The fortress of Allahabad was built by Akbar Shah in 1581. On the 11th
February, 1765, the governor of the fort, Alī Beg Khan, surrendered it
to the Company’s troops, under the command of Major Fletcher, and
marched out with his garrison, under safe conduct. Thus in one week
Chunar and Allahabad, the two most important fortresses in
Shuja-oo-Dowlah’s possession, fell without loss into the hands of the
English.
The fortress is erected upon a point of land, stretching out into the
waters at the junction of the sacred rivers. One of the holiest places
on the Ganges is pointed out by numerous flags at the spot where it
joins the Jumna, just below the fort. The Saraswati is supposed to unite
with them _underground_, whence the junction is called _Trivenī_, or
_Tribenī_. This spot is so holy, that a person dying there is certain of
immediate _moskh_, or beatitude, without risk of further transmigration.
The blue waters of the Jumna contrast strongly at the junction with the
muddy hue of the waters of the Ganges. On the sands below the fort, the
_Bura Mela_, or great fair, is held annually; it lasts about two months,
and attracts devotees and merchants from all parts of India. At that
period, also, _lākhs_ and _lākhs_ of natives come to Prag; they make
_pūja_, shave, give money to the _Fakīrs_, and bathe at the sacred
junction. Suicide committed at the _Benī_ is meritorious in persons of a
certain caste, but a _sin_ for a Brahman! The ancient city of Prag,
acquired the name of Allahabad from the Musalmān conquerors of India.
The buildings occupied by Shah Allum when he resided in the fort, still
retain traces of their former grandeur, and some of the apartments
command a fine view of the Jumna that flows beneath. An enormous pillar,
formerly prostrate near the gateway in the fort, has been set up on a
pedestal, under the superintendence of the late Colonel Edward Smith.
The natives call it _Bhīm Singh ké lāt_, that is, Bhīm Singh’s
walking-stick: some of the inscriptions on the _lāt_ are in unknown
characters—those of the mighty dead, who have disappeared from the
earth, leaving records imperishable, but incomprehensible.
The steam vessels and tugs which navigate the Ganges from Calcutta
terminate their voyage at Allahabad.
[Illustration]