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to remark, too, that, where the road passes below the fort to the ghát, 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 Tiliyá Nálá.

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 Mírá Sáhib. In the mutiny, a large portion of the mound opposite the fort was cut away, for strategical reasons; although what is left is sufficient to prove of great service to an enemy attacking the fort.

On the south side of the ridge, in sight of Mírá Sáhib's tomb, is an Imámbára, 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 composed of old materials. Each building possesses four ancient pillars of the Buddhist type; and, lying about in various places, are four pillars more, five kalases, two architraves, and seven bases,—one of the last being extensively carved.. All these are the spoils of some ancient temple or monastery.

ANCIENT REMAINS, No. IV.

Tiliyá Nálá and Magdam Sáhib.

We have chosen to combine these remains, and to speak of them under one head, because, although sepa

rated, and standing in different Mahallas or wards, they are near enough together to suggest the supposition, 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 neighbourhood, which is very rich in old carved fragments of stone scattered about amongst the walls and foundations of dwelling-houses, and in divers other places. The ruins at Tiliyá Nálá, 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 Vihára or templemonastery was situated in this district, and that the existing remains, for the most part, belonged to it.

The ruins at Tiliyá Nálá are immediately above the nálá 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 nálá, 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 Sinhásan 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

all the pillars of this row are inserted. There can be no dispute that the Sinhásan 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. Reconstructing the edifice as it originally stood, there were, therefore, one row of six double pillars, and two 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 are two domes, one of which is above the Sinhásan, 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 doubtless 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 transforming it into a mosque. Some of the large stones have fallen into the nálá 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 difficult task to find nearly all the missing pillars and capitals.

The Maqdam Sahib is a square enclosure, in the

Gulzár Mahalla, near to Tiliyá Nálá, 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, presenting, 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 thirtytwo, 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 REMAINS, No. V.

Lát Bhairo.

At the junction of the Ghazeepore road with the Ráj Ghát 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 lát, 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 faqír residing here to permit us to lift up the copper 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

entirely fruitless; and, had we persisted in them, a disturbance 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 believing that this was one of Aśoka's pillars, it would be exceedingly interesting to inspect the remaining fragment, which we may reasonably suppose to belong to the original column, and, in that case, to possess a portion of an inscription sufficient to certify its connexion with Aśoka, 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 lát stands, we see, quite distinctly, 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

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