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approach to Benares, but was, eventually, obliged to succumb to it, and to surrender his crown to the Brahmanical invaders; or, it may be, that, in a remote age in the history of Hinduism, the Raja may have become possessed of the city, perhaps by right of conquest, and, being attached to another creed, may have forthwith expelled 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 Buddhism, 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 Divodás, who was, evidently, 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.1

The temple of Divodáseśwar, in which Divodás is worshipped, stands in a court a short distance from Mír Ghát. The idol consists of a black emblem of Siva. · It is not alone, but is associated with other gods, one of whom is called Bisbáhuka, or the Twenty-handed See Appendix C.

Divinity, and is the occupant of a niche in the wall. In front of the entrance to the temple is a high diwaț or lamp-stand, on the sides of which a number of small oil-lamps are placed, on certain occasions, in honour of Divodás. In the centre of this court is Dharm-kúp, 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 interesting objects; but it was suggested that they were figures of the goddess Sítalá 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-kúp, the name of this well, from dharm, religion, and kúp, well, is, I am disposed to think, not of Hindu, but of Buddhist, origin. Dharma or Dhammothe 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

of as Dhammo. In the time of Aśoka, 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 passage leading to the court, is a temple dedicated to Dharmeswar, or Lord Dharma,-that is, the deity who personifies 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-kúp, 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 connexion 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 religion, of a national faith, which it had with the Buddhists in India in former times.

Returning to the street, a few steps bring us to a temple inhabited by the goddess Viśalákshí,-literally, 'the large-eyed," an epithet of Párvatí, Siva's wife,whose crowned head only is visible, the rest of her person being covered with a yellow cloth. A short distance from this spot is Mír Ghát, leading down to the river. The ghát 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 ghát, you

are attracted by a row of shrines on the left, embellished in strong glaring colours; and, at one angle of the ghát, 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 RádháKrishna, that is, to Krishná 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 Nág Kúán or Serpent's Well is situated in a ward of the city.called after the name of the well, or Nág Kúán Mahalla, which adjoins the Ausán Ganj Mahalla. This well bears marks of considerable antiquity; 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

to the east of this ward, that is, between it and the Ganges, is, as I have already remarked, in all likelihood, the oldest portion of the present city; and, therefore, the Nág Kúán ward would have been, originally, 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 Kásíkhanda.

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. Descending 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 inscription, to the effect, that, in 1825 Samvat, or nearly one hundred years ago, a Raja extensively repaired the well. It is possible he may have built the stairs then. Many of the slabs of stone of which they are composed display carvings on their external surface, some of which bear unmistakeable marks of considerable

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