Kannoge.--Formerly the capital of Hindoostaun.--Ancient
castle.--Durability of the bricks made by the aborigines.--Prospect
from the Killaah (castle).--Ruins.--Treasures found therein.--The
Durgah Baallee Peer Kee.--Mukhburrahs.--Ancient Mosque.--Singular
structure of some stone pillars.--The Durgah Mukdoom
Jhaunneer.--Conversions to the Mussulmaun Faith.--Anecdote.--Ignorance
of the Hindoos.--Sculpture of the Ancients.--Mosque inhabited by
thieves.--Discovery of Nitre.--Method of extracting it.--Conjectures
of its produce.--Residence in the castle.--Reflections.
Kannoge, now comparatively a Native village, situated about midway between
Cawnpore and Futtyghur, is said to have been the capital of Hindoostaun,
and according to Hindoo tradition was the seat of the reigning Rajahs two
thousand years prior to the invasion of India by the Sultaun Timoor. If
credit be given to current report, the Hindoos deny that the Deluge
extended to India[1] as confidently as the Chinese declare that it never
reached China.
These accounts I merely state as the belief of the Hindoos, and those
the least educated persons of the population. The Mussulmauns, however,
are of a different opinion; the account they give of the Deluge
resembles the Jewish, and doubtless the information Mahumud has conveyed
to his followers was derived from that source.
Some of the people are weak enough to conjecture that Kannoge was founded
by Cain.[2] It bears, however, striking features of great antiquity, and
possesses many sufficient evidences of its former extent and splendour to
warrant the belief that it has been the capital of no mean kingdom in ages
past. The remarks I was enabled to make during a residence of two years at
Kannoge may not be deemed altogether uninteresting to my readers, although
my descriptions may be 'clouded with imperfections'. I will not, therefore,
offer any useless apologies for introducing them in my present Letter.
Kannoge, known as the oldest capital of the far-famed kingdom of
Hindoostaun, is now a heap upon heap of ruins, proclaiming to the present
generation, even in her humility, how vast in extent and magnificent in
style she once was, when inhabited by the rulers of that great empire. The
earth entombs emblems of greatness, of riches, and of man's vain-glorious
possessions; buildings have been reared by successive generations on
mounds which embowelled the ruined mansions of predecessors.
The killaah[3] (castle) in which during two years we shared an abode with
sundry crows, bats, scorpions, centipedes, and other living things, was
rebuilt about seven hundred years ago, on the original foundation which,
as tradition states, has continued for more than two thousand years. The
materials of which the walls are constructed are chiefly bricks.
It is worthy of remark, that the bricks of ancient manufacture in India
give evidence of remarkable durability, and are very similar in quality to
the Roman bricks occasionally discovered in England. At Delhi I have met
with bricks that have been undoubtedly standing six or seven centuries;
and at Kannoge, if tradition speak true, the same articles which were
manufactured upwards of two thousand years ago, and which retain the
colour of the brightest red, resemble more the hardest stone than the
things we call bricks of the present day. After the minutest examination
of these relics of ancient labour, I am disposed to think that the clay
must have been more closely kneaded, and the bricks longer exposed to the
action of fire than they are by the present mode of manufacturing them;
and such is their durability, that they are only broken with the greatest
difficulty.
The killaah was originally a fortified castle, and is situated near the
river Kaullee Nuddie,[4] a branch or arm of the Ganges, the main stream of
which flows about two miles distant. During the periodical rains, the
Ganges overflows its banks, and inundates the whole tract of land
intervening between the two rivers, forming an extent of water more
resembling a sea than a river.
At the time we occupied the old castle, scarcely one room could be called
habitable; and I learned with regret after the rains of 1826 and 1827,
which were unusually heavy, that the apartments occupied since the
Honourable East India Company's rule by their taasseel-dhaars,[5]
(sub-collectors of the revenue), were rendered entirely useless as a
residence.
The comfortless interior of that well-remembered place was more than
compensated by the situation. Many of my English acquaintance, who
honoured me by visits at Kannoge, will, I think, agree with me, that the
prospect from the killaah was indescribably grand. The Ganges and the
Kaullee Nuddee were presented at one view; and at certain seasons of the
year, as far as the eye could reach, their banks, and well-cultivated
fields, clothed in a variety of green, seemed to recall the mind to the
rivers of England, and their precious borders of grateful herbage. Turning
in another direction, the eye was met by an impenetrable boundary of
forest trees, magnificent in growth, and rich in foliage; at another
glance, ruins of antiquity, or the still remaining tributes to saints; the
detached villages; the sugar plantations; the agriculturists at their
labour; the happy peasantry laden with their purchases from the bazaars;
the Hindoo women and children, bearing their earthen-vessels to and from
the river for supplies of water:--each in their turn formed objects of
attraction from without, that more than repaid the absence of ordinary
comforts in the apartment from which they were viewed. The quiet calm of
this habitation, unbroken by the tumultuous sounds of a city, was so
congenial to my taste, that when obliged to quit it, I felt almost as much
regret as when I heard that the rains had destroyed the place which had
been to me a home of peaceful enjoyment.
The city of Kannoge has evidently suffered the severities of a shock from
an earthquake: the present inhabitants cannot tell at what period this
occurred, but it must have been some centuries since, for the earth is
grown over immense ruins, in an extensive circuit, forming a strong but
coarse carpet of grass on the uneven mounds containing the long-buried
mansions of the great. The rapid streams from the periodical rains forcing
passages between the ruins, has in many places formed deep and frightful
ravines, as well as rugged roads and pathways for the cattle and the
traveller.
After each heavy fall of rain, the peasantry and children are observed
minutely searching among the ruins for valuables washed out with the loose
earth and bricks by the force of the streams, and, I am told, with
successful returns for their toil; jewels, gold and silver ornaments,
coins of gold and silver, all of great antiquity, are thus secured; these
are bought by certain merchants of the city, by whom they are retailed to
English travellers, who generally when on a river voyage to or from the
Upper Provinces, contrive, if possible, to visit Kannoge to inspect the
ruins, and purchase curiosities.
There is a stately range of buildings at no great distance from the
killaah (castle), in a tolerable state of preservation, called 'Baallee
Peer Kee Durgah'.[6] The entrance is by a stone gateway of very superior
but ancient workmanship, and the gates of massy wood studded with iron. I
observed that on the wood framework over the entrance, many a stray
horseshoe has been nailed, which served to remind me of Wales, where it is
so commonly seen on the doors of the peasantry.[7] I am not aware but that
the same motives may have influenced the two people in common.
To the right of the entrance stands a large mosque, which, I am told, was
built by Baallee himself; who, it is related, was a remarkably pious man
of the Mussulmaun persuasion, and had acquired so great celebrity amongst
his countrymen as a perfect durweish, as to be surnamed peer[8] (saint).
The exact time when he flourished at Kannoge, I am unable to say; but
judging from the style of architecture, and other concurring circumstances,
it must have been built at different periods, some parts being evidently
of very ancient structure.
There are two mukhburrahs,[9] within the range, which viewed from the main
road, stand in a prominent situation: one of these mukhburrahs was built
by command, or in the reign (I could not learn which), of Shah Allumgeer
[10] over the remains of Ballee Peer; and the second contains some of the
peer's immediate relatives.
From the expensive manner in which these buildings are constructed, some
idea may be formed of the estimation this pious man was held in by his
countrymen. The mausoleums are of stone, and elevated on a base of the
same material, with broad flights of steps to ascend by. The stone must
have been brought hither from a great distance, as I do not find there is
a single quarry nearer than Delhi or Agra. There are people in charge of
this Durgah who voluntarily exile themselves from the society of the world,
in order to lead lives of strict devotion and under the imagined presiding
influence of the saint's pure spirit; they keep the sanctuary from
pollution, burn lamps nightly on the tomb, and subsist by the occasional
contributions of the charitable visitors and their neighbours.
Within the boundary of the Durgah, I remarked a very neat stone tomb, in
good preservation: this, I was told, was the burying-place of the Kalipha
[11] (head servant) who had attended on and survived Baallee Peer; this man
had saved money in the service of the saint, which he left to be devoted
to the repairs of the Durgah; premising that his tomb should be erected
near that of his sainted master, and lamps burned every night over the
graves, which is faithfully performed by the people in charge of the
Durgah.
After visiting the ruins of Hindoo temples, which skirt the borders of the
river in many parts of the district of Kannoge, the eye turns with
satisfaction to the ancient mosques of the Mussulmauns, which convey
conviction to the mind, that even in the remote ages of Hindoostaun, there
have been men who worshipped God; whilst the piles of mutilated stone
idols also declare the zealous Mussulmaun to have been jealous for his
Creator's glory. I have noticed about Kannoge hundreds of these broken or
defaced images collected together in heaps (generally under trees), which
were formerly the objects to which the superstitious Hindoos bowed in
worship, until the more intelligent Mussulmauns strayed into the recesses
of the deepest darkness to show the idolaters that God could not be
represented by a block of stone.
In a retired part of Kannoge, I was induced to visit the remains of an
immense building[12], expecting the gratification of a fine prospect from
its towering elevation; my surprise, however, on entering the portal drove
from my thoughts the first object of my visit.
The whole building is on a large scale, and is, together with the gateway,
steps, roof, pillars, and offices, composed entirely of stone: from what I
had previously conceived of the ancient Jewish temples, this erection
struck me as bearing a strong resemblance. It appears that there is not
the slightest portion of either wood or metal used in the whole
construction; and, except where some sort of cement was indispensable, not
a trace of mortar is to be discovered in the whole fabric. The pillars of
the colonnade, which form three sides of the square, are singular piles of
stone, erected with great exactness in the following order:--
A broad block of stone forms the base; on the centre is raised a pillar of
six feet by two square, on this rests a circular stone, resembling a
grindstone, on which is placed another upright pillar, and again a
circular, until five of each are made to rest on the base to form a pillar;
the top circulars or caps are much larger than the rest; and on these the
massy stone beams for the roof are supported. How these ponderous stones
forming the whole roof were raised, unacquainted as these people ever have
been with machinery, is indeed a mystery sufficient to impress on the
weak-minded a current report amongst the Natives, that the whole building
was erected in one night by supernatural agency, from materials which had
formerly been used in the construction of a Hindoo temple, but destroyed
by the zeal of the Mussulmauns soon after their invasion of Hindoostaun.
The pillars I examined narrowly, and could not find any traces of cement
or fastening; yet, excepting two or three which exhibit a slight curve,
the whole colonnade is in a perfect state. The hall, including the
colonnade, measures one hundred and eighty feel by thirty, and has
doubtless been, at some time or other, a place of worship, in all
probability for the Mussulmauns, there being still within the edifice a
sort of pulpit of stone evidently intended for the reader, both from its
situation and construction; this has sustained many rude efforts from the
chisel in the way of ornament not strictly in accordance with the temple
itself; besides which, there are certain tablets engraved in the Persian
and Arabic character, which contain verses or chapters from the Khoraun;
so that it may be concluded, whatever was the original design of the
building, it has in later periods served the purposes of a mosque.
In some parts of this building traces exist to prove that the materials of
which it has been formed originally belonged to the Hindoos, for upon many
of the stones there are carved figures according with their mythology;
such stones, however, have been placed generally upside down, and attempts
to deface the graven figures are conspicuous,--they are all turned inside,
whilst the exterior appearance is rough and uneven. It may be presumed
they were formerly outward ornaments to a temple of some sort, most likely
a 'Bootkhanah'[13] (the house for idols).
I have visited the Durgah, called Mukhdoom Jhaaunneer[14], situated in the
heart of the present city, which is said to have been erected nearly a
thousand years ago, by the order of a Mussulmaun King; whether of
Hindoostaun or not, I could not learn. It bears in its present dilapidated
state, evidences both of good taste and superior skill in architecture, as
well as of costliness in the erection, superior to any thing I expected to
find amongst the ancient edifices of Hindoostaun.
The antique arches supporting the roof, rest on pillars of a good size;
the whole are beautifully carved. The dome, which was originally in the
centre of this pavilion, has been nearly destroyed by time; and although
the light thus thrown into the interior through the aperture, has a good
effect, it pained me to see this noble edifice falling to decay for the
want of timely repairs. Notwithstanding this Durgah is said to have been
built so many years, the stone-work, both of the interior and exterior, is
remarkably fresh in appearance, and would almost discredit its reputed age.
The walls and bastions of the enclosure appear firm on their foundations;
the upper part only seems at all decayed.
The side rooms to the Durgah, of which there are several on each side of
the building, have all a fretwork of stone very curiously cut, which
serves for windows, and admits light and air to the apartments, and
presents a good screen to persons within; this it should seem was the only
contrivance for windows in general use by the ancient inhabitants of
Hindoostaun; and even at the present day (excepting a few Native gentlemen
who have benefited by English example), glazed windows are not seen in any
of the mansions in the Upper Provinces of India.
I noticed that in a few places in these buildings, where the prospect is
particularly fine, small arches were left open, from whence the eye is
directed to grand and superb scenery, afforded by the surrounding country,
and the remains of stately buildings. From one of these arches the killaah
is seen to great advantage, at the distance of two miles: both the Durgah
and the killaah are erected on high points of land. I have often, whilst
wandering outside the killaah, looked up at the elevation with sensations
of mistrust, that whilst doing so it might, from its known insecure state,
fall and bury me in its ruins; but viewing it from that distance, and on a
level with the Durgah, the appearance was really gratifying.
At Kannoge are to be seen many mukhburrahs, said to have been erected over
the remains of those Hindoos who at different periods had been converted
to the Mussulmaun faith. This city, I am informed, has been the chosen
spot of righteous men and sainted characters during all periods of the
Mussulmaun rule in Hindoostaun, by whose example many idolators were
brought to have respect for the name of God, and in some instances even to
embrace the Mahumudan faith. Amongst the many accounts of remarkable
conversions related to me by the old inhabitants of that city, I shall
select one which, however marvellous in some points, is nevertheless
received with full credit by the faithful of the present day:--
'A very pious Syaad took up his residence many hundred years since at
Kannoge, when the chief part of the inhabitants were Hindoos, and, as
might be expected, many of them were Brahmins. He saw with grief the state
of darkness with which the minds of so many human beings were imbued, and
without exercising any sort of authority over them, he endeavoured by the
mildest persuasions to convince these people that the adoration they paid
to graven images, and the views they entertained of the river Ganges
possessing divine properties, were both absurd and wicked.
'The Syaad used his best arguments to explain to them the power and
attributes of the only true God; and though his labours were unceasing,
and his exemplary life made him beloved, yet for a long period all his
endeavours proved unsuccessful. His advice, however, was at all times
tendered with mildness, his manners so humble, and his devotion so
remarkable, that in the course of time the people flocked around him,
whenever he was visible, to listen to his discourse, which generally
contained some words of well-timed exhortation and kind instruction. His
great aim was directed towards enlightening the Brahmins, by whom, he was
aware, the opinions of the whole population were influenced, and to whom
alone was confined such knowledge as at that remote period was conveyed by
education.
'Ardently zealous in the great work he had commenced, the Syaad seemed
undaunted by the many obstacles he had to contend with. Always retaining
his temper unruffled, he combined perseverance with his solicitude, and
trusted in God for a happy result in His good time. On an occasion of a
great Hindoo festival the population of the then immense city were
preparing to visit the Ganges, where they expected to be purified from
their sins by ablution in that holy river, as they term it. The Ganges, at
that period, I understand, flowed some miles distant from the city.
'The Syaad took this occasion to exhort the multitude to believe in God;
and after a preliminary discourse, explaining the power of Him whom he
alone worshipped, he asked the people if they would be persuaded to follow
the only true God, if His power should be demonstrated to them by the
appearance of the river they adored flowing past the city of Kannoge,
instead of, as at that moment, many miles distant. Some of his auditory
laughed at the idea, and derided the speaker; others doubted, and asked
whether the God whom the Mussulmauns worshipped possessed such power as
the Syaad had attributed to Him; many Brahmins, however, agreed to the
terms proposed, solemnly assuring the holy man he should find them
converts to his faith if this miracle should be effected by the God he
worshipped.
'It is related that the Syaad passed the whole day and night in devout
prayers; and when the morning dawned the idolators saw the river Ganges
flowing past the city in all the majesty of that mighty stream.[15] The
Brahmins were at once convinced, and this evidence of God's power worked
the way to the conversion of nearly the whole population of Kannoge.'
The number of the inhabitants may be supposed to have been immensely great
at the period in question, as it is related that on the occasion of their
conversion the Brahmins threw away the cords which distinguish them from
other castes of Hindoos, (each cord weighing about a drachm English),
which when collected together to be consigned to the flames, were weighed,
and found to be upwards of forty-five seers; a seer in that province being
nearly equal to two pounds English.[16]
The Brahmins, it will be recollected, form but a small portion of that
community, and are the priesthood of the Hindoos, very similar in their
order to the Levites among the children of Israel.
There are still remaining traces of monuments erected over the remains of
converted Hindoos, which have been particularly pointed out to me by
intelligent men, from whom I have received information of that great work
which alone would render Kannoge a place of interest without another
object to attract the observation of a reflecting mind.
Notwithstanding that the Ganges continues to water the banks of Kannoge,
and that other proofs exist of idolatry having ceased for a considerable
time to disgrace the inhabitants, it is still partially occupied by
Hindoos, who retain the custom of their forefathers according to the
original, whether descendants of the converted, or fresh settlers is not
in my power to determine; but I may remark, without prejudice, from what I
have been enabled to glean in conversation with a few Hindoos of this city,
that they have a better idea of one over-ruling Supreme power than I have
ever been able to find elsewhere in the same class of people.
I was much interested with an old blacksmith, who was employed at the
killaah. On one occasion I asked him what views he entertained of the
Source from whence all good proceeds--whether he believed in God? He
replied promptly, and as if surprised that such a doubt could exist, 'Yes,
surely; it is to Allah (God) the supreme, I am indebted for my existence;
Allah created all things, the world and all that is in it: I could not
have been here at this moment, but for the goodness of Allah!'
There are amongst them men of good moral character, yet in a state of
deplorable ignorance, a specimen of which may be here noticed in a person
of property employed in the service of Government, at the killaah; he is
of the caste denominated Burghutt[17],--one of the tribe which professes
so great reverence for life, as to hold it sinful to destroy the meanest
reptile or insect; and, therefore, entirely abstain from eating either
fish, flesh, or fowl:--yet, when I pressed for his undisguised opinion, I
found that he not only denied the existence of God, but declared it was
his belief the world formed itself.
I was induced to walk three miles from the killaah, on a cool day in
December, to view the remains of a piece of sculpture of great antiquity.
I confess myself but little acquainted with Hindoo mythology, and
therefore my description will necessarily be imperfect. The figure of
Luchmee is represented in relief, on a slab of stone eight feet by four,
surrounded by about a hundred figures in different attitudes. Luchmee, who
is of course the most prominent, is figured with eight arms; in his right
hands, are sabres, in his left, shields; his left foot upon the hand of a
female, and the right on a snake.[18] This figure is about four feet high,
and finely formed, standing in a martial attitude; his dress (unlike that
of the modern Hindoo) is represented very tight, and, altogether, struck
me as more resembling the European than the Asiatic: on his head I
remarked a high-crowned military cap without a peak: the feet were bare.
There can be no doubt this figure is emblematical; the Hindoos, however,
make it an object of their impure and degrading worship.
I could not help expressing my surprise on finding this idol in such
excellent condition, having had so many samples throughout Kannoge of the
vengeance exercised by Mussulmaun zeal, on the idols of the Hindoos. My
guide assured me, that this relic of antiquity had only been spared from
the general destruction of by-gone periods by its having been buried,
through the supposed influence of unconverted venerating Brahmins; but
that within the last thirty years it had been discovered and dug out of
the earth, to become once more an ornament to the place. My own ideas lead
me to suppose that it might have been buried by the same convulsion of the
earth which overturned the idolatrous city.
I observed that a very neat little building, of modern date, was erected
over this antiquity, and on inquiry found that the Hindoos were indebted
to the liberality of a lady for the means of preserving this relic from
the ravages of the seasons.
There is in the same vicinity a second piece of mythological sculpture, in
a less perfect state than Luchmee, the sabred arm of which has been struck
off, and the figure otherwise mutilated by the zealous Mussulmauns, who
have invariably defaced or broken the idols wherever they have been able
to do so with impunity. On a platform of stone and earth, near this place,
a finely-formed head of stone is placed, which my guide gravely assured me
was of very ancient date, and represented Adam, the father of men!
I heard with pain during my sojourn at Kannoge, that the house of God had
been made the resort of thieves; a well-known passage of Scripture struck
me forcibly when the transaction was related.
I have before stated that the mosque is never allowed to be locked or
closed to the public. Beneath the one I am about to speak of (a very
ancient building near to Baallee Peer's Durgah), is a vaulted suite of
rooms denominated taarkhanah[19], intended as a retreat from the intense
heat of the day; such as is to be met with in most great men's residences
in India. In this place, a gang of thieves from the city had long found a
secure and unsuspected spot wherein to deposit their plunder. It happened,
however, that very strict search was instituted after some stolen property
belonging to an individual of Kannoge; whether any suspicions had been
excited about the place in question, I do not recollect, but thither the
police directed their steps, and after removing some loose earth they
discovered many valuable articles,--shawls, gold ornaments, sabres, and
other costly articles of plunder. It is presumed,--for the thieves were
not known or discovered,--that they could not possibly be Mussulmauns,
since the very worst characters among this people hold the house of God in
such strict veneration, that they, of all persons, could not be suspected
of having selected so sacred a place to deposit the spoils of the
plunderer.
The process of obtaining nitre from the earth is practised at Kannoge by
the Natives in the most simple way imaginable, without any assistance from
art. They discover the spot where nitre is deposited by the small white
particles which work through the strata of earth to the surface. When a
vein is discovered, to separate the nitre from the earth, the following
simple method is resorted to:--large troughs filled with water are
prepared, into which the masses of earth containing nitre are thrown; the
earth is allowed to remain undisturbed for some time, after which it is
well stirred, and then allowed to settle; the water by this means becomes
impregnated with the nitre, and is afterwards boiled in large iron pans,
from which all the dirt is carefully skimmed, until the water is
completely evaporated, and the nitre deposited in the pans.
I know not how far the admixture of animal bodies with the soil may tend
to produce this article, but it is a fact, that those places which bear
the strongest proofs of having received the bodies of both men and beasts,
produce it in the greatest abundance.[20]
The retirement of Kannoge afforded me so many pleasant ways of occupying
time, that I always look back to the period of my sojourn at the old
killaah with satisfaction. The city is sufficiently distant from the
killaah to leave the latter within reach of supplies, without the
annoyance of the bustle and confusion inseparable from a Native city. In
my daily wanderings a few peasantry only crossed my path; the farmers and
citizens were always attentive, and willing to do us such kind offices as
we at any time required. They respected, I may say venerated my husband;
and I must own that my feelings oblige me to remember with gratitude the
place and the people whence I drew so many benefits.
Here I could indulge in long walks without incurring the penalty of a
departure from established custom, which in most well-populated parts of
Hindoostaun restrains European ladies from the exercise so congenial to
their health and cherished habits. Should any English-woman venture to
walk abroad in the city of Lucknow, for instance,--to express their most
liberal opinion of the act,--she would be judged by the Natives as a
person careless of the world's opinion. But here I was under no such
constraint; my walks were daily recreations after hours of quiet study in
the most romantic retirement of a ruined killaah, where, if luxury
consists in perfect satisfaction with the objects by which we are
surrounded, I may boast that it was found here during my two years'
residence.
[1] This is incorrect. Hindu traditions refer to a deluge, in which Manu,
with the help of a fish, makes a ship, and fastening her cable to the
fish's horn, is guided to the mountain, and then he, alone of human
beings, is saved.--J. Muir, _Original Sanskrit Texts_, part ii (1860),
p. 324.
[2] This is merely a stupid folk etymology, comparing Kanauj with Cain.
[3] _Qil'a_.
[4] Kali Nadi, 'black stream', a corruption of the original
name, Kalindi.
[5] _Tahsildar_.
[6] In the southern centre of the ruined citadel stand the tombs of
Bala Pir and his son, Shaikh Mahdi. Shaikh Kabir,
commonly called Bala Pir, is said to have been the tutor of
the brother Nawabs, Dalel and Bahadur Khan. The former
ruled Kanauj in the time of Shah Jahan (A.D. 1628-1651), and
died after his deposition in 1666.--A. Führer, _Monumental Antiquities
and Inscriptions of the N.W. Provinces and Oudh_, 1891, p. 80.
[7] Horseshoes are often nailed on the gates of the tombs of Musalman
saints, as at the mosque of Fatehpur Sikri.
[8] _Pir_, 'a saint, a holy man'.
[9] _Maqbara_, 'a sepulchre'.
[10] The Emperor Aurangzeb, A.D. 1658-1707.
[11] Khalifah, Caliph, one of the terms which have suffered degradation,
often applied to cooks, tailors, barbers, or other Musalman
servants.
[12] This may be the building known as Sita ki Rasoi, the kitchen
of Sita, heroine of the Ramayana epic. It is described and
drawn by Mrs. F. Parks (_Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, ii. 143).
[13] Butkhana.
[14] The tomb of the Saint Sa'id Shaikh Makhdum Jahaniya
Jahangasht of Multan (A.D. 1308-81). Führer, _op. cit._, p. 81.
[15] Many saints are credited with the power of changing the courses of
rivers: see instances in W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of
N. India_, 2nd ed., ii. 218.
[16] This may be a variant of the story that after the capture of Chitor,
Akbar weighed 74-1/2 _man_ (8 lbs. each) of cords belonging to the
slain Rajputs.--J. Tod, _Annals of Rajasthan_, 1884, i. 349.
[17] The name has not been traced. The reference is to Jains, who are
specially careful of animal life.
[18] If this is a male figure it cannot represent the goddess Lakshmi.
Mrs. Parks (_Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, ii. 144) speaks of images of
Rama and his brother Lakshmana, one of which may possibly be that
referred to in the text.
[19] _Tahkhana_, an underground cellar.
[20] This account is fairly correct. 'Although active saltpetre is met
with under a variety of conditions, they all agree in this particular,
that the salt is formed under the influence of organic matter.'--(G.
Watt, _Economic Dictionary_, VI, part ii, 431 _ff_).