nal lines, is of Persian origin. The Court of Lucknow, "the most polished and splendid now in India," may be considered, since the decay of Delhi, as almost the last remains of Mussulman magnificence.

OUDE.

OUDE is celebrated in Hindoo histories as the kingdom of Dasaratha, the father of the great Rama, the conqueror of Ceylon. The remains of the ancient city of Ayodhya (Oude) are still to be seen; but they exhibit little more than a shapeless heap of ruins. Oude is described by Abulfazel as one of the largest cities in Hindostan. "In ancient times," he adds, "it is said to have measured 148 coss in length, and 36 in breadth. It is esteemed one of the most sacred places of antiquity. Upon sifting the earth which is round about the city, small grains of gold are sometimes obtained from it. At the distance of a coss from the city, the river Gograh unites with the Sy, which confluence runs at the foot of the fort. Near this city, are two sepulchral monuments, one seven, The vulgar and the other six cubits in length.

pretend, that they are the tombs of Seth and Job, and they relate wonderful stories of them."* The modern town extends a considerable way along the banks of the Goggrah, adjoining the new city of Fyzabad, which, during the government of Sujah-ud-Dowlah, was the seat of the Court. Its appearance, in 1770, is thus described by Tieffenthaler : Avad, called Adjudea by the learned Hindoos, is a city of the highest antiquity. Its houses are, for the most part,

*

66

Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 36. The tradition must have been confined to the Mohammedan vulgar. As the supposed sepul

chres must have been of higher antiquity than the Mohammedan conquest, their origin deserves to be investigated.

only of mud, covered with straw or with tiles; many, however, are of brick. The principal street, running from S. to N., is about a league (mille) in length; and the breadth of the city is somewhat less. Its western part, as well as the northern, is situated on a hill; the north-eastern quarter rests upon eminences; but, towards Bangla, it is level. This town has now but a scanty population, since the foundation of Bangla or Fesabad; a new town where the Governor has established his residence, and to which a great number of the inhabitants of Oude have removed. On the southern bank of the Deva (or Goggrah), are found various buildings erected by the Gentoos in memory of Ram, extending from east to west. The most remarkable place is that which is called Sorgodoari, that is to say, the heavenly temple; because they say, that Ram carried away from thence to heaven all the inhabitants of the city. The deserted town was repeopled and restored to its former condition by Bikarmajit, the famous king of Oojein. There was a temple here on the high bank of the river; but Aurungzebe, ever attentive to the propagation of the faith of Mohammed, and holding the heathen in abhorrence, caused it to be demolished, and replaced it with a mosque with minarets, in order to abolish the very memory of the Hindoo superstition. Another mosque has been built by the Moors, to the east of this. Near the Sorgodoari is an edifice erected by Nabalroy, a former Hindoo governor. But a place more particularly famous is that which is called Sitha Rassoee, the table of Sitha (Seeta), wife of Ram; situated on an eminence to the south of the city. The emperor Aurungzebe demolished the fortress called Ramcote, and erected on the site, a Mohammedan temple with a triple dome. According to others, it was erected by

Baber. There are to be seen fourteen columns of black stone, five spans in height, which occupied the site of the fortress. Twelve of these columns now support the interior arcades of the mosque: the two others form part of the tomb of a certain Moor. They tell us, that these columns, or rather these remains of skilfully wrought columns, were brought from the Isle of Lanca or Selendip (Ceylon) by Hanuman, king of the monkeys. On the left is seen a square chest, raised five inches from the ground, covered with lime, about five ells in length by not more than four in breadth. The Hindoos call it Bedi, the cradle; and the reason is, that there formerly stood here the house in which Beshan (Vishnoo) was born in the form of Ram, and where also, they say, his three brothers were born. Afterwards, Aurungzebe, or, according to others, Baber, caused the place to be destroyed, in order to deprive the heathen of the opportunity of practising there their superstitions. Nevertheless,

they still pay a superstitious reverence to both these places; namely, to that on which the natal dwelling of Ram stood, by going three times round it, prostrate on the earth. The two places are surrounded with a low wall adorned with battlements. Not far from this is a place where they dig up grains of black rice changed into little stones, which are affirmed to have been hidden underground ever since the time of Ram. On the 24th of the month Tshet (Choitru), a large concourse of people celebrate here the birth-day of Ram, so famous throughout India. This vast city is only a mile distant from Bangla (Fyzabad) towards the E.N.E. On the high bank of the river is a quadrangular fortress with low round towers. The walls are out of repair, and it is unfurnished with inhabitants. Formerly, the governors

of the province resided here. Saadut Khan, frightened by an evil augury, transferred the government to Bangla.* It is now completely destroyed.

"From the place where the guns are planted to Oude, a distance of two miles, the Goggrah flows in an easterly direction, making a double elbow; one near the western part of the city, the other at a short distance westward: turning then towards the N.E. by E., it washes the city of Oude; after which it returns to an easterly course, near the northern part. But it changes its course almost every year. Its channel is equal in breadth to that of the Danube, near the citadel of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, but the volume of its waters is not so great. During the rainy season, it extends to a great width, so that, in some places, it is above a league and a half across. †

"Bangla or Fesabad was founded by Saadut Khan, after he had abandoned the city of Oude. A Persian by origin, he was for more than forty years governor of this province. He built a palace, planted an excellent garden in the Persian taste, and fixed his residence here. By degrees, this place became a large town. The present governor, his grandson, (Sujahud-Dowlah,) adorned it with numerous buildings,

* Bangla seems to have been originally a suburb of Oude: its name was probably derived from its low situation. Fyzabad (i.e. beautiful residence) was the name of the soubahdar's palace, which has become the designation of the town.

† In Bernoulli, "un mille et demi; " but here, as elsewhere, it is supposed that the German mile is meant. In some places, however, the distance comes nearer to a co88.

Saadut Khan was made soubahdar of Oude by Mahomed Shah, with the title of Buhran-ul-Mulk, about 1730. He died soon after Nadir Shah's invasion in 1739, and was succeeded by his nephew and son-in-law, Sefder Jung, who was nominated vizier by Ahmed Shah. Sujah-ud-Dowlah was his son and successor. See pp. 347356 of our first volume.

after the English had restored it to him in 1765, with the whole province. He also enlarged the marketplace, which was before confined, and strengthened the fortress with a fosse, round towers, and a rampart.'

The remains of this fortress and the palace are yet to be seen; and Fyzabad still contains a numerous population, chiefly, however, of the lower classes. The merchants, bankers, and richer inhabitants migrated to Lucknow, when the court of Asof-udDowlah was transferred to that capital in 1775. It stands in lat. 26° 46′ N., long. 82° 4′ E., seventy-eight miles east from Lucknow.†

Between three and four miles from Fyzabad, on the southern bank of the Goggrah, there is a remarkable place planted with bushy trees, of which Tieffenthaler

gives the following account :- "It is seated upon a

hill somewhat steep, and fortified with little towers of earth at the four corners (of the enclosure). In the middle is seen a subterranean hole, covered with a dome of moderate dimensions. Close by is a lofty and very old tamarind-tree. A piazza runs round it. It is said that Ram, after having vanquished the giant Ravan, and returned from Lanka, descended into this pit, and there disappeared: hence, they have given to this place the name of Gouptar (or Gouptargath). You have here, then, a descent into hell, as you had at Oude an ascension to heaven." As the scene of many of the leading events in the great epic poem

* Bernoulli, tom. i. pp. 252–255. See p. 88 of our second vol. Hamilton, vol. i. p. 350. In Bernoulli, the latitude, as observed in 1767, is stated to be 26° 29'. In recent times, Fyzabad has been remarkable chiefly as the residence of the Begums. See pp. 100, 230, of our second volume.

Bernoulli, vol. i. p. 255. According to the Ramayuna, Rama's descent to Padalon was involuntary, during his war with the giants in Ceylon; and he was carried thither by enchantment.