outer 
 side, is strengthened by a buttress, at the base of which 
 runs a beautifully carved band, eleven inches broad, 
 which projects a couple of inches from the wall ; and 
 below it is a cornice, ten inches in width and seven in 
 depth, bearing on its front a broad band of elegant 
 carving. While the building itself can hardly be re- 
 garded as original, there can be no doubt of the anti- 
 quity of the pillars, — which belonged, probably, to some 
 Buddhist cloister, — and of the modern character of the 
 walls. 
 
 A few steps off is an enclosure, in the form of an 
 irregular parallelogram ; a wall being on either side, and 
 two small buildings at its extremities. That situated 
 on the northern extremity is, in some respects, like 
 the mosque just described. Its carvings, however, are 
 
280 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT, 
 
 not all similar ; and its ornamented band is of a very 
 ancient type. There is a small building, used as a Eausa, 
 or mausoleum, attached to its north-west angle, and sus- 
 tained by ancient piUars and modern walls. The build- 
 ing is surmounted by a low cupola, of primitive con- 
 struction. It is not unlikely, that,, originally, there were 
 cloisters on this bank of the Kund, and that the three 
 small buildings just described were, all, at one time, 
 connected together. 
 
 The edifice at the southern extremity of the enclosure 
 well exemplifies the old Hindu and Buddhist method 
 of making a roof, by the imposition of stone beams, one 
 upon another, cross-wise and corner- wise, until they meet 
 in the middle. The roof of this building exhibits a mass 
 of such beams, piled upon each other, exactly like the 
 roof of a house which children build with their little 
 wooden bricks. A second object of interest here is a 
 cut stone screen, which serves the purpose of a window. 
 
 Nearly a hundred and fifty feet to the east of the last- 
 mentioned buildings is another, which has, evidently, 
 been erected from old materials, and is of doubtful an- 
 tiquity. It has four pillars, two outer and two inner, 
 exclusive of others imbedded in the walls, and has five 
 recesses on its three sides. The carvings have been, to 
 some extent, obliterated by the whitewash with which 
 the mosque is besmeared. 
 
 StiU further eastwards, at a distance of seventy- 
 five feet, is a terrace, walled round by a stone breast- 
 work, forty-eight feet long by thirty-six feet broad, on 
 which stand four profusely carved columns, supporting 
 an ancient roof, the remains probably of a Chaitya or 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 281 
 
 Buddhist temple, or of its innermost shrine. Its posi- 
 tion is exactly opposite the Buddhist temple to the west, 
 still to be described, from which it is distant five hundred 
 and fifty feet. The columns are seven feet seven inches 
 in height, including the base, and are elaborately orna- 
 mented ; in which respect they differ from the pillars of 
 the other temple, which, in large measure, are destitute 
 of ornamentation. The four sides of the base display 
 an elegant carving of a vase with flowers drooping low 
 over the brim, — a device always found, in these parts, 
 in Buddhist shrine-pillars. The well-known representa- 
 tion of a face with a floreated scroll streaming forth 
 from the mouth, eyes, and moustache, is repeated four 
 times on each column; and above it runs a band of 
 beads, each of which is nearly an inch in diameter. 
 An arc of the sun's disk rests upon this band; and, 
 higher up, the column becomes octagonal. It then 
 becomes quadrilateral again; and on each side is a 
 chaste design, exceedingly well executed, of an over- 
 flowing vase. The pillar is crowned with a capital, be- 
 neath which is a broad double moulding. The cornice 
 above the architrave is, also, beautifully cut. But the 
 ceiling of this shrine, consisting of overlapping stones, 
 built as before described, is, perhaps, its most striking 
 feature. Each stone is richly carved, and was, originally, 
 coloured ; while representations of suns and lotoses are 
 depicted upon them in bold relief. Taking it altogether, 
 this little remnant of antiquity is, as a work of art, a 
 striking proof of the delicacy in taste and expertness in 
 chiselling of the architects of those times, and also of 
 the degeneracy of their successors. 
 
282 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 This Chaitya seems to have been the eastern extremity 
 of the range of ancient buildings under notice. Leaving 
 it, the boundary line took a southerly direction, and, pro- 
 bably, included several buildings of the same character 
 as those on the northern side; but only very faint 
 traces of their foundations are, at most, visible. The 
 boundary line, however, on its southern side, takes in 
 a remarkable structure, consisting of a massive stone 
 breastvrork, one hundred and thirty feet long, ninety 
 feet wide, and five feet four inches high, sustaining a 
 terrace now used as a Mohammedan burial-ground. The 
 breastwork is, in some places, in decay ; yet, to a great 
 extent, it is in good condition. Its stones, especially 
 where exposed in the foundations, have mason-marks 
 upon them; and some as many as three symbols in a 
 row. It is surmounted by a cornice, six inches deep. 
 Ascending the terrace, no buildings besides Moham- 
 medan tombs are visible ; but it is probable that an 
 extensive Buddhist edifice stood on this spacious area. 
 On the western side, exactly in the centre, is a pro- 
 jecting buttress, originally the Sinhasan or throne of 
 Buddha, round which the moulding also runs. On this 
 spot may have stood a gigantic figure of Buddha, visible 
 to every one entering the court; for such we hold it 
 to have been originally. Indeed, the large terraces 
 which have been described may, all, have been cloistered 
 courts, where disciples and devotees congregated for 
 religious purposes. An inspection of the Atallah and 
 Jama mosques at Jaunpore, formerly Buddhist monas- 
 teries, confirms this view. 
 
 The most remarkable of these ruins still remains. This 
 

BENAEE8, PAST AND PRESEHTT. 283 
 
 is the temple to which reference has been already made. 
 The Mohammedans have appropriated this edifice, and 
 capped it with a dome, and now use it as a mausoleum. 
 It stands on forty-two pillars, all which are in good order, 
 with th* exception of one in the southern portico, which 
 has been twisted by the falling of a large tree upon 
 it. Formerly there were, evidently, two pillars more 
 than- there are at present, upholding the heavy entabla- 
 ture of the southern portico, so that the whole number 
 of pillars was, originally, forty-four. Of these, thirty- 
 two supported the temple proper, and four the roof of 
 each of the northern, southern, and eastern porticos. To 
 the West there is no portido, but simply a sort of pro- 
 jecting buttress or Sinhasan, on which, probably, the 
 chief idol stood, and was, therefore, at once seen by 
 persons coming in through the main entrance to the 
 east. The northern and southern porticos are fifteen 
 feet long by ten feet wide, while the eastern is only 
 twelve feet by ten. The inner part of the temple 
 is eighteen feet square. Eound the whole of the ex- 
 terior of the temple, above the capitals of the columns, 
 and supported by their external limb, runs an eaves- 
 stone, nearly three feet in width ; and, as at the Atallah 
 and Jama Musjids at Jaunpore, this eaves-stOne has been 
 made to imitate wood, thus confirming Mr. Fergusson's 
 remarks, where writing about this class of structures. 
 
 Each column is eight feet- aind a quarter in height, of 
 which the quadrilateral shaft between the capital and 
 the plinth is four feet and a half. The Capital is in the 
 form of a cross^ each limb consisting of two portions; 
 the lower beiiig bell-shaped, with an ornament in the 
 
284 BENAEES, PAST AOT> PEESENT, 
 
 corners. The columns in th.e temple proper stand two 
 or four together; and the abacus or square stone upon 
 them, between the capital and architrave, is thirteen 
 inches deep, and is beautifully carved. The architrave 
 has a rich double band sculptured upon it, which passes 
 all round the temple, including the porticos. Above 
 this is a flat stone, and, above the stone, a row of 
 niches, which are, probably, of Mohammedan origin. 
 
 Yiewing the temple from the outside, a practised eye 
 soon distinguishes between the ancient portion and that 
 added by the Mohammedans. Above the portico, all 
 below the octagonal breastwork is, evidently, of Bud- 
 dhist workmanship, and the remainder, of Mohamme- 
 dan ; but the Mohammedans, there is reason to suppose, 
 availed themselves of old materials. At the termination 
 of the breastwork at each corner rests a small halas, about 
 two-thirds of the circular disk of which is exposed, the 
 remainder being inserted in the wall. Although so 
 many ages have elapsed since this temple was erected, 
 and although it has been exposed alternately to the 
 ruthlessness of Hindu and of Mohammedan fanaticism, 
 yet with such singular skill have its proportions been 
 designed, and its blocks of stone been joined together, 
 — though without cement of any kind, — that, at the 
 present moment, in spite of its aspect of hoary antiquity, 
 it seems almost, if not quite, as durable as on the day 
 on which it was finished ; and it is unquestionable that, 
 if it be not barbarously damaged by vandalish hands, 
 it will continue to stand for centuries to come. The 
 simplicity, combined with the great strength, of its parts, 
 and the symmetrical arrangement of the whole, give to 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PflESENT. 285 
 
 the building, notwithstanding the general scantiness of 
 its ornamentation, an appearance which the most fas- 
 tidious must pronounce to be of no mean order of beauty. 
 A small cloister was, originally, connected with the south- 
 west corner of the temple, as is shown by the continua- 
 tion of the ancient basement moulding, — a moulding 
 which surrounds, indeed, all Buddhist buildings, in this 
 quarter of India. Here was, probably, the vestry or re- 
 tiring room of the officiating priests. Some of its walls 
 are still visible. 
 
 It is greatly to be regretted that a large portion of 
 the site of these ruins is in a disgustingly filthy state ; 
 so that none but the most ardent investigator would 
 care to visit a place so foul and abominable. 
 
 In pronouncing upon the originality of any of the 
 buildings which have been described in this chapter, 
 great caution should be shown, especially as they are, all, 
 in the hands of Mohammedans, who have utilized them 
 for various purposes ; and these are a race of people, in 
 India, who have ever exhibited a wonderful aptitude for 
 breaking down old Hindu edifices, and employing their 
 materials in the erection of their own religious struc- 
 tures. At the same time, while, doubtless, very ex- 
 tensive transformations have been made in the course 
 of ages, it is not too much to suppose that, in some few 
 instances, portions of old buildings have escaped the 
 general destruction, and still stand as at first erected. 
 At any rate, as there is a vast amount of sculptured 
 stones visible in all directions on this extensive site, 
 whatever opinions may be formed respecting the existing 
 buildings in which they are more or less found, there 
 
286 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 can be none regarding the antiquity of mucli of the 
 material of which they are composed. We may fairly 
 suppose that one or more of the monasteries referred 
 to by Hiouen Thsang, together with the temples at- 
 tached to them, — as in the case of the monasteries at 
 Samath, — were situated here on the banks of the Kuiid. 
 Many of the blocks of stone have one or more letters 
 or symbols inscribed upon them, of which I made a 
 collection of seventy. They are, chiefly, of the Gupta 
 period, which is, therefore, in all likelihood, the date of 
 most of the buildings to which they primarily belonged. 
 When looking upon these remains, we cannot fail to 
 recall the time when the ancient edifices, formerly here, 
 were frequented by crowds of priests, monks, and dis- 
 ciples of the Buddhist faith. Then, probably, the tank 
 was flanked, on three sides, by a lofty terrace of 
 stone, while a spacious ghat, or flight of stairs, was 
 on its southern side. Around the edges of this terrace, 
 both southwards and westwards, ran cloisters ; and to the 
 east there must have been massive temples, capable of 
 supporting such caps or kalases, — one of them nine feet 
 in diameter, — as have been referred to in this description. 
 It is a matter of much interest to the archaeologist, to 
 save from total oblivion these scattered traces of the 
 past, when the Buddhists, who were long since expelled 
 the country, were still famous, if not powerful, and, per- 
 haps, were already engaged in that persistent struggle 
 with the Brahmans which eventually terminated in their 
 own utter extinction in India. 
 
 In illustration of these investigations, there were 
 originally submitted to the Bengal Asiatic Society two 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 287 
 
 plans, one representing this entire locality, and the 
 other, the ground-floor of the Buddhist temple; and, 
 besides, six photographic views, all which were ap- 
 pended, as plates, to the paper as it appeared in their 
 Journal. Of these, one, namely, the representation of 
 the Buddhist temple, has been reproduced in this work. 
 It should be borne, in mind that the dome is of Mo- 
 hammedan construction, and that only the lower portion 
 of the building is of Buddhist origin. 
 
288 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 FuETHEE Account of Ancient Bemains recently discovered in Benares 
 and its vicinity. — Meaning of the epithets ' ancient ' and ' old ' in 
 relation to Benares. — Ancient Remains, No. I., in EAj Qhit Fort. — 
 Ancient Remains, No. II., near R4j Gh4t Fort. — Ancient Remains, 
 No. III., Small Mosque in the Buddon Mahalla. — Ancient Mound or 
 Ridge. — Ancient Remains, No. IV., TiUyd, N41d. and Maqdam Sdhib. 
 ^Ancient Remains, No. V., LS,t Bhairo. — Ancient Remains, No. VI., 
 Battis KhambhA. — Ancient Remains, No. VII., Arhai Kangtira 
 Mosque. — Hindu Temple of Klrtti Bisheswar. — Ancient Remains, No. 
 VIIL, Chaukhambh4 Mosque. — Ancient Remains, No. IX., Aurung- 
 zeb's Mosque, near Bishes'war Temple. — ^Ancient Remains, No. X., 
 A'd-Bishes'war Temple and neighbouring Mosque. — Ancient Remains, 
 No. XI., Stone PiUar standing in Sone kii T414o. — Note. 
 
 EuLLT satisfied, as we believe most persons are, that 
 Benares is a city of extreme antiquity, we have en- 
 deavoured to ascertain to what portions this epithet will 
 apply. And by the term ' old ' is meant, in this chapter, 
 not a few hundred years merely, although a city six or 
 seven hundred years old is generally regarded as an 
 ancient city. But it is necessary to remember that 
 Benares lays claim to an antiquity of several thousands 
 of years; and, undoubtedly, it is referred to in various 
 ancient Hindu and Buddhist writings. Consequently, 
 we are not satisfied with discovering, in it, edifices 
 erected half a dozen centuries ago, any more than we 
 should feel satisfied with discovering edifices of a 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 289 
 
 similar date in Jerusalem, or Damascus, or Eome. The 
 terms ' ancient ' and ' old ' will, therefore, not be ap- 
 plied liere to buildings erected five hundred or even 
 eight hundred years ago, but to those of an anterior 
 period. 
 
 That wonderful mass of lofty houses, separated by 
 narrow lanes, and packed together in such wild dis- 
 order, — appearing, in fact, like one immense structure 
 of gigantic proportions, — which extends along the banks 
 of the Ganges for more than two miles, having a cir- 
 cumference of at least six, and which is regarded, by 
 all visitors of Benares, with great curiosity, although 
 built, for the most part, of solid stone, and presenting, 
 largely, the aspect of hoary age, has no right to the 
 epithet of 'ancient.' Some of the buildings of which 
 it is composed have been standing fully five hundred 
 years; yet there are very few indeed, if any, that 
 have not been erected since the commencement of the 
 Mohammedan period in India. Nevertheless, speaking 
 generally, this, together with a part of the northern 
 boundary o"f Benares, is the oldest portion of the present 
 city; while the vast expanse of buildings lying south 
 and west beyond it, and occupying four or five times 
 its area, is, chiefly, of recent date. 
 
 The question which we have attempted to investigate 
 is, what is there in Benares more ancient than, say, the 
 epoch of Mahmud of Gazni, who invaded India in the 
 year of our Lord 1001 ? Are there any remains of the 
 preceding Hindu, Jaina, and Buddhist periods? And 
 is there any remnant whatever of the first Hindu period, 
 before the rise of Buddhism, — perhaps in the sixth cen- 
 
 19 
 
290 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 tury B.C., — or even before that religion became paramount, 
 in the reign of Asoka, b.c. 250 ? 
 
 When, after diligent search and careful scrutiny, we 
 endeavoured to find proofs of the existence of Benares 
 during these earlier periods, we soon ascertained that 
 they were scanty, and, with a few exceptions, unim- 
 posing. The debris of ancient Benares, as was stated at 
 the commencement of this work, may be traced in the 
 multitude of carved stones, portions of capitals, shafts, 
 bases, friezes, architraves, and so forth, inserted into 
 modern buildings in the northern and north-western 
 quarters of the city. These fragments exhibit a great 
 diversity of style, from the severely simple to the ex- 
 ceedingly ornate, and are, in themselves, a sufficient 
 proof of the former existence of buildings of styles of 
 architecture corresponding to themselves, yet differing, 
 in many important respects, from the styles of modern 
 Hindu and Mohammedan structures, and coinciding 
 with those of ancient temples and monasteries of the 
 Gupta and pre-Gupta periods, the ruins of which 
 still exist in various parts of India. Were these the 
 only remains found in Benares, they could not fail to 
 awaken much curious interest in the mind of the anti- 
 quarian ; and he would, naturally, carry on a process 
 of induction in regard to them, and would say to him- 
 self: " Here are the stones ; but where are the buildings ? 
 What was their form ? What their age ?" And, with 
 the help of the ruins of other places, he would be able to 
 answer most of these questions satisfactorily, and would, 
 to a large extent, describe the buildings to which the 
 stones at one time belonged, and also determine the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 291 
 
 epochs of their erection. Our belief is, that the most 
 ancient ruin yet discovered in India exhibits nothing 
 older than some of these Benares stones, now embedded 
 in modern walls and parapets, and scattered about in 
 divers holes and corners of the city. 
 
 The fact that such old fragments are found in Benares, • 
 conjoined with the circumstance that an exdeedingly small 
 number of structural remains of any pretension to high 
 antiquity are traceable in it, goes far to prove that the 
 city has been, not once, but several times, destroyed, 
 until, — except in rare instances, and these chiefly, though 
 not exclusively, consisting of foundations and basement 
 mouldings, — not one stone of the ancient city has been 
 left upon another, and the foundations of its temples 
 and its palaces have been torn up, so that their places 
 are no longer known. Moreover, there is no manner of 
 doubt, that the site of Benares has considerably shifted, 
 and that, at one time, it came quite up to the banks 
 of the river Barna, — which flows into the Ganges on 
 its northern boundary, from which it is now distant 
 nearly half a mile, — and stretched far beyond the oppo- 
 site bank. Consequently, the Hindu pilgrim, who fer- 
 forms his wearisome journey of perhaps many hundreds of 
 miles, with the object of reaching holy Kasi, and of dying 
 in the city of his fathers, is labouring under a very 
 grave delusion ; for the city which he visits has been 
 chiefly erected under Mohammedan rule, and on a spot 
 for the most part different from that which his fathers 
 trod ; and the fanes in which he worships are not the 
 spacious temples which his ancestors built, but either the 
 pinched and contracted cage-like structures which Mo- 
 
292 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 hammedan emperors grudgingly suffered their idol-loving 
 subjects to erect, or modem imitations of the same. 
 
 I shall now proceed to describe such ruins and re- 
 mains of ancient edifices, whether Hindu or Buddhist, 
 — ^those at Bakariya Kund, spoken of in the preceding 
 chapter, excepted, — as we have discovered in Benares 
 and its immediate suburbs. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. I. 
 In Raj GMt Fort. 
 
 These remains are in the interior of the fort at Eaj 
 Ghat, in the outskirts of the city on its northern 
 boundary. There is a small tongue of high land, 
 about fifty feet above the plain below, extending to 
 the junction of the Ganges and the Barna, which, in 
 the mutiny, was strongly fortified, and has been styled, 
 ever since, the Eaj Ghat Fort. There is a belief, 
 amongst the natives, that this spot was selected, ages 
 ago, for a similar object, by the traditional Eaja Banar. 
 It is probable that, formerly, the whole of this elevated 
 space was built over, and that the Eaja governing the 
 city had his chief residence there. It is the natural 
 key, not only of modern Benares, but also of the 
 country for several miles round ; and a well-equipped 
 force in possession of it would with difficulty be ap- 
 proached and dispossessed. The Government has lately 
 abandoned this grand strategical position, on the ground 
 of its alleged unhealthiness. 
 
 A short distance to the right of the main road leading 
 into the fort, may be seen the ancient remains which 
 I will now describe, and which, next to the Buddhist 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 296 
 
 temple at Bakariya Kund, are the most complete, and 
 certainly are the most beautiful, of any yet discovered 
 in Benares. They consist of two cloisters, in a con- 
 tinuous line, each sustained by a quadruple colon- 
 nade, but differing both in height and length. The 
 smaller cloister is sixty-six feet long, and the larger 
 eighty-four; and, therefore, the entire facade is exactly 
 one hundred and fifty feet in length, whilst the 
 breadth of both is uniform, and is twenty-five feet. 
 There are eight columns in each row, in the one room, 
 or thirty-two in all ; and, in the other, there are ten in 
 each row, or forty in all ; so that the number of stone 
 pillars standing in the entire building is seventy-two. 
 Those in the smaller cloister are barely nine feet high, 
 and are all square and of a uniform pattern, a slight 
 difference only being traceable in the capitals, which 
 are of the old cruciform shape. There is not much 
 ornamentation on these pillars; but the chess-board and 
 serrated patterns are abundantly carved upon the archi- 
 traves. The pillars in the larger cloister, including 
 the capital and base, are ten feet in height; but the 
 architraves above the capitals are of the same height as 
 those in the smaller cloister, namely, one foot. These 
 pillars differ greatly, both in shape and ornamentation, 
 from those just described. Some of them are covered 
 with profuse carving, cut deep into the stone ; and, 
 in many instances, it is so sharp and well-defined, as to 
 wear the appearance of having been recently executed. 
 The lotos-plant forms a conspicuous object in many of 
 the designs, all which are striking, whilst some are 
 chaste and elegant. The chakwa or Brahmani duck is 
 
294 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 represented, in divers positions, on the noble scroll-work 
 extending along the square sides of several shafts, from 
 the base to the capital. These scroll bass-reliefs equal 
 some of the carvings on the Sanchi pillars in richness ; 
 and the designs are, perhaps, more free in their con- 
 ception. There were, formerly, human figures, probably 
 of a grotesque form, carved upon some of the pillars, 
 as traces of them are still distinctly discernible; but 
 these figures were defaced, and almost obliterated, by 
 the Mohammedans, on taking possession of the edifice, 
 and appropriating it to their own uses. The pillars 
 are regularly arranged with regard to the Sinhasan 
 or throne of Buddha ; and the finest pillars are in the 
 centre of the cloister, in the direction of its depth ; 
 and, above them, near the inner wall, the stone ceiling, 
 in two divisions of the roof, is singularly carved, and, 
 strange to say, is of the kind described, by Fergusson, 
 as Jaina architecture. One of them is covered with 
 lotos-blossoms carved in relief. 
 
 There is not the smallest doubt that these cloisters 
 have been much altered from their original condition, 
 and that principally by the Mohammedans, who trans- 
 formed them into a mosque, for which purpose they 
 were employed even as late as the mutiny in 1857, and 
 were regarded with peculiar sanctity by this people. On 
 closely examining the columns, architraves, and ceilings, 
 it is plain, not only that there has been a good deal of 
 shifting of places, but that new pillars, carved in recent 
 times, have been added to the old, some .of the old 
 have been cut up for repairs, and their separated por- 
 tions have been distributed amongst several pillars, and 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 295 
 
 joined to them. The inner massive stone wall running 
 along the entire length of the building is, evidently, 
 unconnected with the original structure ; as also is the 
 present stone floor, which is a foot and upwards higher 
 than the old. A trench having been dug on the east 
 side, it was discovered that the bases of many of the 
 columns were embedded deep below the modern stone 
 pavement ; while, in the front-part of the smaller cloister, 
 at the depth of about a foot, the outer moulding of the 
 earlier floor could be traced continuously, from one end 
 to the other. !N"otwithstanding all these extensive alter- 
 ations which the building has undergone from time to 
 time, at the hands of different masters, we cannot but 
 think that many of the columns are standing on their 
 proper sites, and that the edifice, although greatly 
 changed, is still, in its main features, a Buddhist struc- 
 ture, and formed part of an old Yihara or Temple- 
 monastery. The cloisters were transformed into their 
 present condition, as a mosque, some eighty years ago; 
 and the modern pavement was then laid down. 
 
 There is reason to believe that a third cloister, corres- 
 ponding to the smaller, formerly existed at the southern 
 extremity of the larger one; and this supposition is 
 greatly strengthened by the circumstance of a Sin- 
 hasan (already referred to) being still standing by the 
 wall in the centre of the latter, but altered from its 
 original form, having been used, by Mohammedan Mul- 
 lahs, as a rostrum or pulpit. The monastery, when com- 
 plete, was, in all likelihood, a square, each side being, 
 at least, the length of these three cloisters ; and the 
 chief Buddha was exactly opposite the centre of the 
 
296 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 square. What other buildings were formerly here, be- 
 sides those now visible, can, of course, only be con- 
 jectured. It is probable, that, on three sides, there were 
 cloisters ; and, on the fourth, namely, that to the east, 
 was a row of temples, the largest containing the prin- 
 cipal figure of Buddha. That other buildings were once 
 here is certain from the various sculptured stones found 
 near by. We observed seven pillars, sixteen isolated 
 capitals, and four large carved stones used for archi- 
 traves, some of which support a recently erected struc- 
 ture attached to the smaller cloister. 
 
 The venerable ruins described above present a very 
 remarkable appearance. In the year of the mutiny, 
 barracks for European troops having been erected in 
 their neighbourhood, they were converted into a spacious 
 cooking-room or kitchen. Fires were lighted inside, on 
 the stone floor, from one extremity to the other ; and, 
 consequently, the roof, walls, and columns were charred 
 by the heat and blackened by the soot ; so that the in- 
 terior of the edifice is now most dismal and forbidding. 
 Mr. Home went to the expense of cleaning the building, 
 and removing, as an experiment, the encrusted soot from 
 some of the carvings. Fortunately, the Mohammedans, 
 or the British Government authorities, — we know not 
 which, — in their care for these beautiful works of art, 
 have embedded them in mortar, from base to capital, so 
 that many of them might be restored. The removal of 
 the encrustations, however, will have to be accomplished 
 with the greatest care, or else the surface stone, ren- 
 dered friable by the heat to which it has been subjected, 
 will come away with the superimposed mortar, thereby 
 
BENAEKS, PAST AND PRESENT. 297 
 
 destroying the delicate edge of the carvings. We trust 
 the Government will not grudge a few hundred rupees 
 for the thorough cleaning of this interesting specimen 
 of Buddhist architecture. The inner stone wall and the 
 modern pavement should, also, be removed. 
 
 Besides these remains, there were, until quite re- 
 cently, hundreds of stones lying about in the fort, 
 bearing traces of great antiquity. In the mutiny, 
 many of these were collected, and were utilized for 
 the foundations of temporary barracks which were then 
 erected. These stones may once have belonged to the 
 monastery just described, when it existed in its in- 
 tegrity ; but they may also have been portions of other 
 contemporaneous buildings situated in its vicinity. 
 
 During the mutiny, Mr. Tresham, by Government 
 order, blew up some ancient buildings standing near 
 the monastery ; and there are still the foundations of one 
 remaining, which defied all attempts at its destruction. 
 Mr. Home also remembers a Buddhist temple, which 
 was removed to afford space for barracks. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMATNS, No. II. 
 Near Raj QMt Fort. 
 
 A few hundred yards due north from the old gateway 
 leading to the Eaj Ghat Fort, is a mound, of circumscribed 
 extent, now used as a Mohammedan burial-ground ; and 
 on its summit are the ruins of, apparently, an old Bud- 
 dhist temple. They consist simply of four pillars, richly 
 carved with scroll-work, sustaining an ancient roof. At 
 the corners of the shafts is the ordinary ornamentation, 
 resembling a chain of lotos seed-pods. The capitals are 
 
298 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 cruciform; and the bases are square, with embellished 
 faces. The ceiling is very beautifully sculptured, and 
 is composed of slabs over-lapping one another, with the 
 centre stone crowning the whole, according to the primi- 
 tive mode of Indian roof-building. This latter stone 
 exhibits the expanded petals of a lotos-blossom ; while 
 eight out of the twelve triangular spaces, formed by the 
 intersection of the slabs, are freely carved with the 
 scroll-pattern. A few sculptured stones lie about the 
 mound : amongst them is an erect figure of Buddha, 
 with garland and armlets, much mutilated. There are, 
 also, three stone beams, or architraves, bearing the chess- 
 board and spear-head patterns. In the small terrace, 
 likewise, on which the ruin stands, are inserted four 
 carved stones, taken, doubtless, from some ancient build- 
 ing formerly in the neighbourhood. The occurence of 
 three or four plain cloister pillars, of the usual form, 
 adapted by the Mussulmans as head-stones for graves, 
 together with the carved architraves already spoken of, 
 would seem to indicate that a small cloister for monastic 
 purposes must, originally, have stood upon this mound, 
 which was then terraced, and that its stones have, by 
 degrees, been removed, both for building Mohammedan 
 graves and for repairs in the fort. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. III. 
 Small Mbsqm in Buddoh Mahalla. 
 
 In the Budaon Mahalla, near the Eaj Ghat Fort, a short 
 distance south of the high road, there is a small mosque, 
 — in an enclosure, — made up, to a great extent, of old 
 remains. The building seems to have been curtailed 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 299 
 
 from its original dimensions, leaving a ruined portion 
 still standing on its southern side. The entire structure 
 contains seventeen stone pillars, eight of which exhibit 
 ornamental carvings, and, probably, belonged to a Bud- 
 dhist chaitya or temple. There are, also, eight capitals 
 inserted in the walls, without shafts and bases; and, 
 besides, there are fragments of other capitals in various 
 places. None of these old remains are in situ. They 
 were brought, most probably, from some temple in the 
 neighbourhood, — perhaps, indeed, from the mound occu- 
 pied by the small ruin not far off, referred to in No. II. 
 
 Ancient Mound or Ridge running from near the mouth of the 
 Barnd into the Adampura Mahalla. 
 
 This very remarkable ridge extends for a long dis- 
 tance, and commences at the river Barna when at its 
 flood. In the dry season, therefore, there is a stretch of 
 low land lying between its extremity in that direction 
 and the bed of the stream itself. The ridge is, mani- 
 festly, an artificial work, and was originally intended 
 either as a wall to the ancient city, or as a rampart 
 thrown up against it and the neighbouring fort of Eaj 
 Ghat. The latter supposition was that held by Mr. 
 James Prinsep, who imagined that it was cast up by the 
 Mohammedans, in their attack upon Benares, and was 
 specially directed against the fort. This supposition may 
 be true, although it is difficult to perceive how it could 
 have been of much service, whether in an attack on the 
 fort or on the city, especially at a period when artillery 
 was not in use. Had it reached as far as the river 
 Ganges, we could understand how, by severing the fort 
 
300 BENAEES, PAST ANi) PEESENT. 
 
 from tlie city, it might have been a source of danger to 
 both ; but the south-western extremity is not nearer the 
 Ganges than a third of a mile or, perhaps, more. We are 
 inclined to think, however, that this extremity was once 
 connected with that river, but at a time far more distant 
 than the Mohammedan conquest of India. On the 
 whole, it appears not unlikely that this long embank- 
 ment was the old boundary of the city in this direction, 
 in the early periods of its history, and was, possibly, 
 employed for offensive purposes by the Mohammedans, 
 on the extension of the city to the south and south-west, 
 and the consequent abandonment of this means of de- 
 fence by the inhabitants. The embankment may have 
 been carried on, originally, to the Ganges, in a straight 
 line with its present direction ; or, making a short 
 circuit, it may have entered it by Tiliya Nala, on the 
 banks of which are the remains of a Buddhist ruin, 
 which will hereafter be described. In this case, a 
 portion of it must have been thrown down, and swept 
 away, to make room for the growth of the city; and 
 there is good ground for supposing that the city ex- 
 tended, in a narrow band, on the banks of the Ganges, 
 about as far as the Man-Mandil Observatory, even, 
 perhaps, before the Christian era. Should this idea be 
 correct, it would follow that the most ancient site of the 
 city of Benares was comprised within the limits of this 
 wall, stretching across from the Barna to the Ganges, 
 marking off a tongue of land as far as the confluence of 
 the two rivers, and including the high land of the Eaj 
 Ghat Fort, which was, in all probability, once covered 
 with houses. The city must then have been of small 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 301 
 
 compass, as compared with its existing dimensions, unless, 
 as we believe, and as is indisputably certain, it crossed 
 over to the right bank of the Barna. 
 
 That both sides of the river Barna were, in former 
 days, better inhabited than at present, is somewhat sub- 
 stantiated by an examination of the ground on either 
 side. Brick debris lies scattered about among the fields 
 on the right bank of this stream ; and old coins and 
 broken stone images are, occasionally, found by the 
 people, or are turned up by the plough ; while, on the 
 other or Benares side, old remains occur in the fort ; 
 and, likewise, below it, on the low land already re- 
 ferred to, blocks of stone, some of which are carved and 
 exhibit ancient mason-marks engraved upon them, are 
 still to be seen. Moreover, it is stated, in the Ceylon _ 
 Annals, that, formerly, the city surrounding Sarnath was 
 continuous with, or a part of, Benares ; which, if true, 
 must have been at a period of remote antiquity. Indeed, 
 these records carry us back to an epoch anterior to that 
 of the historical Buddha, or S'akya Muni, and, therefore, 
 perhaps, prior to the sixth century B.C. Their state- 
 ments must, of course, be received cautiously, and not 
 as unadulterated authentic history. At the same time 
 it is certain that there was a tradition amongst the Bud- 
 dhists of India, conveyed thence by their missionaries to 
 Ceylon, that, in remote ages, the city of Benares ex- 
 tended to Sarnath. 
 
 In visiting this ridge, or embankment, it will be 
 observed that the high road leading to Eaj Ghat cuts 
 right through it ; the earth of the cutting being used to 
 raise the road above the level of the country. It is well 
 
302 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 to remark, too, that, where the road passes below the 
 fort to the ghat, the soil has been cut away, to make 
 room for it ; so that, formerly, we may suppose, that, 
 instead of a steep and almost precipitous wall, which 
 the elevated land to the east of the road now exhibits, 
 the mound of the fort, in this direction, diminished 
 in a gradual slope, terminating, perhaps, not far from 
 Tiliya Nala. 
 
 The ridge is, in one part, formed of three terraces, the 
 uppermost being, perhaps, thirty feet above the land ; 
 upon which elevated spot is the tomb of Mira Sahib. 
 In the mutiny, a large portion of the mound opposite 
 the fort was cut away, for strategical reasons ; although 
 what is left is sufl&cient to prove of great service to 
 an enemy attacking the fort. 
 
 On the south side of the ridge, in sight of Mira 
 Sahib's tomb, is an Imambara, a modern edifice, built 
 altogether of new materials ; and a few paces distant 
 from it are two small structures, one in front of the 
 other, which, although of recent erection, are partly com- 
 posed of old materials. Each building possesses four 
 ancient pillars of the Buddhist type ; and, lying about 
 in various places, are four pillars more, five halases, 
 two architraves, and seven bases, — one of the last being 
 extensively carved. All these are the spoils of some 
 ancient temple- or monastery. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. IV. 
 Tiliyd Wdld and Maqdam Sdhib. 
 
 "We have chosen to combine these remains, and to 
 speak of them under one head, because, although sepa- 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 303 
 
 rated, and standing in different Mahallas or wards, 
 they are near enough together to suggest the supposi- 
 tion, that they may have been, at one time, connected. 
 There is, to my mind, no question that, formerly, either 
 a Buddhist temple or monastery stood in this neigh- 
 bourhood, which is very rich in old carved fragments 
 of stone scattered about amongst the walls and founda- 
 tions of dwelling-houses, and in divers other places. The 
 ruins at Tiliya Nala, now forming part of a deserted 
 mosque, were, originally, so far as I can judge, a 
 portion of a temple ; yet, seeing that the remains at 
 Maqdam Sahib are only a short distance off, and that 
 sculptured stones lie everywhere about, there is some 
 ground for the supposition, that a Vihdra or temple- 
 monastery was situated in this district, and that the 
 existing remains, for the most part, belonged to it. 
 
 The ruins at Tiliya Nala are immediately above the 
 ndld or stream, on the high ground of its left bank, a 
 very short distance only from the point where it runs 
 into the Ganges, and close to the main street under 
 which the stream flows. They not only overhang the 
 ndld, but there is no doubt that, at one time, they 
 must have extended nearly, if not entirely, across its 
 present bed. They consist of seventeen massive square 
 columns, in three rows ; namely, four double columns in 
 the front row, four single ones in the second, and five 
 in the third or innermost row. Between the third and 
 fourth pillars of the last row is the Sinhasan or throne 
 of Buddha, an immense slab of stone, nine feet three 
 inches in length, and five feet and a half in breadth, 
 retreating beyond the boundary-wall behind, into which 
 
304 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 all the pillars of this row are inserted. There can be 
 no dispute that the Sinhasan was in the centre of the 
 building ; that is to say, that, as there are three pillars 
 to the right of it, there were as many to the left, in each 
 of the three rows, the front row being of double pillars 
 throughout. Eeconstructing the edifice as it originally 
 stood, there were, therefore, one row of six double pillars, 
 and t-^'o rows of six single pillars, or twenty-four pillars 
 in all. Each capital is ornamented with the bell-pendant, 
 to which the Buddhists were so conspicuously partial, 
 and which was, after them, much used by the Brahmans. 
 The double columns are surmounted by one huge capital, 
 five feet and a half in breadth; and each capital possesses 
 a long arm for the eaves-stone. Over the two inner rows 
 dre two domes, one of which is above the Sinhasan, and 
 is more ornamented than the other. There must have 
 been, originally, a third dome, to the left of the central 
 dome, corresponding to that on the right. Outside the 
 building there is a fine basement-moulding, which doubt- 
 less belonged to it, before it was seized and appropriated 
 by the Mohammedans. Estimating the building as it 
 once stood, it was quite fifty -four feet in length, and about 
 twenty -four feet in breadth. The Mussulmans may have 
 altered the primitive structure very considerably, in trans- 
 forming it into a mosque. Some of the large stones have 
 fallen into the ndld and upon its banks ; and others have, 
 probably, been used in the repairs of the bridge and 
 of its adjoining stone wall ; so that, we believe, it would 
 not be a diflicult task to find nearly all the missing 
 pillars and capitals. 
 
 The Maqdam Sahib is a square enclosure, in the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 305 
 
 Gulzar Mahalla, near to Tiliya Nala, used by the 
 Mohammedans as a cemetery. On its northern and 
 western sides are cloistered pillars, with portions of 
 ancient stone eaves overhanging their capitals, present- 
 ing, on their upper surface, imitations of wood-carving. 
 There are twenty-five pillars on the western side, and 
 twenty-eight, or, if all could be seen, probably thirty- 
 two, on the northern side. Several of the pillars are 
 carved, while some of the capitals are ornamented, and 
 some are double. There may be seen, also, handsomely 
 carved stone brackets, for the support of the eaves above 
 spoken of. The eastern wall bounding the enclosure is, 
 evidently, composed, to some extent, of cut stones of an 
 ancient date. The entire court is one hundred feet long 
 from east to west, and sixty feet broad from north to 
 south. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAIlSrS, No. V. 
 
 Zdt Bhairo. 
 
 At the junction of the Ghazeepore road with the Eaj 
 Ghat road, to the north of the latter, and about a short 
 mile from the fort, is a large square tank, on the left 
 bank of which, as on a terrace, stands the Idt, or pillar, 
 of which some mention has been made in a previous 
 chapter. It is only a few feet high ; and it is covered 
 with copper sheeting. We endeavoured to prevail on 
 the faqir residing here to permit us to lift up the cop- 
 per cap, by removing the plaster which connects it 
 with the flooring below, in order to gain a view of the 
 stone pillar which it now conceals; but so great is the 
 reputed sanctity of this object, that our efforts were 
 
 20 
 
306 • BENARES, PAST AIST) PEESENT, 
 
 entirely fruitless ; and, had "we persisted in them, a dis- 
 turbance might have been occasioned. The original 
 stone column, of which the concealed pillar is, doubtless, 
 a small fragment, was about forty feet high, and, it is 
 reported, was covered with ancient carvings, which were, 
 most probably, inscriptions. It was stated, before, that 
 this was thrown down by the Mohammedans, during a 
 terrible conflict with the Hindu population, in the early 
 part of the present century. The natives say, that the 
 pillar was thrown into the Ganges ; but, as that stream 
 is half a mile off, or more, this must have been done 
 piecemeal. In all likelihood, it was destroyed by fire, 
 the action of which on sandstone soon causes it to 
 crumble to pieces. As there is strong reason for be- 
 lieving that this was one of Asoka's pillars, it would be 
 exceedingly interesting to inspect the remaining frag- 
 ment, which we may reasonably suppose to belong to the 
 original column, and, in that case, to possess a portion of 
 an inscription sufiicient to certify its connexion with 
 Asoka, or with the Guptas, or with some other monarch 
 by whom the column was erected. 
 
 It is important, in our present investigation, to know 
 that the pillar once stood in proximity to a temple, 
 or in its courtyard : the temple was destroyed by 
 Aurungzeb ; and, on its site, a mosque was erected, the 
 courtyard of which enclosed the pillar. On examining 
 the terraces where the Idt stands, we see, quite dis- 
 tinctly, that the upper portion has been thrown up in 
 modern times, and that the ancient level of the ground 
 was some six or eight feet lower than what it now is, 
 and, indeed, was flush with the soil of the Mohammedan 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 307 
 
 cemetery close by, in the midst of which are a few 
 Buddhist remains, in the shape of pillars and architraves, 
 made np into a Mohammedan sepulchre. What this so- 
 called temple was, admits of very little question, inas- 
 much as the boundary-walls of the terrace and of the 
 neighbouring cemetery and garden exhibit a consider- 
 able variety of isolated carved remains, sufficient to 
 afford abundant attestation to the supposition, that, 
 formerly, a large structure stood on this site, covering, 
 probably, the whole extent of the ground above the 
 tank on its northern side. Some of the carvings are 
 in excellent preservation, and are worthy of being re- 
 moved to the archseological collection in the Government 
 College grounds at Benares. There are several pillars 
 embedded in the brickwork ; and, also, a stone, seven 
 feet in length, and one and a half in depth, which is 
 deserving of special remark, as from its face project 
 four magnificent bosses, each ten inches in diameter, 
 with an elevation of two inches from the surface of the 
 stone. These bosses must have formed part of the 
 decoration over the main entrance. 
 
 Below the upper terrace on which the Idt stands, is, 
 as already observed, a Mohammedan cemetery, with a 
 Bausa, or tomb, in the middle. This building rests 
 upon sixteen pillars, each eight feet two inches in 
 height, and having architraves, between their capitals, 
 one foot two inches in thickness. Moreover, there 
 are five pillars in the verandah to the south. Some 
 of the pillars are ornamented with scroll-work and 
 the lotos-plant, while their four corners are deeply in- 
 dented with representations of the lotos seed-pod. One 
 
308 BENAKESj PAST AOT) PRESENT. 
 
 pillar has eight sides in its lowest division, and sixteen 
 in its upper; and has, also, a band of four grinning 
 faces connected together, and, under them, a row of 
 beaded garlands. The pillar is crowned with a round 
 stone, projecting two inches. A curious assemblage of 
 thirty-two grotesque faces, with beaded garlands and 
 tassels issuing from their mouths, runs round the edge 
 of the stone. 
 
 It should be mentioned, that, if our conjecture, that 
 the upper terrace has been only recently thrown up, be 
 correct, then, on the supposition that the fragmentary 
 pillar on its summit is part of the original pillar, which, 
 in ancient times, stood here, it would follow that the 
 length of the existing fragment is equal to the depth 
 of the terrace above the foundations of the neighbour- 
 ing cemetery, in addition to its elevation above the 
 terrace, and to the extent of insertion of its lower 
 extremity in the primitive, but now subjacent soil. In 
 this case, it would be not less than from fourteen to 
 sixteen feet in length. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. VI. 
 Battis Khambhd. 
 
 About a third of a mile to the east of the Bakariya 
 Kund remains is a beautiful little structure, called, by 
 the natives, Battis Khambha, or " thirty- two pillars." 
 It is a very picturesque object, as seen from the Eaj 
 Ghat road, from which it is some four hundred yards 
 distant. It consists of a dome, sustained by twenty- four 
 square pillars, standing in pairs, at intervals, all round. 
 
BElSfAEBS, tAST AND PRESENT. 309 
 
 Formerly, each corner had four pillars, thus increasing 
 the present number by eight ; and then, of course, the 
 entire number was thirty-two : but two from each 
 corner have been removed, leaving the spaces occu- 
 pied by them empty. All the upper part of the 
 building is Mohammedan, while all the lower part is, 
 indisputably, Buddhist, in its style of architecture. On 
 the western side is a projection for the Sinhasan of 
 Buddha, similar to that which is seen in the temple at 
 Bakariya Kund, and, indeed, so far as our knowledge 
 extends, in all genuine Buddhist temples. The pillars 
 stand upon a platform raised above the ground. The 
 interior of the building is a Mohammedan tomb. 
 
 It is remarkable that there should be so many ancient 
 remains lying almost in a straight line from Bakariya 
 Kund to the Eaj Ghat fort; for most of the remains 
 hitherto referred to lie in this line. I have no doubt 
 that formerly a large number of Buddhist buildings 
 stood between these two boundaries ; and that the 
 foundations of some of them might be discovered, in ad- 
 dition to the more prominent remains already brought 
 to notice, if a keen search were instituted. It seems 
 evident, therefore, that there was a road here during 
 the Buddhist period, not far distant from the line 
 of the present one. This road was at right angles to 
 another, proceeding from Bakariya Kund in the direc- 
 tion of Sarnath, which still exists. Search might be 
 made along this road, for the foundations of ancient 
 buildings and Buddhist relics ; as there can be no 
 doubt that constant communication was kept up by the 
 monks of Sarnath with Bakariya Kund, in both which 
 
310 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 places there were vast monastic edifices and numerous 
 temples. 
 
 Near this ruin, and between it and Bakariya Kund, 
 is a small building, standing by the road side, in which 
 several pillars of an ancient type are inserted into 
 the containing walls. They were, very probably, 
 brought from Bakariya Eund, The building has an 
 unpretending appearance, and is kept whitewashed by 
 the Mohammedans, its proprietors. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. VII. 
 Arhdi Kangkra Mosque. 
 
 It is not our purpose thoroughly to describe this 
 handsome structure, one of the finest mosques in the 
 whole city, and which is situated in the Mahalla bear- 
 ing its own name. Its magnificent and lofty dome, as 
 well as various parts of the mosque itself, unquestion- 
 ably exhibit a Mohammedan style of architecture ; but 
 we have no hesitation in saying that by far the greater 
 portion of the building, and certainly five-sixths of its 
 materials, belong to an epoch far more distant than the 
 Mohammedan invasion. The numerous square columns, 
 with their cruciform capitals, and also the screens be- 
 tween some of them in the upper story, are of Bud- 
 dhist workmanship; but we are inclined to think that 
 both Buddhists and Hindus have made use of the same 
 materials in different eras, and that, in fact, the mosque 
 is a mixture of three styles, namely, Buddhist, Hindu, 
 and Mohammedan. The first edifice was, we believe, a 
 monastery, with, most probably, one or more temples 
 attached \ but it is hard to say whether any portion of 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 311 
 
 the original building stands in situ; and we have not 
 sufficiently examined it to be able to arrive at a de- 
 cided opinion on this point. Our conviction, however, 
 is, that certain leading characteristics of the first struc- 
 ture were perpetuated, by the Hindus, in that which they 
 raised on the departure, or rather expulsion, of the 
 Buddhists from Benares. It is not easy to determine 
 accurately what this Hindu building was ; but, perhaps, 
 it is more likely to have been a math, — that is, a 
 monastery or religious house for Hindu ascetics, such as 
 one sees in many parts of the land at the present day, — 
 than a temple. In the roof of the second story of the 
 mosque, a slab was discovered, bearing a long Sanskrit 
 inscription, towards the end of which is the date 1248, 
 which, regarded as Samvat, is equivalent to a.d. 1191. 
 The inscription itself is of no particular importance, 
 except that it abounds with references to the Hindu re- 
 ligion, and shows that it belonged to a building erected 
 by a Hindu, and to a time subsequent to the Buddhist 
 period. It alludes, also, to certain tanks, temples, and 
 maths, erected and embellished in and about Benares, 
 which, of course, were all in honour of Hinduism. It is 
 not unlikely, indeed, that these structures were erected, 
 and that this inscription was written, with somewhat of 
 a religio -political object, to testify to the triumph which 
 Hinduism had then recently gained over Buddhism ; 
 for there is good ground for believing that the build- 
 ings at Sarnath were not burnt, and that the monks 
 were not expelled therefrom, till about the twelfth 
 century of our era, — that is, about the period here 
 referred to. We have obtained a copy of the inscrip- 
 
312 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 tion in Sanskrit, with a translation in Hindi, through 
 the kindness of Babu Siva Prasad, Joint Inspector of 
 Schools, whose intelligence, enterprise, and extensive 
 knowledge place him in the front rank of native gentle- 
 men in these provinces. 
 
 We would direct especial attention to the small side- 
 door or postern, with its massive wall, to the right of the 
 building, which has a striking air of originality; and 
 also to two noble capitals, of gigantic dimensions, lying 
 in the court-yard in front of the mosque, and now 
 converted into small cisterns, which are the largest 
 carved capitals we have found anywhere. 
 
 HINDU TEMPLE OE KIRTTI BISHES'WAE. 
 Alamgiri Mosque. 
 
 Near the temple of Briddhkal, — one of the very few 
 Hindu temples of the earlier Mohammedan period, still 
 standing in Benares, not appropriated by the Musul- 
 mans, — and a few paces from the well-known shrine of 
 Eatneswar, is a mosque, spoken of, in the neighbourhood, 
 as the Alamgiri Masjid, which was erected during the 
 reign of Aurungzeb, or Alamgir, and was designated 
 after that Emperor. TJpon it may be read the following 
 inscription, in Arabic : — 
 
 The translation of which is : " Turn your face towards 
 the sacred mosque. 1077 Higira," or a.d. 1659. 
 
 The mosque is built, tradition states, from the ma- 
 
■ BENARES, PAST AJSTD PRESENT. 313 
 
 terials of the Hindu temple of Kirtti Bisheswar, and 
 has three rows of lofty stone pillars, eight in each row ; 
 but the pillars at the extremities are not single, but 
 three-fold. The capitals are large and massive, and are 
 cruciform in shape. In the centre of each shaft, upon 
 all the four sides, is the boss ornamentation, each boss 
 being fully a foot in diameter. The pillars have a 
 double base, a false and a true; the one consisting of 
 the, lower end of the shaft, the other, the true base, 
 of a separate stone. Both are covered with carvings. 
 Some of the architraves also bear upon them the boss 
 pattern ; but it is possible that these were, formerly, 
 shafts of pillars. The inner wall of the mosque is, 
 likewise, of stone. Yiewed from behind, many of the 
 blocks display various mason-marks inscribed upon them. 
 From an examination of the marks or symbols, and 
 of the architecture represented by the remains now 
 briefly described, there is no reason for supposing that 
 the temple which once stood here, and which was 
 levelled to the ground by Aurungzeb, was of great 
 antiquity. "We should be inclined to fix the date of 
 the Hindu temple at some five or six centuries ago. 
 It must have been a place of great sanctity ; as many 
 Hindus still visit the spot on pilgrimage, and, instead 
 of an image, — which, we suppose, the Mohammedans 
 would not allow them to put up, — worship the spout 
 of a fountain, rising up in the centre of a small tank 
 in the court-yard of the mosque. It is not improbable 
 that the tank is the site of the old temple ; but, if the 
 temple was a large one, as is likely, it must have oc- 
 cupied not only a considerable portion of the present 
 
314 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 courtyard, but also some extent of ground on either 
 side. A few persons perform their devotions^ in the 
 tank daily; but the grand festival is at the Sivardtri 
 meld, for one day in March, when crowds throng reve- 
 rently around the sacred spout, and present it, — or, per- 
 haps, regarding it as a god, they would say Mm, or her, 
 — with abundant offerings ; all which, down to the last 
 rupee, are received by the Mullah of the mosque, who 
 thinks, we suppose, that, if he connives at the idolatry, 
 — which, in fact, he cannot put down, — he may as well 
 be handsomely paid for it. 
 
 In noticing the remains of the Kirtti, Bisheswar temple, 
 we are aware that they do not come under the desig- 
 nation of 'old' or 'ancient,' as applied to other remains 
 described in this chapter ; and yet, as they are not with- 
 out interest, we have given them a place in it. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. VIII. 
 Chaukhambha Mosque. 
 
 The long Chaukhambha street in the city of Benares, 
 in or near which most of the great bankers have their 
 places of business, takes its name from four low massive 
 pillars, of modern erection, towards its north-eastern 
 extremity, standing in the lowermost story of a lofty 
 building, the weight of which they entirely sustain. 
 There is a narrow court running out of this street, 
 terminating in a small enclosure, on the further side 
 of which is a mosque. The entire enclosure has a very 
 remarkable appearance, and, for the archaeologist, is a 
 place of considerable interest. The entrance is by a 
 
BEKAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 315 
 
 doorway let into a breastwork or wall formed of blocks 
 of stone. The wall is twenty feet long, thirteen feet 
 high, and four feet thick, and is constructed, for the 
 most part, systematically, as is evident from the orna- 
 mentation on one stone answering to that on the stone 
 contiguous to it. Over the doorway is an inscription, in 
 Arabic. But, with the exception of this doorway and 
 the castellated structure crowning the wall, there is 
 nothing Mohammedan in its architecture. 
 
 The mosque and corridor adjoining are supported by 
 twenty-four pillars, of which six are double. The 
 capitals are of the simple cruciform pattern; and their 
 outer limbs are decorated with the dwarf bell-orna- 
 mentation. To the south of this building is a staircase 
 leading up to the roof, built of heavy stones ; and along 
 the south side of the enclosure, for about twenty-five 
 feet, is a low stone wall, six feet in height ; and, 
 attached to it, is a peculiar ledge, three feet from the 
 ground. It is known that a similar wall exists on the 
 north side, also ; but it is hidden from view. 
 
 Most of the pillars, probably, once formed part of an 
 ancient edifice ; but of what character, it is difficult to 
 say. The whole of the old materials may have been 
 brought from other places ; and yet there is a peculiarity 
 about the position of some of them, which leads us to 
 conjecture that the original building from which they 
 were taken stood on this spot ; but, if so, it is likely 
 that it occupied a much larger space. The wall, with 
 the projecting bench, is very curious. The latter may 
 have been used by priests or monks to recline upon. 
 
316 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. IX. 
 AurungzeVs Mosque, nea/r Bishe^war Temple. 
 
 The mosque built by the Emperor Aurungzeb on the 
 foundations of what is commonly, though erroneously, 
 regarded as the old or original Bisheswar temple, is of 
 interest, not for its own sake, — for, notwithstanding its 
 lofty appearance, it is a structure without any striking 
 beauty in its own right, — ^but on account of the ancient 
 remains with which it is associated and from the ma- 
 terials of which it has largely been constructed. The 
 courtyard consists of a terrace, raised some five feet 
 above the level of the temple-quadrangle in the centre 
 of which it is situated, occupying a large portion of the 
 area. On walking round the quadrangle, and examining 
 the retaining wall of the terrace, one's attention is 
 arrested by peculiar openings, or niches, in the wall ; 
 and, in these, architraves, and capitals, and parts of 
 pillars on which they rest are visible; though, in some 
 places, the openings are filled with earth, almost up to 
 the level of the capitals. Proceeding from west to east, 
 the ground gradually declines; until, after descending 
 four steps, and arriving opposite a large stone bull, or 
 Nandi, the opening in the teiTace becomes clear, and a 
 portion of a cloister, such as surrounded a Buddhist 
 monastery, comes into view, and reveals the character of 
 the entire series. The cloister is now divided into a 
 number of small chambers, supported by genuine Bud- 
 dhist pillars, severely simple in their type, and, without 
 doubt, of considerable antiquity. Formerly, a succes- 
 sion of such cloisters encompassed not less than three 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 317 
 
 sides of the existing terrace, wliiclL must, consequently, 
 date from the same epoch. It would be desirable, if 
 the consent of the Mohammedans could be obtained, to 
 remove the external wall, by which these cloisters have 
 become almost completely hidden, in order to ascertain 
 their extent and condition. 
 
 This series of cloisters formed, we conjecture, the 
 lowermost story of a Vihdra or Temple -Monastery 
 which once enclosed the entire space occupied by the 
 terrace, and rose to the height of, probably, two or 
 three storeys above it. On the southern side stood 
 the chief temple, which, on the suppression of Bud- 
 dhism, passed into the hands of the adherents of 
 another religion, who transformed it according to their 
 own tastes. The mosque on this side is altogether 
 composed of the remains of an ancient temple, of large 
 dimensions and of very elaborate workmanship. The 
 high pillars, moreover, on its northern face have been 
 transferred from the same spacious building. These 
 remains are, chiefly, Hindu ; and it is unquestionable 
 that the edifice, which was destroyed in order to make 
 way for the mosque, was an old temple of Bisheswar. 
 An excellent ground-plan of this temple, prepared from 
 a minute examination of the extant remains, was 
 drawn by Mr. James Prinsep, and published, by him, 
 in his "Views of Benares." The remains are, however, 
 not entirely Hindu. Some portions, judging from the 
 elaborate ornamentation of certain details which it was 
 the custom of the Buddhist architects to leave plain, 
 seem to be of Jaina origin, and to have been appro- 
 priated by the builders of the Hindu temple. If this 
 
318 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 supposition be correct, the mosque, with its terrace, 
 exhibits a singular architectural anomaly; and, further- 
 more, points to no fewer than four religious communities, 
 namely, Buddhist, Jaina, Hindu, and Mohammedan. 
 The square terrace pillars, with their cruciform capitals, 
 are so simple in structure, that, compared with the 
 highly carved and decorated pillars of mediaeval and 
 later Buddhist times, they almost belong to another 
 style, which might be called early Buddhist or Hindu, 
 accordingly as one or other of these communities is sup- 
 posed to have invented it. It is not our object to discuss 
 the interesting and important topic, who were the first 
 Indian sculptors and builders of permanent edifices ; 
 yet it is one that, by and by, — when materials have been 
 sufficiently accumulated, which they have not been at 
 present, — must be thoroughly investigated. After such 
 investigation, the antiquity and, possibly, the origin of 
 these terrace-pillars may be definitely ascertained. 
 
 AlS'CIENT REMAINS, No. X. 
 Ad-Bisheiwar Temple and neigjibowring Mosque. 
 
 Ad-Bisheswar is the name of a lofty temple situated a 
 short distance from Aurungzeb's mosque just referred to, 
 and in sight of it; and it is held, by some persons, 
 to be the most ancient temple of this deity. Only a 
 doubtful interpretation of its name may bear out this 
 supposition ; for the temple itself, from the pinnacle to 
 the base, has nothing really ancient about it. On the 
 eastern side of the enclosure, the ground takes a sud- 
 den rise of eighteen feet, forming a terrace manifestly 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 319 
 
 of artificial construction. On this side there is a re- 
 taimng wall of stone masonry, which is wanting on 
 the southern side of the terrace, where there is only an 
 earth bank. The other two sides of the terrace are 
 covered with buildings, so as to prevent the exact de- 
 termination of its boundary in these directions. On the 
 flank contiguous to the j^d-Bisheswar enclosure stands 
 a mosque, erected some eighty years ago or less, but 
 not finished, for want of money. It was built of stones 
 found on the spot, with new Chunar slabs added. The 
 terrace existed before, with the buttress, and is, evidently, 
 of ancient construction. 
 
 The building is in two divisions, — each of which is 
 twenty-three feet and a half in length, — connected to- 
 gether by a massive wall, five feet and a half thick, 
 composed of large blocks of stone. This wall projects 
 considerably beyond the building into the courtyard to 
 the east, and has the appearance of a huge buttress ; 
 but what its object is, — seeing that the mosque, which 
 is entirely of stone, is amply sustained by its columns 
 and walls, and requires no such additional support, — it 
 is hard to say. Possibly, the buttress is pierced with a 
 staircase, that led, formerly, to an upper story which 
 the buttress supported; and the Mohammedan archi- 
 tects, not caring to remove the massive prop, have re- 
 tained it in the mosque. They appear, moreover, to 
 have confined themselves chiefly to materials lying upon 
 the spot; as, in three places, carved pillars, similar to 
 those sustaining the centre aisle, have been adopted as 
 architraves. There are fourteen columns in the interior 
 of the mosque, which are peculiarly, but not exten- 
 
320 BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 sively, carved, and are crowned with ornamented 
 capitals. The western wall is strengthened, externally, 
 by three rounded buttresses, which are of the Pathan 
 dynasty, like those found at Jaunpore, and were built 
 at the same period. They did not exist in the Buddhist 
 period, and were added as much for ornament as for 
 strength. All the mosques about old Delhi have them. 
 There is no doubt, in our mind, that the A'd-Bishes- 
 war temple stood on this site, and was destroyed by the 
 Mohammedans, who, as usual, transferred its stones to 
 their own mosque. The neighbouring temple bearing 
 this name the Hindus built, with the connivance of 
 their friends, the Mohammedans, of course for the 
 purpose of perpetuating the worship of their old idol, 
 Ad-Bisheswar. Yet, while allowing that the edifice 
 which stood on the site of the present mosque when the 
 Mohammedans took possession of it was the temple of 
 Ad-Bisheswar, we are, nevertheless, equally certain, that 
 the primitive building was of a Buddhist character. We 
 were inclined, at one time, to imagine, that, from its 
 proximity to the BuddLhistVihara (No. X.) just described, 
 it must have been a part of that monastery; but two 
 reasons have led us to abandon this idea. One is, that a 
 separate terrace, of extensive dimensions, was appropri- 
 ated to this structure, whatever it was, and that, between 
 this terrace and that of No. X., the ground is depressed, 
 corresponding to the depression of all the neighbouring 
 soil ; and the second ia, that the styles of architecture of 
 the ancient buildings, upon or around the two terraces, 
 differ exceedingly. We are led to conjecture, therefore, 
 that the original structure was Buddhist, but later, in 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 321 
 
 date, by several hundred years than the vihdra erected 
 on the terrace opposite. It was, probably, a quadrangle, 
 encompassing the four sides of the terrace. Nothing 
 remains of it, except the massive transverse wall, with 
 the buttress, and the lower portion of the retaining wall. 
 The amount of stone material expended on the present 
 comparatively small building is exorbitantly great, and 
 furnishes a proof that an edifice of much larger dimen- 
 sions formerly stood here. 
 
 ANCIENT EEMAINS, No. XI. 
 Stone Pillar. — Sone Jed Tdldo. 
 
 Before closing this chapter, we would direct attention 
 to a stone pillar, standing in the midst of a tank be- 
 tween the city of Benares and the Buddhist remains at 
 Sarnath. The tank is called Sone ka Talao, or the 
 Golden Tank, and is situated on the opposite side of 
 the river Barna, near the road which branches off from 
 the high road leading to Ghazeepore, and not far from 
 the point of its junction with several other roads. The 
 road is a portion of the Panchkosi, or sacred boundary 
 of Benares. Proceeding along it for somewhat less than 
 a mile, you arrive at the tank, which is to the right 
 of it, and is approached by a strong and well-built ghat, 
 on which are several Buddhist figures, brought, most 
 probably, from Sarnath. It is three hundred yards in 
 length, and one hundred and forty in breadth. In the 
 midst of it is a round pillar,, eighteen feet high, and 
 upwards of nine in circumference, composed of great 
 blocks of stone, cut in quadrants, and put together 
 without cement or mortar. There is no inscription on 
 
 21 
 
322 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the pillar, and there are no mason-marks; so that we 
 have been unable to assign any date,' even approximately, 
 to its erection. Its base is always, we believe, sur- 
 rounded by water ; yet it would be worth while to; ascer- 
 tain whether any inscription exists below. We probed it 
 to its foundations, but found no face for an inscription. 
 It is likely that the pillar has somewhat sunk, and that, 
 formerly, the tank was less choked with mud than it. is 
 now. In appearance, therefore, the pillar was once higher 
 than at the present time. It was, probably, surmounted, 
 formerly, by a lion, or some other figure ; and, on close 
 examination, it is seen to bear marks of great age. 
 
 It is necessary to state that the ancient remains which 
 have been thus described are, for the most part, unim- 
 posing in appearance. They are, however, none the 
 less interesting on that account. Seeing that Benares 
 is a city of undoubted antiquity, and has ever been 
 famous throughout the long period of Hindu history, 
 it is, perhaps, strange that it does not possess remains 
 of buildings that existed in past ages, of a more striking 
 character. And yet the very fact of the fragmentary 
 nature of its ancient relics may be a strong corrobor- 
 ative proof of its great antiquity ; especially when it 
 is remembered that it has been the home of a large 
 population, and the constant resort of pilgrims from all 
 parts of the country, for thousands of years; that it 
 has always taken a prominent part in the religious 
 and political struggles which have visited the land ; and 
 that, consequently, it has been exposed, beyond most 
 cities, to the wear and tear of time. I have regarded 
 it as a matter of interest, if not of importance, to 
 
BENABES, PAST AND PEESBNT. . 323 
 
 explore these remains, and to give a succinct account 
 of some of them. Opinions may differ as to their date, 
 origin, and interpretation ; but no one, I imagine, 
 cherishing any love for the past, will despise such 
 research, or will characterize as vaiD and uninstruotive 
 the effort that has now been made to throw some light, 
 however dim, on the outer aspects of ancient Benares. 
 The conclusions to which we have come may be chal- 
 lenged; but the labour itself, — and it has been by no 
 means slight, although the results of it are compressed 
 into a small space, — will, I trust, be regarded with 
 approval. If our conjectures be right, we have been 
 able to trace out, in Benares, remains connected with 
 several Buddhist monasteries and temples, and, also, 
 the sites on which they stood. We cannot, indeed, 
 actually assert that these remains belonged to any of 
 the thirty monasteries which Hiouen Thsang affirms to 
 have existed in the kingdom of Benares in his day ; 
 and yet there is a strong probability that the sites, if 
 not the ruins and scattered remains, of some of them 
 have been indicated in the foregoing pages; 
 
 In conclusion, we may remark that we are much in- 
 clined to believe that many of the ancient Buddhist mon- 
 asteries and temples were on a line of road leading from 
 Bakariya Kund to the Eaj Ghat Port, in one direction ; 
 on a second line, at right angles to this, running from 
 Bakariya Kund to Sarnath ; and, on a third, proceeding 
 from the site of Aurungzeb's mosque, and joining one of 
 the others, or both, possibly, at Bakariya Kund; and 
 that, hereabouts, other remains of such buildings, if 
 found at all, will, mostly, be discovered. 
 
324 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Since the above was written, I have visited and ex- 
 amined the lands lying on the banks of the Ganges to 
 the north-east of the river Barna. To my utter astonish- 
 ment, though, I must confess, not contrary to my anti- 
 cipation, I found brick and stone debris scattered over 
 the fields for, as far as I could conjecture, five miles or 
 thereabouts. In many places, the rubbish lies thick 
 upon the ground, choking up the soil ; and, to a large 
 extent, the deposit can be traced continuously. Here 
 and there small bits of sculptured stone are visible ; 
 and, occasionally, where the broken bricks and stones 
 are in very great abundance, they have been collected 
 into ridges or small mounds. This is especially mani- 
 fest at the termination of the deposit at a spot called 
 Patharaka Siwan, where, in ancient times, doubtless 
 stood a large fort, of which the foundations may even 
 now be partially traced. Although the fields beyond 
 this point seem to be clear of rubbish, yet, further on, 
 at Muskabad, at the distance of a mile, it recommences, 
 and becomes as thick as in any other place. Perhaps 
 this latter was the site of an outlying town. 
 
 But what are we to say of these remains ? They lie 
 immediately on the great river's bank, and never extend 
 from it more than three quarters of a mile. It is,. I 
 think, very evident that, all the way from the mouth of 
 the Barna, this bank has been, in the lapse of cen- 
 turies, considerably cut away. Indeed, I believe that 
 as much as a quarter of a mile may have fallen into the 
 river. In all probability, therefore, the space covered 
 by debris was much broader than it is at present. There 
 
BENARES, PA.ST AND PRESENT. 325 
 
 can be no question, however, that here a great city 
 once stood. I have no hesitation in expressing my be- 
 lief that, judging from the great scantiness of ancient 
 structural remains in the present city of Benares, — 
 dating from even the Buddhist period, not to speak of 
 the pre-Buddhist epoch, when, as we know from his- 
 torical records, Benares was in existence, — the origi- 
 nal city of the pre-Buddhist and early Buddhist eras, 
 for the most part, must have occupied this site. 
 Beyond the northern extremity of the remains of the 
 earlier city is a series of mounds, also covered with 
 debris, tending in a north-westerly direction, where 
 formerly forts or towns existed. I think it not un- 
 likely that, in a far distant age, the connexion of the 
 primitive city of Benares with Sarnath was along the 
 course of these mounds. Sarnath is spoken of, in the 
 Ceylon records, as though it may have been a city of 
 itself; and there is no doubt that it is referred to, in 
 ancient documents, as a part of Benares. Now, modern 
 Benares is nearly half a mile to the south of the Barna ; 
 whereas Sarnath is out in the country, about three miles 
 to the north of that stream. If we suppose, however, 
 that Benares, in its most remote period, was mainly on 
 the north side of the Barna, likewise ; and if such sup- 
 position is corroborated by extensive remains of ancient 
 buildings, in the shape of brick and stone debris, 
 stretching over several miles of country, as already 
 shown, and terminating in mounds lying in the di- 
 rection of Sarnath ; the proof approaches to demonstra- 
 tion, that, at that early epoch, a union, more or less in- 
 timate, existed between Sarnath and Benares, as stated 
 
326 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 by historical records. I had no opportunity to examine 
 thoroughly the country lying between these remains 
 and Samath; but I feel satisfied that, at some point 
 in these remains, a line of debris would be found con- 
 necting the two spots, with only a few breaks in its 
 course, — the debris indicating the former e:dstence of 
 solid buildings, and being the broken relics of the 
 same. This point must not be searched for at the 
 southern extremity of the ancient city, but at the 
 northern extremity ; and, perhaps, the line of junction 
 may be the line of the mounds just now referred to : 
 but of this I am not able to speak positively. 
 
 If these observations respecting the site of the early 
 city be correct, it must follow that the derivation of the 
 word Benares, as the city lying between the Barna and 
 the Asi, is utterly absurd, as applied to the most ancient 
 city. That it may be taken to explain the word, as 
 denoting the city of modern times, even as far back as 
 the Gupta dynasty, and, perhaps, somewhat further, is, 
 historically, unobjectionable. But Banar-asi has nothing 
 whatever to do with the most ancient city of Benares, 
 and, as applied to it, would be a ludicrous misnomer. 
 It seems, indeed, probable that the Buddhists were the 
 first people to occupy, to any extent, the southern side of 
 the Barna; and such a notion is remarkably substan- 
 tiated by the existence of various Buddhist remains 
 there, as described in this chapter ; but none of them, 
 so far as I know, date from earlier than the Gupta 
 period. It is, however, extremely likely that a small 
 portion of the fragmentary remains found in this quarter 
 belong to an epoch much anterior to this period ; having 
 
BEN-AEBS, PAST AND PRESENT. 327 
 
 been, probably, attached to buildings existing there when 
 Benares lay chiefly on the north side of the river Barna, 
 and had suburbs or outlying edifices on its southern side. 
 The Panchkosi road, or sacred boundary of modern Be- 
 nares, — ^regarded, by many natives, as of immense anti- 
 quity, — is no older than the city vhich it encompasses, 
 and must also be assigned to a comparatively recent 
 .date. Many pleasant and, perhaps, hallowed associations, 
 connected, in the minds of multitudes, with Benares, as 
 it now stands, will be found to possess but precarious 
 foundation, when they discover that the Benares of to- 
 day is by no means identical with the Benares of their 
 remote forefathers. 
 
328 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 Source of the great wealth of Benares— Its chief articles of Commerce- 
 Its native Bankers — Its Poor. — Increased desire for Education. — The 
 Government or Queen's College. — Monolith in the College Grounds. 
 —The Normal School. —The Church of England Mission.— The 
 London Society's Mission. — The Baptist Society's Mission.— Native 
 Schools of various classes.— The Benares Institute. — Public Buildings 
 in the Suburbs. — Monument to Mr. Cherry. — Influential Native Gen- 
 X tlemen of Benares. 
 
 Benares is a city of great wealth, yet not of great 
 trade. Just as there are fashionable places of resort 
 in more civilized countries, to which multitudes of per- 
 sons are drawn at certain seasons of the year, so, in 
 India, there are places that are annually visited by 
 crowds of people, but with this difference, that they 
 are of nearly all ranks and conditions, and their object 
 is, mainly, of a religious character. Of this type is 
 Benares. Myriads of Hindus come on pilgrimage, every 
 year, to the sacred' city, not a few of whom are mer- 
 chants, landed proprietors, and princes. Some of these 
 latter classes are casual visitors ; others, however, possess 
 residences of their own in the city, where trusty ser- 
 vants, and, perhaps, one or two members of their 
 families, habitually dwell, Eajas and men of high 
 social position, in all parts of India, pride themselves 
 on having a house in Holy Kasi. Tor these reasons. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 329 
 
 cliiefly, it has come to pass that Benares is one of 
 the richest cities in India. 
 
 Although religion, rather - than trade, forms the 
 principal occupation of the inhabitants of Benares, 
 still the merchants constitute a numerous and impor- 
 tant body. A considerable trade is carried on in sugar, 
 saltpetre, and indigo, which are produced in the dis- 
 trict. Silks and shawls are manufactured in the city; 
 and Benares is especially famous for its gold embroidered 
 cloths called Kincob [Kimkhwdb) and for its beautiful 
 filigree work in gold. A large quantity of Manchester 
 goods yearly finds a ready market here, and is sold for 
 consumption in the neighbourhood, or is sent to other 
 parts of the country. The most important place «rf 
 trade, however, for English cotton manufactures, in the 
 E"orth-western Provinces of India, is the city of Mirza- 
 pore, which, at one time, was the chief emporium, not 
 only of these Provinces, but also of a large portion of 
 Central India. One very striking sign of general pros- 
 perity, in JSTorthern India, and, I imagine, in the 
 country at large, is seen in the taste, now almost 
 universal, for white or parti-coloured British fabrics 
 of fine texture, which, although neither so durable nor 
 so cheap as native products, are much more elegant. 
 No persons except the poorest are destitute of one 
 or more raiments made of English cloth ; and, in the 
 cities and towns, no one considers himself fit for re- 
 spectable society, if arrayed in cotton garments of native 
 manufacture. 
 
 The bankers of Benares constitute an extensive fra- 
 ternity. The habits of borrowing, and of plunging reck- 
 
330 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 lessly into debt, are lamentaMy prevalent in India. As 
 multitudes are ready to borrow, it is a natural conse- 
 quence that tbere should be many ready to lend, 
 especially as the rate of interest is enormously high. 
 This pernicious custom of society enriches a few, but 
 impoverishes many, and greatly interferes with the com- 
 fort and happiness of the Hindu community generally. 
 
 While the number of persons with very small incomes 
 in Benares is, undoubtedly, extremely large, yet, for a 
 city of its size, I believe the number of abject poor 
 is remarkably small. The sum needed for the support 
 of a family there, would, in England, be regarded 
 almost with incredulity. As labour, for the most part, 
 iJs sufficiently abundant, there is no reason, therefore, 
 why any family, the leading member of which is in 
 health, should be in distress ; yet, should he fall 
 ill, unless other members of the family are able to 
 work, it will, probably, be brought into difficulties, 
 though not, at first, into misery. The friendly banker 
 is then applied to, who, for a time at least, is usually 
 willing to lend the family money, at high interest, 
 expecting to be repaid when the sick person is restored 
 to health; but, at the same time, an incubus of debt 
 will rest upon the household for many long months, and, 
 it may be, for years. 
 
 The desire for education, above all in the English 
 language, is rapidly increasing, from year to year, 
 amongst nearly all classes of natives in Benares. At 
 one time it was a hard matter to induce parents to send 
 their sons to the Government and Mission schools, to 
 receive a gratuitous education ; now they are eager to 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 331 
 
 send them, and are also willing to pay tlie fees imposed 
 in every such school. Indeed, so keenly are the 
 natives beginning to appreciate the advantages of Euro- 
 pean knowledge, that it is found not only practicable, 
 but even desirable, occasionally to increase the scale 
 of fees. 
 
 The Government College in Benares, or, as it is now 
 termed, the Queen's College, is a noble Gothic structure, 
 of the perpendicular style, faced with Chunar free-stone. 
 It was completed in the year 1853, at a cost of £12,690. 
 Some have regarded it as the most imposing building 
 yet erected by the British in India. Its architect was 
 the late Major Kittoe, E.E., the Government Archseo- 
 logist. The centre tower is seventy-five feet high ; the 
 nave, sixty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty-two 
 feet high ; and the transept, forty feet long, twenty feet 
 wide, and thirty-two feet high. At each corner are 
 smaller towers, connected by open arcades. The names of 
 those persons who subscribed to defray the expense of 
 certain portions of this edifice have been recorded, by 
 the architect, on such portions, which are designated as 
 their special gifts. 
 
 The College has had the advantage of distinguished 
 ■scholars as Principals and Professors. Its late principal 
 was Dr. Ballantyne, a gentleman of wide reputation 
 for his acquaintance with Sanskrit literature and philo- 
 sophy ; and its present is E. T. H. Griffith, Esq., M.A., 
 Boden Sanskrit Scholar, Oxford, well known for his ex- 
 quisite poetical translations of Sanskrit legendary verse. 
 Dr. Pitzedward Hall, Librarian of the India Ofiice, 
 and, formerly, Inspector of Schools in the Central Pro- 
 
332 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 vinces of India, whose erudition and researches have 
 placed him in the front rank of living Sanskrit scholars ; 
 and, also, Dr. Kern, Professor of Sanskrit in the Uni- 
 versity of Leyden, once shed a lustre on the College, 
 as Anglo-Sanskrit Professors. Seven hundred youths 
 receive instruction, the numher having considerahly 
 increased under the ahle management of its present 
 Principal. There are two distinct and separate depart- 
 ments in the College, namely, Sanskrit and English. 
 The Sanskrit College was founded by the Government 
 of India, in the year 1791, and is regarded as the 
 Oxford of Imjia, in respect of the cultivation of 
 Hindu learning. The number of students in the 
 English department has more than doubled of late 
 years. 
 
 Within the surrounding grounds, and lying to the 
 north • of the College, is a monolith, thirty-one and a 
 half feet high, which was discovered near Ghazeepore, 
 and was placed there by order, and at the expense, 
 of Mr. Thomason, late Lieutenant-Governor of the 
 North-Western Provinces. It bears an inscription, 
 somewhat defaced, in the Gupta character. 
 
 A short distance from Queen's College is the Normal 
 School, established, by the Government, for the train- 
 ing of village schoolmasters. It is under the superin- 
 tendence of D. Tresham, Esq., a gentleman of great 
 ability and perseverance as a teacher, who has been, for 
 many years, a faithful and very efficient servant of the 
 Government. Every year about one hundred and twenty 
 young men become qualified for appointments as teachers. 
 
 In Benares there are three Missions, — ^belonging to 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 333 
 
 the Church of England, and to the London and Bap- 
 tist Missionary Societies, — which are labouring, with 
 more or less efl&cient means of European and native 
 agency, in conveying the Gospel to the inhabitants of 
 the city and the surrounding villages. The Mission' in 
 connexion with the Church of England was established 
 in the year 1817. It comprises four ordained and two 
 lay missionaries, thirteen native Christian school-teachers, 
 and six readers or catechists. There are, besides, bun- 
 galows for the resident missionaries, orphan institu- 
 tions for boys and girls, a village inhabited by native 
 Christians, a Gothic Church capable of holding between 
 three and four hundred persons, two Normal Schools, — 
 one for the training of native Christian young men as 
 teachers and evangelists, the other for the training of 
 native Christian young women as teachers of female 
 schools, — a large College, and several girls' schools. 
 The Normal Schools have a catholic basis, and admit 
 pupils from all Protestant missions in the neighbour- 
 hood, who receive a good education, fitting them for 
 employment in their several missions. The College is 
 situated in the city, and is called Jay Narayan's Col- 
 lege, from a native gentleman of rank (Eaja Jay Nara- 
 yan Ghosal), who founded it, in 1817, for the education 
 of his poorer countrymen, and liberally endowed it. The 
 Government also gives a large sum, annually, to its funds. 
 In the year 1866, the college had four hundred and 
 seventy -five students ; and the number of native Chris- 
 tians in the mission was four hundred and thirty-seven. 
 A new Church is now being erected in the midst of the 
 Hindu population of the city, near to Dasasamedh Ghat. 
 
334 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The Mission of the London Missionary Society was 
 inaugurated in the year 1821, and is situated, like the 
 Church of England Mission, in the suburbs of the city, 
 but between it and the military cantonments. It has 
 four missionaries, one ordained native minister, several 
 cateehists, and one hundred and six native Christians. 
 In 1866, the mission sustained eleven schools ; nine for 
 the education of boys and yoxmg men, and two for the 
 education of girls, numbering, in all, five hundred and 
 seventy-nine pupils. A substantial Church, in the 
 Grecian style, was erected about twenty years ago. 
 The girls' school is an elegant Gothic structure, built 
 by Major Kittoe, in the year 1852. 
 
 The Mission of the Baptist Missionary Society was 
 founded in 1817, and was, originally, an outpost of the 
 Serampore Mission, in connexion with that body. For 
 many years it had no European agent, and its opera- 
 tions were carried on by an East Indian, a man of great 
 simplicity and piety. Of late years, the Society has, 
 generally, had two European missionaries residing in 
 Benares. In 1866, the Mission possessed two mission- 
 aries, three native cateehists, three candidates for the 
 office of catechist, and two Christian teachers. The 
 number of converts is small, as compared with the two 
 other Missions. There is an orphanage for the support 
 and training of native boys and girls. A handsome 
 Church, in which Divine service is performed for the 
 benefit of the English and East Indian residents, was 
 erected, a few years since, in the cantonments. 
 
 Other schools, unconnected either with the Govern- 
 ment or with missionary institutions, exist in the city. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 335 
 
 They are of several kinds. There are, first, those which 
 receive a Government grant, and yet are entirely under 
 native management. Of such I believe there are not 
 more than two or three. One, originated by several 
 Bengalis, and called the Bengali Tola Preparatory 
 School, is of a very useful character. The second class 
 consists o£ numerous Sanskrit schools, or small colleges, 
 presided over by pandits, and attended only by Brah- 
 man youths; their object being simply the cultivation 
 of Sanskrit literature. A third class embraces schools 
 which, impart a rudimentary knowledge of Hindi, to- 
 gether witk writing and accounts : these are sadly des- 
 titute of method and proper organization. And there 
 is a fourth, intended chiefly for Mohammedan youths, 
 and devoted largely to the study of Persian and Arabic. 
 The importance of educating Hindu women is beginning 
 to be recognized by intelligent natives in Benares; and 
 schools are springing up, for their benefit, in addition to 
 those established by the missionaries, not to mention 
 the private instruction imparted in some of the sandnas, 
 or female apartments in the houses of native gentlemen. 
 One of the most hopeful and encouraging signs of the 
 times, in a country like India, — which has, for many ages, 
 been in a stagnant and unprogressive state, — ^is^ that the 
 thirst for knowledge is, year by year, greatly increasing. 
 In some, of the cities and large towns, educated natives 
 are forming themselves into societies, with the view of 
 investigating and discussing subjects connected with 
 civilization and human progress. These societies, espe- 
 cially in Bengal, have, sometimes, a directly religious 
 bearing, and are strongly opposed to the prevailing 
 
336 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 idolatry; but, in the N'orth- Western Provinces, they 
 are, usually, more cautious, and, although advocating 
 sentiments of a liberal and enlightened cha,racter, yet, 
 for the sake of peace, avoid religious matters. The in- 
 fluence of all, however, is, undoubtedly, more or less good, 
 tending to dissipate the mists of superstition from the 
 minds of their members. In Calcutta and some other 
 places, a schism has arisen between educated and unedu- 
 cated natives. The former, as a class, have avowedly 
 abandoned idolatry, and, with it, all religious reverence 
 for the sacred books of their country, and have estab- 
 lished a new sect known as the Brahmo Somaj. Natives 
 of intelligence and education have proceeded with greater 
 timidity and hesitancy in the holy city of Benares, and 
 have been careful not to assail too suddenly the pre- 
 judices of strict Hindus. 
 
 Several societies were, at one time, in existence 
 in Benares. One of these, the most distinguished of 
 all, styled the Benares Institute, still flourishes. It 
 numbers more than one hundred native members, of 
 whom some are princes and nobles of high rank, others 
 are pandits and maulavis, — men of great learning in 
 Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian literature, — some are pro- 
 fessors and teachers in colleges, others are magistrates 
 and judges in the courts of law, while all are men 
 of consideration and local influence. A few European 
 residents of the station are, also, connected with the 
 Institute. At the meetings -which, are held, lectures 
 and essays are delivered on subjects of general interest 
 and importance ; and the discussions which are carried 
 on are often most earnest and exciting. Hindus of the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESBNT. 337 
 
 old "school here contend with Hindus of the new school, 
 — men of the past, determined to uphold the old sys- 
 tems to the last, with men of the present, determined 
 at least to modify them, and to bring them to the test 
 of rigid scrutiny; all which is beneficial to the mind, 
 although, it may be, not always satisfactory in its im- 
 mediate issue. The Institute has fiye constituent sections, 
 each of which has a European president and one or more 
 native secretaries. The sections are devoted to the fol- 
 lowing subjects : Education ; Sociology or Social Pro- 
 gress ; Philosophy and Literature ; Science and Art, 
 with which is associated Medical and Sanitary Improve- 
 ment (in Benares); and Jurisprudence. The Institute 
 published a volume of Transactions in the year 1865. 
 
 The foreign residents of Benares live chiefly at 
 Secrole, an extensive suburb on the north-west side 
 of the city. This Station is divided by the Barna 
 river, to the south of which the greater po'rtion of 
 the military cantonments and buildings connected there- 
 with are situated, and, likewise, the English Church, 
 the Government College, the Medical Hall, the old Mint, 
 the town residence of the Maharaja of Benares, the three 
 Missions of the Church of England, and of the London 
 and Baptist Societies, and the Courts of Law of the 
 Civil and Sessions Judge, the Deputy Judge, and the 
 Judge of Small Causes. To the north of this river 
 are the houses of the civil officers of Government, the 
 Courts of the Commissioner of the Division, and of the 
 Collector and other Magistrates of the district; several 
 bungalows, inhabited by deposed Eajas and other na- 
 tives ; the Wards' Institution, for the residence of sons 
 
 22 
 
338 BBNAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of native noblemen, under special charge of the Govern- 
 ment, and while pursuing their studies at Queen's Col- 
 lege ; the beautiful Public Gardens, supported by sub- 
 scription ; the Swimming Bath ; the Jail, in which, 
 occasionally, seventeen hundred prisoners are confined ; 
 the Lunatic Asylum, established in 1812, sheltering 
 one hundred and ten patients; the Blind and Leper 
 Asylum, with one hundred and thirty inmates, founded, 
 in 1825, by Eaja Kali S'ankar Ghosal; and the Cemetery. 
 A Hospital and four Dispensaries are situated in various 
 parts of the city, and afford gratuitous relief to numerous 
 patients daily. 
 
 In the cemetery is a lofty monument, erected to the 
 memory of Mr. Cherry — ^formerly Political Eesident at 
 Benares — and a number of European gentlemen, who 
 were all killed together on the 14th of January, 1799. 
 Being seated at breakfast with Wazir Ali, the deposed 
 Nawab of Oudh, on a signal being given, the Nawab 
 and his servants rushed upon them, and the former 
 stabbed Mr. Cherry with his own hand, whUe the rest 
 were slain by his native attendants. The Nawab be- 
 lieved Mr. Cherry to be opposed to his interests, and, 
 therefore, took this atrocious means of showing his 
 resentment. 
 
 Benares is, and has long been, a favourite place of 
 residence and resort for native princes. At the head 
 of the Hindu community of the city, is the Maharaja of 
 Benares, — descendant of the famous Eaja Cheit Singh, 
 — a person of much amiability and geniality of dis- 
 position, who, by reason of these excellent qualities, and 
 also of the high station he occupies, commands the 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 339 
 
 respect of all classes. The Maharaja of Vizianagram, 
 K.C.S.I., late Member of the Legislative Council of 
 India, lived there for several years. His knowledge of 
 English, his liberal views, and his abundant generosity- 
 secured for him a position of considerable influence. 
 Another former member of the Indian Council, Eaja 
 Deo Narain Singhj K.C.S.I., President of the Benares 
 Institute, has won golden opinions, both from the Eng- 
 lish and native community, for the zeal he has displayed 
 in promoting many useful projects of social and national 
 interest. Nor must I omit to mention the popular and 
 kind-hearted Babu Eutteh Narain Singh, Vice-President 
 of the Institute, at whose house the meetings of this 
 society are held ; and his accomplished son, Babu Ais- 
 warya Narayan Sinh, the Secretary of the Institute. 
 One of the most enterprising men of the city is Babu 
 Siva Prasad, — of whom mention has already been made 
 in this work, — who, by his personal labours as Joint 
 Inspector of Schools, and by the many valuable books 
 he has written, has done more, perhaps, for the educa- 
 tion of the people than any other native in the North- 
 Western Provinces of India. As a litterateur, the dis- 
 guished Mohammedan, Saiyid Ahmad Khan, is the most 
 prominent of his coreligionists. He is the author of 
 a Commentary, in Urdu and English, on the Sacred 
 Scriptures, part of which has already been printed, — a 
 work that has excited no little curiosity amongst various 
 classes of persons. Connected with the Government 
 College are several natives of great learning, the names 
 of some of whom are known beyond their own country ; 
 such as Pandit Bapu Deva S'astri, Honorary Member 
 
340 BENARES, PAST AOT) PRESENT. 
 
 of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, and Professor of Mathe- 
 matics and Astronomy in the Sanskrit College ; and 
 Babu Mathuraprasad, author of the valuable Trilingual 
 Dictionary, in English, Urdu, and Hindi, lately pub- 
 lished. 
 
341 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 Sentiments engendered by the contemplation of the city of Benares- 
 Its history, the history of India. — Principles of progress at work in 
 the city. — Changes visible in native society. — The Brahmo Samdj. — 
 Diminished study of Sanskrit. — Diminished faith in idolatry, in 
 Benares and Northern India generally. — Influence of education on 
 Hindu youths. — A Martin Luther for India. — Influence and spread 
 of Christianity. — Priests of Pisdoh-Mochan Tank. — Literary and Ee- 
 ligious Societies amongst the natives. — The Benares Institute — 
 Nature of its discussions. — Lecture of Pandit Lakshmajl — His 
 account of the consequences of Hinduism.,— Effect of Missions and 
 Education on Benares, and on India. — Religious agitation in India. — 
 What is the destiny of Idolatry, and of Christianity in India ? — The 
 Future in respect of Benares. — Remarks of the Rev. Dr. Thomson, 
 Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States, on 
 the rehgious and social condition and future prospects of India. 
 
 The ancient and modern buildings of Benares and 
 its neighbourhood, about which I have been discoursing, 
 were constructed by a living, earnest people, who have, 
 for the most part, passed away, but have left these 
 remains behind them, illustrative of their power and 
 skill, of their greatness and glory. By examining these 
 buildings, we gain some knowledge of the people who 
 erected them; and this is the main object we should 
 have in view. Undoubtedly, there is a subtle mys- 
 terious pleasure awakened in the breast by the con- 
 templation of an old ruin ; but it owes all its force 
 to the fact that the old ruin is associated with human 
 existence in a by-gone age, with the forefathers of the 
 
342 BBNAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 present race inhabiting tlie earth. These sentiments, 
 again, are modified in proportion to the extent of our 
 knowledge of the past. For instance, if we are able to 
 accumulate data sufficient to compare one epoch with 
 another, we are conscious of experiencing pleasure or 
 pain, in proportion as we find humanity progressing or 
 degenerating. There are few sentiments more elevating 
 to the soul than those which spring from the study 
 of a nation which has carried on a long and desperate 
 struggle with great systems of error and moral cor- 
 ruption, and has come out of the conflict triumphant, 
 with clearer perceptions of truth and purer notions of 
 virtue. On the other hand, there is no sentiment more 
 depressing than that which is produced by the study 
 of a people who have declined from bad to worse ; from 
 one abomination to another ; from one system of evil to 
 others more and more opposed to truth, to reason, and 
 to God. 
 
 Now, in regard to the history of Benares, I cannot 
 say that many pleasurable feelings have been engendered 
 in my miad, as I have pondered over it. Its history 
 is, to a great extent, the history of India ; and, there- 
 fore, it is hardly fair to isolate the city from the country, 
 and to pass judgment on it alone. Speaking, then, of 
 this great city as representative of an immense empire, 
 one is bound to say, that, while its career has been of 
 long duration, it has not been of a character to awaken 
 much of enthusiasm or admiration. It cannot be said 
 that either the moral, or the social, or even the intel- 
 lectual, condition of the people residing here is a whit 
 better than it was upwards of two thousand years ago. 
 
BEKARE8, PAST AND PEE8ENT. 343 
 
 One fails to trace, throughout this vast period, any ad- 
 vance in those higher principles of human action, the 
 practice of which alone makes a nation truly illustrious 
 and great. On the contrary, the revelations of the past, 
 brief and scattered though they be, are found to estab- 
 lish the fact b^ond all dispute, that, at least in one dis- 
 tant epoch of Hindu History, more respect was paid to 
 truth, honesty, and virtue, than is generally shown by 
 the present inhabitants of India. Now, just as we do 
 not admire a man who happens to be a hundred years 
 old, unless we know that he has lived a life of integrity 
 and uprightness, and has increased in wisdom and probity 
 with his years, so we must withhold our admiration from 
 a city or nation which, from a combination of certain 
 peculiar circumstances, has drawn out an existence of 
 wondrous length, but, in respect of its virtues and moral 
 excellences, in respect of those higher qualities which 
 mainly distinguish man from the brute, and by the pos- 
 session of which he becomes, in a measure, assimilated 
 to his Creator, has, for many ages, been in an unprogres- 
 sive and stagnant condition. Such a nation or city may 
 possess fine buildings, fine temples, fine ghats, and fine 
 tanks, as Benares has done for thousands of years ; but 
 its material splendour will only augment the pervading 
 gloom, just as the stars of heaven give intensity to the 
 darkness of night. 
 
 These remarks are intimately connected with the ob- 
 ject of this work, which has reference not only to the 
 physical and external circumstances of Benares, but also 
 to its highest moral relations. While I look with pro- 
 found regret on much of the past history of India, I 
 
344 BENARES, PAST AND PEESEKT. 
 
 look forward to its coming history with strong hope and 
 confidence. The sacred principles of progress, which 
 have raised the western nations of the world to that 
 high position of civilization and greatness which they 
 at present occupy, have already reached this land, and 
 begun to operate upon its inhabitants. These principles 
 have both an intellectual and a spiritual aspect, tending 
 everywhere to strengthen and expand the mind, as well 
 as to purify the heart, and, when brought to bear upon 
 communities and nations, regenerate them socially and 
 religiously, by bringing them into harmony with God. 
 They have, therefore, a divine origin, and, if properly 
 applied, never fail to improve those who receive them, 
 and to lift them up to Him from whom they proceed. 
 
 The great changes manifestly taking place in the ma- 
 terial and social condition of the people of India are more 
 than equalled by the changes being wrought in their 
 religious sentiments and habits. What the telegraph, 
 and railroads, and canals, and bridges, and metalled 
 roads are accomplishing, physically, in opening up the 
 country, and in developing its immense resources, so 
 much, and more, Christianity and education are effecting, 
 intellectually, in uprooting error and superstition, in 
 imparting right notions respecting virtue and religion, 
 and in elevating the people generally. The most con- 
 spicuous and decided illustration of this is, undoubtedly, 
 visible in some parts of Bengal, particularly in Calcutta 
 and other cities and towns in which the society called 
 the Brahmo Samaj exists. This society now numbers 
 several thousands of adherents, who are, for the most 
 part, men of education and, intelligence, and is, next to 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 345 
 
 Christianity, the most formidable assailant of idolatry in 
 India. It is, also, professedly, a stout opponent of caste ; 
 but, in practice, its members are not so much released 
 from its bondage as from that of idolatry ; nor are they 
 such unequivocal adversaries to its authority as to the 
 authority of the* numerous gods of the land. 
 
 In Benares and its neighbourhood, Bengalis exert but 
 little influence, except upon their fellow-countrymen of 
 Bengal residing there ; for they are regarded, by the 
 Hindustani population, as foreigners, although holding 
 the same religion ; and their sentiments and projects 
 are always looked upon with suspicion. But even here 
 the Brahmo Samaj has a branch society, which is slowly 
 exerting an influence similar to that which the parent 
 society exercises. Such an influence, wherever it exists, 
 although not all that Christians desire, yet, so far as it 
 goes, is, to a large extent, salutary. It is mixed up 
 with error, but, nevertheless, contains many noble prin- 
 ciples, the operation of which upon the hearts and 
 consciences of the natives cannot fail to raise them far 
 above the degraded social and spiritual condition in 
 which, for ages, they have remained. Better, far better, 
 that all India should attach itself to the Brahmo Samaj, 
 than that its inhabitants should blindly persist in the 
 worship of Siva, and Krishna, and Eam, and should 
 continue benighted by the fatal errors which such 
 worship sanctions. But, in saying this, I am no advo- 
 cate for the adoption of this religion as such. I 
 earnestly hope that, having taken a great step in ad- 
 vance of gross heathenism, the members of the Brahmo 
 Samaj will take another, still further in adyance, and yet 
 
346 BENAHES, PAST AKD PRESENT. 
 
 more decided, and will embrace the pure religion of 
 Christ, in its entirety, from which nearly all that is good 
 in their own reformed religion has been derived. 
 
 However, the signs of improvement apparent in Be- 
 nares, and in the North-western provinces generally, have 
 little or no connexion with this society, or with its ad- 
 herents, but are the legitimate results of other agencies 
 locally at work. They are of a twofold character. 
 There is a destructive process visible, on the one hand, 
 and a constructive process, on the other. The old fabric 
 of Hinduism is being undermined and destroyed ; and a 
 new structure, altogether different in form and material, 
 is being erected. These I shall speak of conjointly ; be- 
 cause, in point of fact, they can hardly be separated. 
 One of the principal reasons that Benares is so famous 
 is, that it was formerly the resort of large numbers of 
 Brahmans, who, divided into schools and colleges, pur- 
 sued the study of the ancient Sanskrit writings. At one 
 time there were many hundreds of such establishments, 
 in which thousands of students were taught the philo- 
 sophical tenets of Hinduism ; and princes and nobles, in 
 all parts of India, vied with each other in the support 
 they rendered to the priests and pandits of Benares, and 
 to the numerous Sanskrit colleges established in it. Enor- 
 mous sums were annually given for this purpose, so that 
 learned pandits and their disciples were alike nourished 
 and cared for. Such munificence to teachers and pupils 
 naturally attracted to Benares aspiring young Brahmans, 
 from every province of India, who, receiving a thorough 
 education in certain branches of philosophy, during their 
 long and severe course of study, returned, eventually, to 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 347 
 
 their native villages and towns, and became great local 
 authorities on all religious topics, and the defenders and 
 expounders of the national creed. For the most part, 
 their support was rendered annually; but, for several 
 years past, especially since the mutiny, the amount of 
 that support has greatly diminished. The consequence 
 is, that the pandits, in many instances, have abandoned 
 the close study of Sanskrit, and, with it, the instruction 
 of their pupils, and have largely directed their attention 
 to other and more profitable pursuits. At the present 
 moment, I have been given to understand that not 
 twenty families of Brahmans in all Benares are devoted 
 to the study of the Yedas, and that, of those which en- 
 gage in this peculiar study, there is not one indigenous 
 to Benares, but all are of the Bhatt Brahmans from 
 Gujerat. I cannot, however, vouch for the absolute 
 truth of this statement, although I believe it is quite 
 true that the study of the Yedas has very much fallen 
 off in Benares. Not only are the most ancient sacred 
 books being neglected in Benares, but, with the ex- 
 ception of a few favoured works, such as the Eamayana, 
 the Bhagavad Gita, and certain of the Puranas, in which 
 the sensuous forms of Hinduism, now the vogue in India, 
 are depicted with oriental prodigality of imagination and 
 intensity of extravagance, and, perhaps, with the ex- 
 ception, also, of works on astrology, the interest for 
 Sanskrit literature is rapidly decaying ; and it is almost 
 a certainty, that, a few years hence, Sanskrit will be 
 scarcely studied at all, except in the Sanskrit College. 
 In addition to the reason already assigned for the pro- 
 duction of this state of things, it should be remarked, 
 
348 BENAEBS, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 that the pandits are beginning to see that various 
 situations are open to them under British rule, which 
 they can fill with honour and comfort to themselves; 
 and, as they are just as desirous of worldly ease and 
 distinction as other people, it is only natural that they 
 should be anxious to obtain them, even at the risk of 
 foregoing their favourite study. 
 
 Again, while it is an undoubted fact, that Hinduism 
 is still kept up by the people generally in the temples, 
 at the sacred wells and tanks, on the ghats, and in the 
 holy streams, with enthusiasm and punctiliousness, yet 
 it is, I believe, indisputable, that there are thousands of 
 persons, in this city alone, who are not satisfied with 
 their rites and devotions ; and, although, for the sake 
 of appearance, they do as others do, they have no faith 
 whatever in idolatry. Furthermore, there are some who 
 have entirely abandoned it, except under certain cir- 
 cumstances, when the necessity of their position has got 
 the better of their convictions, and who, nevertheless, 
 have not outwardly embraced a better creed, nor have 
 any immediate intention of doing so. As already re- 
 marked in a previous chapter, this is an age of temple- 
 building, in Benares and in all this part of India, such 
 as has not been known, perhaps, since the period pre- 
 ceding the Mohammedan rule and succeeding the 
 decliue and extinction of Buddhism in India ; and yet, 
 withal, it is an age of uneasiness, anxiety, and alarm, 
 among all ranks of rigid Hindus. These latter know 
 well, that they are erecting temples in vain, and that, 
 while they are contributing to the outward splendour 
 of their religion, its inner life is being gradually under- 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 349 
 
 rained and destroyed; for the thouglit constantly rises up 
 in their minds, that their sons are a different race from 
 themselves, with new and enlarged ideas, antagonistic to 
 and destructive of those which they and their forefathers 
 long cherished. The ground, they feel, is slipping from 
 under them ; and there is a dim prevision of conscious- 
 ness in their breasts, that, one day, their temples will 
 be forsaken, and that the huge structure of their re- 
 ligion will fall with a crash. 
 
 These remarks are especially true with regard to the 
 youths brought up in the Government and Mission col- 
 leges and schools. These institutions are yearly sending 
 forth a large number of young men, well-trained and 
 well-educated, who understand our English books, speak 
 and write our language, take delight in European litera- 
 ture and civilization, and are generally, more or less, 
 acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures. During their 
 course of study, they have reflected upon the facts of his- 
 tory, of science, and of the Christian religion, that have 
 been brought before their attention ; and they have, al- 
 most involuntarily, been led to compare them with the 
 dogmas of their own religion, and with the practices 
 which it either permits or enjoins. The consequence of 
 this course of instruction and reflection is, that, after 
 spendiag several years as students, when they come to 
 go forth to the business of the world, they flnd them- 
 selves very dififerent, in thought and belief, from their 
 friends and parents at home. A few of them, as shown 
 before, of more courage than the rest, whose hearts the 
 grace of God has touched, honestly avow their disbe- 
 lief in idolatry and belief in Christianity, and, in spite 
 
350 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 of all opposition, cast in their lot with the small but 
 continually increasing body of native Christians. Others, 
 — ^but how large a class I cannot say, — abandon their 
 idols, yet do not become Christians. Others, again, — 
 a considerable number, I believe, — worship idols re- 
 luctantly, from feelings of respect to their relations and 
 acquaintances, and, if possible, solely on public occa- 
 sions and at festivals. They are not yet ready to give 
 up everything for their principles; they are not ready 
 to sacrifice property, position, family, and friends, for 
 what they have been brought to feel is the truth. 
 
 The fact is, all this class are beginning to be scan- 
 dalized by idolatry, and somewhat ashamed of it. They 
 know too much to be honest and conscientious idolaters. 
 They cannot willingly prostrate themselves before an 
 image of stone or clay. Some have deeper feelings than 
 others ; and some are too frivolous and thoughtless to 
 distress themselves much about the matter. But, I be- 
 lieve, very few, indeed, of the educated class, — that is, 
 educated on the English model, — are thorough and 
 hearty idolaters ; and I am satisfied, that there is not 
 one who does not hold Hinduism with a lighter and looser 
 grasp than formerly, or than would have been the case, 
 had his mind not been expanded and benefited by the 
 education he has received. Let it be well understood, 
 that education de-Hinduizes the Hindu, breaks down idol- 
 atry, and inspires him with a distaste for it, and a latent 
 desire to be free from it. Not long since, as I was con- 
 versing with an educated native gentleman in Benares, 
 he made a remark of great significance, as showing the 
 feeling of men of his own class, attached by association 
 
BENAHES, PAST AND PRESENT. 351 
 
 to idolatry, and yet prepared for something better, if 
 only a movement were commenced, and if some one of 
 courage, of force of character, and of enthusiasm, would 
 lead the way. "We need," he said, " a Luther amongst 
 us ; " as who should say, that, under the guidance of a 
 Martin Luther, he himself, with the rest, would break 
 away from Hinduism; that, led by such a man, a new 
 era of religious reformation would be inaugurated in the 
 land; and that aU who were longing for reform, who 
 were ready to be free, but not daring to be so, would 
 rush eagerly to his standard, from every quarter. 
 
 This brings us to the constructive process at work 
 in this city, and in other places in the country. It was 
 no easy task, but one of gigantic diflS.culty, to awaken a 
 desire for knowledge, or for any improvement whatever, 
 amongst a people so confident in their own creed, so 
 satisfied with their own condition, and so profoundly 
 unconscious of the necessity of any change in the one 
 or in the other. Nevertheless, the task has been per- 
 formed, and with astonishing quickness. And it may be 
 affirmed, with perfect truth, that the desire for know- 
 ledge, for an advanced civilization, for a thorough con- 
 formity to some of the enlightened usages of life 
 practised by European nations, and for the possession 
 of nobler principles than idolatry inspires, is the most" 
 important and noticeable feature among all the changes 
 now taking place in native society. In accomplishing 
 this result, the liberal legislation of an upright Govern- 
 ment, the education imparted in the Government and 
 Missionary Schools, and the various infiuences, of a more 
 or less salutary character, produced by the great mate- 
 
352 BENAHES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 rial improTements whieli British enterprise and skill 
 have introduced into the country, have lent their aid; 
 but the most potent and efficacious instrument of all, it 
 must be confessed, has been the direct and indirect 
 teaching of Christianity in many places, the patient and 
 persistent exhibition of its divine principles, the preach- 
 ing of the Word to all classes, in the city and in the 
 village, in the streets and in the lanes, and in all places, 
 and at all practicable times, perseveringly and uninter- 
 mittingly. 
 
 Putting together all the favourable circumstances con- 
 nected vrith the Hindus in relation to the progress of 
 Christianity among them, I consider that there is every 
 reason for encouragement and hope in the future. In-' 
 deed, I feel that it is incumbent on the Church to render 
 special thanksgiving to God for the wonderful change in 
 the sentiments of the people generally which He has 
 already graciously effected. To cherish doubts and fears 
 in the prosecution of this great work, or in regard to its 
 ultimate issue, would be significant of unbelief, and of 
 distrust of God's all-powerful grace. It is one of the 
 most gratifying features of the spirit of inquiry now 
 manifest among the natives, that it has spread to the 
 most unlikely and unpromising members of the com- 
 "munity. I will give an illustration of this assertion. 
 It is well known, that a large number of priests are 
 engaged in temple and other religious services in Be- 
 nares. They are a very bigoted people, and, in fact, 
 with the pandits, are the main stay of Hinduism. Of 
 this entire class, the most prejudiced and most strongly 
 attached to idolatrous rites are the Ganga-putras, or 
 
BENAEESj PAST AND PRESENT. 353 
 
 sons of the Ganges, men who gain their livelihood by 
 the offerings made by worshippers at the ghats of the 
 sacred stream and at certain sacred pools in the city. 
 There is a celebrated reservoir in Benares, where some 
 forty thousand pilgrims, from all parts of India, annually 
 present sacrifices to their ancestors, and bathe. Not more 
 than five or six head-priests direct the religious cere- 
 monies of this host. And it must be borne in mind that 
 the ceremony, once performed, need never be repeated 
 here ; so that the pilgrims are renewed every year. It 
 has been the custom, for several years past, for this tank 
 to be visited, occasionally, by missionaries and native 
 evangelists from the missions in the city, for the pur- 
 pose of preaching to both priests and pilgrims. In this 
 way several of the priests became well acquainted with 
 Christianity, and also personally attached to ourselves. 
 But I must confess that we were greatly astonished, 
 one day, at receiving a visit from two head-priests, ac- 
 companied by some seven or eight disciples. These had 
 come to the mission, professedly for the purpose of con- 
 fessing their belief in Christianity, and of making ar- 
 rangements for publicly abandoning Hinduism and em- 
 bracing the true religion. I regard the circumstance 
 as one of incalculable significance, as indicative of the 
 influence which the Christian religion is exerting on the 
 people, even on that class most difficult to reach and 
 most wedded to superstition. IN'or is its significancy at 
 all diminished by the fact that not one of these persons 
 persisted in his determination, and that all, startled by 
 the obstacles in the way, — not raised by the missionaries, 
 but entirely by themselves, — after a short interval, re- 
 
 23 
 
354 BENARES, PAST AND PEBSENT. 
 
 turned to their temples, and to their idolatrous practices, 
 as before. 
 
 On the 24th of December, 1866, a lecture was de- 
 livered before the Benares Institute by a Hindu, — not 
 a Christian, nor a member of the Brahmo Samaj, — 
 named Pandit Lingam Lakshmaji Pantlu Garu, pri- 
 vate secretary to his Highness the Maharaja of Yiziana- 
 gram, on "The Social Status of the Hindus," in which 
 some very remarkable statements were made on a great 
 variety of topics connected with the social usages and 
 inner life of his fellow-countrymen. It is astonishing 
 that a Brahman, before a company of Brahmans and 
 others, forming the elite of native society in the holy 
 city, should have had the courage to utter sentiments 
 like the following, striking at the root of the prevalent 
 philosophy and religion of the land. At page 27, the 
 Pandit says: — 
 
 "Then we come to the Augean stables of our religion 
 — the never failing source of all our misery, of all our 
 demoralization, of all our deterioration, in short, of- our 
 ruin and fall. Our faith, as all of you are aware, is of 
 two kinds, one idolatrous and the other monotheistic ; 
 yet both are so intermixed that it is impossible to treat 
 of the one without touching the other. We have, in- 
 deed, a trinity, to represent the creating, the preserving, 
 and the destroying powers ; and we are charitable enough 
 to give to each of these gods a wife. Then we have the 
 ten incarnations of the preserving power .... Then 
 we have idolized and deified everything possible ; giving, 
 at the same time, with sedulous care, a wife to each god. 
 This is the Puranic account of our popular faith. In 
 
BENAEES, PAST AND PEESENT. 355 
 
 the superior system, which is generally called the Ve- 
 danta philosophy, there is but one self-existent, eternal 
 Supreme Being, who is the cause of all, and into whom 
 everything is finally absorbed. In both systems, man 
 is not a free agent: prompted by the within-himself- 
 seated diyine power, he acts ; yet, inconsistently, he en- 
 joys the fruit of his good actions, and suffers pain for 
 the bad ones. In the Yedanta system, heaven and hell 
 are not formally recognized. In both, our souls pass 
 through many bodies, not only human, but also those of 
 all sorts of animals, — ^nay, even through different parts 
 of inanimate creation. "We cannot blame our ancestors 
 for building such a system of theology for ns; but, as 
 intelligent and rational beings, it behoves us to examine 
 whether our present religious ideas are consonant with 
 reason, and whether they are calculated to give us hap- 
 piness both here and hereafter. Idolatry is denounced 
 by our own texts; it is, indeed, intended for small in- 
 tellects. If we attribute to God the creation of this 
 world 5 if we endow Him with the qualities of omnipo- 
 tence, omnipresence, and omniscience; if we call Him 
 the regulator of every mundane thing, how can we, 
 without inconsistency, represent Him as a small idol ? 
 Is it not the greatest insult that we can offer to the 
 Almighty, by representing Him in any shape ? Can we 
 represent him ? . . . . The shape in which we worship 
 Mahadeva is most revolting to all who have any sense 
 of decency and personal respect left in them. Not to 
 say that we regard the numerous idols as monuments 
 of some bygone powers, and no more; this would be 
 something reasonable, at least. On the contrary, we 
 
356 BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 regard every idol we worsliip as tlie self-existent, eternal, 
 Supreme Being, who is the cause of everything, and into 
 whom everything is finally dbsorled. 
 
 " Purity of personal character is nothing to many of 
 us : the Ganga (Ganges) and our idols help us to heaven ! 
 But, sir, we are not free agents; what we do, we do 
 prompted by the divine essence implanted in us. Yet 
 we enjoy the fruits of our good acts, and suffer punish- 
 ment for our sins ! Our souls pass through a series of 
 births, according to our actions, over which we have no 
 control ! If we do everything prompted by the im- 
 planted divine essence, and if unreasonably God punishes 
 us for our sins, and rewards our merits, all by carrying 
 our souls through a series of corporeal existences, then 
 what need have we of a God ? Does not this throw us 
 into the dark abyss of atheism? We do nothing of 
 our own accord, not even the act of worshipping our 
 favourite idols ! All this nonsense is the fruit of endless 
 and superstitious priestcraft under which we groan." 
 
 Although, in the actual prosecution of Missionary 
 labour, not only in Benares, but also in other places 
 in India, there are many difficulties and discourage- 
 ments to encounter, both in the opposition of idolaters, 
 and in the not infrequent inconsistency of native Chris- 
 tians, yet the results are most extensive and extra- 
 ordinary. Considering the small amount of money which 
 has been expended, the limited means which have been 
 employed, and the brief space of time which has elapsed 
 since the Missionary enterprise was inaugurated in 
 the sacred city, and bearing in mind, likewise, the. 
 stern fact that Christianity has there met with its 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 357 
 
 fiercest and most determined opponents, that it is the 
 great seat of caste prejudice and priestly domination, 
 that it is the chief and acknowledged bulwark of idol- 
 atry and superstition in all India, and that, in short, 
 Hinduism has there sat enthroned in the midst of pomp 
 and power, sustained by the learning and subtlety of 
 the Brahmans, and by the wealth and authority of 
 rajas and princes from all parts of the country, for a 
 period stretching over many ages, it is most surpris- 
 ing that so much has been achieved. In appearance, 
 Christianity has been more successful in many places 
 in India than in Benares ; yet, when the peculiar 
 obstacles which exist in that city are taken into con- 
 sideration, I believe it is not too much to say that it 
 has, in the aggregate, accomplished as much there as 
 in any city in the land. It has been proved, too, in 
 Benares, as elsewhere, that, wherever idolatry has come 
 into direct antagonism with the Gospel, it has, together 
 with other acknowledged evils, such as caste, super- 
 stition, and false philosophy, in association therewith, 
 fallen before it. 
 
 To extend these observations, so as to include within 
 their scope the entire peninsula of Hindustan, and, at 
 the same time, to bring them to a conclusion, I would 
 remark, that the results of missions in India are not 
 surpassed by anything that has been accomplished, of a 
 religious character, in modern times, either in England, 
 or in America, or in any quarter of the globe. These 
 results are both direct and indirect ; direct, in the way 
 of conversions from the heathen; indirect, in regard to 
 the general enlightenment and progress of the people, 
 
358 BEKARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 incident to the operation of Christian Truth and Euro- 
 pean Civilization upon their minds. It is progress in 
 sound knowledge, iu thought, in the quickening of con- 
 science, and in true religion. Christianity is now a 
 power in India, a felt and acknowledged power, which 
 men of all castes and ranks, including Hindus of the 
 strictest sects, respect and fear. What is the great 
 prominent question at this moment agitating no small 
 portion of the millions of India ? Not the increased 
 social happiness and prosperity of the people, nor the 
 augmentation of commerce and trade, nor the vast im- 
 provements in the country, — visible on every hand, won- 
 derful as they all are, — but this, "What is Truth ? "What 
 constitutes religion ? What is the destiny of Idolatry, 
 and what that of Christianity, in the coming ages ? The 
 people are thinking, comparing, arguing, — not knowing 
 exactly what to do. India is much in the condition of 
 Eome previously to the baptism of the Emperor Con- 
 stantine. Idolatry, here as there, now as then, is falling 
 into disgrace. Men are becoming wiser. Truth, in its 
 clearness and power, is gradually entering their minds, 
 and changing their habits and lives. 
 
 India is undergoing an intellectual and also a moral 
 and religious revolution. The Past is slowly losing its 
 bewitching influence over the public mind. The Hindu 
 dares to think, and has ever dared, — though he lacks the 
 courage to act up to new convictions ; — yet the inspira- 
 tion of earnestness has entered his breast; and, as his 
 convictions become fixed and definite, he will, I doubt 
 not, fling away from him the weight of prejudice and 
 custom, which has oppressed him so cruelly and so long. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 359 
 
 Let US not forget what the grace of God can do, and 
 what it has already done. It can change the heart of 
 the polite, metaphysical, idol-loving Hindu, just as it 
 has changed the heart of the savage African and New 
 Zealander. It can bring him, humble, self-abased, 
 stripped of pride and vain-glory, to the foot of the 
 Cross, to crave there meekly the forgiveness of his sins. 
 
 Eeligious controversies and excitements are always 
 the most momentous, and, perhaps, in the end, most 
 productive of beneficial results. The violent mental 
 commotions of the Middle Ages, the extraordinary re- 
 ligious awakening at their close, produced the most 
 stupendous consequences for good. And who shall say 
 what the intellectual and religious awakening of India, 
 which has just commenced, will not produce ? No pro- 
 phet is needed to tell the issue. It will infallibly produce, 
 for India, all that the Eeformation has produced for Eng- 
 land and the world. It must extinguish idolatry, must 
 break in pieces its images, must wipe out its distinguish- 
 ing symbols and signs, must destroy its temples, must 
 cleanse the land of its foulness ; so that, perhaps, in 
 many places, as in some of the islands of the South 
 Seas, no traces of its previous existence will be discover- 
 able. It will annihilate caste ; it will clear the atmo- 
 sphere of superstitious and impure rites ; and the praises 
 of the Great Creator, the One Living and True God^ 
 will be sung, in His sanctuaries, from one end of the 
 land to the other. 
 
 India, converted to the Lord, is a subject which the 
 Indian missionary delights to think on. The day is 
 approaching, and may come when many least expect it. 
 
360 BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 And, when the warm feeling and poetic imagination of 
 the Hindus are directed to our common Christianity; 
 when their hearts have been vitalized by its influence ; 
 when they have, as a people, risen into the region of 
 holy thought, and of earnest prayer to their Father 
 above ; then may it be expected that they will make 
 sudden and rapid progress in civilization, and in what- 
 ever contributes to a nation's greatness, and will share 
 with us in the exalted privilege and honour of extend- 
 ing the kingdom of Christ, and of hastening His uni- 
 versal reign. 
 
 I venture, therefore, to predict a Euture for India, of 
 unparalleled glory and lustre. And why should not 
 Benares still hold a foremost place in her history ? Why 
 should not she take the lead of all Indian cities, as she 
 ever has done, and show, by her own example, and for 
 their imitation, how she can abolish useless social bur- 
 thens, can abandon exploded errors, and can accept the 
 Truth in all its forms; how she can strive after and 
 attain to the highest and purest happiness, and can bring 
 herself, with God's help, to hate whatever He hates, and 
 to love whatever He loves ? 
 
 I will sum up these remarks on the religious and 
 social condition and future prospects of India, by an ex- 
 tract from an article in an American Quarterly Eeview, 
 from the pen of the Eev. Dr. Thomson, a Bishop of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States, who 
 lately journeyed in India, on a tour of visitation to the 
 missions of that body, situated chiefly in Eohilkhand and 
 Gudh. Speaking of British ascendancy in India, Dr. 
 Thomson writes: — "What will this power effect? Judge 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PEESENT. 361 
 
 by -what it has already effected. It has reduced anarchy 
 to order, given law, established justice, protected the 
 land from invasion, and prevented it from being ravaged 
 by intestine "wars. It has suppressed suttee and dacoity, 
 forbidden human sacrifices, repressed infanticide, and 
 made slavery illegal. It has woven a network of tele- 
 graphs around the empire, from Galle to Peshawur, and 
 from Peshawur to Eangoon. It has established a regular 
 system of postage for letters, papers, and books, at low 
 charges and uniform rates. It has improved old roads, 
 and made new ones, sent steamers up the principal 
 streams, constructed a canal nine hundred miles long, 
 and will, probably, soon construct others in the valleys 
 of the Mahanaddy, the Kistna, and the Godavery. It 
 has commenced a system of railways, embracing about 
 five thousand miles of trunk lines, at a cost of nearly 
 three thousand millions of dollars, which, when com- 
 pleted, will unite the extremes of the Peninsula, open 
 hitherto inaccessible tracts, and bring all parts close 
 to each other and to the civilized world. Already the 
 steam-horse traverses the Gangetic valley from Calcutta 
 to Delhi, crosses the Peninsula from Madras to the 
 western shore, and prances from Bombay to Nagpore. 
 
 " It has steadily increased the trade of the country, — 
 which, before the days of Clive, could be conveyed in a 
 single Venetian frigate, — until it now reaches nearly five 
 hundred millions of dollars annually. It has raised the 
 revenues of the government to two hundred and fifteen 
 millions. It has given India the newspaper, that great 
 educator ; so that there are twenty-eight newspapers pub- 
 lished weekly in Bengal, — three of them in English, by 
 
362 BENAEES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the natives, — ^thirty native presses in Madras, and I know 
 not how many in Bombay and Ceylon, and twenty-five 
 presses among the missions alone. It has established 
 schools in all parts of the land, in which those sciences 
 are taught that undermine the prevailing systems of 
 superstition and error. It has made the English lan- 
 guage classical in the country ; and, by this means, it is 
 furnishing the native mind with the rich and Christian 
 stores of which that noble tongue is the medium. It 
 has protected missionaries of Christ, and their converts. 
 
 "Look, then, at this great Peninsula, linked to the 
 continent and the world by its languages, commerce, and 
 religions ; source of the false faiths which, together, en- 
 snare six hundred millions of the human race, and the 
 stronghold of a delusion that blinds a hundred and eighty 
 millions more There are more Moham- 
 medans under Yictoria's sceptre than under any other 
 on earth. The Sultan has but twenty-one millions ; 
 she has twenty-five millions, at least. There are more 
 heathen under the same Christian Queen than under 
 any sovereign except the Emperor of China. And 
 this mass is, all through and through, and more and 
 more, subjected to Christian influences. The telegraphs 
 are so many ganglia in a great nervous system, dif- 
 fusing new sensations ; the railways are so many iron 
 arteries, pumping Christian blood through the native 
 veins ; the newspapers are so many digestive powers, 
 preparing healthful moral food ; the schools are so many 
 batteries, thundering at the crumbling battlements of 
 error ; the missions are many brains, thinking new and 
 better thoughts. 
 
BENARES, PAST AND PRESENT. 363 
 
 " KJiowledge must be diffused through, the earth. "We 
 know two things more, namely, that our religion can 
 withstand modern science, and make it tributary to itself, 
 and that no other religion can ; for every other faith has 
 linked its science with its doctrines, so that they must 
 both fall together. As to take Paris is to take France, 
 and to take Sebastopol is to shake Kussia to the Arctic 
 seas, and to take Eichmond is to shake out the rebels of 
 the United States from the Potomac to the Eio Grande, 
 so to Christianize India, owing to its key position in 
 heathendom, is to shake out the idols from the face of 
 the whole earth." 
 
364 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 Narrative of Fa Hian, concerning Ms visit to Benares and SdrnatTi. 
 Extracted ' from the FoS Kov£ Ki, by MM. Bdmusat, Klaproik, 
 and Landresae. Paris, 1836. Ch. xxxiv., pp. 304, 305. 
 
 Fa Hian, on his way back to Pa lian foe (Pataliputra),'' followed' 
 the river Heng (Ganges) westward. After ten yeou yans (about 
 seventy miles), be came to a temple entitled Vast Solitude. It is 
 one of the stations of Foe (Buddha). There are devotees there at 
 this day. Still following, for twelve yeou yans, the course of the 
 river Heng, towards the west, he reached the city of Pho lo nai" 
 (Benares), in the kingdom of Kia chi (Kasi). Ten lis to the north- 
 east of the city, one comes to the temple located in the Park of the 
 Immortal's Deer. This Park was, of yore, the abode of a Py tchi 
 foe (Pratyeka-Buddha) : deer constantly repose in it. When the 
 Honourable of the Age was on the point of accomplishing the Law, 
 the gods sang, in the midst of the enclosure : " The son of King Pe 
 tsing (S'uddhodana) has embraced a religious life; he has studied 
 the doctrine; and, in seven days, he will become Foe." The Py 
 tohi foe, having heard this, assumed Ni houan (Nirvfina). It is on 
 this account that this place is called the G-arden of the Plain of the 
 
 1 At page 231 supra, I have promised Mr. Laidlay's translation of the passage in 
 question ; but it has seemed preferable, on some accounts, to substitute that here given. 
 
 ' His point of departure was Buddha-Gay&,. 
 
 = The French is "descended." Perhaps this word was chosen to denote, that, 
 in passing along the Ganges from Buddha-Gay& to Benares, one's direction is rather 
 southerly than northerly. 
 
APPEISDIX A. 365 
 
 Immortal's Deer. Since the time -when tlie Honourable of the Age 
 accomplished the Law, the men of later ages have constructed a 
 chapel in this place. 
 
 'Foe, desiring to conyert, from among the five men, Keou lin 
 (Kaundinya), these five men said among themselves: "For six 
 years this Cha men (S'ramana) Kiu tan (Gautama) has practised 
 austerities ; eating, daily, only one hemp-seed and one grain of rice ; 
 and he has not yet been able to obtain the law. A fortiori, when 
 one lives in the society of men, and gives one's self up to one's 
 body, mouth, and thoughts, how could one accomplish the doctrine ? 
 When he comes to-day, let us be careful not to speak to him." 
 When Foe drew near, the five men rose, and did homage to him. 
 
 Sixty paces to the north of this spot. Foe, facing the east, sate 
 down, and began to turn the Wheel of the Law. Prom among the 
 five men he converted Keou lin (Kaundinya), Twenty paces to 
 the north is the spot where Foe recounted his history to Mi le 
 (Maitreya). Fifty paces thence, to the south, is the place where the 
 dragon I lo po asked Foe : " In what space of time shall I be able 
 to obtain deliverance from this dragon's body ? " At all these spots 
 they have raised towers, among which are two seng Ida len {sangM- 
 rdma, or monasteries), in which are devotees. 
 
366 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Narrative of Miouen Thsang. Translated hy myself, from the "Mimoires 
 sur les Contrdes Occidentales de Hiouen Thsang " of M. Stanislas 
 Julien, translator of the original Chinese worTe. Yol. i., pp. 353-376. 
 
 KINaDOM OP P'0-LO-NI-SSE. 
 
 ( Vardnasi). 
 
 The kingdom of P'o-lo-ni-sse (Varanasi, Benares) is about four- 
 thousand lis (667 miles)' in circuit. To the west, near the Ganges, 
 is the capital, which is from eighteen to nineteen Us (three miles 
 and upwards) long, and from five to six lis (about one mile) broad. 
 The yillages lie very near together, and contain a numerous popu- 
 lation. Families of very great wealth, whose houses are stored 
 with rare and precious things, are to be seen. The people are 
 gentle and polished, and esteem most highly men given to study. 
 The greater portion of them believe in the heretical doctrines 
 [Hinduism] ; and few revere the Law [religion] of Buddha. The 
 cUmate is temperate, grain is abundant, the fruit-trees are luxuriant, 
 and the earth is covered with tufted vegetation. There are thirty 
 [Buddhist] monasteries, containing about three thousand devotees, 
 who, all, study the principles of the school Tching-liang-pou (the 
 school of the Sammatiyas), which holds to the Minor Vehicle.'^ There 
 
 ' Taking the common reckoning of six lis to the mile. M. St. Martin assigns only 
 five Us to the mile. 
 
 2 According to M. Julien, whose explanation is based on a Chinese Dictionary, the 
 Buddhists recognize Five Vehicles, that is to say, five means, used hy as many classes 
 of eminent men, for the attainment of beatification. 
 
APPENDIX B. 367 
 
 are a hundred temples of the [Hindu] gods, and about ten thousand 
 heretics [Hindus], who, for the most part, worship the god Ta-tseu- 
 thsai {Maheswara Bern). Some cut off the hair, others reserve a 
 tuft upon the crown of the head, go naked, and are destitute of 
 any kind of clothing (the Nirgranthas). Some besmear their bodies 
 with ashes (the Pdsupatas), and zealously practise severe austerities, 
 in order to obtain release from life and death, [that is, from transmi- 
 gration] . 
 
 In the capital there are twenty temples of the [Hindu] gods.' 
 Towers of many storeys are seen there ; and magnificent chapels, 
 constructed of stone, skilfully carved, and of richly painted wood. 
 Umbrageous trees cover them with their shade; and streams of 
 clear water flow in all directions. The statue of the god (Mahe§tvara 
 Deva), in Teou-cM (brass), is little less than a hundred feet in height. 
 Its aspect is grave and majestic ; and, at sight of it, one is filled with 
 respectful awe, as if it were, indeed, alive. 
 
 To the north-east of the capital, and to the west of the river of 
 Po'-lo-ni-sse (Varanasf, that is, the Ganges), is a Stiipa [or sacred 
 tower], built by king Wou-yeou (A^oka), about one hundred feet 
 high. A stone column stands over against it, of blue colour, bright 
 as a mirror, and of a highly polished surface, in which one may al- 
 ways discover the shadow of Jou-ldi (the Tathagata). 
 
 Passing on about ten lis north-east from the river of Po'-lo-ni-sse 
 (Varanasi), he reached the Monastery of the Deer Park (Mrigadava), 
 which is divided into eight sections, and is entirely surrounded by 
 walls. There you see balustrades and two-storeyed pavilions, of 
 admirable construction. The devotees — of whom there are as many 
 as fifteen hundred — study the doctrine of the school Tching-liang-pou, 
 holding to the Minor Vehicle. In the midst of the walled enclosure 
 is a Fihdra, two hundred feet in height, surmounted by an In-mo-lo 
 (Amra, or mango), wrought in embossed gold. The foundations 
 and stairs are of stone. All round the monument there are a 
 hundred rows of niches, made of brick, arranged one above another, 
 
 1 This shows that the 'hundred temples,' with the 'ten thousand heretics' at- 
 tached to them, comprised the number in the entire kingdom of Benares. In like 
 manner, the ' thirty (Buddhist) monasteries,' with their three thousand occupants, 
 refer not merely to the city, hut to the whole kingdom, the city included. 
 
368 APPENDIX B. 
 
 eacli of them containing a statue of Buddha, in embossed gold. In 
 the centre of this Vihdra stands a statue of Buddha, in Teou-chi 
 (brass). It has exactly the height of Jou-lai (the Tathagata), who 
 is represented turning the Wheel of the Law [i.e., preaching]. 
 
 To the south-west of the ViMra is a stone Stupa, erected by king 
 Wou-yeou (Asoka). Although its base is embedded in the earth, 
 it has about a hundred feet of elevation. In front of this monu- 
 ment, a stone column has been set up, some seventy feet high- 
 The stone is smooth as jade, and shines like a mirror. Those who 
 pray fervently discern in it a multitude of figures ; on all occa- 
 sions, every one sees there images that answer to his virtues or his 
 vices. It was at this spot that Jou-lai (the Tathagata), after having 
 attained to, perfect kuowledge, began to turn the Wheel of the Law. 
 
 The Stuja on the side of the aforesaid marks the place where 
 ' O-jo-hiao-tch'in-jou ('Ajnata Kaundinya), etc. [the other companions 
 of Buddha], haviag seen the Pou-sa (the Bodhisattwa) relinquish 
 his austerities, suddenly desisted from following him and from 
 watching over his safety. Having arrived at this place, they gave 
 themselves up to meditation. 
 
 The Stupa on the side of that last-mentioned occupies the site 
 where five hundred Pratyeka-Buddhas {To-Tcio) entered Nie-pan 
 (Nirvana) together. There are, also, three other Stupas. The three 
 last Buddhas reposed on that spot, and there walked for exercise. 
 
 To the side of the place where the three Buddhas walked for 
 exercise there is a Stiipa. It was there that Met-ta-U-ye-pou-sa 
 (Maitrej'a Bodhisattwa) received a prediction announcing that he 
 should attain to Buddhahood. Of yore, when Jou-lai (the Tatha- 
 gata) was at Eajagriha (Wang -che-tching), on [Mount] Vulture-Peak 
 (Grridhrakuta), he addressed the Pi-tsou (Bhikhshus) as follows; 
 " In coming ages, when the inhabitants of this island of Tchen-pou 
 shall have become just and upright, and when men shall attain a 
 longevity of eighty thousand years, a Po-lo-m&n (Brahman) child 
 named T'se-cM (Maitreya) will be born there. His body will be 
 of the colour of the purest gold, and will shed abroad a lustrous radi- 
 ance. He will renounce his family, wUl attain to superior knowledge 
 (Paramabodhi), and, at three great synods, wUl expound the Law for 
 the behoof of all men. Those whom he wUl convert and save are 
 
APPENDIX B. 369 
 
 the numerous mortals to whom I have bequeathed my Law, in order 
 to conduct them to happiness. To the Three Jewels^ they wilh 
 with their whole heart, pay proifound reverence. Whether they 
 remain with their families or quit them, whether they observe the 
 precepts or transgress them, all wiU have the happiness of being 
 converted and guided to good; all will obtain the fruit of BodM, 
 and final deliverance. By explaining the Law in the three great 
 Synods, he will save the disciples to whom I have bequeathed my 
 Law. Subsequently, he will convert their virtuous friends who 
 have the same vocation. 
 
 " At that moment, T'se-chi-pou-sa (Maitreya Bodhisattwa), having 
 heard these words of Buddha, rose from his seat, and said to Buddha: 
 ' I desire to become this Honourable of the Age, under the name of 
 T'se-cM (Maitreya).' Then Jou-M (the Tathagata) spoke to him 
 as follows: 'Agreeably to the wish you have just expressed, you 
 shall see this fruit, face to face, [that is, you shall become that 
 Buddha] . What I have just declared will be owing to the influence 
 of your instructions.' " 
 
 To the west of the place where T' se-chi-pou-sa (Maitreya Bodhi- 
 sattwa) received this prediction, there is a Stupa. It was there that 
 Chi-lcia-pou-sa (S'akya Bodhisattwa) received, likewise, a prediction. 
 In the Age of the Wise (Bhadrakalpa), when the Hfe of man lasted 
 for twenty thousand years, Kia-ye-po-fo (Ka^yapa Buddha) appeared 
 in the world. He turned the Wheel of the excellent Law, converted 
 mortals, and received from Sou-ming-pou-sa (Prabhapala (?) Bodhi- 
 sattwa) the followiag prediction : " This Pou-sa (Bodhisattwa), in the 
 ages to come, at the time when the life of man shall last for a 
 huindred years, will obtain the dignity of Buddha, under the name 
 of CMTcia-meou-ni (S'akya Muni). 
 
 A short distance from the place where Ghi-hia-pou-sa (S'akya Bod- 
 hisattwa) received this prediction, to the south, are ancient stone 
 seats, erected on the spot where the four last Buddhas walked for 
 exercise. They are about fifty paces in length, and seven feet in 
 height, and consist of blue stones. A statue of Jou-lai (the Tatha- 
 gata), in the attitude of walking, is placed there. Its body surpasses 
 
 1 In Sanskrit, triratna or ratnatraya. These, on the authority of M. Julien, are 
 Buddha, the Visible Communion of Saints, and the La*. 
 
 24 
 
370 APPENDIX B. 
 
 human stature ; and its entire appearance exhibits an imposing 
 majesty. From the top of the fleshy cone which projects from the 
 head, flows a mass of waving hair. Celestial prodigies are seen 
 there, and the divine power displays itself with effulgence. 
 
 Within the enclosure of the monastery-walls is a multitude of 
 sacred monuments. There are several hundred Vihd/ras and Stiipas. 
 "We notice only two or three ; for it would be difficult to describe 
 them in detail 
 
 West of the walls of the Seng-kia-lan (Sangharama, monastery), 
 is a reservoir of pure and limpid water, about two hundred paces in 
 circuit. Here Jou-lai (the Tathagata) formerly bathed. 
 
 A little further to the west is a great reservoir, one hundred and 
 eighty paces in circuit. Here Jou-lai (the Tathagata) washed his 
 devotee's water-pot. 
 
 A little further to the north is another reservoir, one hundred and 
 fifty paces in circuit. Here Jou-lai (the Tathagata) washed his gar- 
 ment. These three reservoirs are haunted by dragons. The water 
 is deep, sweet to the taste, pure, and transparent. It never either 
 iucreases or diminishes. When men of proud hearts come to bathe 
 in these reservoirs, the Kin-pi-lo (Kumbhiras, alligators) destroy a 
 great number of them ; but, should a pious person come, he may 
 draw water ivithout any fear. 
 
 On the side of the reservoir where the Buddha washed his garments 
 is a large square stone, on which may be seen the marks of the Kia- 
 cha (Kashaya, brown vestment) of Jou-lai (the Tathagata). The 
 threads of the cloth have a brilliant hue, and stand out distinctly,! 
 as if they were carved. Men animated with a sincere faith 
 come here, daily, to offer their adoration. But, should heretics or 
 evil-doers trample on this stone contemptuously, the kiag-dragon, 
 who lives ia this reservoir, at once unchains the winds and 
 the rain. 
 
 A short distance from these reservoirs is a St{cpa. In ancient 
 times, when Jou-lai (the Tathagata) was leading the life of a Fou-sa 
 (Bodhisattwa), and was a king of elephants, armed with six 
 tusks, a hunter, wishing to carry off these valuable ivories, clothed 
 himself, craftily, with a Kia-cha (Kashaya, or devotee's brown 
 garment), bent his bow, and awaited his prey. The king of the 
 
APPENDIX B. 371 
 
 elephants, out of respect for the Kia-cha (Kashaya), forthwith tore 
 out his tusks, and presented them to him. > 
 
 A short distance from the place where the king of the elephants 
 tore out his tusks is a Stkpa. At the time when Jou-lai (the Tatha- 
 gata) was leading the life of a Pou-sa (Bodhisattwa), being moved 
 with pity, on perceiving that the people of the period did not observe 
 the rules [of civility], he took the form of a bird, and, having ap- 
 proached an ape and a white elephant, asked them, at this very 
 spot: "Which of you first saw this tree Ni-heou-lia (Nyagrodha, 
 sacred fig-tree) ? " Each having given a reply, they immediately 
 placed themselves according to their ages. The good effects of 
 such conduct spread abroad, gradually, on aU sides ; men learned 
 to distinguish between superiors and inferiors ; and both the de- 
 votees and the laity followed their example. 
 
 Not far from this place, in the midst of a large forest, is a Stupa. 
 It was on this spot that, of old, Jou-lwi (the Tathagata) cut short 
 a great controversy with Ti-p'o-ta-to (Devadatta), when they were 
 both kings of the deer. In ancient times, at this place, in the midst 
 of a vast forest, were two herds of deer, each numbering a hundred 
 head. In those days, the king of this kingdom (Benares) hunted 
 in the low and humid plains. The Pou-sa (Bodhisattwa), king of 
 the deer, advanced to the king, and proffered this request : " Great 
 king, you hunt in the midst of the plains, you bum (the herb- 
 age), and you shower arrows : our companions and our subjects (i.e., 
 deer) are about to perish this very morning ; and soon- their bodies 
 will fall into decay, so that you will find nothing more to eat. We 
 wish, in turn, to supply the king with a deer day and day about. 
 The king will be able to nourish himself with fresh meat ; and we 
 ourselves, thus, prolong our frail existence." The king was delighted 
 with this proposal. He ordered his charioteer to drive back ; and 
 he returned to his palace. Thenceforward, the deer of both herds 
 were sacrificed in turn. 
 
 Now, in the herd of Ti-p'o-ta-to (Devadatta) there was a hind, 
 great with young, whose turn had come to die. Addressing her 
 master, she said to him : "Although I ought to die to-day, yet the 
 turn of my little one has not yet arrived." 
 
 The king of the deer, waxing angry, said to her : " Who is 
 there that does not value his life ? " 
 
372 APPENDIX B. 
 
 The hind, sighing, replied : " Our king has no tenderness. I am 
 to die on the first day." She went aaid told her distress to the 
 Bodhisattwa, king of the deer. The king of the deer said to her : 
 " "What a matter for grief ! As an affectionate mother, you extend 
 your kindness even to a being not yet bom. Very •well ! I will 
 take your place to-day." 
 
 He repaired, at once, to the gate of the king. The people along 
 the road carried the news, saying, in a loud voice : " This great king 
 of the deer is on his way, at this moment, to the city." The in- 
 habitants of the capital — alike magistrates and common people — 
 hastened, emulously, to see him. 
 
 The kiag was loth to credit this news ; but, when the warder of 
 the palace-gate announced it to him, at last he believed it. Then, 
 addressing the king of the deer, he asked him : " Why have you 
 come here all of a sudden ? " 
 
 The deer answered : " There is a hind who ought to die ; but she 
 carries a little one that has not yet seen the light of day. As I 
 cannot permit this evil, I venture to offer myself to die in her stead." 
 
 At these words the king sighed, and said : " I am a deer, with a 
 human body ; and you are a man, with the body of a deer." There- 
 upon, he gave all the deer their freedom, and no longer wished that 
 they should sacrifice their lives for him. In consequence of this 
 circumstance, he gave up that forest to the deer, and called it the 
 forest given to the deer, from which came the name of the Deer- 
 Forest (Mrigadava). 
 
 From two to three Us [about half a mile] to the south-west of 
 the monastery is a Stupa, about three hundred feet in height. It ie 
 a large and lofty monument, resplendent with the most rare and 
 precious materials. As it has no storeyed niches, there has been 
 placed (on its summit) a kind of devotee's water-pot, inverted. 
 Although this Stupa is surmounted by an arrow, it is not crowned 
 by a bell-shaped cupola. 
 
 At its side is a small St'lipa. It was at this place that '0-jo-Mao- 
 teh'in-jou (Ajnata Kaundinya) and others, to the number of five, 
 departed from their compact,' and advanced to meet Buddha." 
 
 Originally, the prince royal So-p'o-ho-la-tha-si-tho (Sarvartha- 
 ' The compact ■was, not to accost Buddha. 
 
APPENDIX B. 373 
 
 siddha), after departing from tlie city, went and established himself 
 on the mountains, and concealed himself in the valleys : he neg- 
 lected his person, to devote himself to the Law. Thereupon, King 
 Tsing-fan (S'uddhodana Eaja) gave the following orders to three 
 persons of his family, and to the (two) maternal uncles (of the 
 prince royal): "My son, I-tsie-i-tch'ing (Sarvarthasiddha), has left 
 his family, in order to give himself to study. He wanders alone 
 upon the mountains and in the plains, and lives apart in the midst 
 of the forests. On this account I order you to follow his steps, and 
 ascertain where he dwells. Within the palace, you are his paternal 
 and maternal uncles ; abroad, you are at once princes and ministers. 
 It is absolutely necessary that you find out what he does and where 
 he lives." 
 
 On receiving these commands from the king, these five men de- 
 parted, one after another, to shield him with their protection. 
 Subsequently, they sought, themselves, after the means of escape 
 from life and death [i.e., from transmigration]. Then they said to 
 one another : " When any one aspires after knowledge, is it ob- 
 tained by austerities, or in the bosom of joy ? " 
 
 Two of them answered : "It is in tranquillity and joy that know- 
 ledge is obtained." But the other three maintained, that it was by 
 severe austerities that knowledge could be attained. The two first 
 and the other three were stOl disputing the point, without having 
 cleared up the matter, when the prince royal, reflecting on the sub- 
 lime verities, imitated the conduct of those heretics who submit to 
 hard privations, and who eat (daily) only a few grains of hemp- 
 seed and uncooked rice, to sustain life. The two first, beholding 
 iim, said to one another : " That which the prince royal does is not 
 conformable to the true way. Knowledge ought to be obtained by 
 pleasant means ; but he has recourse, to-day, to painful austerities. 
 He cannot be our companion. Let us leave him, and go away. Let 
 us tiiink on the means of acquiring the fruit (of knowledge) . Tor 
 six years the prince royal has devoted himself to penance, and has 
 not yet seen the fruit of Pou-ti (Bodhi). If we examine into his 
 austerities, we shall perceive, that they do not constitute the true 
 method. But, when he shall have received a dish of rice and milk, 
 he will obtain knowledge." 
 
374 APPEISTDIX B. 
 
 On hearing these words, the other three, sighing, exclaimed: 
 " He was on the point of putting the seal to his merits ; but now 
 he holds back. For six years he devoted himself to penance ; and 
 in one day he has lost the fruit of it." 
 
 Thereupon, one after the other, they made quest for him. The 
 two first, on seeing them, sate down in a suitable place, and con- 
 versed together in a grave and loud tone. Then, resuming their 
 discourse, they spoke as follows : " Some time ago, we saw I-tsie-i- 
 tch'ing (Sarvarthasiddha) leave the palace of the king, and betake 
 himself to a desert valley ; strip off his costly garments, and cover 
 himself with a deer's skin ; exhibit burning zeal, and put forth ener- 
 getic efforts ; lead a chaste life, and torment himself in spirit, in 
 search of the sublime Law, and for the acquisition of the supreme 
 recompense. But, behold, he has already to-day accepted, from the 
 hand of a young cowherdess, a dish of rice and milk. He has 
 destroyed the germ of knowledge, and frustrated his project. We 
 see, now, that he will succeed in nothing. 
 
 The two others said to them: " How is it, sirs, that you have been 
 so slow in perceiving this ? He behaves Kke a fool. Formerly, he 
 dwelt in the recesses of the palace, and lived happily in the most 
 honourable and glorious rank. Unable to subdue his wUl, he went 
 and concealed himself far away, upon the mountains and in the 
 woods. He renounced the throne of King Chakravartin (Tch'ouen- 
 lun-wang), to lead the life of a vile and abject man. Is he worthy to 
 be thought of more ? In speaking about him, the heart is wrung 
 with sadness." 
 
 In the'meantime, the Fou-sa (the Bodhisattwa), having bathed in 
 the river Ni-lien (Nairanjana), and having sate down under the 
 Pou-ti (Bodhidruna) tree, arrived at perfect knowledge, and was 
 surnamed Master of gods and men. He remained immovable and 
 taciturn, thinking only of discovering those who deserved to be 
 saved. "This son of 'Yo-t'eou-lan," ^ said he, "has devoted him- 
 self to meditation which excludes all thought (Naivasanjna sam- 
 adhi). He is worthy of receiving the excellent Law." ' 
 
 The Devas who traverse the air announced to him this inteUi- 
 
 1 This word is incorrect. It should be To-to-lo-mo-tseu (Udra, son of E6.ma). 
 
APPENDIX B. 375 
 
 gence: "It is already seven days since tlie son of To-t'eou-lan 
 (Udra Eamaputra) has abandoned life." 
 
 Jou-lai (the Tathagata), sighing deeply, (said): "Why did not 
 he meet with me ? When he was on the point of understanding the 
 excellent Law, why did he suddenly change existence ? " 
 
 He then reflected anew attentively, and searched in the midst 
 of the world. "There is still" (said he) '0-lan-Ma-lm {Aiada, 
 Kalama), who has arrived at the condition of being detached from 
 all (AMnchavyayatana). To him I must communicate the sublime 
 principles (of my doctrine). 
 
 The Devas resumed : " It is five days since he died." Jou-lai 
 (the Tathagata), sighed again, lamenting his scant good fortune. 
 Once more reflecting, he said : " To whom ought I still to teach the 
 Law ? In the Deer-Park (Mrigadava) are five men whom, in pre- 
 ference to others, I ought to instruct and guide." 
 
 At this moment, Jou-lai (the Tathagata) rose up from under the 
 tree of Pou-ti (Bodhidruma, the tree of knowledge), and repaired to 
 the Deer-Park (Mrigadava). Tranquillity breathed ia his whole 
 person, and diffused afar a divine light. His hair had the lustre of 
 jade ; and his body was as yeUow as pure gold. He advanced, 
 with a calm step, to give directions to those five personages. They, 
 perceiving Jou-lai (the Tathagata) in the distance, said to one 
 another: "He who comes there is I-tsie-i-tch'ing (Sarvarthasiddha). 
 Months and years pass away without his being able to obtain the 
 fruit of sanctity (Bodhi). The end of his ambition has already 
 eluded him. This is why he seeks us as disciples. We must, each 
 of us, remain mute before him. Let us be careful not to rise to go 
 meet and salute him." 
 
 Jou-lai approached them with slow steps, moving all beings by 
 his divine majesty. These five men, forgetting their compact, ad- 
 vanced towards him, saluting him; and, having questioned him, 
 they followed him respectfully. Jou-lai drew them gradually to 
 himself, and taught them the sublime principles (of the Law). 
 When they had done living in fixed habitations during the rainy 
 season, they acquired the fruit of BodM. 
 
 Wh.en he had gone two or three lis [about half a mile] to the 
 east of the Deer-Park (Mrigadava), he came to a Stiipa. By its 
 
376 APPENDIX B. 
 
 side is a dry reservoir, eighty paces in circuit, called both the 
 Saviour-Beservoir (Jivakahrada ?) and the Eero's-Beservoir (Tyagi- 
 hrada?). Here is what is read on this subject, in the ancient 
 descriptions (of this kingdom) : — 
 
 " Several hundred years ago, a recluse abode near this reservoir. 
 He had buUt a hut, that he might live apart from the world. He 
 had studied magic, and fathomed the science of the gods. He was 
 able to transform small pieces of brick into precious stone, and to 
 metamorphose animals ; but, nevertheless, he was not able to cause 
 himself to be conveyed by the winds and clouds, and to follow, 
 through the air, the chariot of the immortals. He pored over mys- 
 terious diagrams, and explored the secrets of the ancients, to dis- 
 cover, withal, the science of the Rishis. Their books informed 
 him, that ' the EisMs, endowed with a divine power, possess the art 
 of living eternally. If you wish to acquire this science, it is neces- 
 sary, first of all, to form an immovable resolution, to erect an altar 
 six feet in circuit, and to cause that a hero, renowned for his 
 fidelity and courage, should arm himself with a long sabre, and 
 stand guard at the comer of the altar, to suppress his breathing, 
 and to remain speechless from evening till morning. He who seeks 
 to become a RisM must seat himself on the middle of the altar, must 
 hold in his hand a long sabre, must recite magical prayers, and must 
 concentrate within himself his faculties of seeing and hearing. On 
 the approach of morning, he will rise to the rank of a RisM. The 
 sharp sabre which he holds in his hand will be changed into a 
 valuable sword ; he will dart up into the heavens, and pass through 
 the air ; he will become the king of the company of RisMs. Bran- 
 dishing his sword, he will issue his orders ; and he will be gratified 
 in all his desires. He will never more be liable to feebleness, to old 
 age, to sickness, or to death.' 
 
 " When the recluse had learned the secret of becoming a Rishi, 
 he undertook a journey, with the object of dispovering a man of 
 heroic character, and spent long years in active search, wiliiout find- 
 ing the object of his desire. In the course of time, he met with a 
 man, in a certain city, who walked along uttering plaintive cries. 
 The recluse, observing his appearance, experienced a lively feeling 
 of joy. Then, drawing near, he questioned him softly, and said ; 
 ' What has reduced you to utter these rending moans ?' 
 
APPENDIX B. ,377 
 
 " 'Being poor and needy,' he replied, 'I was working for wages, 
 for the relief of my necessities. My master, seeing my sad condition, 
 employed me with entire confidence, promising, at the end of five 
 years, to reward me most liberaUy. On this, I lahoured diUgently, 
 forgetting pain and fatigue. But, when the fifth year had almost 
 expired, having one day committed an offence, I was shamefuUy 
 heaten, and could obtain nothing. Thinking on this misfortune, I 
 am consumed with chagrin, (and I ask myself) who wiU take pity 
 on me?' 
 
 " The recluse directed him to accompany him. On their arriving 
 at his hut, by the aid of a metamorphosis, wrought by his magical 
 power, he obtained for him, in an instant, an excellent repast. Then 
 he made him bathe in the reservoir, clothed him with new garments, 
 and gave him five hundred pieces of gold, adding : ' When you shall 
 have spent them, you must come and ask me for more. I beg it of 
 you not to scorn me.' 
 
 " From that time, he often gave him valuable presents, secretly 
 lavished great kindness upon him, and filled his heart with grati- 
 tude. The valiant champion asked that he might sacrifice his life 
 to repay all these favours. 
 
 " ' I was seeking for a brave champion,' said the recluse to him, 
 'and now, after a great number of years, I have had the good 
 fortune to find him in you; and yoin: remarkable aspect answers 
 to the image of him which I had pictured to myself. I have only 
 one thing to ask of you, which is, simply not to utter a word 
 during an entire night.' 
 
 " ' Why do you speak,' answered the champion, ' of merely keep- 
 ing silence ? I would not refuse even to die for you.' 
 
 " On this, he constructed an altar ; and, in order to acquire the 
 divine art of the RisMs, he did everything according to the pre- 
 scribed formula. He sat down, waiting for the setting of the sun. 
 As night drew on, each acquitted himself of his respective duty. 
 The recluse recited magical prayers; and the brave champion 
 held his sharp sabre in his hand. But, a little before dawn, sud- 
 denly he uttered piercing cries. At this moment, a mass of fire 
 descended from heaven, and volumes of flame and smoke rose 
 like clouds. The recluse forthwith carried away the man, and 
 
378 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 made Lim enter tke reservoir, that he might escape death; and 
 then he questioned him thus : ' I admonished you to maiatain silence. 
 Why did you utter cries of terror ?' 
 
 " The champion replied : 'After I had received your orders, and the 
 middle of the night had arrived, my spirit was troubled, as though 
 in a dream ; and wondrous portents appeared, one after another, to my 
 eyes. I saw my old master, who came and accosted me with kind 
 words. Although I cherished lively gratitude for his kindnesses, yet 
 I controlled myself, without answering him a siugle word. The 
 Toan became angiy. I was immediately put to death, and remained, 
 for some time, in that sad condition. On beholding my own corpse, 
 I heaved deep sighs ; and I also resolved not to speak for ages, in 
 acknowledgement of your generosity. Shortly after, I was bom again, 
 in the house of a Brahman, ia Central India. When my new mother 
 had conceived me, and brought me into the world, I endured all sorts 
 of pains and hardships. Always impressed with a sense of your 
 goodness, I never uttered a single word. When I had finished my 
 studies, put on the cap of manhood, and contracted marriage, I lost 
 my father and mother, and my wife presented me with a son. On 
 thinking, day by day, of your bygone kindnesses, I still controlled 
 myself, and refrained from speaking. All my relations and neigh- 
 bours were astonislied at my silenee. When I had passed the age 
 of sixty-five years, my wife said to me : " Ton must speak ; and, if 
 you persist in your silence, I wjH kill your son." 
 
 " ' I then said to myself : " I am well advanced in years, and I al- 
 ready see myself broken by old age ; this infant is my only child." 
 If I uttered those cries, it was only to disarm my wife, and to 
 prevent her from killing it.' 
 
 " ' It is my fault,' replied the recluse. ' All this perturbation was 
 only the work of Mara (the demon) .' 
 
 " The brave champion testified his gratitude to him. He groaned 
 bitterly at the failure of his design, and died of iudignation and 
 anger. As he had escaped the disaster of the fire, the reservoir was 
 called the Saviour-Beservoir (Jivakahrada ?) ; and, — inasmuch as this 
 man perished for wishing to display his gratitude, — also, the Beser- 
 voir of the Hero (Tyagihrada?)." 
 
 To the west of the "Eeservoir of the Hero" (Tyagihrada?), is 
 
APPENDIX B. 379 
 
 the Stiipa of the three quadrupeds. In the age when Jou-lat (the 
 Tathagata) was leading the life of a Pou-sa (Bodhisattwa), it was at 
 this place that he burnt his body. In the beginning of the halpas 
 (ages) there were, in this forest, a fox, a hare, and a monkey, who, 
 although of different species, were united by a close friendship. At 
 that time, Chi (S'akra), the master of the gods, wished to make proof 
 of those who were leading the life of a Bodhisattwa. He descended 
 upon the earth, and, assuming the appearance of an old man, spoke 
 thus to these three animals : " My children, do you take pleasure in 
 this peaceful and retired spot ? Do you feel no fear ? " 
 
 " We tread upon the tufted herbage," they replied ; " we roam 
 in a thick forest ; and, although we are of different species, we take 
 pleasure together ; we are tranquil and happy." 
 
 " Having learned," rejoined the old man, " that you were bound in 
 a close friendship, forgetting the burthen of age, I have come from 
 a great distance expressly to find you out. To-day I am oppressed 
 with hunger. "What will you give me to eat ? " 
 
 " Be so good," said they, " as to remain here a little, while we 
 run and make search.'' 
 
 On this, forgetting their own interests, and animated with a 
 common spirit, they went away, each apart from the rest, in 
 quest of food. The fox, having skirted a river, brought be- 
 tween his teeth a fresh carp ; the monkey gathered fruits and 
 flowers, of great rarity, from the depth of the forest. Then they 
 reassembled at the place where the old man had halted, and 
 presented them to him. But the hare returned empty-handed, and 
 began to gambol from right to left. 
 
 "Prom what I see," remarked the old man to him, "you have 
 not shared in the sentiments of the monkey and the fox. Each of 
 them has given me proof of his devotion ; but the hare has returned 
 empty, and he alone has not given me food. These words sufSce for 
 making him understood." 
 
 The hare, on hearing these severe reproaches, spoke thus to the 
 fox and the monkey : " Gather together a quantity of wood and 
 grass ; and I will then do something." 
 
 At these words, the fox and monkey ran, emulously, and brought 
 grass and branches. When they had made a high heap of them, 
 
380 APPENDIX B. 
 
 and a strong fire was about to be kindled, tbe hare said : " man, 
 full of humanity, I am small and feeble ; and, as I was unable to 
 find what I sought after, I venture to offer my himible body to 
 furnish a repast for you." 
 
 Scarcely had he ceased speaking, when he cast himself into the 
 fire, and there died immediately. 
 
 At that instant, the old man resumed his form of king of the gods 
 (S'akra), collected the bones of the hare, and, having for a long time 
 heaved sorrowful sighs, said to the fox and the monkey : " How is 
 it that he was the only one able to make such a sacrifice ? I am 
 powerfully affected by his devotion ; and, not to let the memory 
 of it perish, I will place him in the disk of the moon, so that his 
 name may go down to posterity." 
 
 Hence, all the natives of India say, that it is since this event 
 occurred that a hare has been seen in the moon. 
 
 In after times, a Stujpa was erected at this spot. 
 
381 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 Eespecting Divodas, Professor Wilson says: — "Some ratter 
 curious legends are connected with this prince, in the Vayu and 
 Brahma Puranas, and Hari Varasa, and, especially, in the Ka^i 
 Khanda of the Skanda Purana. According to these authorities, 
 S'iva and Parvati, desirous of occupying Kasi, which Divodasa pos- 
 sessed, sent Nikumbha, one of the Ganas of the former, to lead 
 the prince to the adoption of Buddhist doctrines ; in consequence 
 of which, he was expelled from the sacred city, and, according to 
 the Vayu, founded another on the banks of the Gomati. 
 
 "Some further illustration is derivable from the Mahabhdrata, 
 Sknti-Parvan, Dana-dharma. Harya^wa, the king of the Kasis, 
 reigning between the Ganges and the Yamuna (or in the Doab), 
 was invaded and slain by the Haihayas, a race descended, accord- 
 ing to this authority, from Saryati, the son of Manu. Sudeva, the 
 son of Haryaswa, was also attacked and defeated by the same 
 enemies. Divodasa, his son, built and fortified Benares, as a de- 
 fence against the Haihayas ; but in vain ; for they took it, and 
 compelled him to fly. He sought refuge with Bharadwaja, by 
 whose favour he had a son born to him, Pratardana, who de- 
 stroyed the Haihayas, under their king Vitahavya, and re-estab- 
 lished the kingdom of Ka^i." 
 
 Professor Wilson's Translation of the Vishnu Purana (Hall's 
 edition), vol. iv., pp. 33, 40. 
 
382 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 A'dampura Mahalla, 299 
 
 A'd-Bwheswar, 65, 318-321 
 
 Aditya, 127 
 
 Adkesav, or Vishnu, 185 
 
 Ad-Mah&deva, 104, 105 
 
 Agni, 160, 170 
 
 Agw&n, 90 
 
 AhalySi Bai, Eani, 167 
 
 Ahmad Khin, Saiyid, 339 
 
 Ahyahar Gali, 154 
 
 Akwarya N&r&yan Sinh, Babu, Secre- 
 tary of the Benares Institute, 339 
 
 Ajn&ta Kau^dinya, 372 
 
 Ajunta Caves, 20 
 
 Alamgirl Mosque, 312-314 
 
 Alliuddin, 31 
 
 Alipore Mahalla, 274 
 
 Alpmrites'war, 80 
 
 Ambheri, Eajas of, 131 
 
 Amrit Kund, 219 
 
 Amrit Bao, 168 
 
 Anant Chaudas Mel&, 222 
 
 Anark Chaudas Mela, 224 
 
 Ancient Eemains, Benares : — 
 Bakarlya Kund, 273-287 
 No. I. E5,j Ghit Fort, 292-297 
 No. II. Near ESj Gh&t Fort, 297, 298 
 No. III. Small Mosque in Buda.on 
 
 MahaUa, 298, 299 
 Ancient Mound or Eidge, 299-302 
 No. rV. Tiliy^ NSli and Maqdam 
 
 Sihib, 302-305 
 No. V. Lat Bhairo, 305-308 
 No. VI. Battis Khamhha, 308-310 
 No. VII. ArhS.i Kangfira Mosque, 
 
 310-312 
 Hindu Temple of Kirtti Bishes'war, 
 
 Alamgirl Mosque, 312-314 
 No. VIII. Chaukhambha. Mosque, 314, 
 
 315 
 No. IX. Aurungzeb's Mosque, near 
 
 Bishe^war Temple, 316-318, 320 
 No. X. A'd-Bishes'war Temple and 
 
 neighbouring Mosque, 318-321 
 No. XI. Stone Pillar, Sone \s.k Tklko, 
 321, 322 
 
 AnnptSpia, 43, 57, 150, 214 
 Apsarases, 162 
 Ar&.da K&15.ma, 375 
 
 Archaeological Eeport, Major -General 
 Cunningham's, 236-243, 250-254, 256- 
 260, 261, 262 
 Arhii Kangdra Mosque, 310-312 
 Arjnna, 170 
 Aryan race, 1, 24 
 Ashtang-Bhairo, 128 
 Ashta S'akti, 257 
 Ashtbhuji, 153 
 Asi, 34, 326 
 
 Asiatic Eesearches, 219, 250 
 Asiatic Society of Bengal, 236, 242, 246, 
 
 248, 251, 252, 257, 260, 264, 269, 
 
 270, 273, 286 
 Asl Sangam and GhM, 139, 177, 178, 
 
 184, 217, 218, 221 
 Asn6.n Jto^i MelS., 217 
 As'oka, 19, 21, 85, 233, 234, 244, 266, 
 
 266, 290, 306, 367, 368 
 Assyrian Architecture, 22 
 Asii-ud-Daulah, Nawab, 198 
 Atri, 151 
 Aurangzeb or Alamgir, 28, 32, 39, 61, 
 
 55, 110, 112, 128, 163, 156, 191, 192, 
 
 306, 312, 313 
 Aurangzeb's Mosque, 316-318, 323 
 Ausa.n Ganj MahaUa, 87, 116, 117, 120, 
 
 151, 197 
 
 Baber, Emperor, 255 
 
 B&ges'waxl, 89, 90, 164, 214 
 
 Baijn^th, 227 
 
 BakarlyS. Kund, Ancient Eemains at, 
 
 25, 27, 93, '215, 216, 273-287, 292, 
 
 293, 308, 309, 310, 323 
 Balbhadra, 120 
 Baldeo, 170 
 Ba.lkrishna, 151 
 BaUantyne, Dr., late Principal of the 
 
 Government College, Benares, 331 
 Balwant Singh, 198, 202, 212 
 Ban^r-asi, 326 
 Ban^ Baja, 35, 100, 292 
 
INDEX. 
 
 383 
 
 Baptist Mission, Benares, 333, 334, 337 
 
 Jsapfl Deva S'&strl, Pandit, Professor of 
 Astronomy, Government College, Be- 
 nares, 137, 339 
 
 Bar& Gaijes', 120, 121, 215, 221, 227 
 
 Barihan Devf, 131 
 
 Earhiya Tank, 226 
 
 Barni Piy&la Mel&, 225 
 
 B&rnarasi Devi, 100 
 
 BarnSi Sangam and Gh&t, 33, 139, 178, 
 184, 186, 187, 221 ' ' ' ' 
 
 Batasparikhsha Mel&, 218 
 
 Battis Khambha, 308-310 
 
 B6.wan Avat4r, 222 
 
 B&wan-dwa.dasi Meli, 221 
 
 Benares, — Courts of Law, 337 ; Govern- 
 ment or Queen's CoHege, 236, 259, 
 307, 331, 332, 337, 347; Govern- 
 ment Normal School, 332; Public 
 Buildings, 337; "Ward's Institution, 
 337 
 
 Benares Institute, 336, 337 
 
 Benares, Insurrection at, 197-212 
 
 Benares, Maharaja of, 118, 169, 212, 
 222, 227, 337, 338 
 
 Benares Proper, 74, 93, 94, 95, 97 
 
 Benares, Secrole, 337 
 
 BengaU Tola, 146, 147, 155 
 
 Bengali Tola Preparatory School, 335 
 
 Beni E^m, Pandit, 218 
 
 Bhadaini Mahalla or Ward, 167, 224 
 
 Bhadrakalpa, 369 
 
 BhadresVar, Temple of, 168 
 
 Bhagavad Gitk, 347 
 
 Bhairo or Bhairon&th, 47, 61, 64, 74, 
 119, 124, 128, 150, 170 
 
 Bhairo ka Taiao, 190 
 
 Bhanta, 226 
 
 Bharadwaja, 381 
 
 Bhatt Brahmans, 347 
 
 BhawSnf, Hani, 168, 164, 167, 175, 180 
 
 BhikshuB, The Five, 5, 6, 11, 365, 368, 
 
 372 
 Bhilsa, 29, 244 
 
 Bhilsa Topes, 20, 245, 267, 268 
 Bhim, 217 
 Bhimchaudf, 179 
 Bhittiyantra, 136 
 Bhobanes'war, Temple of, 29 
 Bhnt, 119 
 Bhfit-Bhairo, 119 
 Bijai Dasami Mela, 223 
 Bijaigarh, Fort of, 202 
 Bindhykchala, 90 
 Birbhadra, 78, 153 
 
 Bird, Mr., former Kesident of Benares, 194 
 Bisbahuka, 84 
 
 BishesVar, 47, 147, 156, 175, 227 
 Bishes'war, Temple of, 28, 60, 52, 61, 
 316, 317. 
 
 Bodhi, Fruit of 369, 373, 375 
 
 Bodhidruma, 374, 375 
 
 Bodhisattwa, 368-372, 374, 379 
 
 Brahma, 69, 99 
 
 Brahma, 43, 78, 82, 140-143, 170, 185 
 
 Brahmadatta, King of Benares, 11 
 
 Brahma-i^war, 186 
 
 Brahmeswar, 142 
 
 Brahman, 14, 40, 48, 69, 84, 102, 126, 
 136, 148, 152, 191, 193, 194, 267, 
 346, 354, 378 
 
 Brahma Purana, 381 
 
 Brahmavarta, 266 
 
 Brahmaloka, 143 
 
 Brahmo Samaj, 336, 344, 345, 364 
 
 Brambanan, temple of, 260 
 
 Briddhkai, 73, 75, 80, 94, 156, 312 
 
 Briddhkai Mela, 218 
 
 Budaon Mahalla, 298 
 
 Buddha, or Gautama, 5, 6, 85, 153, 232- 
 234, 238, 248, 251, 259, 261, 301, 
 364, 369, 370, 372 ; The Tathagata, 
 242, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 375, 
 379 ; The Great S'ramana, 242, 365 ; 
 S'ri Dharmaras'i, 251 ; his Life, 264, 
 265 ' > > 
 
 Buddhas, four last, 369 
 
 Buddha Gaya, 259 
 
 Buddhi, 72 
 
 Buddha, Law of, 5, 256, 266, 364-366, 
 
 368, 369, 374, 375 
 Buddhism, Decline and Fall of, 267, 
 
 268-270 
 Buddhist Confession of Faith, 242, 262, 
 
 263 
 Buddhist Missionaries, 12, 301 
 Buddhist Supremacy in India, 12, 30, 
 
 265, 266 
 Buddhist Triad, 259 
 Burnouf, M. 242 
 Biirwa-Mangal Mela, 228, 229 
 Buyers, Eev. "W., 192, 193 
 
 Carnac, Lieutenant-Colonel, 200 
 Chakravartin, King, 374 
 Chakrayantra, 137 
 Chakr-pushkarni, 69 
 Cha men (S'ramana), 365 
 Chandan ikadasl Mela, 217 
 Chandra, 144 
 Chandra Gupta, 266 
 Chandrakanta, 107 
 Chandra-kflp, 143, 144 
 Chandrama, 170 
 Charana-paduka, 70 
 Chaturbhuj, 130, 151 
 Chaukha Ghat, 218, 223, 225, 226 
 Chaukhambha, 223, 224 
 Chaukhambha Mosque, 314, 316 
 ChaukI Ghat, 154 
 
384 ■ 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ChausatM Deyf, 90, 228 
 
 Cheit Singh, Eaja, 34, 169, 172, 197, 
 198-212, 228, 250 
 
 Cherry, Mr., formerly Political Resident 
 of Benares, 338 
 
 Chi-kia-meou-ni (S'a.kya Muni), 369 
 
 Chi-kia-pou-sa (S'Skya BodMsattwa), 
 369 
 
 Chi (S'akra), 379 
 
 Chitraghant^, 251 
 
 Chitrkot, 221, 222 
 
 Christianity, 38, 40 
 
 Church of England Mission, Benares, 
 333, 334, 337 
 
 Clive, Lord, 361 
 
 Cunningham, Major-General, late Go- 
 vernment Archeeologist in India, 235, 
 236, 244, 250, 255, 256, 260, 265, 268 
 
 DafSli, 216 
 
 Daitya, 114 
 
 Daksh, Eaja, 77, 79, 80 
 
 Dakshes'war, 76, 80 
 
 Daibhyeswar, 129, 130 
 
 D^a-'dharma, 381 
 
 DandpSin, 62, 65, 66 
 
 Dangal Mela, 229 
 
 Dasahra, Mel4 217, 222 
 
 Dai^&;^amedh Gh&t and Temple, 43, 95, 
 139, 140, 142, 153, 223, 228, 333 
 
 Das'&srwamedhes'vrar, 142 
 
 Datt6.treya, 161 
 
 Davidson, Mr., 261 
 
 Deer Park of the Immortal, 232, 233, 
 234, 235, 364, 367, 372, 376 
 
 Deo Narain Singh, Eaja, K.C.S.I., Pre- 
 sident of the Benares Institute, 183, 
 339 
 
 Devadatta, 371 
 
 DhamnSir, caves of, 259 
 
 Dhan, vrorship of, 223 
 
 Dhan Teras Mel&, 223 
 
 Dhanwantari, 219 
 
 Dharaddi Mel&, 228 
 
 Dharma, 5, 85 
 
 Dharmanada, 107 
 
 Dharmes'war, 86 
 
 Dharm-kfip, 86, 86 
 
 Dharms^U, or hostel, 179 
 
 DhelS, Chauth Mela, 221 
 
 Dhruv, Dhruves'war, DhruvesVarS, 128 
 
 Dhdpchandl, 177 
 
 Dhfltapkpa, 107 
 
 Digansayantra, 137 
 
 Divod&s, 47, 82, 84, 140, 141, 143, 381 
 
 DivodSses'war, 84 
 
 DiwiM Meli, 224 
 
 Dul&res'war, 164 
 
 Duncan, Mr. Jonathan, former Resident of 
 Benares, 250, 252 
 
 Durg, 159-162 
 
 Durgi, 47, 144,. 155, 157-159, 162, 163, 
 
 166, 170-172, 214, 223, 228. 
 Durga-kund, 33, 90, 166, 219 
 Durgi Mek, 219, 223 
 Durgbijay Singh, Bahu, 212 
 DurvSsas Rishi, 114, 161 
 Dwa.rakS.-tirth, 218 
 DwarpSleswar, 64 
 
 Egyptian Architecture, 22 
 EUora, cave at, 20 
 Equinoctial Circle, 137 
 
 Fa Hian, 35, 231, 232, 234, 235, 256, 
 266, 267, 364 
 
 Fa Hian's Narrative concerning Benares, 
 364, 365 
 
 Faiz-uIla-KhSn, Nawab, 201 
 
 Fitima Mela, 219 
 
 Fergusson's Handbook of Architecture, 
 19, 29, 283, 294 
 
 Foe (Buddha), 364, 365 
 
 Foe Koue Ki, 231, 364 
 
 Fouceaux, M., 261 
 
 Fowke, Mr., formerly Resident of Be- 
 nares, 201 
 
 Futteh Narain Singh, Bahu, Vice-Pre- 
 sident of the Benares Institute, 339 
 
 Gke GhSit, 104 
 
 Gajendramoksh, 170 
 
 Gandharvas, 162 
 
 Ganes' or Siddha-vin^yak, 47, 49, 59, 
 
 65, 71, 74, 76, 83, 90, 100, 106j 122, 
 
 144, 160, 152, 163, 166, 168 
 Ganes Chauth Meli, 227 
 Gangi (the Ganges), 57, 98, 107, 142, 
 
 147, 170, 174, 194, 217, 356 
 Gang&-putras, or Sons of the Ganges, 
 
 16, 46, 352 
 Ganga-Saptami Mel4, 216 
 Garud, 171 
 Gau-gaur Mela, 214 
 Gauri, 98, 140, 160-162 
 Gauri-kund, 150 
 Gauri S'ankar, 59 
 Gaya, 5, 124, 139 
 Gkzi Mijkh. Darg&h, 215, 216 
 G&zi Miyin Mela, 216 
 Gazi Sultan, 216 
 Ghantakama, 118 
 Gor Ji, Pandit, 90, 105 
 Govardhan, 171 
 Gridhraktita, 368 
 Griffith, Mr. R. T. H., Principal of the 
 
 Government College, Benares, 331 
 Gukar Mahalla, 305 
 Gunahri, 220, 221 
 Gupta era, 28, 55, 286, 290, 306, 326 
 
INDEX. 
 
 385 
 
 Guru-piirnima, 218. 
 Gyau-Bipi or Gy&.a-Ki3p, 53, 73 
 
 Haihayas, race of, 381 
 
 Hall, Dr. Fitzedward, Librarian of the 
 
 India Office, 35, 236, 331, 381 
 Hanumin, or Mah&.bir, 59, 73-76, 89, 
 
 91, 100, 126, 129, 170, 224 
 Hardw&r, 139 
 Hardy, Rev. R. Spence, 5 
 Hari Gu[,ta, 261 
 Harinith, Temple of, 149 
 Hari VaSisa, 381 
 
 Harya^wa, King of the K&s'is, 381 
 Heng (Ganges), 35, 364 
 Him&clial, Mount, 149 
 Hindu Temples in Benares, number of, 
 
 41,42 
 Hindu Triad, 185 
 Hiouen Thsang, 8, 231, 232, 234, 235, 
 
 255, 256, 259, 262, 267, 268, 272, 
 
 286, 366 
 Hiouen Thsang's Narrative concerning 
 
 Benares, 366-380 
 Hipparchus, 134 
 Hiranyakas'ipu, 215 
 Hodgson, Mr.B. H., late Political Resident 
 
 in NepS.1, 242, 262 
 Holi Mel&, 192, 227, 228 
 HoUk4, 228 
 Horn, 127 
 Home, Mr. C, late Judge of Benares, 
 
 273, 296, 297 
 Hou-ming-pou-sa (PrabhipS-la ? Bod- 
 
 hisattwa), 369 
 Hum&yUn, Emperor, 255 
 
 Indian Architecture, 22, 24, 23, 52 
 
 Indra, 160, 161, 170, 171 
 
 r^lna, 251 
 
 Ts'ipattana VihSra, 5, 6, 11, 256 
 
 Tswar, 69, 128 
 
 rs'war-Gan^i, 116, 220 [375 
 
 I-tsie-i-tch'ing (Sarvirthaslddha), 373- 
 
 Jagannath, 120, 139, 177, 217, 218, 229 
 
 .Tagat Ganj, 26, 260 
 
 Jagat Singh, Babu, 25, 260-253, 260 
 
 J&ges'war, 116, 151 
 
 Jahnu Rishi, 216 
 
 Jaina, 289, 294, 317, 318 
 
 Jaitpuri Mahalla, 89 
 
 Jala, 160 
 
 Jamanes'war, 98 
 
 jambavati, 127 
 
 Jamditiya Mela, 225 
 
 Jam Ghit, 225 
 
 Jamni, 98, 142, 170, 225 
 
 Janaki, 90 
 
 Jarnanada, 107 
 
 Jiiakas, 11 
 
 Jaunpore, AtJUah Mosque, 282, 283 
 Jaunpore, Jama Mosque, 282, 283 
 Jay Nir&yan Ghos&l, Raja, 333 
 Jay Siiih, Raja, 129, 132 
 Jewels, The Three, 369 
 Jogi-bir, 277 [379 
 
 Jou-lai (the Tathigata), 367-371, 375, 
 Julien, M . Stanislas, 231, 366, 3G9 
 Jwarahares'war, 91 
 
 Kaills, 79, 83 
 
 Ktijri, 220 
 
 Kajri Melk, 220, 221 
 
 Kali, 74 
 
 Kali S'ankar GhosSl, Raja, 338 
 
 KalkS,, 225 
 
 K&l-Kiip, 66 
 
 Kimeswar, K6.man&,uath, 113, 114 
 
 Kandhawa, 177 
 
 K&nheri, cares at, 259 
 
 Kantit, Raja of, 220 
 
 Kapila, Raja of, 264 
 
 Kapildhira, 178, 180 
 
 Kapilmochan Tank, 190, 195 
 
 Kardames'war, 178, 179 
 
 Karkotak Nig Tirth, 220 
 
 Kirlen Gave, 20 
 
 Karnghanta, 118 
 
 KS,rtavirya, 170 
 
 K§.rtik PfirnimS, Meli, 225 
 
 Kashiya, or Browa Vestment of Bud- 
 dha, 234, 262, 370, 371 
 
 K&s'i-devi, 118, 119 
 
 K&s'i Karwat, 55 
 
 K4.s'i Khanda, 68, 76, 82, 88, 96, 98, 
 106, 149, 159, 218, 381 
 
 K4si, Kingdom of, 35, 36, 364, 381 
 
 K&s'l-m&h5.traya, 96 
 
 Kisipuri Mahalla, 117 
 
 K&s'yapa Buddha, 369 
 
 Kaundinya, 365, 368 
 
 Kedir, 93, 95, 149, 156 [153 
 
 Kedtoes'war, Kedfanith, 147, 149, 150, 
 
 Keou liu (Kaundinya), 365 
 
 Kern, Dr., late Anglo-Sanskrit Professor, 
 Benares, 332 
 
 Ketu, 66 
 
 Kewal Gall, 155 
 
 Kiachi (Kis'i), 35, 364 
 
 Kia-ye-po-fo (Kas'yapa Buddha), 369 
 
 Kinnaras, 162 
 
 Kirananadi, 107 
 
 KIrtti BishesVar, 312-314 
 
 Kittoe, Major, !ate Government Archae- 
 ologist in India, 25, 235, 250, 251, 
 254, 268, 269, 331, 334 
 
 Kiu tan (Buddha), 365 
 
 Klaproth, M., 231, 364 
 
 Kot-Linges'war, 100 
 
 Kotwil, 124 
 
 26 
 
386 
 
 IKDEX. 
 
 Krishna, 8, 87, 127, i7d-172j 345 
 Krisbna lAlk, 227 
 Kuber, 170 
 Kurukshetr Taiio, 167 
 
 Ladak, 259 
 
 Lakshman, 90, 91, 150 
 
 Lakshmanb^la, 109 
 
 Lak8hmi,'74, 102, 113, 126, 222, 224 
 
 Lakshmi Kund or Tank, 222 
 
 Lakshmin^rkyan, 74, 150 
 
 L&l Khin, 188 ' 
 
 Landresse, M., 231, 364 
 
 Lanka, 223 
 
 L&t Bhairo, 305-308 
 
 Lat'ifptir, Fort of, 202, 208, 209 
 
 Layard, Mr., 22 
 
 Lingam Lakshmaj!, Pandit, S^i 
 
 Linges'war, 103 
 
 Lolarik Chhatb Meli, 221 
 
 Lol&rik Kii&n, 167, 221 
 
 Loma^a Rishi, 20 . , i 
 
 London Mission, .Benares^ 33^, 334, 337 
 
 Lota-Bhanti, 126, 126 
 
 Lot&-Bhant& Mel^ 226 
 
 Macaulay on "Warren Hastings, 9 
 
 Machaudarl, 114, 116 
 
 M^dhodfe ki Dewhra, 110 [211 
 
 M&dhod&s's Garden, 197, 208, 209, 210^ 
 
 Maga, 173 
 
 MahabhSrata, 4, 67, 167, 217, 381 
 
 Mab&bir : see Hanum&n 
 
 Mab&deva : see S'lra 
 
 Mahkkai, 67 
 
 MabakaU, 160, 161, 170 
 
 Mabendra, son of A^oka, 266 
 
 Mabes'wara, 9, 233, 367 
 
 Mabi PHa, 251 
 
 Mabmfid Sultan, 215, 289 , , ,.. 
 
 Mabommad Shah, Emperor, 132, 133 
 
 Mabomet, 13 
 
 Maitreya, 365, 368, 369 
 
 Mandarachal, 140 
 
 Mangalgauri, 107 , . 
 
 Manikamika Temple and Ghki, 67, 69, 
 72, 104, 139, 177, 178, 186 
 
 Min-Mandil Gbat, 129, 137, 139 
 
 Min-Mandil Observatory, 43, 129, 131, 
 135, 136, 137, 273, 300 
 
 Mknisarwar, 150, 151. 
 
 M&n Sinb, Raja, 42, 151 
 
 Mann, 381 
 
 Maqdam SSibib, 302-305 
 
 M&ra, 378 
 
 Marbiya Gb4t, 216 
 
 M4rkanda, Markandes'war, 76 
 
 Markbam, Mr., formerly Eesident of Be- 
 nares, 201, 204 
 
 Math, 146 
 
 Matburi-pras^d, Babu, 340 
 
 Martin Luther, 351 
 
 M^moires de Hionen Tbsang, 231, 366- 
 
 380 
 Mi le (Maitjreya), 365, 368 
 MiU, Rev. Dr., 242 
 Minarets, The, ill, 112 
 Minor Vehicle, 366, 367 
 Mir Gbat, 84, 86, 224 
 Mira Sihib, Tomb of, 302 
 Mogaliputra, 244 
 Mohammadan Mosques in Benares, niiih. 
 
 ber of, 41, 42 
 Mohurram, Festival of the, 191, 214 
 Moon, The, 109, 151 _ 
 Mount Himalaya, Eaja, 80 
 Mrigadiva (The Deer Park), 367, 372, 
 
 375 
 Muktikshetra, 68 
 Mullens, Rev. Dr., 39 
 MiiUer's (Professor Max) History of 
 
 Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 4 
 Mural Quadrant, 136, 137 
 Musk6,b&d, 324 
 Mutiny, The Sepoy, 294 
 
 NSga, Nage^war, 75, 89, 220, 262 
 
 Nagarpradaksbn& Meli, 226 
 
 N&g Elan, 87, '88, 220 
 
 N&g Panchami Mela, 220 
 
 Nairanjana, 374 
 
 Naianda, 259 
 
 Nanak Shah, 102 
 
 Narad Muni, 77, 78, 170 
 
 Narayana, 102 
 
 Narsinh, 113, 114, 215 
 
 Narsinh Chaudas Mela, 215 
 
 Naubat-Khana, 163 
 
 Naugrah, Nava-graha, 65, 9l, 164, 267 
 
 Navaratri .MelS, 214 
 
 Nepalese Temple, 137 
 
 Nie-pan (Nirvana), 368 
 
 Ni-houan (Nirvana), 364 
 
 Nikumbha, 381 
 
 Ni-lien (Nairanjana), 374 
 
 Nirbuddhes'war, 98, 104, 105 
 
 Nirgrantbas, The, 367 
 
 Niqaia Ekadas'I Mela, 217 
 
 Nirvana, Nirvritti, 5, 267, 261, 263, 364, 
 
 368 
 O-jo-kiao-tch'in-jou (Ajnata Kaundinya) 
 
 368, 372 
 O-lan-Ka-lan (A'rada KaiSina) 375 
 
 Pa lian foe (Pataliputra), 364 
 Pancbganga Ghat, 104, 107, 10'9, 110, 
 
 139, 225 jf 
 
 Pancbganga Mela, 214 . 
 Pancb-kosi Road, 47, 61, 123, 174, 179, 
 
 180, 181, 184, 321, 327 
 Panoh-kosi Mela, 226 
 Panchmukhi, 84 
 
INDEX. 
 
 387 
 
 P&nch P^nclaT, 67, 177, 217 
 
 Panoh-Tirth, 140 
 
 P^ini, 3 
 
 Paramabodhi, 368 
 
 Paras'ur4ma, 170- 
 
 P&rvati, 47, 68, 74, 80, 86, 38l 
 
 P&rvatyeifwari, 105 
 
 P&s'upatas, 367 
 
 Patahputra, 364 
 
 Patharaka Siw&n, 324 
 
 Pavana, 160 
 
 Persian Architects, 23 
 
 P£ tsing, or S'uddhodana, 364 
 
 Pho lo nai (Benares), 35, 364 
 
 Pilgrimage of Fa Hian, 231, 364 
 
 Pilpilla Tirth and Ghkt, 103, 104 
 
 Pir Alim, 216 
 
 Pisach-Mochan, 123, 124, 126, 226 
 
 Pi-tsou (BMkshus), 368 
 
 Pole Star, Temple of the, 128 
 
 Po-lo-men (Brahman), 368 
 
 P'o-lo-ni-sse (Benares), 366, 367 
 
 Popham, Major, 206 
 
 Pou-sa (Bodhisattwa), 368, 369j 370, 
 
 371,374,379 
 Pou-ti (Bodhi), 373-376 
 Praladh Ghat, 190 
 Pratardaua, 381 
 Pratyeka-Buddha, 364, 368 
 Pray^g, 142 
 Prinsep, Mr. James, 21, 24, 41, 42, 69, 
 
 71, 89, 108, 116, 219, 299, 317 
 Ptolemy, 134 
 Pflja., 125 
 
 Puranas, 37, 95, 347 
 PrirnasTibhakarani, 68 
 Py tchi M (Pratyeka-Buddha), 364 
 
 E&dha Krishna, 87, 172 
 
 Baffles, sit Stamford, 260 
 
 Eihu, 65 
 
 ESjagriha, 368 
 
 EM Gh&t, 190 [323 
 
 E4] Ghat Fort, 28, 292, 29ir-3bl, 309, 
 
 E&jmandira Gh^t, 214 
 
 Earn, 90, 91, 113, 150, 170i, 215^ 222, 
 
 223, 345 
 Eam&yana, 222, 347 
 R&mesVar, 177 
 E4m Ghat, 146, 215 
 Eam Llia, 222 
 Earn Liia Mela, 222 
 Eamnagar, 34, 118, 169, 173, 199, 205, 
 
 208, 209, 222, 227, 229 
 Eam-naumf Mela, 216 
 Eath-Jatra Mela, 218 
 Eatnatraya, 369- 
 Eatnes'war, 81, 312 
 Eavana, 223 
 Eemusat, M., 231, 364 
 
 Eiver of Death, 102 
 Eota-bhanta, 226 
 Eudrsar, 143 
 
 Eukmes'war, Temple of, 154 
 Eunjeet Singh, Maharaja, 51 
 Euru, a Demon, 169 
 
 Sadanand, Laia, 199, 200 
 
 Sahja, 225 
 
 Sakhi-Binayaka (Ganes') 59, 178 
 
 S'akra, 379, 380 
 
 S'akya Muni, 6, 6, 12,- 2^6, 261, 264, 
 
 301, 369 
 Saiar-i-Mualla, 215 
 Saiar Masand, 216 
 
 saiar sahu, 215 
 
 samba, 127 
 Sambadit, 128 
 Sami, a kind 6f tree, 223 
 Samkatik, 152 
 
 Sammatiyas, School of the, 3^6, 367 
 Sanchi, 244, 294 
 Sangames'war, 186, 186 
 Sangamitra, 266 
 Sangkar, 252, 253, 260 
 Sanichar, 56, 59 
 Sankata Devi, 143, 144, 214 
 Sankata Ghat, 146 
 Sankndhara, 220 
 Sankudhara Mela, 218 
 S-anti-Parvan, 381 
 Saraswates'war, 98 
 Saraswatf, 107, l70, 185 
 Samath, 5, 25, 35, 180, 231, 232, 235, 
 236, 244, 265, 262, 267, 271, 272, 
 286, 309-311, 321, 323, 325, 364 :— 
 Buddhist Stdpa, Dhamek, 236-243, 
 
 256 
 Carving (No. I.) on Buddhist Sttipa, 
 
 240 
 Carving (No. II.) on Buddhist Stiipa, 
 
 241 
 Foundation of Ancient Stripa, 248- 
 
 254 
 Chaukandi Stiipa, 265, 256 
 Eemains of Bttddhist Monastery, 245- 
 
 248, 256 
 Chaityai, small Seal, 262-264 
 Statues and Bass-reliefs, 248, 260, 268 
 Sarvarthasiddha, 372-376 
 S'aiyati, son of Manu, 38i 
 Satdhara, 244 
 Sati, 77, 79, 80, 121, 186 
 Satjug, 73 
 
 Scindia, Maharaja, 186 [370 
 
 Seng-kia-lan (Buddhist Monastery) 365, 
 Shachi, 267 
 Shewei, 267 
 
 Shuhada, Sultan-us, 215 
 Shujah-ud-Danlah, Nawab, 198 
 
388 
 
 DTOEX. 
 
 SiddhesVar, 91 
 
 Siddhes'wari, 143, 144 
 
 Siddhi, 72 
 
 Siddhim^ta Devi, 90 
 
 Sikh Religion, 102 
 
 Sindhia Ghit, 72 
 
 Sitk, 113, 170 
 
 S'itela, 65, 86, 100, 130 
 
 S'lTa or Mah^deva, 47, 50, 53, 60, 65, 68, 
 76, 97, 108, 114, 126, 140, 143, 145, 
 149, 162, 157, 160, 163, 170, 172, 178, 
 186, 227, 251, 345, 355, 381 
 
 S'hUk Ghat, 34, 197, 204 
 
 S'ivilaya, 145 
 
 S'iva Prasid, Babu, Joint Inspector of 
 Schools, Benares Division, 312, 339 
 
 S'ivapur, 177, 225, 226 
 
 S'iva-rStri Mel&, 227 [308 
 
 S'iva's Lkt or Pillar, 190, 192, 193, 305- 
 
 Skanda Pur&na, 96, 381 
 
 Soma, 130 
 
 Someswar, Temple of, 130 
 
 Sone ki Taiio, 321, 322 
 
 So-p'o-ho-la-tha-si-tho (SarrSrthasid- 
 dha), 372, 373 
 
 S;ramana (Buddha), 242, 365 
 
 S ri Maut Btiija Bai, 64 
 
 S'rf Sthira Pila, 251, 254, 255 
 
 S'rl Vasanta P&la, 251, 254 
 
 Stone Pillar, Sone kk Tal4o, 321, 322 
 
 Suhhadra, 120 
 
 S'uddhodana, Eaja, 364, 373 
 
 Sudeva, son of Haryas'wa, 381 
 
 S'ukres'war, 59 
 
 Stiraj-Kund, 127, 128 
 
 Siirajnir^yan, the Sun, 47, 69, 65, 74, 
 100, 109, il3, 126, 127, 174, 186, 221 
 
 SurayS. Melk, 222 
 
 Sdrya, 170 
 
 Siirya Purana, 127 
 
 Tarates'war, 70 
 
 Ta-tseu-thsai (MahesVara), 9, 367 
 
 "Tching-Uang-pou (Sammatiyas), 366, 
 367 [374 
 
 Tch'ouen-lun-wang (King ChakraTartin), 
 
 Thatheri Bazar, 223, 224 
 
 Thomas, Mr. £., late Judge of Benares, 
 25, 236, 245, 246, 254, 263, 268, 269 
 
 Thomason, Mr., late Lieutenant-Go- 
 vernor of the North- Vestern Pro- 
 vinces, India, 332 
 
 Thomson, Eev. Dr., 360 
 
 Tiliyl. NMa, 28, 300, 302-305 
 
 Tilubhandes'war, 151-163, 166 
 
 Ti-p'o-ta-to (Devadatta), 371 
 To kio (Prateyeka-Buddha), 368 
 Tresham, Mr. D., Head Master, Gro- 
 
 vernment Normal School, Benares, 
 
 297, 332 
 Trilochan, 96, 98, 100, 102, 104, 156 
 Triratna, 369 
 T'se-chl-pou-sa (Maitreya Bodhisattwa), 
 
 369 
 Tsing-fan (S'uddhodana, Raja), 373 
 
 XTdra, son of R&ma, 374, 375 
 
 Vahan, 172 
 Varan!., 34 
 Y&r&iiasi (Benares), 34, 35, 232, 366, 
 
 367 
 Varanasf, Kingdom of, 36, 36, 233, 366 
 Vasishtha, Muni, 149 
 Vast Solitude, Temple of the, 364 
 Vayu, 170 
 V&yu Purina, 381 
 Vedantism, 37, 355 
 Vedas; The, U8, 173, 227, 347 
 VedawSs, 118, 173, 174, 227 
 Vedavyis Melft, 227 
 Vin&yakap&la, Raja, 36 
 Vis'&likshI, 86 
 Visharaa-Bhairava, 119 
 Vishnu, 68, 97, 102, 114, 126, 130, 152, 
 
 170, 186, 215, 222 
 Vishnu-Purina, 381 
 Vis'wakarman Cave, 20 
 Vi'tahavya, 381 
 Yizlanagram, Maharaja of, K.O.S.I., 
 
 182, 339, 364 
 Vy&s, 105 
 Vy&seswar, 118 
 
 ■Wang-che-tching (R&jagriha), 368 
 Warren Hastings, 197-211 
 Wazir Alt, Nawab, 338 
 Well of Immortality, 219 
 Wilford, Col., 250, 261 
 Wilson, Professor H. H., 242, 381 
 Wou-yeou (As'oka), 367, 368 
 
 YAjes'wara, 116 
 Yamadwitiya Mela, 225 
 Yantra Samrkt, 136, 137 
 Yas'u, son of Suj^ta, 11 
 Yava-vin^yak, 178 
 Yogaui, 47 
 
 Yo-to-lo-mo-tseu (Udra, son of 
 374 
 
 STEPHEN' AtrSTIN, PEDJIEE, HEEIFORD.