cemetery close by, in the midst of which are a few Buddhist remains, in the shape of pillars and architraves, made up into a Mohammedan sepulchre. What this socalled temple was, admits of very little question, inasmuch as the boundary-walls of the terrace and of the neighbouring cemetery and garden exhibit a considerable 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 removed to the archæological 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 lát stands, is, as already observed, a Mohammedan cemetery, with a Rauza, 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 indented with representations of the lotos seed-pod. One

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 neighbouring 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 REMAINS, No. VI.

Battis Khambhá.

About a third of a mile to the east of the Bakaríyá Kund remains is a beautiful little structure, called, by the natives, Battís Khambhá, or "thirty-two pillars." It is a very picturesque object, as seen from the Ráj Ghát 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.

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 occupied 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 Sinhásan of Buddha, similar to that which is seen in the temple at Bakaríyá 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 Bakaríyá Kund to the Ráj Ghát 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 addition 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 Bakaríyá Kund in the direction of Sárnáth, 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 Sárnáth with Bakaríyá Kund, in both which

places there were vast monastic edifices and numerous temples.

Near this ruin, and between it and Bakaríyá Kuṇḍ, 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 Bakaríyá Kuṇḍ. The building has an

unpretending appearance, and is kept whitewashed by the Mohammedans, its proprietors.

ANCIENT REMAINS, No. VII.

Arhár Kangura 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 bearing its own name. Its magnificent and lofty dome, as well as various parts of the mosque itself, unquestionably 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 between some of them in the upper story, are of Buddhist 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

the original building stands in situ; and we have not sufficiently examined it to be able to arrive at a decided opinion on this point. Our conviction, however, is, that certain leading characteristics of the first structure 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 religion, 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 buildings at Sárnáth 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

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