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PLATE I
• • • • • •
• • • •<
H. H. Sir Prabhu Narain Singh, G. C. I. E., Maharaja of Benares.
Frontispiece.
THE HOLY CITY
( BENARES )
[ With jS lUust rations and a ULip \
BY
Kajani Ranjan Sen, b. a., b. l.
Pleader, and Law Lecturer, Chittagong
College, Author of "The Triumph
iW \'.\i.MiKi" ( Valmikir
J ay a in English ).
*'A nation that does not take a just pride in its own annals must be wanting in self-respect."
— Dr. Rash Behari (ihosh.
CHITTAGONG 1912
ALL RIGHTS RESEftvEO
e^
aciea Q^7Cefnayu
eatte7t
^46873
Copyright
-X
Printed by K. B. Bose, at the Minto Press,
and Pablished by M. R. Sen,
Chittagong.
Paper-Rs 2-8 ; CIoth-Rs 3.
TO BE HAD OF M. R. SEN, PARA5E. CHITTAGONG.
rO THE READER
"Never resort to the argument : 'I do not know
this, — therefore it is false'. "We must study to know, know to comprehend,
and comprehend to jud^e".
— Narada. (^ HAD little idea while paying a fl) ing visit to Benares for the first time during the X'mas recess in 1909 that I should have to put my fugitive recollections into writing. I feel conscious however that a sketch like this may be of interest to those who proceed to that ancient place with an open mind and who have no definite notion as to what in reality to expect to find there. Random rambles, I believe, are neither much illuminating nor very edifying in their effects in the absence of a capacity in the wanderer for taking an intelligent interest in what is observed, owing to the want of requisite equipment in the shape of needful informations. I felt this myself, and hence a hope that this little sketch of the holy city might be of some use to tourists like me is my only apology for bringing it to the light of day in spite of the diffidence I feel in doing so.
"In wealth, population, d'gnity and sanctity,"* this city, writes Macaulay, "was among the foremost of Asia". As the oldest and the cn'y living city in
(ii)
existence where the ancient and the modern meet together, it stretches its memories to the ages of pre-historic antiquity and has managed to outlive, as none other has done, the inevitable ravages of time and every other destructive agency. Speaking of its antiquity Rev. Mr. Sherring in his 'Sacred City of the Hindus^ observes :
"Twenty-five centuries ago at the least, it was famous. "When Babylon was struggling with Nineveh for supremacy, "when Tyre was planting her colonies, when Athens was ''growing in strength, before Rome had become known, or "Greece had contested with Persia, or Cyrus had added "lustre to the Persian monarchy, or Nebuchadnezzar had ''captured Jerusalem and the inhabitants of Judiua had been "carried away into captivity, she had already risen to greatness, "if not glory".
To the world abroad Benares has beoi known as the place of the greatest religious sanctity in all India — that land, pre-eminently, where the religious element supervenes and transfuses itself into the most ordinary vocations of daily life. Whatever changes that element might have undergone owing to our contact with the Western natir*!.^, their religion and educational system, — and peiiiaps it would not be too much to add, — owing to our own ignorance, apathy and consequent want of aptitude to grasp the real underlxdng the ^visible, — still the mind loves to linger over the glories that are past, and there is much of charm and attraction in old associations of by-gone da}'s. And steeped as we have been in the Western lore and filled with
( iii )
preconceived notions and ideals of foreign infusion, we know but little of our precious possessions in the treasured wisdom of our hoary sa^es, and perhaps care still less to know or hardly have leisure enough to spare for the purpose. Yet, even in spite of our altered tastes and views, a sigh of deep regret would not unoften involuntarily come forth for opportunities neglected and the lateness of the hour of the mind's awakening, and make us feel how apt we are to be carried away by the glitter of things exotic, forgetful of the vast unexplored mines of our own Golcondas hiding gems of purest rays serene and of far brighter lustre than the sparkle of the fine-cut stones of other lands so catching to the eye ! Varied would be the nature of the sights that would meet your eyes in this ancient city — sublime and fantastic, elevating as well as queer. Advance with a scoffing predisposition and a supercilious contempt for what you may not understand, and things will take complexion from your temperament, and enough will there be for affording you amusement and means of cavilling and reviling. But why leave the honey and seek the sores which incidences of time must inevitably cause ? Approach rather with a feeling of respect and in a spirit of considerate s\'mpathy making due allowances for the deformities of age, and with an earnest desire for peering into the inner nature of what you see, and enough shall you find for reflection, enlightenment and enjoyment. The apparent freckles and pallidness of age will
( iv )
then pass away from your vision revealinj^ the cherubic h'neaments of the earh'er da}'s harbouring the soul immaculate and immortal ! *Every religion is an expression of Divine Wisdom' and its study is surel}- preff^rable to an off-hand condemnation.
Here I must take leave of you lest I grow too tiresome. My plan has not been to furnish quite a complete and exhaustive enumeration of all that you may meet with in this city, but only to offer hints and outlines just to put you on your track, leaving to yourself the option of pondering over the esoteric or the secular aspects and phases of things as you choose and of studying the subjects that catch your fancy as you like. My object has not been to provide you simply with thoughts but rather to put you in the way of thinking.
For the help I received from the authorities T consulted in making this sketch, I have to express my indebtedness and grateful acknowledgements ; and I embrace this opportunity of expressing my deep obligations to Mr. A. Venis, Principal, and Mr. C. M. Mulv my, Professor of Queen's Colleg^ B mares, and Col. Vindeswari Prasad vSingh, Chief Commandant, Benares State Army, and Rai Bahadur Dr. Nabin Chandra Dutt of this place for many valuable suggestions and informations with which they favored me ; and I am also very grateful to His Highness the Maharaja Bahadur of Benares and Dr. J. Ph. Vcgel, Offg. Director-General of Archaeological Survey of India. Simla, and Messrs. Saeed Brothers of Benares, for their
(V)
kind permission to reproduce some of the photos of Benares scenes which they graciously presented to me. And to Babu Nobo Kumar Chakr^varti of Benares, who took me all over the city, I have to offer my sincerest thanks for his kindness and troubles, as also to my very esteemed and revered friend Mr. A. F. Dowling of Chittagong whose constant encouragement has helped me on in my work. If this little volume into which I have attempted to compress as much information as has been available, is thought useful and interesting, I shall consider myself amply recompensed.
Chittagong, ^ ^
July^ igi.
CONTENTS
PART I Chapter 1— to the city
Cava — The Sone Bridge — Mogal Serai — The Grand Trunk Road— The First Glimpses — Kasi — Nomenclature- Situation and Population — Climate and the Ganges water — Visweswar- gunj Bazar — The Municipal Garden — The Nagri Pracharini Sabha— Alfred Hall— The Chauk- Indigenous Products- Trade — The Carmichael Library. ... ... ... i
Chapter II— of the stars and their ways
Jai Singh — The Man Mandil-The Mural Quadrant— The Giant Sun-dial — The Equinoctial Circle -The Chakra Yantra — The Digansha Yantra. ... ... ... 17
Chapter III— mostly secular
Ancient India — Origin of Civilisasion— Kasi of old - The oldest living City — Educational Systems of old -The Central Hindu College — The Theosophical Society — The Goebi Kua--The Ram Krishna Sebasram — The Victoria Park — The Queen's College — Education — Schools — Chatus- pathis and Pathsalas — Hospitals — Dharmasalas and Chhattras — Hindu Endowments. ... ... ... ... 24
Chapter IV— sects and cults
Kabir — Kabir Chaura — Madhudas's Garden - Nadesar House — The Radhaswamis — Arya Samaj— The Sikhs — The Jainas — The Dandis — The Vaishnavites-The Nagas— Sri Bharat Dharma Mahamandal — Christian Missions -Reflec- tions. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 48
Chapter V— of the olden days
Paucity of old remains- Researches— Ganj-Saheda-ka- Musjid— Raj Ghat Fort— Lai Khan's Tomb— Lat Bhairo— Bakaria Kund— Battis Khamba-Arhai Kangura Musjid— Maqdam Saheb. ... ... ... ... ... 69
( vli )
Chapter VI— sarnath
An Ekka— Jhawa Jharan - Humayun's Tower -The Dhamek-The Deer Park- Buddha -Bodhi^tree at Gaya- Fa Hian and Hiuen Thsang— The Lion-Capital— Jain Temple — Jagat Singh's Stupa — Researches— Modern Aspects — The Excavations— the Museum — Khantivadi Jataka. ... 83
Chapter VII— myths and annals
Kasi-Khandam — An Allegory — Antiquity — The Early Kings — Religion of the time — Later Kings — Sankaracharya — Mahomedan Raids — Temple-breaking — The Moghuls — Later History. ... ... ... ... ... ... J15
PART 11 Chapter VIII— the shrines and temples
First Impression — Siva-worship — Its Origin and later
developments — Benares Lanes — The Temples ... 137
(i) ON THE EAST
Dasaswamedh Ghat — To the Golden Temple — Annapurna
— Visweswara — The Arati— Hindu Ideas — Jnan Bapi —
Aqrangzeb's Mosque— Adi-Visweswara—Kasi Karwat. 149
(2) ON THE NORTH
Sankata Devi — Gopal Mandir — Bhaironath — Naugraha —
Dandapani — Kal Kup — Trailanga Swami — Kameswara —
Kirtibasseswara — Alamgiri Mosque — Briddhakaleswara — Bara
Ganesh — Jageswara — Kasi Devi — Bageswari — Nag Kua —
Kapildhara. ... ... ... ... ... ... 173
(3) ON THE SOUTH
Pisach Mochan — Pitri and Matri Kund — Suraj Kund — L^ksmi Kund — Sankaracharya — Sankudhara — Kumareswara — Sankat Mochan — Temple ofDurga — Bhaskaranand Swami — Jagannath — Lolark^ Kund — Tilbhandeswara - Vishuddhanand Saraswati-Sitala Devi. ... ... ... ... 186
Chapter IX— along the river
JJie Ghats — The Vyasa Episode. ... .;. 207
( vlii )
(i) NORTHWARD
Dasaswamedh Ghat -Man Mandil Ghat -Mir (}hat- Lalita Ghat — Nepalese Temple— J alsain Ghat — Manikarnika — Tarakeswara — Ahmety Temple — Manikarnika Kund — Scindhia Ghat— Panchganga - Madhoji-ka-deora - Beni Madho - Tri- lochan Ghat — Barana Sangam, ... ... ... 211
(2) SOUTHWARD
A Dandi's Watery Grave -Scenes on the bank- Chausatti Ghat — Kedarnath — Harish Chandra — Ballavacharya — Sivala Fort-Tulsi Das — Asi Sangam — Temple restoration -Panchkoshi Road. ... ... ... ... ... 229
Chapter X— ramnagar
Mansa Ram— Bulwant Singh -Chet Singh -Mahip Narayan — Administration — The Present Maharaja -Ramnagar Fort-Janakpur and Girijaya Temples -Temple of Durga — Maharaja's Garden -Night on the river -Our Guide - Farewell ! ... ... ... ... ... ... 247
Appendix—
A Firman of Emperor Aurangzeb. ... ... 269
ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE I-H. H. the Maharaja of Benares Frontispiece
n-i. The Crescent Bank -2. The Chakra (a), Samrat (b), and Narivalaya (c) Yantras-3. Man Mandil Ghat -4. Chakra Yantra— 5. Digansha Yantra. ... ... ... ... 17
in -I. Saraswati Temple, Central Hindu College - 2. Queen's College -3. Central Hindu College Boarding. ... ... ... ... .. 23
IV- I. Dasaswamedh Ghat -2. Sankaracharya - 3.
A group of Sannyasis. ... ... ... 48
V-i. Lai Khan's Tomb -2. Ruins of old Visweswara Temple -3. Scindhia Ghat -4. An Ekka. ... ... ... ... ... 5<j
VI - Avalokites wara - Buddha as Teacher - Maitreya. ^3
( '^ )
PLATEVII-i. The Dhamek and its neighbourhood -2. The iMain Shrine and Lion-Capital -3. Old Walls hi the excavations -4. Asoka Column. 97 VIII- I. Bodhisattwa Statue -2. Votive Memorial - 3. Some Sculptures --4. Buddha with Alms- bowl- 5. Mara -6. A group of Statues -7. Sculptured fragment representing Ramagram Stupa, ... ... ... ... ... 107
" IX -I. Bas-relief illustrating incidents in Buddha's
life and a Buddha statue in Bhumi-sparsha Mudra -2. An Elephant in Stone -3. Rama- Lakshmana Sculpture— 4. The Gupta Lintel illustrating the Khantivadi Jataka. ... ... 114
X-i. Jnan Bapi Temple -2. Dandi Ghat -3. Entrance, Dufterin Bridge -4. A cosy corner, Raj Ghat - 5. A bit of Benares from one of the Beni-Madho towers -6. The Golden Dome and Spire of Visweswara Temple -7. Open porch of a temple near V'isweswars, ... 149
" XI -I, Bhaskaranand Mausoleum -2. Ahmety Temple
-3. Durga Kund and Temple -4. Vishnu image, Sankudhara - 5. A Benares Street — 6. Rani Barahar's Temple -7. Durga Temple
(porch) 186
XII -A road to the Ghat -2. Bathing Ghat for females -3. Ganga Mehal Ghat-4. Manikarnika Ghat -5. Bathing Scene -6. Burning Ghat. 207 " XII A - Panchaganga Ghat.... ... ... ... 221
XIII-i, Durga Temple, Ramnagar-2. View north- ward from the Sivala Ghat -3. Ramnagar Fori. 247
A PLAN OF THE CITY OF BENARES. ... 268
THE HOLY CITY
{ BENARES )
PAR T FIRST
Chapter I
TO THE CITY
*'As a queen she (Benares) has evef teceived thfe -willing homage of her subjects scattered all over India 5 as a lover, she has secured their affection and regard/^
— M. A. Sherring.
i»^.,ffl; Y the Bombay Mail— Grand Chord — lies '^ ^ the most convenient route from Calcutta ; and it is pleasant to watch through the window as the rushing iron horse pierces the serried darkness and emanations of electric brilliance from the well-lit carriages shimmer along the straight pathway converting it, as it were, into a rippling glistening streamlet. It is about ten in the evening now, and the gentle rocking soon lulls you into a disturbed slumber — half-way between a doze and actual sleep.
Dim as the purple twilight looms in its subdued brightness in the far-off east, a few bleak rocky hillocks appear on the right and left interspersed
THB, HQL V CITY (BENARES) Quw
.\/v/^\yNyxAv/\)>^x^/x/-, -v/\y\
with tufts of green sprouting up here and there. Presently the Falgu with its shallow expanse of scanty water comes into view with the Gaya temples and buildings on the distant left studding the gentle curve of its sandy bank. Wide awake at the peep of early dawn you come to a halt at the Gaya Station, and in a few minutes a turbaned boy clad in the correct style in spotless white brings in his tea-tray and offers you chhota-hazri if you would care to have it.
The sight of a chain of sma!! hillocks bordering the horizon on the left with the tall spire of some ancient shrine pointing heavenward in the distance and the pleasing scent of the neighbouring fields borne on the bracing morning breeze, give you a sense of welcome relief after the clc^eness of the dusty and smoky atmosphere of the oppressive brick and mortar you have left behind. A fresh verdure following the night's dewy bath seems to have clothed the expansive fields on the right and on the left as you dash through them.
Soon enough the winding SONE begins to glisten
to the view, and presently^ with slackened speed you
are upon the magnificent bridge itself — something over
ten thousand feet in length 1 ^ Famed
The Sone to be the longest in existence in the
world, — that over the Scottish Tay
only excepted,— it is a lasting monument of the
(i) 10,052 feet.
I. TO THE CITY
triumph of the engineer's art that harnessed the broad river thus in the concluding year of the past century. As over the rolHng biliowy v/ater — ^ couple of miles in width — the iron dragon glides on dragging its serpentine tail behind, puffing and snorting and leaving a trail of dense dark smoke hovering in the air above, the grandeur of the scene would be unrivalled and the view superb and imposing ! But in the winter the shallow river is nearly dry and tiny islets of sand \xi upraised patches appear on its bed on either side overgrown with moss. Near to the white sandy expanse on the edge you now approach, and your vehicle bounds with a renewed start and a vigorous pull.
Low hillocks and extensive fields green with fertility now catch your eyes, and dense mango-groves lying scattered at intervals furnish variety to the scene. Patches of ripening yellow here and streaks of snowy white there amidst the surrounding green Jook like the pearly smile lighting up the features of some buxom darksome beauty. On the fringes of the spacious fields bright with their wealth of yellow and green — the reward of a responsive Nature to the labouring humanity — are high-wall-ed wells sunk deep into the bowels of Mother Earth ; and panting bullocks are observed tugging at the ropes attached to primitive pulleys depending from the most archaic structures, and drawing up huge vessels filled with the milk of Nature to drench the parched soil. Up
4 THE HOL V CITY (BENARES) Chap:..
above the adjoining depression where the excess finds ks way, there hovers a tiny heron, poised for a moment apon its. • pair of silver- white pinions relieved in bold contrast against the dark-blue sky, and presently alights gracefully upon the marshy ground.
Clusters of squalid-looking huts lying on the
toad side, with rotting thatched roofs and mat-walls
daubed with mud, give you some idea of the general
poverty of the masses here and fill your sympathetic
heart with pity, perchance, for the people who have
to live such miserable hves in the midst of all this
munificent gift of a bountiful Nature in the shape
of a plenteous yield of all that can shoot out of her
bed. It is occasions like these that bring forcibly to
mind the plight of tlie weather-bound ancient mariner
who saw 'water everywhere, but not a drop to drink,'
and make one feel that to the poverty-stricken.
people here all this plenty is but brine. But a
rail-road journey is not perhaps leisurely enough to
arouse an inclination to cogitate upon such a theme and
to ponder over the causes.. So, for the present it must
all be assigned to that easiest and safest of all
solutions — kismet !
The engine slows down, wiiistles out a choked
scream and fetches a deep breath ; and at last it rolls
into the MOGAL Serai Station and
Mogal Serai comes to a stand. Here you must
change, and pass across with bag and
^^ggage along the high overhead bridge to tlie
TO THE CITY
platform opposite and get into some Oudh-Rohilkhand car and wait till you are hurried eff again.
Time, however, would not hang heavy, for there are diversions enough to engage your attention. Unique carved brassware and ciariously- fashioned "horn and ivory, earthen statuettes and pretty flower-vases, bundles of walking-sticks and even tap-to-date novels and the latest morning papers,-— •such is the strange medley of articles that catch your eyes, and their vendors come up and pester you to accept their eagerly-proferred presents, for consideration of course. Presently, the fruiterers with tempting ripe guavas and plump luscious ©ranges walk along hawking their wares ; small urchins with matches and cigarettes, cigars and %etel-leaves, scream out in their piercing treble- and a sweets-seller sooia passes by and keeps run- ning onward in his everlasting course with a large tmcovered wooden tray upon his head, followed by a companion waving an upraised stick to scare away the kites flying above.
Even the greatest of ordeals, however, has a ter- anination. So this new train also starts at last and proceeds with yoxk towards the holiest of the holy cities you are longing to see. The same verdure and luxuriance of Nature's bounty all around again, and groves of various trees now grow more abundant As you pass the Sasseram Station, the large t^Mte dome oi Sher Khan's tomb with its Jojy
6 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
minarets around peeps throug-h the g^reenerfes on the left and seems to^ play at bide-^nd-seek as you move onward. That heroic Behar Chief who con- quered Bengal and drove Emperor Humayun out of India in the middle of the sixteenth century has left one lasting memorial that serves to com- memorate his name among posterity to this day. His Grand Trunk Road runs still from Bengal to
the Punjab, and in his time mosques The Grand and caravaBserais both for Hindus and Trunk Road Mahomedans stood by its side at
convenient distances for the use and comfort of the way-farers. It was then traversed by millions of foot-sore arid weary pil- grims to the sacred cities in the North- West, and upon it numbers had probably sunk down breath- less and even dropped dead from sheer exhaustion ! Hallowed by associations such as these, it now runs parallel to the raO-road on the left —neat and trim and sheltered under the cool shade of the over- arching trees flanking its edges. Mango-topes in the distance planted in orderly symmetrical rows with their rounded leafy croAvns standing above the upright trunks cause frequent changes in the scenic background of green that variegates the blue horizorL
We now cross the little Karmanasa streamlet. Presently a middle-sized camel struts on over Sher Khan's Road swaying its long neck from side to
I. TO THE CITY
side and nibbling the leaves from the branches of dwarfish trees ; and anon follow a swarm of pigs urged on by a small child nude as the hand of Nature had fashioned it There, a little way off saunters a straggler keeping to the shady side of the road, and even an ekka skips on in its jolting gait, followed by that picture of patience, the washerman's ass, carrying a pair of large bulging bundles hanging from its back and the happy rider sitting astride tapon tbem and evidently singing snatches of sofnc light popular ditty in a hoarse cracked voice.
The fine towering steeple of the Durga Temple ?it Ramnagar now raises itself above the distant foli- age on the left. A pleasant half-hour would soon bring you to the broad DUFFERIN BRIDGE that took five years (18S2-1887) in stretching itself across the hofy Ganges, supplanting thereby the bridge of boats that existed there before and costing nearly forty-nine laklis of rupees. Grand amd imposing it looks upon its half a dozen massive stone supports 'With its couple of wide footpaths quite three quarters of a nsiile in length (Plate X, 3).
The sacred water of the holy river, with glimpses of towering temples standing on tier bank, now gleams into view through some breaks of the foliage ?n the remote horizon. Forward as you approach, a grand panorama of the long-looked-for city, spreading )0Ut os^ar an exjisaaase ©f -sofne four extend-i»g joailes
S THE HOL V CITY (BEN'ARES) Char
fn the form of a mighty crescent now breaks upon your wondering gaze.
Upon a high ridge of kankar on the western bank and m front of the greenish bay of h"mpid water she stands hke a vast amphitheatre^ with her domes and spires and turrets up above the flights of numberless steps, extending along the winding stone-paved riv^r-bank far as the eye can reach.
Hurried on over the bridge, the cres- Flrst cent-like arc now widens and becomes
Glimpses more defined, and the twin towers of
Madhoji-ka-deora stand out prominent among the white and gold-tipped spires clustered all around. The tiny Barana to the right and the hazy Asi to the extreme end on the south there join the sacred river and enclose with her — figuring the resplendent crescent moon o-n Siva's forehead — what IS known as the ancient and holy Kasi, the city founded by Siva himself and fabled to be resting upon the points of his trident which no earthquake can shake and reminiscent of a glorified vision of the sacred manifestation of Annapurna and Visweswara as the originating and ever-sustaining Energy of the Universe \
Here then is Kasi — ^the highest in sanctity, the thrice-blessed spot beneath the heavens, associated with an ideal of all that is pure and holy, the dreamland of a devout Hindu's longing, the dispenser of salvation from earthl}' existence and repeated births.
I. TO THE CITY 9
and the very abode of peace and joy eternal ! Here must you alight if you will visit the holy city.
Having covered no less than four hundred and seventy-six miles of the iron track at a stretch — though by the Grand Trunk Road it would only be four hundred and thirty-two, — you may now pause awhile to take breath. About this Kasi station lie the ruins of the old Fort of the ancient King Banar, the last of the Gaharwar princes, who ruled over Kasi and the kingdom of Kanouj. " Benares '\ the modern anglicised name of the city, has been considered to be associated with the fort of this king, who is repated to have rebuilt the city also in the twelfth century A. D. The older name "Bdrdnasi" seems to be compounded
of the names of the two streams,
Nomencla- Barand — and not Barna as it is
ture usually spelt — and Asi, meandering
round the city by the north and the south and emptying themselves into the holy Ganges. ^ The other name "Kdsi\'' which is
(i) This is supported by the Valmana Purana which notes the words of Vishnu in the following terms : —
10 TFIE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap,
.•X,-V/X'\'^.^.\^\
the oldest one, is supposed to be derived from the Kdsis tribe of the Aryans who first settled here three thousand years ago. According to the erudite editor of the Viswakosha the city came to be called "Kasi" after the name of Kdshi or Kdsya (the son of Raja Kdsli) who was the first king of this place. Situate 25° 18' N. Lat. and 83^ i' E. Long, — it is now the head -quarters of the Benares district of the United Provinces and covers an area in acres of three thousand and a half, ^ and in course of the Census of 1901 answered for the housing of nearly two lakhs and ten thousand citizens, among whom over a lakh and a half were Hindus, and over half a lakh professed allegiance to the Prophet, and about twelve hundred were Christians.*
ff^cTT ^T^im ^4mq^?T 5JW II
w^vi-m '[%^m =^ ^fiff^^^ fa^m 1 ^ ^^ '^ ^^^i ^^\^ ^^p\'. II
if^^^^?:^§ ^^qmiTHlW II
cT??Tfe 'RTt 5<!gT Wm ^TTT^el' ^W II "
(i) 3448 acres.
(2) 151,488 Hindus, 53,677 Mahomedans, 4176 Christians and other:, making up 2,09,331 in all. In course of the last
I. TO THE CITY ii
Well-drained and standing dry on the high rocky bank sloping to the river, the city is reputed to enjoy a pleasant equable climate, with the
exception of the extremes of heat
Climate and and cold during some portions of the
Ganges Water summer and winter. Its health is no
doubt due to the purity of the water of the Ganges which people use for bathing and drinking purposes even in preference to the filtered tap-water from the Water-works inaugurated here by Sir Auckland Colvin in 1892. Mark Twain, speaking of some tests by an expert scientist in Government employ at Agra in connection with the water of the Ganges, remarks in his ''More Tramps Abroad\
"He added swarm after swarm of cholera "germs to this (Ganges) water ; within six hours "they always died, to the last sample. Repeatedly "he took pure well water which was barren of "animal life and put into it a few cholera germs ; "they always began to propagate at once and "always within six hours they swarmed and were "numberable by millions upon millions. For "ages the Hindus have had absolute faith that "the water of the Ganges was utterly pure, "could not be defiled by any contact whatso-
"ever and infallibly made pure and clean what- "soever thing touched it. They still believe it,
Census of loth March 191 1, however, there had been a decrease in the population by 10,456, and the total stood at 198,859.
12 TFE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
"and that is why they bathe in it and drink it. "The Hindus have been laughed at these many "generations, but the laughter will need to modify "itself a little frcm now on. How did they "find out the water's secret in those ancient "ages ? Had they germ-scientists then ? We "do not know. We know that they had a civili- "zation long before we emerged from savagery".^
If you are now refreshed and in proper trim, we may proceed to have a look at the city and shall first take the road leading to the Dasaswamedh quarter. The massive iron gates at Rajghat opening towards the city lead us into a dusty Visweswar- road lined with modest unassuming gunge Bazar houses with the wrinkles of age stamped upon most of them. A small market- place— VISWESWARGUNGE Bazar — soon appears with
(i) In confirmation of this may be quoted what the Indian Medical Gazette notes : — "It would appear as if modern iicience was coming to the aid of the ancient tradition in maintaining a special blessedness of the water of the Ganges. Mr. E. H. Henkin, in the preface to the fifth edition of his excellent pamphlet 'On the Cause and Prevention of Cholera,' writes as follows : — "Since I originally wrote this pamphlet 1 have discovered that the water of the Ganges and the Jumna is hostile to the growth of the cholera microbe, not only owing to the absence of food materials, but owing to actual presence of an antiseptic that his the pow3r of des- troying this microbe. At present I can make no suggcorjon as to the origin of this mysterious antiseptic."
I. TO THE CITY 13
pulse-shops and flour-stalls ranged on either side and various other necessaries of life piled about in utter disregard of all order. Huge lumbering carts labouring heavily along the badly rutted pathway, each drawn by three sturdy bullocks with another tied behind to serve as a relay and being itself tugged on in its trail, make a curious spectacle.
Smiling at the oddity as you proceed onward, the Municipal or the Maidagun Garden comes to view on the right, neat and snug in its iron en- Municipal closure, and the delicate perfume of roses
Garden fills the air near about. Roses of varied
hues and species laid out in a variety of
designs take up all available space inside, and a fine
jet-de-eau playing at one end adds to the beauty
of this enjoyable nook. It was the Maharajah of
Vizianagram who brought it into being in 1866 and
presented it to the people of Benares. A tank in the
middle of the garden with stone steps running down
from the banks into its clear water below is famed to
be the terrestrial remnant of the heavenly Mandakini
stream now shrunk into such circumscribed and
diminutive proportions. Adjoining this
Nagri Pracharini garden is the hall of the Nagri Pra-
Sabha. CHARINI Sabha founded in 1893 with
the object of popularising the Hindi language. Patronised by Government with a grant in aid of research it has a fine collection of Hindi manuscripts and has already given sufficient evidence of its usefulness in the shape of the publication of
14 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Qww
a number of works in Hindi comprising Hindu and Buddhistic literature and philosophy.
To the left of the road lie the TELEGRAPH Office and the Police Kotwali in the same compound, both of them fine-lookinsr modern structures. Close by in a large compound of green lawn is the Alfred Hall — the Benares Town Hall — an imposing pile in mixed Hindu and Gothic style enclosing a long splendid hall with a dais on the further end and a gallery approached by flights of stairs on either side near the entrance. This also owes its
existence to the munificence of the Alfred Hall Maharaja of Vizianagram who had it built
(1873-1875) to commemorate the visit of H. R. H. Prince Alfred to this city in 1870. It contains a fine portrait in oil of the Maharaja and a marble bust of the Hon. Raja Deo Narain Singh, late member of the Legislative Council of India, and was opened in 1876 by the then Prin:e of Wales (the late King Edward VII). We next approach the Chauk, practically the centre of the city and the largest mart and empor- ium of trade in Benares, extending over a wide area along the main road with a number of narrow lanes running into the interior, which are lined
with lofty buildings full of all kinds of Indigenous Pro- merchandise. The most not^d and at- ducts tractive quarter here is the Thattiri Bazar
glittering with shining repousse and embossed brassware and silver goods of wonderful workman- ship for which Benares has ever been famous. As
I. TO THE CITY i$
' ^'N 'X'-v '\.rK'
you advance forward, wooden articles inlaid with brass and various kinds of fretted woodwork engage your attention for a time ; and interspersed among the indigenous industrial products may also be noticed the woven fabrics of Manchester and various cheap shining tinsels with the hall-mark of " Made in Germany " upon them. It is the gold-embroidered kincobs and silk brocades, hov/ever, that are the most beautiful products of the Benares looms deserving prominent notice, as also shawls and fine embroidery and gold filigree work for which Benares has ever been noted in the world's marts. This weaving industry, it is estimated, furnishes employment to no less than twenty-five thousand people here.
From the very earliest of times Benares had been famed as a great commercial city, and in testimony thereof, Ralph Fitch in 1^5 characterised it as "a great towne, and a great store of cloth is
made there of cotton." Bishop Heber Trade in his " Narrative " also speaks of
Benares as •* the great mart where the shawls of the north, and the diamonds of the south and the muslins of Dacca and the Eastern Pro- vinces center." Her wealth and activity even in the earlier part of the last century had called forth the following eulogium from Macaulay's pen : " All along the shores of the venerable stream lay great fleets of vessels laden with rich merchandise. From the looms of Benares went forth the most delicate silks that adorned the halls of St. James
i6 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap.
and of Versailles ; and in the bazaars, the muslins of Bengal and the sabres of Oude were mingled with the jewels of Golconda and the shawls of Cashmere."
We next come to the large square with the imposing building on the right where the Chauk Police is stationed. Vendors of various small wares and brightly lacquered wooden toys have set their stalls here in the open; and the crowd is rather thick and is being constantly dispersed right and left by the passing ekkas aud other vehicles with their drivers shouting at the the top of their voice, '■'■Hutto^ Bheiyd'' (Move away, Brother J and thus adding to the babel of noises filling the place.
A few steps forward on the left is the fine
entrance to the nice little patch of garden of the
Carmichael Library with a beautiful
The Carmichael fountain squirting jets of cool clear
Library water around. In this cosy peaceful retreat is a well-stocked library with reading rooms. This interesting institution dates from 1870 and was first inaugurated by Rana Sanga Thakur Shaheb, a Reis of Benares, with the aid of public subscriptions. Three years later it was enlarged at the instance of Mr. Carmichael, the then Commissioner, whose name it bears, and it has now an annual income of nearly Rs. 2,000.
Past the GODOWLIA CHURCH of the Church Mission Society on the right, we may now visit the famous astronomical observatory, the Man Mandil,
l'J<ATK II
1. The Crescent Bank.
2. The Chakra (a), the Samrat (b), and the Xari\;ilaya (C) Yantras.
3. Man Mandil Ghat.
4. The Chakra Yantra.
5. The Digansha Yantra.
P. 17
Chapter n
THE STARS AND THEIR WAYS
"Behold yon azure dome, the sapphire sky, Rear in unpillared might its canopy ; That vast pavilion, gemmed with worlds of light, "Whose circling glories boast a boundless flight ; And as they roll, survey man's chequered state And scan the destinies of mortal fate."
— Pandnameh of Sa'di.
HE famous Man Mandil (Plate II, 3) was erected by the Rajput Raja Man Singh of Amber about the year 1600 A. D. and was used as an observatory ninety-three years later by his descen- dant Sawai Jaya Singh, the founder cf the picturesque town of Jaipur. Jaya Singh was an erudite prince and his favourite study was Astronomy. He spent seven long years in ransacking the Hindu as well as all available foreign astronomical and Jaya Singh mathematical works which he procured from Samarkand and elsewhere. He had many of these works translated into Sanskrit for making a comparative study of the Hindu, the Turkish and the European systems of astronomy ; and he himself invented some astronomical instru- ments — Ram Ymttra, Sam rat Y antra, and notably, the Jaiprakash Yantra, — after a great deal of researck
2 —
1 8 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
Referring to some astronomical instruments he had procured from King Emmanuel of Portugal, he noted in his great work in Persian, the Zcej Mahammad Shdht\ that on critical examination they were found to be defective in as much as they caused a difference of four minutes in calculations regarding eclipses. He attributed the errors in the calculations of Hipparchus, Ptolemy and others to the inaccuracy of their appliances.
Java Singh was commissioned by Mahammad Shah the Emperor of Delhi, to correct the errors that had crept into the calender. Hence it was that in addition to the Observatory here, he installed four others at Delhi, Muttra, Oojjein and Jaipur, and embodied the results of his observations in his Zeej Mahannnad Shdhi, so named in honour of the aforesaid emperor.
Striking to the left into a narrow alley where no other conveyance but your legs will carry you, and taking a few turns up over some stone-paved staircased lanes, you come at last in front of the famous building, the Man Mandil — a place to measure the globe, *from vidn (measurement) and mandil (globe)'.
Admitted through a narrow entrance you find yourself in a spacious quadrangle shady and cool
under the overspreading branches of The Man Mandil a pair of old peepuls. Inside an open
hall, the walls and arches are all covered
II. THE STARS AND THEIR WAYS 19
,,-^r\/'\,-\j\/'\/\/^^^y^y\r\/\.r^y\/^y-K/^\/\/^\/ y^./-^/yy\j\j'-^\j\j\y\/\/\/\/\/\.
with profuse floral decorations in the old Indian style and fresh enough for the vicissitudes of three goodly centuries. A sudden glimpse of the clear and pellucid water oi the Ganges at the ghat below now catches your eyes through the side-doors and apprises you of your arrival at the river-bank.
Up over to the top of the roof you find the remnants cf the works of the mighty ancients. Few they are now that are in existence — only those that were perhaps hard-set immovable stones, and merely illustra- tive of what once there had been, — standing out still in their colossal grandeur beneath the wide expanse of the azure above. Down below on the east as you look, the placid shining lovely stream glides along its stony bank of running stairs, and on the west spreads out the city itself with myriads of house- tops basking in the sun. Amidst surroundings so grand and impressive under the vast canopy of the heaven^s blue, a sense oi quiet seclusion, silent and solemn and so well adapted to contemplation and serious study, seems calmly to steal into your heart. Looking backward into the g'oomy past your mind's eye may yet perceive how those mighty intellects of old sat here clad in their simple robes and lay entranced in their favourite pursuits, poring over their old tomes of astrology and astronomy and scanning the heavens for the stars and planets that were to light them into the mysteries of Time and Space as measured by the cycling orbs.
20 THE HOL V CITY {BENARES) Chap.
A look at the instruments constructed by J ay a Singh may now be of interest if you should feel inclined to have some idea of their use. The first,
then, that you find is the Dakshina-
Dakshinabhitti bhitti Yantra (Mural Quadrant) — a
Yantra stone wall built in the plane of the
meridian eleven feet hig^h and a little over nine feet in length, with two quadrants inter- secting each other described thereon and three concentric arcs upon each of them graduated into degrees and minutes. The shadows cast by a couple of iron spikes (fixed perpendicular to the plane of the wall at the top corners) upon the divisions of those arcs, give the sun's altitude and zenith-distance as also the meridianal altitude of the stars and the latitude of the place.
The next instrument is the colossal Samrat Yantra (the Prince of instruments) Samrat Yantra which is rather a giant Sun-dial. It is a massive stone right-angled triangle 4| feet broad standing upright in the plane of the meridian, with stone stairs in the middle to ascend to the top. It is 36 feet long, and is 22^ feet high on its northern end and 6^ feet on the southern, the inclined hypotenuse thus formed pointing to the North Pole. On the eastern and western sides of this wall are arcs of massive stone somewhat greater than the quadrant of a circle, and both sides of each of the arcs are marked out
IL THE STARS AND THEIR WAYS 21
,\j\r^r\r\r\/^
into degrees ; and stairs run up by the side of each to the top to admit of closer observations. The shadow of the wall as it creeps upon the arcs gives the solar time ; the distances in time from the meridian of the moon, the planets and stars, and the declination and hour-angle of the heavenly bodies can also be calculated by the help of this instrument. A double Mural Quadrant has also been inscribed on the eastern side of the wall. It is a large structure of stone and gives some idea of the accuracy and precision in the works of ancient times. Another Sarnrat Yantra of smaller dimensions and exactly similar to this lies further to the east (Plate II, 2, h).
The Narivalaya Dak shin a and Uttara Go la or the Equ'nojtial Circle (Plate II, 2, c) appears next. It is a large circular slanting piece of Narivalaya Dak- stone placed in the equinoctial plane shina and Uttara with a circle described on the northern Gola side over 4^ feet in diameter. Two
diameters drawn upright and horizontally at right angles divide the circle into four equal parts of ninety divisions each. An iron spike in the centre pointing to the North Pole denotes by its shadow the meridianal distance of the sun or the stars when in the Northern Hemisphere. The use of this instrument is to find out t'me and also whether the heavenly bodies are m the Northern or the Southern Hemisphere.
Then comes the CJmkra Yantra (Plate II, 2a, 4)
22 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
V /\./\,'-s.'\.^yv/-v r\ /\/
consistinj^: of a movable circle of iron and brass — the circumference of which is graduated into Chakra Yantra sixty parts — turning upon an axis fixed between two walls and pointing to the North Pole. To a peg in the centre was attached a brass index two inches broad with a line in its middle passing through the centre of the circle, but this is now broken. By moving the circle and the index to bring a particular planet or star to the middle line of the index, the degrees of its declina- tion may be found out, and thus the distance in time (hour-angle^ of the sun, the moon and the stars from the meridian can be ascertained.
We next approach another large instrument, the Digansha Ya^ttra (Plate, II, 5) constructed of massive stone and consisting of two broad Pigansha Yantra concentric circular walls, the outer one double the height of the inner and graduated to 360® degrees at the top. Four iron spikes are planted on the four cardinal points of the compass upon the top of the outer wall. A round pillar of the same height as the inner wall stands at the centre of the space inside it. It is a little over four feet high and three and a half feet m diameter and has an iron spike fixed at the top. The yse of this instrument is to find the degrees of azimuth of the heavenly bodies by stretching two pieces of thread crosswise from the spikes upon the outer wall and fastening another to the centre of the pillar with
II. THE STARS AND THEIR IVA VS 23
its outer end moving at the top of the outer wall.
These are the only remnants of all that had once been, which have survived the ravages of time and other destructive agencies, the rest having gone to where all things earthly must — the limbo of oblivion. As they are, however^ even to this day they serve to give a slight insight into the great- ness and mentality of the versatile Hindus of those by-gone times, and make it a wonder as to how they could attain to such marvellous accuracy in calculations and nice precision in results, as evidenced by the popular almanacs and calendars, with the aid of such seemingly crude and simple materials at their disposal before the quadrant-and- telescope era.
Our limited leisure, however, to be devoted to our tour would hardly permit us to indulge in reflec- tions for the present. So, with a deep sigh and perhaps a heavy heart we now come down from the roof and cast aside the thoughts of the celes- tials and their science, and direct our attention to objects nearer to us in these sub-lunar regions.
■:o:-
Chapter III
MOSTLY SECULAR
" The sun of eternal truth arises in the East to shine upon the West. The East is the beginning of human thought,"
— Sarat Kumar Ghose.
AM now standing at the fountain-head of civilisation, — the very source of the most ancient and the most mighty monar- chies. The vision is distinct, for I hold the vantage-ground of the high table-land of Western Asia. The warhke pilgrims of the Oxus are moving towards the east, the west, and the south ; they are the patriarch bands of India, Europe and Eg>'pt. At the mouths of the Indus, dwell a sea- faring people, active, ingenious, and enterprising, as when, ages subsequent to the great movement, they themselves, with the warlike denizens of the Punjab, were driven from their native land, to seek the far distant climeS of Greece. The commercial people dwelling along the coast that stretches from the mouth of the Indus to the Coree, are embarking on that emigration whose magnificent results to civilisation, and whose gigantic monuments of art, fill the mind with mingled emotions of admiratioi; and awe. These people coast along the shores of Mekran, traverse the mouth of the Persian Gulf and again adhering to the sea-board of Oman,
vDe
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 25
Hadramant, and Yemen (the Eastern Arabia), they sail up the Red Sea ; and again ascending the mighty stream that fertiHses a land of wonders, found the kingdoms of Egypt, Nubia and Abys- sinia. These are the same stock that, centuries sub- sequently to this colonisation, spread the blessings of civilisation over Hellas and her islands.
Thus writes Mr. Pococke of those days
gone by in the nonage of old Time in lines that elevate
and thrill the mind with an indes-
India of old cribable feeling and make one pause
to meditate for a while ; for, it is
now hardly ever possible to realise or form any
idea of the position that old India occupied over
the globe in those early ages. Hard have the
master-minds and capable savants worked to clear
the debris heaped up by aeons reckoned in centuries,
till materials and informations enough have now
been unearthed to characterise her as the pioneer
all civilized life in the world.
From a comparison of her language and cus- toms, myths and religion, and her old architectural remains with those of the other regions of the earth boasting of ancient civilisation, India has been pronounced to be the very spot where all art and learning had their origin and the ultimate source whence emanated all knowledge and civilisation in the infancy of humanity, that later en illumined Assyria and Egypt, Persia and Greece — and, for
26 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
' \^^/N^\y v/'V^'X/v /^y^y-^/\y^xv/Ay'\y^y'\y^ ^./-v/\/\./-\y
the matter of that, the whole continent of Europe as well. In his Philosophy of History in the begin- ning of the last century the great western philosopher Hegel took India to be ''the centre of emigration for all the Western Worlds Later researches have gone further and proved that the civilisation of Mexico, Yucatan and Peru in the Western Hemisphere also owed its origin to the Hindu emigrants from the Indian shores. ^
Driven from their native abodes by mighty con- flicts and religious upheavals large bodies of men
sought homes in distant climes and Origin of carried along with them their old Ian- Civilisation guage and religion and all the civilized
arts known to them, and spread them over the regions where they settled. Bactria, Persia, Asia Minor, Greece'and Phoenicia were among the regions where they carried the germs of arts and sciences after this vast human tide ' swept across the valley of the Indus on the west,' and 'passed the barrier of the Punjab, rolled onward towards its destined channel in Europe and in Asia to filful its benevolent office in the moral feitilisation of the world.' Anent this tide of col )aisation it may bs interesting to note that even Benares had then sent its quota of men that were "distinctly seen near the banks of the Tigris, as 'COSS.EI,' that is, the people of CaSI, the classical name for Benares." *
(i) K. N. Bose's Hindu Civilisation in Ancient America. (2) Pococke's India in Greece, p. 46.
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 27
Time brought about inevitable changes, old shapes and forms \n their religion and language were transformed or modified almost beyond recognition ; but enough have yet been left in the crumbling ruins of old architecture and the old language to help to trace with reasonable certainty similaraties and analogies for identifying them with their parent source. A great French scholar, M. Creuzer remarks that " if there is a country on earth which can justly claim the honour of having been the cradle of the human race, or at least the scene of a primitive civilisation, the successive develop- ments of which carried into all parts of the ancient world, — • and even beyond, the blessings of know- ledge, which is the second life of man, that country assuredly is Indiar Hence it is that another great thinker, M. LOUIS JACOLLIOT, treats the thesis that " to study India is to trace humanity to its source" as a simple truism.
In ecstasy over India's language, PROF. Barnouf writes : "We will study India with its philosophy and its myths, its literature and its laws, in its language. Nay it is more than India, ?V /^ a page of the origin of the world we will attempt to decipher." Speak- ing of her philosophy, M. CousiN in the same strain remarks : "the history of Indian philosoply is the abridged history of the philosophy ot the world." The Sankhya philosophy of Kapila and the Nyaya of Gautama were, according to Mr. R. C. Dutt»
THE HOL Y CITY (BENARES) Chap.
the very first systems of mental philosophy and logic in the world ; and even Grammar and * Arithmetic, he holds, were invented in India. Hence it was that India attracted the sages of :old, Fa Hian and Hiuen Thsang, Pythagorus and Lycurgus and Megasthenes to travel to her distant regions to study law and philosophy and religion at their fountain source.
As the brightest gem upon her diadem "and the centre of all culture and learning in Kasi of old India, Benares — which only is within the scope of this work — has held its pre-eminence throughout all ages ; for, here it was that about 700 B. C. lived Kapila, the founder of the aforesaid Sankhya school of philosophy, and according to B. N. Chunder, "here, probably, did Gautama found his school of the Nyaics. Yaska probably published his Nirukta at this place, Panini his Grammar and Kullak A Bhatta his 'Commentaries on the Institutes'." Apart from being the chief seat of religion, therefore, Benares was thus the cradle of all learning in the East and full of abodes of scholars and students from all quarters. When the great Buddha came to Benares there were no less than seven hundred seminaries and even then it had wide celebrity for its educational institutions of the ancient type.
In the Mogul times, Feizi, it is said, disguised himself as a Hindu boy here in order to initiate
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 29
himself in the Hindu Shastras. In latter days also, distinguished foreigners like Fitch (1583), Tavernier (1668), and Heber (1825) directed their steps to this place in course of their travels and search after Indian wisdom and Indian antiquity. Western savants from Sir William Jones who had 'discovered Sanskrit' to the Western scholar?, down to all who had followed him, never failed to visit this shrine of all ancient wisdom to study and make researches here for a while in its hallowed grounds ; and the English Cemetery at the Sekrole quarter has a melancholy interest as holding the last remains of one of the earliest of the great Western scholars, Colonel Wilfred, who had done so much to bring Sanskrit before the world — 'that language which formed all others' — and who had been taken to have 'almost Hinduised himself by residence in Benares from 1788 to i8?2.'
Apart from the undisputed sovereignty it had wielded over the whole of Hindu India in all matters of religion from the earliest of times, Benares has ever been regarded as the fountain- head of the Hindu philosophy, theology and juris- prudence, and the decision of the The oldest Benares authorities claimed supreme living City respect and unquestioning acceptance at all times throughout the country. But the inevitable changes that time works upon th(i face of Dame Nature has its sequel up^a
30 THE HOL V CITY (BENARES) Chap.
humanity and national life as well. So, though it has kept up its existence as ^/le only oldest livhig city of note in the two hemispheres at the present time, the old order has changed Svith the process of the suns' and new customs and new modes of life have yielded place to the pre-existing ones. Whether it has been a history of advance towards the optimist's millenium it is for the philosopher to ponder, not for the casual tourist to ascertain.
What, however, is apparent even to the most superficial observer is that Benares Educational has now lost its old indigenous Systems of old institutions which alone, apart from the holy shrines, made it famous and sought for in the by-gone times. The old chatus- pdthis and abodes of scholars and great teachers where systematic training in all branches of Indian philosophy and ancient shastras was imparted, and where the students lived in all humility the simple life of Bhramacharya in the homes of their pre- ceptors and forgot the world while absorbed in study, — are now merely memories of the past. A few present-day tols maintained by the munificence of some Rajas and reises may still be met w^ith as we shall presently see, bat they are the merest shadows of the olden days. A few Shasiris or great Pandits — through some of whom Benares still retains its ancient reputation for its learned men — may now and then be found to have
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 31
(^\/\f\f\r\i
a few disciples attending on them, but nothing like the old institutions is now in existence.
As to the utility of such institutions it may be unhesitatingly observed that the influence they exerted upon the national life was vast and wide, turnmg out scholars of profound erudition living the simplest of li\'es and knowing but the fewest of wants and in very deed exhibiting a striking combination of plain living and high, thinking in the highest sense. ^ Examples are ever catching and the effect upon the surroundings and the multitude among whom they moved broadcast throughout the country may well be imagined. How the old times had changed and what the agencies that wrought the change through the various vicis- situdes of religious upheavals and alien conquests, are mere matters of history.
(i) By way of an illustration it may not be out of place to note the simple but touching anecdote of a great Bengal Pandit of old named Ramnath. He was the brightest gera of the court of Maharaja Krishna Chandra of Nadiya, and his fame as the greatest of the learned men of the time had spread all over the land. The sum-total of his worldly belongings, however, consisted of a few small huts, a large heap of old wood-bound hand-written puiithis (books) and a small pension from the court to live upon ; and his wife had but two pieces of thread tied round her wrists as substitutes for gold and silver to signify her blessed married state. A princess' maid having once jeered at these her precious posses- bions, she was said to have rejoined with conscious pride that
32 THE HOL Y CITY (BENARES) Cha1>-
Though it is not possible to brirg these times back again, a few large-hearted persons here, actuated by the desire as well as the hope of creating something like the wholesome atmosphere of the olden days, have undertaken the task of imparting education to the rising generations on lines different fro.n those in vogue in our provincial universities, making secular education go hand in hand with moral and religious training based upon the ancestral religion and ethics of the Hindus. The experiment started hardly over a decade ago through the indefatigable energy and self-sacrifice of that noble lady Mrs. Annie Besant and her noble band of workers, has already been giving fair pro- mises of success. The objects of the institution founded by her, the CENTRAL HINDU COLLEGE, have been to 'wed together the religion, the ethics, the philosophy of the hoary East with the science and literature of the young and vigourous West,'
the disappearance of those little bits of thread from her wrists
-would mean the darkening of all Nadiya which all the lustre
of the princess' gold would be impotent to dispel. The
Maharaja having once come on a visit found him employed
in his studies in perfect contentment and peace in spite of
all the marks of dire poverty all about his surroundings. On
being asked if he had any want and what the Raja could do
for him, the Pandit looked abstracted for a moment and
replied in amazement : " Want ? - Well, I don't see 1 have
jiny. — What can you do for me .^ "' Such was this Indian Diogenes!
I'LATF. Iir
1. Sarasuati Temple (Central Hindu College).
2. Queen's College.
3. CentniJ Hindu College Boarding.
P»33
II. MOSTLY SECULAR 33
and *to build up a Hindu aristocracy, courteous, brave, truthful in word and deed, public-spirited
Central Hindu citizens, patriotic to the Motherland.
College loyal to the Imperial Crown, — to send
forth from this place men worthy of their
«"lorious past, men worthy to build a yet greater future,
men worthy to be citizens in an empire of the free.'
Too much chatting perhaps for hurrying tourists,— but may not this be introductory to what follows ? So, without further delay, we trace our steps back- from the neighbourhood of the Man Mandil to the main road, and go westward past Godowlia to see this institution first.
Through a populous part of the city along broad roads with stately structures upon their borders we pass, till we arrive at the precincts of the Central Hindu College decorated with small minarets in the Indian style of architecture in the quiet Kamachcha quarter of the city. Opened in 189S, it has been affiliated to the Allahabad Univer- sit)^ up to the M. A. standard ; * the most marked feature of this institution, however, is that the boys in all the college and school classes have to read Sanskrit as their principal subject. Attached to this is also a
( I ) This institution is shortly to form the nucleus of the, proposed Hindu University of Benares towards the establishment of which Mrs. Besant and the Hon. Pandit Madan Mohan Alalaviya of Allahabad have been directing their united efforts and working unceasingly. According to the Draft Memorandum of
34 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap,
seminary for the exclusive study of that language, named the Ranavir Patshala, and there is also a Girls' School as well connected with it, designated the Kalika Vidyalaya. Thus, nearly a thousand students in all receive their education and training in this institution.
It has so far been independent of Government aid but its usefulness and the good work done by it have met with open recognition from the highest in the "land, and Lord Minto almost on the eve of his departure from India thought fit to visit this institution and expressed high gratification at what he saw here. The grounds upon which the buildings stand are the gift of the Maharaja of Benares ; and many of the Ruling Indian Princes, rich merchants and other personages in various grades of life have contributed towards the erection of the beautiful structures here; and white marble slabs above the doorways commemorate their nam^s. The costs in respect to the College Laboratory here were
Association, besides the usual provisions for the diffusion of scientific, technical and professional knowledge, the main objects of this University are to be 'to promote the study of the Hindu .Shastras and of Sanskrit literature generally, as a means of pre- serving and popularising for the benefit of the Hindus in particular and of the world at large in general, the best thought and culture of the Hindus, and all that was good and great in thti ancient civilization of India,' and 'to promote the building up of character in youth by making religion and ethics an integral part of education.
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 35
borne by two Bombay merchants, and the funds left by an Indian student accidentally killed in England furni- shed means for the erection of the School Hall. In fact, every part of all the buildings, bears testimony to tlic munificence of generous donors, which reached the figure of over Rs. 1,189,000 in course of the first nine years of its existence.
It is the day of the great All-India Theosophical Conference ^ which is to meet in the hall of the Hindu College and commence its sittings from to-day. Volun- teer boys with their pretty floral badges move about briskly and are busy receiving delegates coming in from all quarters of India, A very young amiable bov from the Punjab accosts us and undertakes to pilot us round the college and the Boarding Houses.
Stepping into the courtyard you find a small w hite marble temple in the middle (Plate HI, i) with a very gracefully-draped image of the Goddess of Learning, Sarasivati, in white marble, worshipped with floral offerings. In the open verandah upon the raised floor of the hall the first object that falls to your sight is a large portrait of Mrs. Besant in delicate colours faithful to life. There is another of the present Maharaja of Benares, the donor of the grounds of the College and one of its pirncipal benefactors. By a great good fortune we meet here the noble lady Mrs. Besant herself who receives us with a kindly smile and
(i)Sunday, the 26th December 1909.
THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
. 'Wy-. '^.'\.'\.'\.'\/V \y ^X'V^^v/ V
with greetings in the graceful Hindu style with joined palms. After a few words with her we walk round the College and see the Common Room containing a good supply of books and newspapers and a large portrait in oil of the Principal and pass on to the fine quadrangle of the adjoining Boarding Houses (Plate ni, 3) carpeted with beautiful season-flowers of the various hues of the rainbow. All the houses look neat and comfortable and accommodate within them about two hundred and fifty students. Cne of the interesting features here is that a spacious apartment on the first floor has been consecrated and set apart as a Prayer Room ''for the worship of Iszvara " — the most cosmopolitan name that can be thought of — in the right orthodox Hindu style.
We now take leave of our young guide and cross over to the quarters of the TllEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY,
Indian Section — on the other side of
Thecsophical the road. Amid extensive gardens in
Society the wide compound, a tank on one
end with spotted deer grazing on the banks and the pretty houses standing isolated here c.nd there overhung with flowering creepers look exceedingly picturesque. One such accommodates Mrs. Besant and is designated ' Santi Kunjd — the bow er of peace ; and there are quarters here for the Hindu College Professors as well going by the name of ' Jnana-Gehd — the house of knowledge.
You must new sec the hall v>hcre tie memhers
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 17
j^/^^y\y\/-\^\y\j-\y\/\y^\j^ /\y^y\
of the Society meet. Just above the entrance is engraved on the outer wall the sacred 'Om' and the mystic symbol like the six-rayed star with an inscription above in Sanscrit — 'Satydt ndsti pan* Dharmd! — There is no religion higher than Truth.
Inside you see the walls covered with interest- ing paintings — pictures of Christ and Confucius, Zarathustra and Lao-Tze, Birbal and Akbar, Madonna under the Apple tree and St. Joseph with the child Jesus, and other subjects of cosmopolitan interest. A portrait of Col. Olcott the founder of the Society and fine large ones of Mrs. Besant and Madam Blavatsky decorate the northern and the southern walls. One other striking object in the hall is a large mirror upon which is etched the figure of a man clad in the fashion of an American Indian stand- ing upon a globe with a sword in hand and starry rays around his head somewhat like a halo — said to be the Persian ( Zoroastrian ) representation of the Sun. The hall is well stocked with books and magazines and the shelves are replete with all kinds of Theosophical literature and Hindu scriptures. A sense of calm repose pervading here has a chastening effect upon the mind.
We may now resume our rambles, and as we are
in this quarter we may go a little further southward
and have a look at the noted well
GoebiKua ^^^^j.^^ j^^a lying under the shade of
some large peepuls near some brick-fields
38 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
in a very retired nook at this end of the city. Beneath a wooden canopy standing over it sits an old Brahmin who draws water and supplies it to people coming from the most distant quarters for it. It is scrupulously clean and is reputed to have medicinal properties, and its continual use for a time is said to effect cure ot dvspepsia and debility and a host of other maladies.
Back from this place, as we pass by the Ram
Krishna Shebasram (Home of Service), not very
far from the Central Hindu College,
Ram Krishna we may drop in for a short visit. It
Shel>asrain is a local branch of the Ram Krishna
Mission an I is intended to give relief to
the poor and the diseased and was founded in A. D.
1900. The Hospital is well worth seeing and has
been doing very noble work and would amply
deserv-e active help from the munificent and the rich.
The institution has quite an interesting history of its own in respect to the way it was ushered into existence. Some youths of noble blood in Benares fired by the instructions and inspiration of Swami Vivekanand — a name now of world-wide celebrity — resolved to devote their life in serving humanity in the spirit of worshipping God. "It is this 'worship of the poor', this consecration of one's self to 'serve the Lord coming daily before us in the shape of the diseased, the lunatic, the leper, and the sinner' that the great Swami Vivekanand has taught the Indian
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 39
\/\j-\/\y\r^f^j\/\f\/\.n^r\i^\j\.'\.rs^f\./^
people to realise and practise in their every day life." Opportunities were soon afforded them in the shape of a few dying indigent men and women cast adrift on the streets in their last extremity by the owners of the hired houses where they had been staying — a thing alas ! not of very rare occurrence in this great city. These youths picked them u[) and placed them under shelter, and gave them food and medicines by means of funds they had raised by begging. This was the germ of the institution which gradually expanded and drew public attention, and was then placed in the hands of the noble workers of the Ram Krishna Mission after it had attained some magnitude. The found- ation-stone of the present fine buildings — all constructed by the aid of kindly donations— was laid in April 1908, and in the year between July 1908 and June 1909, 6413 persons were given relief in various ways ; and it is interesting to observe that two among them were C/insiians and 244.3 Mahomedans, the rest being Hindus belonging to all the provinces of Jndia. The institution thus affords relief irrespective of caste, creed or nationality, to 'the diseased, homeless, and neglected poor* and the destitute, iunable to earn a living or lying starving in the street. There are neat indoor and outdoor }\()spital and dispensary in the Home where jnedicines of all the three systems — Kaviraji, Allopathy ;^ind Homcepathy — are stocked. Even those who are enable to attend are treated in their own plaQei»*
40 THE HOL V CITY (BENARES) Chap.
and respectable families reduced to destitution obtain help in the shape of food and money supplied them at their own homes at stated intervals. Such are the noble objects of this noble institution in this great city !
Along the broad roads with spacious garder^s on either side as we go northwards the Victoria Park comes into view with its marble bust of {he good Queen set upon a high pedestal
wearing a very dignified expression Victoria Park upon the face. The fine green lawn
in its ample compound has a pleasant and inviting look and furnishes an enjoyable pro- menade and recreation ground.
The turrets of the Queen's College now appear amidst the picturesque surroundings of its well-kept grounds lined with flower-beds of elegant
designs. The High School is located in a Queen's CoUe^ separate building with a very beautiful
ornate column in its front. The quarters of the Principal and the Head Master are within the College compound — pretty little houses in the quiet of arborial surroundings.
The College building ^' Plate HI, 2) is a noble edifice in the architecture of the old Gothic style with a central tower seventy-five feet high. Mottoes and wise sayings in Old English and Devnagari characters form a pretty as well as useful decoration below the cornices all around. The existence of tlie
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 41
institution dates as far back as 1791 when Jonathan Duncan, the then Resident of Benares, suggested to Lord Cornwallis the estabHshment of a College '' for tlie /yreservation and cultivation of Sanskrit literature and i^eligion of the Hi^idu nation at the centre of their faith and common resort of their tribes'' Tluis was founded the Sanskrit College with Pandit Kashi Nath as its first Principal. The English School laised to the status of a College in 1843 was amalgamated w ith the Sanskrit College ten years later, and the united colleges developed into the present Queen's College now affiliated to the Allahabad University. I'he present building took four years (1848-1^52) in its designing and erection by Major Kittle costing Rs. 1,27,000, and is undoubtedly a thing of beauty. The College owns a well-equipped Laboratory and a Boarding House at a slight dis- tance across the road, and a commodious building is now being erected in the College compound to serve as a Library for storing Sanskrit works and to be named Saras wati-bhabar..
As the principal place for the culture of Sanskrit learning it earned the reputation of being the Oxford of India, and included among the number of its professors such eminent Western Sanskrit scholars as Mr. R. T. H. Griffith, the translator of the Ramayana, Dr. Kern, Professor of Sanskrit in the Leyden University, Dr. Fitzgerald Hall, late Librarian of the India Office, and Dr. John Muir,
42 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
f\/'\/\/\/\rsj\/\/\j'\' \/\/'\y\/\
Dr. Ballantyne and Mr. Gough. The present head of the institution, Mr. A. Venis, the profound Sanskrit scholar, has nobly kept up the old tradi- tions by his erudition and valuable researches. A monthly paper named " Tke Pandit " was started from the college in 1866 and some rare and \aluable Sanskrit works were published therein.
As you enter the main hall the first object that strikes you is the resplendent youthful figure of the late Queen Victoria of blessed memory clad in ermine and seated in regal glory, crowned and with a chain of brilliants round her neck and the sceptre and the orb in her hands. It is in the brightly coloured stained glass in the window above the entrance and is a fine work of art.
As you turn round, the long hall with its high roof looks exceedingly imposing and strings of mottoes decorate the space below the cornices here also. Towards the centre of the hall and furthur off as well^ the senior college classes occupy the room. To the further end on the other side of the lofty arch is the space set apart for students of Sanskrit who sit on the carpeted floor in the orthodox fashion at the feet of their preceptors — the learned Pandits and Shastris — in the early hours of the morning. Above the wall at one end of the hall is a circle of the the Zodiac (the Rashi-chakra) on glass panes with all the symbolic figures and signs in bright and beautiful paints. Two wings running from the
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 43
nave towarc's the right and left accommodate the
undergraduates' classes, the office as well as the
Library containing the finest collection of rare
Oriental manuscripts. Recesses upon the high side walls have been utilized for the storage of books
and some fossilized bones and other curiosities, and galleries run along them.
Coming down to the open grounds oelow, another object of interest catches your eyes. It is a tall round stone pillar thirty-one and a half feet high — a monolith found at Pahladpur near Gazipur and brought to Benares in 1853. It is similar to the Asoka pillar standing in the Allahabad Foit, w hich, however, is much taller than this. Two line.s f^r inscriptions in the character of the times of the (iupta Kings of the fourth century are still readable though partly obliterated, and a few semi-circular diagrams are also visible en one side. Leaving th's antiquarian treasure, as 3''ou prepare to come out to the road, a small circular tank attracts your eye with the head and nozzle of a live crocodile of decent proportions floating thereon and diving underneath when your attentions seem to grow too obtrusive.
Such is the premier educational institution of
Benares. All grades of Schools ranging
Education between the High and the Primary
are here, numbering over two hundred
and including seme lwcnt\-six Girls' Schools amcr.g
41 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap,
'"v/\yx/ vX/X- V'X' V'^z-^^'v/X/v/X/ V
them. They afford facilities to something Hke eleven thousand boys and girls to pick up their three R's therein. An important one among them is that founded by Raja Jay Narain Ghosal in 1817 at Bhelupura and now being managed by the Church Missionary Society and going by the name of the Jay Narain Collegiate School. Another is the Hewett Kshatriya School founded and endowed by the Raja of Bhinga with lavish donations. The five different Christian Missions in the city manage among them eight boys' and eighteen girls' schools imparting Christian instructions to nearly two thousand pupils.
For the exclusive study of Sanskrit on the old methods, there are some thirty or more Chatus- pdthis and Paths Has te ichi ng nearly a thousand students. The most important among them are the Sanskrit Pdthsala at Chauka Ghat attached to the Government Sanskrit College, Xh^ Jugal Kishore Ruid and the Sangvet Pathsalas at Nagwa, the Brahma Vidyd Pathsala at Tehri Nim, the
Chatuspathis and Yasovijaya Jaina Pathsala at Thatteri Pathsilas Bazar, the Syddvada at Bhadaini, the
Durbhanga Pathsala at Dasaswamedh, the Sannyasi Sanskrit Pathsala near the Visweswara Temple and the Iswara and Sarhamangald chatuspa- this at Bengalitolah. Besides the Government College Pathsala, the Nagwa Pathsalas and the Durbhanga, the Jaina and the Syadvada Pathsalas contain the largest number of pupils. The institution
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 45
''■y^^'\r\s\y\.r\/\/-^ys
founded by the Maharaja of Durbhanga imparts education in the Hindu Philosophy, Nyaya and Grammar, and the celebrated Pandit Mahamahopadhaya Siv Kumar Misra is at the head of it at present. The Maharaja of Kashmir had a similar institution near the Dasaswamedh, but it has been amalgamated with the Ranavir Pathsala of the Central Hindu College. Besides these there are numerous small tols, in each of which four or five students read under a Pandit or Adhydpaka, and students from various parts of India still come to this place and sit at their feet and study the various branches of the Shastras such as Vedanta, Sankhya, Miinansha,
Yoga, Sniriti, Yotishy and also Grammar, Rhetoric and Poetry. There are still over eighty of such distin- guished AdhydpakaSy some of the most eminent among them being Mahamahopadhyayas Gangadhar Shastri Telang, CLE., Siv Kumar Misra, Rakhaldas Nyayaratna, Subrahmanya Shastri Dravida, Tatya Shastri, Krishnanath Nyayapanchanan, Bhagavatacharya, and Pandits Mahadeo Shastri, Annoda Charan Tarkachura-
mani, Priyanath Tattwaratna, Srikar Shastri, Bhawani
Dikshit, Jaya Krishna Vidyasagara, and Vinayak
Shastri Yotishi.
Along the road leading to the Kasi station we
pass by the Zenana Mission House and the Bible
and Tract Depot on the left, and further
Hospitals on the IswARi Prasad Memorial
Hospital (the Lady Dufferin Hospital
for Females) founded in 1892 and occupying
46 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap
'\y\''\/^j^./'\/^''\y^^
extensive grounds. Next to it are the fine buildings of the Prince of Wales' Hospital erected by the gentry of Benares in honor of the late King Edward's visit to the city in 1876 as the Prince of Wales. Another important hospital in the city is the Victoria Hospital built in 1888 by the Zenana Bible and Medical Mission at Sigra and managed by them. There are a few other hospitals also doing very good work though on a small scale.
Very numerous are the charitable institutions founded by Rajas and rich men consisting of
Dhannasalas and Chhattras in which
Dharmasalas substantial provision has been made for
and Chhatras the shelter of pilgrims and strangers.
the maintenance of poor Brahmins and indigent persons belonging to other classes, and for helpless widows and students studying Sanskrit. These institutions are mostly in the nature of alms-houses and it has been estimated that nearly four thousand persons obtain food and she'ter therein. There nrc some endowments as well providing for scholarships to students. The Chhatras of the Maharajas of Durbhanga and Kashmir near the Dasaswamedh and Tehri Nim, and of Ahalya Bai near the ghat of her name, and of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, are on an extensive scale. So are the Nathcote and the Marwari Chhattras feeding large number of Marwaris. Mention may also be rnade of the Chhattras Connected with the names of Rani Bhawani, Rashmani,
III. MOSTLY SECULAR 47
^j-\j~^j\/\f\,^rw-^j^-.
Vidyamayi, Rajrajeswari, as also of Putea, Tahirpur and Ambjria. A Maiwari reis supplies rice and tlour and other eatables to a number ot students \\\ his garden at Sigra.
The Indian Princes and Reises vied with one
another formerly in affording relief to the poor
as an act of the highest merit ; and
Hindu Endow- thus was the origin of the Ckhatras
ments existing in scores in all parts of the city.
Besides these, the Muths or monas- teries of different sects of asceties and the various Hindu temples are maintained by substantial endow- ments made by their votaries or patrons, and provide means of living for a very large number of religious devotees. One of these, the Gopal Mandir, owns ten villages and two mehals and commands an annual income of over three thousand rupees. So, between objects religious and secular and consi- derations of piety and hankerings after fame an'd glory, immense is the benefit to the poor and the needy — and for the matter of that, to a number loafers and nothing-to-do's as well, unavoidably mixed up in the medley ; and the pious donors undoubtedly share the blessings and benedictions articulated in the fulness of heart by grateful lips. This the recompense here of charit}-, and what hereafter — it is perhaps for the conscious heart alone to feel !
Chapter IV
SECTS AND CULTS
" Tht" religions of the world are the ejaculations of a few imaginative men. But the quality of the imagination is to flow, and not to freeze."
— Emerson.
" Message proclaimed by my ancestors on
the banks of the Ganges thirty centuries ago : 'They who see but one in all the changing manifoldness of this universe, unto them belongs Eternal Truth, unto none else, unto none else'."
—Dr. J. C. Bose.
ERY close to the Prince of Wales' Hospital is Kabir Chaura named after one whose holy life and sweet and entrancing songs go to influence the lives of a consider- able section of the Hindi-speaking people. It is Kabir the great Saint aud founder of the Kabirpanihi
sect of ascetics and the first of the born Sants
according to the Radhaswamis. Follow-
Kabir ing an old work 'Kabir Kasauti,'
the compiler of ' Kabir-Shakeb-ki
Sabdawair ^ computes that he was born
about Sambat 1455 (^399 A. D.) and as he was
reputed to have reached the great age of 120, he
(i) Edition— Belvedere Printing Works, Allaliabad.
PLATE I\'
1. D.isa'-wamedh (iliat.
2. Sankara(har\a.
3. A group of Sann\asis.
P. 48
I V. SECTS AND CUL TS 49
probably passed away about 15 19 A. D. Of him it is said that while Niru or Nur OH Julaha, a Mahomedan weaver of Benares, had been engaged in washing thread in the Lahar-ka-talao he happened to perceive a child floating on the water, and taking him out he and his wife Nima nursed and brought him up under their humble roof. A large shallow tank outside Benares and a small temple lying close to the 423rd Milestone near the Grand Trunk Road running towards Allahabad now mark the spot where Kabir was found.
From childhood he was of a very devout turn of mind and manifested great powers. As he apparently belonged to a low caste, the great V'aishnava teacher Swami Ramananda then living in his retreat over the Panchaganga ghat in Benares would not make him a disciple which he ardently longed to be. He, thereupon, hit upon the expedient of Uing prone in front of Ramananda's house towards the close of one night. The latter coming out in the dim hours of day-break for his morning ablu- tions in the Ganges happened to , touch his body with his feet, and considering it to be a corpse ejaculated "Rama" "Rama". This Kabir took as his Mantra or mystic text and claimed to be his disciple ; and moved by his piety Ramananda also recognised him as such later on.
Numbers of followers soon flocked to him attract- ed by his piety and devotion as he grew in years ;
4—
so THE HOL y CITY (BENARES) Chap.
both Hindus and Mahomedans attended his dis- courses, for he preached and maintained that under whatever name God was invoked it was THE ONE AND THE SAME GOD that was worshipp(?d. The Benares Brahmans grew extremely jealous at bis popularity, and with the object of putting him out of countenance they once devised a plan of invit- ing a very large number of people to his house to dinner without his knowledge. Legend relates a miracle that came to pass. Thousands of people gathered at his door in the morning. Notlu'ng daunted, he filled a handi (pot) with eatables, cover- ed it over with a piece of cloth, and gave it to a disciple. The latter thrust his hand repeatedly into the pot and brought out food enough for all to eat to satiety ; and at last when the cover was laid aside, the pot was still full to the brim.
A man of great devotion, his grand and inimi- table musical dohas (songs), many hundreds in number, are .^t'll familiarly and constantly recited in the North-West and in the Punjab and afford plea- sure and comfort to many a devout soul. His works in Hindi embodying his teachings are twenty in number and are known collectively as the Khas Grant ha. As worshipper of the One Supreme^ Deity he was claimed by the Hindus and the Mahome- dans alike. At Maghar, a village not far from Benares, he called his followers together one morning and informed them that he would leave them that
IV. SECTS AND CULTS 51
day. He laid himself down and his disciples cover- ed him over with a white sheet of cloth, and thus as he was he passed away. The Hindus wanted to cremate the dead body and the Mahomedans wished to give it a burial. Both the parties quar- relled over it, and at last when the covering was lifted, lo! there was nothing underneath but a few snow-white flowers upon the empty bed. These they shared, and Bir Singha, Raja of Kasi, took half and burnt them and preserved the ashes at Kabir Chaura — one of the twelve inuths now \\\ existence out of a number of those founded by him. The Pathan King Bijli Khan took the rest of tlie flowers and gave them a burial at Maghar, near Gorakhpur and erected a tomb over the spot where he died. Both the places are objects of pilgrimage to the followers of Kabir.
Another saintly personage, RoiDAS Shaheb, also lived in Benares at this time and was also a sant and associate of Kabir.
In a lane by the side of the Iswari Prasad Hospital lies a line of low-roofed buildings enclos- ing a quadrangle shaded by neeins^ cool, noiseless and quiet in its seclusion. Here was Kabir Chaura the abode of Kabir, and under a Muth dome is a clean white sheet spread
out upon the floor and strewn with flowers. In an apartm close by are kept an
Sz THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Char
ornamental taj (head-dress) and pictures of Ran^ananda, and Kabir, — the latter discoursing to his followers with his fingers holding a shuttle. In the garden adjoining are the plain \\hite tombs of Nima and Nur, the adoptive j^arents of Kabir, under the shade of over-spreading ncciris.
A few steps off lies Mai>hu Dass's Garden a^ssociated with the memcwy of the retreat of Warren Hastings to Cbunar and of a tragedy enacted hy Wazir AH,, the ex-Nawab of Oudh, mention of which may be made here In 1781, when. Warren Hastings had re- paired to Benares to bring Raja Chet Singh to book for failing to supply troops as demanded by him^ he used to stay at Madhu Dass's Garden. After the MadlmDass's massacre of the English troops and Garden three officers by Chet Singh's follow- ers ^ he had to leave this place and retire to the fort of Chunar with his men. His position had become so ver}^ precarious that he hrmself writes : " If Chet Singli's people after tney bad effected his rescue, had proceeded to my quarters at Mahadew Dass's garden, instead of crowd- irrg after him in a tumultuous manner, as they did in his passage over the river, it is most probable that my blood, and that of about of thirty English gentlemen of my party, would have been added to the recent carnage ; for they were above two thou- sand in number, furious and daring from the easy (i) See C1,iapter X, post.
IV. SECTS AND CULTS 53
success of their last attempt ; nor could I assemble more than fifty regular and armed Sepoys for ray Avhole defence."
Later on it was the scene of another incident — the murder of the English Resident Mr. Cherry, whose memory is kept alive by a lofty monument in the cemetary at SekroSe, and of his Private Secretary and two other Europeans. The ex-Nawab VVazir Ali, who was removed from his position as Nawab of Oudh in 1799, to make room for tl^e legitimate heir Saadat A^i Khan, had been allow- ed to reside in this garden. The Resident hav- ing come to learn that he was intriguing with dis- affected Mahomedans and attempting to bring about a rebellion had an order passed for his removal to Calcutta. On a pretext of paying a friendly visit to the Resident, Wazir Ali came with a largt number of armed followers, and while conversini:^ with him treacherously stabbed him and killed the other three unarmed Europeans in cold blood, and retired on hearing of the approach of the Englislai troops.
This was on the 14th January 1799, and as a sequel may be added the story of the signal bravery of Mr. Davis, a Judge and Magistrate of Benares who defended himself and his wife and children in the building now known as the Nadeswar House at the Sekrole quarter of the town^
54 THE HOL > CITY (BENARES) Chap.
After the murder of Mr. Cherry, the infuriated followers of Wazir Ali numbering some two hun- dred men advanced under his leadership and be- seiged this place. Mr. Davis had but time to lay hold of a long iron pike with a sharp triangular steel blade for his defence ; and posting himself at the head of the narrow stairs leading to tlie roof where his family had taken refuge, he lunged at the insurgents who attempted to go up the narrow stairs and caused them to turn back. After an hour of breathless suspense and apprehensions of imminent calamity the joyous tread of the British cavalry was heard and the party saved. Wazir Ali retired to his quarters at Madhu Dass's Garden and stayed therein till his removal to Calcutta. The Nadeswar House situated in the
midst of nicely-laid flower-beds m a
Nadeswar House spacious garden is now being used
atSekrole by the Maharaja of Benares, to whom
it belongs, as a guest-house for dis-
tiuguished visitors — among whom were the Prince and Princess of Wales (now come to the throne) in in 1906 and the Crown Prince of Germany lately fn January 191 1. It is sumptuously furnished and looks extremely comfortable ; and besides numerous ex- cellent oil-paintings, a large crystal peacock and a cockatoo standing upon the staircase and displaying natural colours and holding electric bulbs underneath their • wings are very noticeable,
IV. SECTS AND CULTS 55
../\.r^r\r^,^\
The locality of Madhudass's garden has, however, changed its aspect altogether at present, and it is now the head-quarter of the Radhaswami sect founded by Shiva Dyal Singh, a Khattri Radhaswamis of Agra, who died in 1873. It is sur- rounded by high walls and possesses a splendid hall on the northern side capable of holding about two thousand people. There is a raised marble /^lais at one end where the ashes of their late Guru Brahma Sankar Misra have been deposited, and the niche on the northern wall has a very gorgeous look ; and the spacious grounds have been^ very neatly laid out in green and floral patches. This sect follows the tenets of Kabir, Roidas, Mira Bai and others and ob- serves certain Yoga practices leading to the contem- plation of Sabdh (word) or Dhwani (sound). Though of recent growth there are numbers of people of light and education who have joined this sect into which ai! classes are eligible for admission.
Benares has ever been the meeting-place of all re- ligions, and here more largely than anywhere else are people of all shades of opinions and beliefs to be al- ways met with in numbers. Not to speak of the orthodox Hindus strictly so called who have their own shrines and temples, and the Mahomedans who have their mosques in numbers, there are various other sects claiming to share the designation of Hindu, that have also their places of worship here. Besides thp followers of Kabir and the Radhaswamis, here are
56 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES^ Cuw.
Vaishnavites and Nagas, Nanakshabis and Jains. Gorakpanthis and Shibnarayanis, and Theosophists and Arya Samajists as well. And in a field of such religious activity there could not but be a number of proselytising Christian Missions as well
A rapid survey of these may not be without interest. As we proceed towards the Chauk, after leaving the Town Hal! behind, on our left appears the large unfinished ball of the Benares branch of the Arya Santaj founded by the famous Arya Samaj Dayanand Saraswati of Lahore, \\hose ideal was the Vedic Hinduism of the earliest age.s, without the worship of idols. This is somewhat akin to the Brahnio Saniaj which also prefesses to cull the noble teachings of all religions and limits itself to the worship of the One God- head. The representatives of this latter Samaj had been noticed by the Rev. Mr. Sherring so far hack
„ ^ „ , as 1868 in Benares in the palmy da\'s of Brahmo Samtj ,^ » , ^. , ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Keshab Chandra Sen. Some members of
the community are still to be found here.
Going into the As-Bhairo Muhalla to the nortli-
east of the Chauk, is observed the
The Sikhs Bari Sangat Akhera ofthe5Y/:/^^ built
by the Maharaja of Patiala in honour
of the third Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadoor. Though all
the Sikhs are the followers of Nanak and go by
IV. SECTS AND CULTS 57
the general name Ndnak-PantJiis, there are two classes among them, the Uddsis or the Mendicants and the Ninnalis or the Pure. They pay almost divine honors to the Adi-granth or the book con- taining the teachings of Nanak consisting of a collection of rhapsodies compiled by one of his successors. Guru Arjun Dev% about fifty years after Nanak's death. The tenth Guru of the Sikhs, the great Guru Govind Singh (1675-1708) who converted them into a fighting race, composed a Second Granth known as the Granth of ths Tenth Reign. The>^ have dkheras or inutJis near the Visvveswara Road. Mir Ghat and Asi Ghat. A large one among them is the Panchaiti Kalan belonging to the Uddsis founded about 1790 and owning an income of ten thousand rupees bequeathed by its founder Baba Nanak Ram. Near the Durga Kund is the Kina- ram A/chera founded by a Rajput of the Aughar sect about three hundred years ago, and near to it is another of a very recent date called the Melarain Akhera,
While here, we should not miss a sight of the fine richly furnished palaces of the Maharajas of Vizianagram and Benares in the adjacent Kamachha and Bhelupura quarters in the middle of well- kept grounds and flower-gardens with large roses and bushy foliages quaintly trimmed to imitate peacocks, tigers, camels and other animated beings.
At a little distance from the Durga Kund and
58 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
near the Water-works are the Jain temples marking the birth-place of the Tirthankara Paresnath — a prince of the blood ro)-aI of Benares — which makes the Bhelu- pLira quarter so sacred to the Jains, like the Paresnath Hill on the borders of Iiazariba<^h where he passed his last days and died. Some other Jain temples stand above the Jain Mandir Ghat near Panchaganga whose plain white tapering spires uplifted amidst the surrounding elaborate Hindu architecture have a very striking appearance. There are some other temples over the Tulsi Ghat and one near the Alfred Hall as well.
The Jain temples at Bhehipu7'a would amply repay a visit. They stand in two clusters and belong to the Digavibara (the sky-clad i.e. naked) and the Swetambara (the white-robed) sects ; both the sects, however, enshrine the images of all the twenty-four Tirthankaras. Entering the temple on the right, the striking figure there is the large image in white marble of Paresnath with a hooded snake above the head stretched like an umbrella. By the right and left are smaller statues of the other Tirthankaras, six of the Swetambara and four of the Digambara sect in brass and in black and white marble. The walls are replete with photos of many famous Jain monks and the decorations are gorgeous and imposing. In an adjoining house is a piece of stone with irregular protuberances daubed
IV. SECTS AND CULTS 59
with red paint — designated Kdl Bhairo — evident- ly a latter-day loan from the later Hinduism and now an object of worship.
By the left of this is another temple of the Digambara sect with numbers of small marble figures of the Tirthankaras, all seated cross-legged and posed like Buddha statues in the attitude of meditation. Near to it is a beautiful temple with eight very finely worked ornamental screens of pierced white marble in pairs upon each of the four walls. Inside the delicate tracery is Paresnath's Charaii-pdduka placed o\'er a highly carved marble pedestal. In the compound to the left is another temple of the Digambaras with a magnificent floor and a large collection of images of the Tirthankaras.
Between the Kurukshetra Talao and the Jagannath Temple and at a short distance from the latter
lies the Dakshinamurti Muth of the The Daadis Dandi Sann}'asis founded by Tokra
Swami containing a four-armed image of Sankara in black marble. In the spacious quad- rangle are a few small temples of Siva, and there is another beautiful image of Sankara in white marble seated upon a lotus represented in the act of teaching four disciples squatting upon the floor below.
The Vaishnavite Akhcrns, crowded thick near the Jagannath Temple and the A si Ghat, would
6o THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) CiiAi'.
next call your attention. Among those near the
Ja_^annath Temple, the Tara Giidarji
The Vaishnavites \ . ... , ^ x^- 7 •- i u i .
and the Liifiota (jiidarji akheras date
from the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, and the Diganibari and the Baid are recent insti- tutions. Near the Asi-Sangam is the Panditji akhera founded by Tika Das in 1845, ^.nd in the interior of the Asi Muhulla lies the oldest of the Vaish- navite akheras, the Vishnupanthi Akhera established by the great Ramanuja. Another known as the Krishna A char i Akhera was founded by a Mar- hatta Brahman of that name, and the Dadupant/u Akhera reckons three centuries since its establishment.
Above the Shivala Ghat as you proceed north- wards, stands the Niranjani Miiih of the The Nagas Aaga Sannyasis. Its large and shad\' compound is interspersed with small temples of Siva, one among them being called the Pataleswara Siva. The central temple with a trellised marble floor contains an image in gilt copper of Kartikeya, the general of the Gods and son of Siv-a and Parvati.
Adjoining it just on the north is the Nirvdui Akhera^ also of the Nagas, The grounds are very spacious and capable of sheltering a large num- ber of ascetics beneath the spreading branches of numerous trees. Here also is a large number of small temples, and underneath the rjof of one of white
IV. SECTS AND CULTS 6i
marble is the Charanpaduka of Kapil, the founder of the Sankhya Philsophy, who Hved at Benares in the seventh centur)' B. C. This iniith was founded by a Dewan of Raja Chet Singh named Lakhi Baba whose last remains lie beneath a high block of stone just above the river under the shade of a slanting mango tree with a Siva emblem set upon its flat square surface.
Going further north, above the Hanuman Ghat is one other Miith of the Nagas, the Juna Akhera containing among others the standing figure of Dattatrcya in a temple and his Charanpaduka of white marble in another. This also shelters a large number of ascetics. The position of all the three iiiutJis bordering the flowing stream is picturesque in the extreme, and the view of the great arc of the bank from them (Plate XIII, 2) with its long sweep of spires and temples ending near the Dufferin Bridge on the north grand and majestic.
Among the other sects deserving mention are the Gorakpanthis who have imiths Other Sects near the Alfred Hall and the temple of Bhaironath, and the SJiivanarayanis who are the disciples of the Grant/i, — both named after their founders ; but the number of their fol- lowers is not very considerable.
The Theosophical Society and the good it has done to Hinduism in placing it in its true light
62 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Citap.
before the world are too widely known to need anything more than a msre mention of its name here. The Sri Bharat Dharina Makamandal, which has
its head-quarters at Gurudham in this
Sri Bharat city, was originally started in Northern
Dharma India and after a few years became
Mahamandal amalgamated with the Nigamagania
Mandali Mahashabha founded by San-
nyasis and existing from some time before. The unified associations now went by the name of Sri Bharat Dharma Mahamandal and held their first All-India Hindu Conference from the 28th to the 30th March 1902 at Mathura. The aim of the Mahamandal is to gather together all the Hindu associations in different parts of India as its branches, so that all may work in unison towards the regeneration of the Hindu nation and the attain- ment of primitive purity in their religion by following the tenets of the ancient Shastras. Its objects, according to the Memorandum of Association are "to promote Hindu religious education in accordance with the Sanatana Dharma, to diffuse the knowledge of the Vedas, Smritis, Puranas and other Hindu Shastras and to introduce in the light of such knowledge useful reforms into Hindu life and society and to promote and enrich the Sanskrit and the Hindu literature in all the branches." The Maha- mandal, like the Theosophical Society, is thus not a sect or sectarian at all, and is patronised by the
IV SECTS AND CULTS 63
Maharajas of Kashmir, Mysore, Baroda, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahvar and ahuost all other Hindu Rulini^ Princes of India, and the Maharaja of Durbhanga is now the President of the Mahamandal.
The Christian missions doing good work in the
matter of education as already mentioned may next
claim our attention. The first evan-
Christian gelical mission to this place was set
Missions on foot in 1 8 16, and the Rev. W.
Smith was the first missionary sent
to Benares by the Baptist Missmi Society that \'ear.
This Society, however, withdrew to Delhi later on in
1890. There are four other missions now at work
here.
The ChurcJi Missionary Society followed the Baptist Mission to this place one year later. The\' have been working steadily ; and besides managing the Jay Narain Collegiate School, , they have also a Girls' Orphanage and a Girls' Boarding School in hand. Into a well in the place occupied by their head- quarters at Sigra, the Thugs of early days, it is said, used to throw the bodies of their victims after strangling them.
The next to come were the London Mission Society who arrived here in 1820. The Rev. M. A. Sherring who wrote "The Sacred City of the Hindus stayed here for many years and belonged to this society. They also maintain a High School under their
64 THE HOLY CITY (BEX A RES.) Chap.
nianaj:^ement and have a Church and Mission Houses near the Cantonment Railvva}- Station.
The Zeiiano Bible and Medical Mission came later in 1867 and started a dispensar}^ for women in 1887. and now manages the large Victoria Hospital at Sigra that was started the year following.
The Weslyan Missiojiary Society were the last comers of them all and settled here in 1879. The\' ha\e a Church at Sekrole and a Reading Room and Mall near the Ar\a Mission Hall on the road leading to the Chauk. The Roman Catholics also are not un- represented, and they have a Church ( St. Mary's ) to the south-west of the Church Mission quarters.
Such are the varied sects and cults that have local habitations here. From times beyond human ken did Hinduism through all its varied stages live here and claim the place for its own ; and even in the present days it is Hinduism of the orthodox type with its diverse forms of w^orship and ceremonials and visible aspects that holds sway over the whole citv and makes it famous as its greatest citadel. The various sects show but the different forms of its develop- ment in the different ages, and mark the struggles of the human mind in its attempts towards the attain- ment of Truth and emancipation from the trammels f>f convention. The means adopted or the particular forms accepted might ha\e degenerated in growing
IV SECTS AND CULTS 65
years, but it is not only hard but unfair to imagine tliat their aims were anything but pure at the inception.
Vast as is the field that Hinduism embractis, the gap between seeming idolatry and pure monotheism looks rather wide ; but both exist as parts of the same s}'stematic whole and the gap is bridged over bv broadeninf^ foot-holds at each successive sta£:e of advance. As we proceed from age to age and from the simplicity of nature-worship to the higher flights of speculative theology, we cannot fail to observe how in the intermediate courses of our progress means have often been converted into ends and symbols mistaken for the very substance they stood for. Introduction of corruptions and fantastic observances following this state of things always necessitates and paves the way for the advent of the Reformer who roots out the weedy growths for a time and is honored and revered for his work, till veneration for his personality waxes and waxes and culminates in his deification. It is thus that almost in the usual course of nature w^e come *to make idols of ©ur ideals and divinities of human clay\ The great Gautama, who set up his pure tenets in antagonism to the doctrines prevailing at his time, came thus to be exalted into an incarnation ; and his great opponent Sankaracharya later on was also accorded almost divine honors. Various other teachers followed each other in the different ages, and their adherents and followers grouped tliemselves
66 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap
•^f\j\y\^ •>^r^-\j\r\r>*/\/ \
round their respective masters and formed into different sects and gave birth to diverse cults — all, however, linked together in the same unity of spiritual interests. In other religions^ too, examples are not scarce of schisms from the established order originating various creeds and sects characterized often by violence and persecutions blackening the pages of history.
Despite all changes and transformations through- out its chequered career and notwithstanding the growths of rolling years hanging all about its frame, Hinduism has in the main kept itself intact, the pristine purity of its principles being only shrouded in a gloomy mist. Hence it was that the destruction wrought by the fire and sword of the Pi-ophet's followers had hardly any appreciable effect at all upon Hinduism in the long ' run. Other attempts at proselytising have apparently done but little beyond touching the veriest surface, and why ? To impute this attitude of resistance to the mere sentiment of conservatism inherent in man would be furnishing a very feeble answer to the query. Races and tribes that have no definite faith or culture of their own can easily assimilate what is offered to them and provide enough of virgin soil to favor the growth of anything implanted therein ; but the very dearth of this makes the case of the Hindus entirely different, for, here in the Hindu world there is hardly any space left fallow, the whole having been reclaimed in ages
IV SECTS AND CULTS 67
loner g-one bv. Preoccuoied as the rich Hindu mind has been with th& loftiest notions and the highest ideals handed down by their illustrious ancestors from the hoary ages, there is little likelihood of its accepting things that have little of originality or even the charm of novelty for them.
To the world outside, Hinduism appears, no doubt, as a tangled mass hard to comprehend and harder to appreciate. The rough and rugged shape- less shell may, however, have an ugly exterior ow^ng to awkward protuberances upon its surface caused by accretions and accumulations of the passing years, but it shall ever have its value if it encloses the living pearl of the purest lustre within. Such, perhaps, is Hinduism, and the point is, whether it really does enclose the pearl within its shell. The solution is not far to seek. For a people that sent forth the highest ideals of Philosophy and Theology from the earliest of known times and who realised the Divinity as " Him who exists by Himself^ and zuho is in all because all is in Him!' no loftier or purer conception of the Absolute and the Supreme could be held forth from any other quarter of the globe or system of religion the wide world over. And hence is the full and complete recognition in the modern times that Hinduism is a system with the most perfect and complete conception of the Most High ; and hence has it lived and wil! live in spite of the apparent freckles upon its exterior, for it has the genuine pearl within unbedimmed
68 THE HOL Y CITY {BENARES)
r\^\j-„-^/\y\/
m lustre through the eternal ages. The proclamati(.)n by Sri Krishna, that when righteousness decays and evil is rampant then will the Lord Himself come forth and purge religion of its dregs by agencies thought fittest by Him, is not a belief peculiar to Hinduism alone ; for, are there not parallels in respect to the saints and prophets of other nations as well — even of Christ among the Israelites and Mahomet among the Arabs, who made their advent in the fulness of time when the exigencies of their nations needed them ? So its reformation, not subver- sion, will come from within it v^ hen the inscrutable Providence in His wisdom chooses to have it so !
PLATE V
1. Lai Khan's Tomb.
2. Ruins of Old Visweswara Temple.
3. Scindhia Ghat. 4. An Ekka.
P. 69
Chapter V
OF THE OLDEN DAYS
The greatest glory of a building is not in its stone nor in its gold. Its glory is in its age, and in that deep sense of voicefulness, of stern watching, of mysterious sympathy, nay, even of approval or condemnation, which we feel in walls that have long
been washed by the passing waves of humanity
It is in that golden stain of time, that we are to look for the real light, and colour and preciousness of architecture,"
— John Ruskin
ELICS of olden days have ever a peculiar charm of their own, and as you contemplate them, a vista of by- gone years lit up with glory and magnificence and reminiscent of the triumphs and struggles of the mighty men of the past loom dim in the distance and fade away into the frost of the hoary ages. These are mile-stones on the road of time and each bit of such remains may inclose a mass of unwritten history and needs only the touch of a master-hand to convert its stock-and-stone existence into an object of absorbing interest.
In a city like this of pre-historic ages, it is not
unfair to expect a find of such relics
Paucity of old in abundance, but the actual paucity
Tfimains of such remains here is rather striking.
70 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap.
Though time and other destructive agencies at work had combined to obliterate much of the land- marks that were of the earliest ages, there are unquestionably some that give us a glimpse into the Buddhist and Moslem periods at least. It was these two faiths that had attempted to supplant the pre-existing one from this place, — the one by moral suasion and the purity and simplicity of its tenets and the other by physical force and the swords of its votaries. The iron hand of devastation that the latter laid upon the city smote the visible vestiges of both the other faiths and left but a few smoking ruins behind as scanty mementos of the past.
It was in the third century B. C, during the ascendency of the Magadha Empire that Buddhism had reached the zenith of its glory and domi- nated over the Benares district ; but hardly a trace of any ancient structure of that period has yet been discovered in the purely Hindu portion of the exis- ting city on the south and by the river-bank, while the remains that are still to be found lie mostly near the Rajghat Fort and Alipur and towards the north-west of the Barana on the way to Sarnath.
In course of his explorations Mr. Sherring, some forty-five years back, found brick and stone debris
and bits of sculptured stones scattered
Sherring's over the fields in great abundance
Researches on the bank of the Ganges lying
to the north-west of the Barana —
V OF THE OLDEN DAYS 71
leading him to suppose that there was at one time a great city on this spot. Moreover, the scantiness of structural remains of dates earlier than the Bud- dhisiic period coupled with the fact that the des- truction of temples and buildings at Benares took place not once but many times over, led him to believe that the oldest site of the city was here and that its modern location would indicate a shifting towards the south-west. Sarnath, according to him, was thus a distinct city extending over some three miles from the bank of the Barana all the way in a northerly direction, and the locality undoubtedly sprang into importance as a Buddhist city since the fifth century B. C. The ancient remains at Bakaria Kund and Rajghat, however, tend to suggest the existence of Buddhist Viharas and shrines in these localities also, warranting a belief that the Buddhist city extended to this side of the Barana as well.
A look at the remains may now be of interest Proceeding to the Rajghat Fort, at a short distance
to the east of the KASHI station
GanJ-Sahida-kl is observed within a walled enclosure
Musjld the object of the greatest interest
here. It is the Ganj-Sahida-KI-MuSJID (Mosque of the Assembly of Martyrs) standing upon grounds lower than the level of the surround- ing places. It is an open hall covering a space about a hundred and twenty-five feet in length and twenty-five in breadth and contains some
72 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Cha
^/^/•^y^/-v/^,^/^
seventy-two richly carved stone pillars with floral embellishments and fine relief works of lotuses upon some of them in various designs of much artistic beauty. The northern ones are shorter and support a roof lower than that over the other pillars, and this portion looks like a later extension to the building. The pillars and the ornamentations upon them point to their having undoubtedly been the relics of Buddhist art now transformed into materi- als for a later Mahomedan mosque.
Beyond the existence of the high rampart-like eminence of the grounds round alx>ut and a large
gate further north that we shall pre- Rajghat Fort sently see, there is not much else of a
fort here in this locality at present ; but it owes its name to one erected by Raja Banar and a later one built in 1857 by the British Government to overawe the disaffected section of the populace during the Sepoy Mutiny and lately aban- doned on account of its unhealthiness.
This plateau of Rajghat extends to the junc- tion of the Barana and the Ganges and rises about fifty feet above the level of the neighbouring land. As commanding not only Benares but a wide extent of country all around, its great strataglcai position was recognised even in the most ancient times, and B. N. Chunder in his " Trai^eh " writes : *' In Manu's time Benares was one of the six inde- pendent kingdoms '\\\ the valley of the Ganges.
V OF THE OLDEN DAYS 73
The Hi:idu fort, overlooking that river, guarded its capital in those days from the approach of the Panchala from the west and from -the approach of Magadha from the east. Inside the fort there stood the palace of the king. Troops of men. with brilliant sabres and iron-bound clubs protected the royal household. The gates of the citadel were guarded by pikemen bearing long spear_, scimitar and buckler. Those who performed duty on the turrets were armed with bows which shot an arrow six feet long. The ca^-alry, riding upon well-mettled horses^ curvetted in all directions. Richly ca{)arisoned elephants — 'their protruding tusks armed with keen sabres' — were driven about, and made a splendid show. Gay cars and war-chariots ran hither and thither through the streets. From this fort poured forth of old the wa'Tiors who went to assist the Pandoos on the plains of Kurukshetra. The lieutenants of the Magadha kings lodged m this fort. Raja Deva Pala Deva, the great Buddhist king of Gaur, and his successors, held court here on the second ascendency of their faith in Benares. The province then passed into the hands of the Rathore Kings of Kanouge. The last Raja, Joy Chand, had deposited all his valuable treasures
there In the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries,
the space enclosed by the walls of the fort swarmed with houses and temples. Various ruins of them are still existing, particularly the remains of a Buddhi: t Vihara
74 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap.
or temple, probably of the Gupta or the Pal period." This last, however, is not traceable now.
Past the hii^^h and imposing structures at the en- trance to the Dufferin Bridge and a few yards off tlie rail-road stands the beautiful old monu- Lal Khan's ment ( Plate V, i ) over the tomb of Lai Tomb Khan, the minister of a Raja of Benares,
built in ii82Hijri. Its grand and lofty dome worked with fine designs in red tiles and blue enamel looking fresh as ever is perhaps the finest of its kind in Benares.
Towards the left, at a little distance is a large circular mound containing three large tombs, and one of its sides adjoins a small hall with another supporting a roof on four plain pillars beneath which is a white marble tomb. The grounds near about are strewn with mounds and raised brick terraces and ruins of walls proving the ex- istence of numerous mansions and structures in the locality in ancient times.
Proceeding along the road leading to the junction of the Barana with the Ganges, we pass by the neglected little temple of KJiarba Vinayak Ganesh on the left and find a very spacious gateway of great solidity with stairs running to the top. This no doubt is the north- eastern gate of the old fort and looks quite strong and massirve even now, and there is another further off.
A visit to the Lat Bhairo about a mile to the west of Rajghat. where the Ghazipur Road meets the
V OF THE OLDEN DA YS . 75
Rajghat Road, would be of greater interest than heretofore. Upon a very high and Lat Bhalro spacious stone-paved terrace above a large tank with stone stairs running into the bottom, stands what is known as Sivas Lat. The tank is called the Kapalmochan tank or Bhairo-ka-talao from the tradition that the god Bhaironath having chopped off one of the five heads of Brahma it stuck to his hand till after an extensive pilgrimage he came and touched the water of this tank when it dropped down at once and thus relieved him. ^ Hence has this tank been reputed to be sacred; and a temple of Bhaironath was also erected above it, but it was afterwards demolished by the Mahomedns. The Lat is the fragment of a stone column about eight or nine feet high enclosed in copper sheet pain<"ed red, and occupies the central place upon the terrace. On the left upon the same terrace is a long narrow open hall used as a mosque by the Mahomedans for prayers, and on the right at a lower level are several Mahomedan rauzas or tombs, one of them containing sixteen carved pillars of of early Hindu workmanship. Fragments of beauti- fully carved stones lie strewn about the cemeteries in the neighbourhood and the banks of the tank.
( I ) There ''is another sacred tank of this name with a similar legend, only substituting Siva for Bhaironath, which is situated on the east bank of the Sarsuti River about 25 miles to the east of Ambala. Vide Archaeological Survey Reports Vo XIV (1882}
76 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap.
The Lat has been supposed to be one of Asoka's columns and originally stood forty feet high^ and later on came to be looked upon and venerated as an emblem of Siva. Some Hindu king is said to have brought it over from Sarnath and set it up within the courtyard of the old Viswesvvara Temple which was afterwards razed to the ground to make room for what was popularly known as Aurangzeb's Mosque. The Lat was, however, allowed to stand in the compound, and the prevailing belief among the Hindus was that Hinduism would retain its glory at Benares as long as this column — v>hich was styled Kiila Stambha ( pillar of caste ) — stood erect, and caste-distinction and religion would all disappear as soon as it was levelled to the ground.
Being now within the compound of Aurangzeb's mosque, the Mahomedans claimed a share of the offerings made by the Hindus, and the feelings of the two parties were far from being friendly. The strain reached the breaking point and the rupture came about the beginning of the last century when the Holi festival of the Hindus and the Muhiirruin of the Mahomedans happened to fall on the same day in the vear 1809. Processions of the rival parties had to pass along the same route, but neither of them would yi. Id a passage to its opponent I'his quarrel culminated in a fierce riot, and both the parties fought bitterly in the narrow streets causing a good deal of bloodshed. The Mahomedans were beaten, and in revenge they rushed in and
OF THE OLDEN DA YS 77
threw clown the Lat and broke it to pieces and went the length of slaughtering a cow upon the stone steps in the river tinging the water of the Ganges with blood. The Hindus were infuriated and rose in a mass, and it was with considerable difficulty that a general massacre was prevented by calling in the Military and by the tact and sagacity of the sympathetic Magistrate of Benares, Mr Bird. The Hindu populace grew extremely disconsolate at the desecration and defilement of the sacred stream ; and great crowds consisting of all classes of people, laymen and ascetics, crowded the bank of the river and sat in penance for a couple of days together without tasting any food. They were at last convinced that the desecration of the Ganges was not possible, and after the necessary expiatory ceremonies , were jjrevailed upon to return home. What remained of the Lat was then removed and placed upon the bank of the Kapalmochan tank in its present site and the copper cap placed over it to save it from further injury and to shut it out from the gaze of the non- Hindus.
We may now pass on to the north-western quarter of the city where lies the Bakaria KUND, a
large rectangular tank in a very Bakaria Kund neglected condition in the interior
approached by narrow lanes. The as- pect of this locality must have changed since Mr. Sherring saw it about 1868, for he describes a number of terraces and structures above its banks
7S THE HOLY CITY {^BENARE<) Chap.
and the neig-hbourhood which cannot now be traced. Numbers of fragments of carved stones lie all about and the banks are \\\ a very filthy state in many parts and not likeley to invite a second visit from any but the most ardent antiquary. To the east of the Kund is a small raised mound surmounted by a circlet of stone about three feet in diameter, with a grcupirg of over a dozen small figures sculptured around. It is in a very damaged condition and is likely to disappear in a few more years. This is known as Jogi Bzr, the place where a Jogi (ascetic) emancipated himself from his body in samddhi and was buried.
On the south side of the tank are three Mahomedan mosques, the central one of which is an open hall with some highly carved pillars apparently of very ancient dates. The Dargd (place of prayer) here known as Fakr-ud-dm's Dargd has near it a musjid erected upon the foundation of an old structure with some beautiful stone pillars standing in rows. An inscription in Persian 'ipon one of the beams of the ceiling is said to bear the name of Feroze Shah and the date yyy Hijri (1375 A. D).
To the west lies a number of other tombs with fine well-proportioned domes^ notably those of Gazi Meah and Alai Saked, most of which contain remnants of old sculptures. This locality is full of Mahomedan tombs and high stone terraces and
V OF THE OLDEN DAYS 79
broken pieces of carved stones stacked or strewn about. The abundance of these remains, all of which seem to be of the Buddhistic period, leads to the conjecture that there must have been some large Vikara or monastery here in ancient times, and this is matured to a belief when it is found that Iliuen Thsang records having seen some thirty Buddhist monasteries in the district of Benares at his time.
At a little distance from Gazi Meah's tomb is
a beautiful structure known as the Battis Khamba,
a large mausoleum with a magnificent
Battis Khamba dome sheltering a couple of tombs
Mosque underneath it. It has forty-two plain
square pillars, — aiid not thirty-two
as the name would seem to imply, — and has
porticoes on all the four sides extending from the
middle. Under the cool shade of hoary trees it
looks quite a cosy old nook meet for the weary
sojourner's final rest.
Another fine mosque is in the quarter of the city going by its name. The Arhai Kangura
MUSJID, so called from there being Arhai Kaitgura two small and another much smaller
Kanguras (domes^ upon the gateway, has a large and shapely lofty dome over the main hall with v/ings running right and left with their roofs supported upon a dozen square stone pillars. The materials used in the erection of this mosque have
8o THE HOLY CITY [BENARES) Chap.
been supposed to have beloiiired to Hindu as well as Buddhist structures ; and there is an inscription in Sanskrit upon a stone slab used in its construction bearing date Samvat 1248 1^1191 A. D.) from which Mr. Sherring infers that there was a tnuth of Hindu ascetics here and that the object of the ins- cription was to testify to the recent Hindu triumph over Buddhism.
Besides a few Mahomedan mosques, such as the Alamgiri Musjid, the Chaukhamba Mosque and Aurafigzeb's Mosque near the J nan Bapi, which we shall find later on, there are no other objects of much antiquarian interest in the city, and many among those observed before are fast falling into decay. The ruins of an old Mahomedan mosque with its rows of sculptured columns and a part of the wall still standing in Tillianallah on the right of the road leading to Rajghat will soon be a thing of the past, as they were being ^ fast dismantled for making room for a modern structure for a Bengali gentleman who has purchased the property. On the left of the road is what is known as Maqdam Shaheb, a cluster of Mahomedan tombs with a ruined wall behind it at a distance in a very neglected condition.
So far there has hardly been noticed any purely Buddhistic remains in the heart of the city itself. What have been observed are all mixed up with
(i) October, 1910.
V OF THE OLDEN DAYS 8i
/\J■\/^\J■^.^r\yK/^y^'J'\y^Jr\^^yX/\/^^
Mahomed an mosques — in fact, such remnants have been found only as materials used in the construc- tion of these structures. Successive and almost systematic devastation and demolition by the Mahomedan invaders and emperors from the eleventh to the seventeenth century had laid low all the Hindu structures. This, probably, is the reason why nothing very ancient can now be discovered here* The brunt of their animosity, to all appearances, fell against the Hindu structures of Benares on account of its reputation, perhaps, of being the strongest foot-hold of Hinduism. The old Kirtibasseswara Temple was replaced by the Alarngiri Mosque and the Visweswara and some other temples had frequently to change their sites to make room for Mahomedan musjids. This would tend to foster the belief that it was the ancient Hindu structures that suffered the most by such vicissitudes. For, the existence of the Hindu city here from the most ancient of times having been indisputably recognised, there could hardly be any other reason for the scarcity ot the remains of those days. Buddhism for a time triumphed over Hinduism, and the latter too subsequently subverted it, and all were latterly borne down by the violent zeal of the Prophet's followers ; and the result is apparent in the admixture of Hindu and Buddhist materials in some of the Mahomedan structures that have managed
6—
82 THE HOLY CITY [BENARES)
to stand erect up to the present day. A careful scrutiny of Aurang-zeb's Mosque behind the Golden Temple standing upon the old terrace and of some other similar* edifices would show all the three kinds of materials mixed up together and support the observations made above.
It would^ however^ appear that the activity and the iconoclastic zeal of the earlier Mahomedans had been confined to Benares proper where they also settled in numbers. Although the outlying Buddhist monasteries were destroyed in the eleventh or the twelfth century as we shall presentl)' sec, they did not care to erect mosques or to settle in those localities. Hence it was perhaps that in course of time the ruins mostly disappeared and got buried below the debris and mud till some of them were unearthed lately at Sarnath. Here at this last-named place is a veritable mine of antiquarian wealth that must only be seen to be understood.
About a mile to the west of Kapildhara on the other side of the Barana are a lew Buddhistic relics of the past near Sona-ka-talao or the Golden Tank. But the real interest will centre in Sarnath whither we must now hie.
PLATE VI
P. 83
Chapter VI
SARNATH
I asked of Time for whom those temples rose. That prostrate by his hand in silence lie ; His lips disdain'd the myst'ry to disclose And borne on swifter wing, he hurried by I "The Ijroken columns, whose ? I asked of Fame ; Her kmdling breath gives life to works sublime ; With do wnciist looks of mingled grief and shame, ;She heaved the uncertain sigh, and foUow'd Time, Wrapt in arrta/x-meiu o'er the mouldering pile, I s:uv Oblivion pass with giant stride ; And vvhiJe liis visag-e wore Pride's scornful smile, Haply tJiOU knoweJt, then tell me whose, I cried, Whose these vasi domes that evn in ruin shine ? I reck not whose, he said, they noiv are mine."
— Byron
Ac) BOUT four miles off to the north lie.'^ this repository of the relics of antiquity, Gharriwalkihs and ekka-men now come in flocks pestering you with their eager offers of giving you a Hft lliis last means of loco- motion—the ^y('Xv?— is one of the peculiarities s^j of Benares an-cl would merit a passing notice. In ridijg it one must not min-d a Httle
jolting, nof should he think that it is by any means meant for the use of delicate and nervous fair o^es, A very light queer-looking two-wheeler (Plate V_, 4',
84 THE HOL Y CITY (BENARES) CHAa
'\/ \y^>V'■\J'^>-v/\•^
it has a dome-like cloth canopy set upon four carved posts, and the driver sits in front egging the brisk httle pony on as it trots to the tune of the tinkhng bell fastened to its neck which is covered with trappings of green and red and yellow. But to be just, there seems to be some little comfort in it if one is not very punctilious, for he can have plenty of air and have a look all around while sitting with his legs dangling by the side of the trap or squatting further away in the middle, by way of a novel experience.
To the outskirts of the city proper we go and^- u;>v)n th^ wide bridge over the Barana — a tiny stream m the cold season now. We leave Raja KtiU Sankar GJiosaVs Asyluin for the Blind and Leper founded by him in 1825 and the large Lunatic Asylum established in i8iO and the Jail a\so to the left at a little distance behind. Wide gardens of plum, guava and other fruit-trees end jsed by mud-walls appear on both sides, and the road — the tine broad Gazipore Rr,-ad, straight as the flight of an arrow — passes through a very jjleisant avenue of trees cooled by the shade of their branching arms. A large mound of decent height comes now to view to the right — they name it Jhawa Jharan and say that it was formed in a single night b)^
the clods of earth shaken off there from Jliawa Jharan the workmen's baskets on their wav
hc«ne from their labours at Sarnath
VI SARNATH 85
where they had been digging the fine extensive tanks, the Naya Tal and Sarang Tal. Upon the top of this mound stands the small temple of Mahavira.
Soon after, as you take a turning to the left, you go straight for Sarnath, and find another and a larger mound on the left of the road looking like a small hillock . about seventy feet high, with fragments of small bricks strewn all over, making it seem as if built of bricks, which to all appearnces it is. As the debris are now being Humaywn's removed remnants of carved stone Tower walls beneath are coming out to view.
There is an octagonal brick tower at the top rising to a height of about twenty-five feet which you may ascend, and thence have a splendid view all around over the extensive fields and mango-groves and make a comprehensive survey of the ruins at Sarnath on the north and of the domes and turrets of Benares on the south surmounted by the tall minarets of Aurangzeb's mosque. Inside, you find a deep and spacious hollow in the centre — a well sunk by General Cunningham for explorations. It was formerly a Buddhist Stupa or memorial mound with the top like an inverted alms-bowl surmounted by an arrow, — tlie same, perhaps, which Hiuen Thsang had reported having seen standing to a height of about three hundred feet 'sparkling with the rarest and the most precious jewels'. According to him it
^6 THE HOLY CITY {BEX ARES) CHAr.
nirirkecl th:; spot where Biricllia on li's arrival at Sarnath from Gavd first met hfs five former a ;sociate'\ Ajnata Kaundfnya and others, who had forsaken their master at Uriivilva. A couple of standii\i^ Bodhisattwa fii:^ures beautf^ully carved in relief on upright stone panels — now preserved in the small mtiseum at Sarnath, — have been diij^ out here, one reprcsentini^ Maitreva (Plate VI). the coming Buddha, and the other AVALOKITESWARA (Plate VI), the personification of compassion. A pair of beautiTul sculptures (Plate VI 11, 5) with a rampant leoorryph in each ridden by a figure armed with a sword have also been found here in an excellent state of preseriTition. Thfs mound was formerly known as the Chaukhandi or the 'square*" mounds and there were three sqcyare terraces one above the other accountii'K^ for the origin of the name. It was also called Lttri-ka-kodan or Luri''s T.eap after an Ahfr cow-herd named Luri who Jumped from the tower at the request of his sweet-heart and was kilted.
The remains of the ruined Stwpa now measure about a hundred feet aboi-e the ground Jevel. The octagonal tower surrrfeountfng the mound was erected in 1588 A. D. and an mseription \x\ Arabic ran to the effect that *as Huma\'i?n, Kfng of the Seven Climes, now residing \\\ paradise, deigned to come and sit here one day, thereby increasing the splendour f«f the Sun^ so xAkbiir his son and humble seuvaut
VI SARNATH Zf
resolved to build on this spot a lofty tower reaching to the blue sky'. Hence this is also known by the name of H U.MAY UN'S Tower.
Something over half a mile forward, upon a slio-htly rising ground, the great The Dhamek Sarnath Stupa (Plate VII, i), raises itself and rears its crown on high. It is known as the Dhamek— an abbreviation according to General Cunningham, of the word Dharniopadesak (preacher of the law) ; but Mr. Venis considers the real word to be Dharmeksha meaning 'the pondering of the law* a view supported by a Jaina manuscript bearing date 1669 Samvat (i6i2 A, D.) in which the word Dharmeksha occurs as the name of a locality containing a famous Bodhisattwa sanctuary. This large round column of brick and stone, no feet high and 93 feet in diameter, was erected as a memorial tower to mark this blessed spot where, according to Mr. Oertel, 'Maitreya received an assurance from Sakya Muni that he would be the next Buddha.* From the top to about halfway down, this magnificent pile looks stripped of its stony skin and ragged brickwork appears over- grown with grass and weeds. The rest of the column up to a height of about thirty-seven feet from the ground, is of massive stones attached to one another by solid iron clamps, with remains of beautiful carvings, floral ornamentations and geome- trical figures upon some of them. There are eight
88 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap.
'.'V/^/^.'^r^y^/^y^/^/^/X/-v■« r\r\/\r\,r\/
niches on its eight projecting faces in the lower part of :the monument designed to hold life-size images of Buddha ; the floral decorations all round the western niche are exceedingly fine and elaborate and those on the eastern one covered over with gold leaf. The rich carvings at the base are con- sidered to have been interrupted by the first Mahomedan invaders of the eleventh century and the unfinished state of the Dhamek has been considered to lead to the conclusion that this was the :Iast memorial of the kind constructed here. Mr. Marshall, however, attributes the Dhamek to the Gupta period on account of the carvings and the ornate floral arabesques characteristic of that age.
It was in 1835 that General Cunningham explored this stupa by sinking a shaft right down from its top and found an inscribed stone slab inside containing the usual formula or profession of Buddhist faith— Ye Dharma hetu p'>"^hkaba, crc — in characters earlier than the Tibetan alphabet, which led him to ascribe the sixth century as the period in which this monument was first erected. In a corner in the Archaeological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta containing numbers of inscribed slabs, lies this same slab of yellowish Chunar stone measuring about a quarter and two feet in length by a foot and a half in breadth with three lines of neat and fairly legible inscriptions
VI SARNA TH 89
thereupon ; and visitors are apprised by a note at the foot that it was '' found by General Cunningham in 1835, three feet from the top of the great tower called Damek in Sarnatha, Benares."
There was formerly a large park here within enclosing walls, and even in the sixth century B. C, before the advent of Buddha, large numbers of ascetics and religious devotees of all denomina- tions lived here in seclusion and safety. This locality was then known by the name Rishipattana or of Rishipattana (the abode of the the Deer Park , , r -. .. r^\ u 1 r
sages) — also, Jsjpatiana (the abode of
the gods). The modern name Sarnath was after the name Sdrovgandth^ the Lord of the deer — an epithet of Buddha ; but this derivation is open to doul^t. Legend relates that in one of his previous births Buddha was a deer *^ golden of hue,' with eyes like round jewels and horns of silvery sheen and mouth as ' red as a bunch of scarlet cloth.' He dwelt in the forest under the name of the Banyan Deer {^Nyagrodha ntri^d) and was the king of a herd of fi^'e hundred deer, out of which one was daily chosen by lot in accordance with an arrangement with Brahmadatta, the Raja of Benares, and sent to him for his kitchen with the object of preventing indiscriminate slaughter which used to follow his too frequent hunting excursior.s. Once on a time came the turn of a doe great \\\\\\ young belonging to the herd of his cousin who
90 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap.
\r\/^y^ r\r\/\/\r\/\
reprtsented to the king- of the deer that though she might die, the time of her young one had not yet come ; and she, therefore, begged to be spared. Thereupon, in great compassion the king of the deer approached the place of execution and lay down with his head on the block and offered himself for slaughter in her stead. Surpri- sed on seeing the king of the deer, the cook went and informed the Raja of Benares, who mounted his chariot and came in all haste with a large following. Finding that the golden king of the deer had come to lay down his life for the doe and hearing his wise discourse, he said he had never yet seen, even among men, one so abounding in charity, love and pity. The Raja's eyes being thus opened now he exclaimed — " I have indeed the body of a man, but am as a deer. You have the bod)- of a deer, but an^ as a man,'' From that time forth the practice ceased and the park, which was the King's pleasaunce whither the herds had been driven and confined, was given over to the perpe- tual use of the deer, and it came to be known as Mriga-dava — th.e Deer Park. Thus is the N igrodJid-M i^:!;n-Jataka tale, one of the birth-stories of Buddha, related by Hiuen Thsang. It may be intersting to note that this episode is figured in tlie stupa of Barhut and forms the subject of one of the numerous beautiful colored frescoes upon the ancient walls of the famous Ajanta Caves^
Vr SARlVA TH ^r
where Buddha has been represented as the Royal Antelope interceding- with the King- seated upon a chariot with the royal umbrella held over him.
It was in the fifth century before Christ that Prince GAUTAMA of Kapilavastu, able no longer to bear the sight of human miseries, abandoned his
home of pleasure and enjoyment in the Buddha very prime of life when he was only
twenty-nine, and forsook his loving- parents, beloved wife and darling new-born child in order to seek for the means of alleviating- human sufferings and securing eternal bliss for man. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth and nursed and bred in the lap of luxury, he subjected himself to no end of privations — all for the love of his fellow-beings. Six years and more he toiled \x\ the Vindhyan mountains and elsewhere with five followers who had accompanied him, studying^ the Hindu philosophy and practising the austerities enjoined by the orthodox doctrines, but could obtain neither peace nor satisfaction. Tired at last he wandered towards Gaya all alone forsaken by his companions, and under the sacred tree of wisdom — Bodhi-drnma — at Bodh Gaya, he sat in contemplation for long and we?r}' )'ears together till the Divine Light dawned upon him.
Five miles to the south of the city of Gaya lies the famous Bodhi tree immediately to the west of the great Bodh-Gaya temple. Hiuen Thsang relates that
92 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap.
the Bodhi-tree was destroyed by Asoka before his con- version and once again by his queen, Bodhi-tree at but each time it was miraculously Bodh-Gaya renewed. About 600 A. D. Sasangka, a king of Bengal, again destroyed it, but it reappeared some months afterwards. The existing tree must have succeeded this or some other as obviously it cannot from its very appearance claim antiquity from the seventh century. Upon the platform where stands the holy tree was the famous Vajrdsana or diamond throne wh'ch Hiuen Thsang saw in existence in 637 A. D. Behind the temple near the back wall is now a square slab of st )ne upon the platform which is pointed out to the traveller as the spot where Buddha had sat in contemplation. The grand temple rising to a height of over a hundred and fifty feet gives some idea of the solidity and architectural magnificence of the early works. If at Sarnath are the dead bones of the past, Bodh-Gaya is stil! instinct with life and Buddhist monks still sit in devotion in front of the grand figure of Gautama inside the temple.
A fortunate day it was for the world when in B. C. 522 the great Master, then only thirty-six, came out of his seclusion, and at the end of sixty days after his attainment of the Light directed his steps towards Isipattana, and chose this plac^ of all places — the meeting-ground of the religious recluses of all sects — as the spot whence to
VI SARNATH 93
disseminate his great lii^ht of Dhaiina throughcut the world. All alone he travelled all the long disiance through, till he arrived at this Rishipattana monastery where he found his five former hermit-associates who had deserted him before. They now became the first converts to his new religion ; and here at Sarnath he preached his first sermon and initiated the five famou"-^ Bhikkus^ and sent them about on their mission of revealing the light to the world which was cestined to illuminate later on not only India and Ceylon but the far-off China and Japan and Tibet and Burmah as well. His ministry continued for five and forty years until his attainment of Nirvana in B. C. 477 at the advanced age of eighty^.
The Chinese pilgrim Fa HiAN who travelled all
o\er India between 4C0 and 411 A. D. gives us
ll.e first definite informations about this locality as
it was at the beginning of the fifth
Fa Hian century. He speaks oi the ' Deer Park of the Immortal' as lying about two miles off to the north-west of Fo-to- ra-sse (Benares) and of a temple and two monas- teries therein, and makes mention of a small shrine and four topes— one to mark the spot where on his arrival the five associates of Buddha rose
(i) Prof. Rhys David in the Encyclopoedia Brittanica takes the age of Buddha as 568-488 B. C.
94 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap,
up to salute him, another where he turned the ' Wheel of Law,' a third where he foretold the coming of Maitreya Buddha, and a fourth one where a certain Naga named Elapattra held discourse with him.
Fa Hian was followed by the other traveller HlUEN THSA^G in the middle of the seventh
century (^629 — 645 A.Dj, and the latter Hiuen Thsan^ has lelt a graphic account in his
great work ' c^i-yu-ki ' of what he had observed here. Speaking of the people and the general aspect of the country he remarks : " Ihe people are gentle and polished, and esteem most ingnly men given to study. The greater poriion of tnem believe in the heretical doctrines (Hindu- ism;, and few revere tiie Law (religion) of Buddha. Ihe climate is temperate, grain is abundant, the fruit-trees are luxuriant, and the earth is covered with tuited vegetation." He saw Buddhists from various places living in huts and caves in the Deer Park, Jainas and Bhikkus, followers of Siva and Krishna, philosophers and students of the Brahmanical School — ail living in harmony, discus- sing and exchanging ideas and tolerating one another's views. He found the Deer Park portioned out into eight sections and a high wail round the compound enclosing a large Vihara or temj^le- monastery about two hundred feet high, with over a hundred rows of niches in tiers over tiers each
VI S ARM ATM -95
holding a golden statuette of Buddha and a gold- covered figure of the inango fruit (ydmrd) above tiie roof; and in the mi idle of the Vihara was a large bronze statue of Buddha seated upon a- throne and posed in the attitude of tiie Teacher expounding his doctrines. There were splendid tv,o -storied buildings in the monastery with numbers of cells symimetrically arranged and accomodating jio less than fifteen hundred bhikkus^ and hundreds of sacred monuments and memorials and votive stupas strewn all about the compound. To the west of the monastery lay a tank in which Buddlia used to bathe and two otlicrs in which he washed liis water-pot and his clothes. Upon the bank ot this last was a large square block of stone containing marks of thread-lines of the web of the cloth, upon which Buddha used to place liis kashciya (ochre robes) to dr)'. ^^
Towards the south-west portion of the Vihara, accord- ing to Hiuen Thsang, stood the remains of one of Asoka's stupas, even then a hundred feet in height, and in front of it was a smooth pillar of stone * bright and shining like a mirror ' and seventy feet high, marking THE VERY SPOT WHERE BUDDHA HAD DELIVERED HIS FH<ST DISCOURSE. ' Its surf^ice \:i
illistenino: and smooth as ice, and on The Asok a Pillar it can be constanly seen the figure (jf
Buddha as a shadow'^ — thus chronicles
*(!) H. Thsang's Si-yu-ki, translated by S. Beal Vol II. p. 45.
96 THE HOLY CITY {BEX ARES) Chap.
the great Hiuen Thsang in his accounts. This spot has now been located just to the west of what is known diS thQ Main Shrine (Plate VII, 2^! ; and the standing stump of a sandstone column i6 feet 8 inches in height bearing an edict of Emperor Asoka in fairly legible characters and erected about 249 B. C. has been exhumed out of the ruins (Plate VII, 2, 4). The fragments of its upper portion in four broken pieces, round, smooth and highly polished, have been found lying near it together with the famous Lion-Capital that stood on the top of the column. The fragments still lie by the side of the western wall of the Main Shrine, and the Lion-Capital has been placed in the Sarnath museum. This stump of the pillar bears eleven lines of inscriptions — eight of which are still wonderfully clear and distinct — containing the edict of Asoka. Mr. A. Venis inter- prets the sdsana or injunction contained in the edict m the following manner : *' The Church is not to be divided. But whoever will break up the Church, be it monk or nun, must be made to put on white dress and live in a place which is not a formal residence [/. e. beyond the official boundaries of convent or monastery]. Thus must this edict be announced to the Order of Monks and to the Order of Nuns." ^ His Majesty's command was also to be made known to the lay members as well in all towns and districts and provinces, that they might
(i) Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, (Vol. Ill 1907) p. 2.
PLATE VII
1. The Dhamek (a) and its neighbourhood.
2. The Main Shrine and Lion-Capital.
3. Old Walls in the excavations. 4- Asoka Column.
VI SARNATH 97
everywhere ' walk according to the proclamation.' Two more Hnes had been lately added '' in the fortunate reign of Rajan Asvaghosha in the fortieth year" and in token of the "homage of the masters of the Sammitiya sect and of the Vatsiputrika school " in the Gupta Period. ^
The Lion-Capital (Plate VII, 2) that surmount- ed the Asoka pillar is of the Persipolian bell- shaped type containing four magnifi- CapiSl*" *^^"^ ^^^"^ standing back to back with a large stone wheel (the sacred s\'mbol of the Dharma CJiakrd) in the middle upon a circular block, which is decorated with the figures of an elephant, a lion, a bull, a horse, and four wheels among them. In spite of its great age of two and twenty centuries, the Lion-Capital, standing no less than seven feet high and superb in its execution, looks wonderfully fresh and clear-cut just as it was when it came from the sculptor's hands. It has been pronounced by several art- critics to be the finest piece of sculpture so far discovered in India. * This furnishes full and
(1) Epigraphla Indica Vol. VIII pp and ff.
(3) In this connection it may be interesting to note that (ieneral Cunningham in the Archoeological Survey Reports Vol X (1880) makes mention of a similar Lion-Capital which he discovered lying near the broken shaft of a small monolith standing to the north of the great Buddhist stupa at
98 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
complete corroboration to Hiuen Thsang's descrip- tions and enables one to realise the grandeur and magnificence which the place had attained as the nursing-ground of Buddhism, Besides Kapliovastu the birth-place of Buddha — the site of which has been discovered to be the modern Bhuila Dih in Pargana Mansurnagar in the district of Basti (N. W. P.), — Gaya where he was inspired, and the Kusinai^ar where he obtained Nirvana — identified with the modern village of Kasia, 35 miles due east of Gorakhpur, where lies the ruined temple of Nirvana, — Sarnath is the fourth place of pilgrimage which Buddhists from Burma, Tibet, China, Siam and Japan still visit.
Alas ! the times ! Though this great religion of 'Universal Love reckoned within its ibid more than a half of the human race between the fifth and the tenth centuries^ and still commands the allegiance of a third of it, not a single abode of any of its votaries is now to be found near about the place whence the light had first emanated — nor even in far o.T Benares ! Only a small Dhannasala for housing
Sanchi in Bhopal, bearing a line of Gupta characters. It, was ''a bell-shaped capital, i8'i5 inches in diameter and 13 inches in height with a ciicular abacus 19,!^ inches in diame- ter ornamented with birds and flowers. On the top stand four lions back to back, above whom rises a Dharma Chakra or 'Holy Wliecl' 20 inches in diameter." (See Plate XXi in the Vol.)
VI SARNATH 99
\y\j-\j-^jr\/^'y^^y
pilgrims lies to the east of ihe Dhamek and another is now being built to the west of the excavations made here. Very close, however, to the great tower of
Dhamek and to its south-east fPlate Jalna Temple VII, i) now rises the slender spire of the
modern jAiNA TEMPLE of the Degam- bara sect erected in 1824, which contains the foot- prints and a white marble statue of the eleventh Tirthankara (saint) Ainsanath who became an Arhnt at Singhpur, a village to the north-west of Sarnath. About a mile off further to the south-east and nestled
upon a hillock lies also the temple of Siva Temple Sarnath and Somnath Sivas — the two
in one — in a fine quiet and retired corner ; but there is not the slightest trace of the living Buddhism near about !
In 1794 some workmen in the employ of Jagat
Singh, the Dewan of Raja Chet Singh of Benares,
had been engaged in digging out old bricks from
a ruined stupa about a hundred and seventy-five
yards to the west of the Dhamek. This has been
supposed to have originally been a
Ja^at Singh's hemispherical relic tower, *82 feet in
Stupa diameter and not less than 50 feet
in height.' In course of their work
they lighted upon a couple of marble vessels — one
inside the other and a statue of Buddha bearing
an inscription with the name of King Mahipal of
lOO THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap.
'\v\/\/^/\/^^•^y^>^>^/\J'\y\y^>'^r^yXy\r\^ ^y^ ''
the Pala dynasty of Bengal dated Samvat 1083 ( 1026 A. D. )^ at a depth of twenty-seven feet from the top. The inner one of the two vessels was 'a cylindrical box of green marble containing forty to forty-six pearls, fourteen rubies^ eight silver and nine gold ear-rings and three pieces of human arm-bones.' The inscription upon the statue of Buddha referred to above ran to this effect :
" Mahipal, Raja of Gaur (Bengal) having worshipped the lotus-like feet of Sree Dhannasi (Buddha), caused to be erected in Kasi hundreds of Jsajia (lamp pillars) and Chitraghanta (ornamental bells^. Sree Sthira Pal and his younger brother Vasanta Pal having restored religion raised this tower with an inner chamber and eight large niches."
Sthira Pal and Vasanta Pal were reported to be sons of King Mahipal and were sent by him in 1026 A. D. to Benares to repair the Dhamek and the Dharma Chakra ' where Buddha preached for the first time' and also to constiuct a Gandhakuti or temple of Buddha.
This interesting find in Jagat Singh's stupa came to light afterwards and the statue was recovered in a muti- lated state by Major Kittoe in Jagatgunj, and even- tually found its way to the Lucknow Museum. The
Vr SARNA Til
discovery was followed up by Jonathan Duncan who made some exploration of the ruins ^t Researches the close of the eighteenth century. The first reported exploration of this kind was by Col. C. Mackenzie in 1815. In 1835 General Cunninorham succeeded in getting hold of a very old inhabitant of the neighbouring village of Singhpur, named Sangkar, who had worked for Jagat Singh in his boyhood and who now pointed out to him the site of the stupa in question. This enabled him to excavate and find therein the outer case which was of Chunar sand stone with a cylindri- cal chamber in the centre to hold the inner marble box, and he presented it to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. It is now to be seen in the Archoeological section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta. It is a cubical block of rough blackish stone a little over two feet each w^ay with a hole scooped out in the middle some ten inches deep and about a foot in diameter, lying on the floor with a number of Buddha statues, the earlier finds at Sarnath, ranged along the wall.
General Cunningham records in his report that he found to the north of the tank near the site of the monastery a large single block of stone six feet ii: length and three feet in height and of the same thickness, carefully squared and hollowed out under- neath to form a small chamber four feet in length
I02 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap.
and two in breadth and height. This he beh'eved to have been the famous stone upon which Buddha used to spread out his vestments to dry. He left it undisturbed where it lay, but when he came to search for it after some years it had unfortunately disappeared.
Since then there were some desultory attempts to explore the grounds by Mr. E. Thomas (Judge
of Benares), Dr Frederick Hall, Major Kittoe and others. In 1856 the Government acquired the site of the ruins from one Fergusson, an indigo planter and after some further attempts, the work of ex- ploration was systematically taken up by the ArchcEological Survey Department of the Govern- ment of India in right earnest about 1903-1904, and the excavations were conducted under the directions of Mr. J. H. Marshall and Mr. F. O. Oertel and there were interesting finds in 1905 and subsequent years as well that have amply reward- ed their labours.
Success has, so far, attended their efforts as will appear from the fine collection of hundreds of relics and art-treasures of ancient times gathered together under the roof of a small open Museum a little to the west of the Dhamek, waiting their removal ^ to the pretty houses of the new Museum
( 1 ) They have since been, removed to the pew Museum,
VI SARNATH 103
now being built for them further to the south-west. The larger pieces lie strewn outside, all sorted and numbered and duly catalogued, and up to 1904 — 1905 the figures showed 476 pieces of sculpture and 41 inscriptions. A number of the earlier find;; had been sent to the Bengal Asiatic Society which they transferred to the Indian Museum at Calcutta ; *^ome sent to the Queen's College here were lately sent back to Sarnath under the directions of Lord Curzon when he went to visit the College, and the\' are now in the Museum near the Dhamek ; and some others found their way to the Lucknow Museum. It may not be out of place here to note regretfully that over forty of the statues collected by General Cunningham in 1835 — 1836 and unsuspec- tingl) left here to wait removal to a better repo- sitory, could not escape the inordinate zeal of a Mr. Davidson, sometime Magistrate of Benares, who, not having perhaps been blessed with any idea of art or of the sacredness attaching to antiquity, or perhaps nursing a supreme contempt for both, hafl them carted away and thrown into the Barana to serve as a breakwater under the arches of its bridge !
We may now have a glance of the general aspect of this locality. The grounds are undulating
and the Dhamek stands over a Modern aspects hundred and twenty feet above the
general level of country (Plate VI I,. I).
I04 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap.
'\^\/v/%.'\/ V'>.'-v.'^.'VN-\ '\.' -^x 'V\.'\y v/vr\.'\.'^'W/-v /-vrvvx,'
The stretch of space between the Dhamek and the Humayun Tower, half a mile in breadth, cover stone debris and extensive ruins. The excavations have laid bare what seem to have been the cells and walls of a Vihara or chapel-mona.'-tery with votive stupas and shrines. The remains of the spacious structures extending over a wide area agree well with the descriptions given by Hiuen Thsang of the temples and build in;Ts and tanks in the Deer Park. These cells and buildings seem, in all likelihood to have been originally intended for Buddhist monks who lived in solitude and engaged in worship and divine contemplation ; and they were later on enriched, enlarged and added to by various Buddhist Kings of later times.
The destruction of the monastery and its aban- donment had, according to Major Kittoe, been due to sudden conflagration of which sufficient traces had been found in tbe ruined chambers in the shape of charred wood, calcined bones, hea{:)s of ashes, remains of wheaten cakes, and hastily abandoned uncooked food. Writes Major Kittoe : "All has been sacked and burned — priests, temples, idols all together ; for in some places, bones, iron, wood and stone are found in huge masses." This must have occured in the twelfth century when, according to Mr. Neville, the Mahomedan iconoclasts under Kutb-ud-din Aibak carried on their work of
VI SARNATH
destruction and devastation with fire and sword, and sacked and destroyed the temples and shrines at Benares and its neighbourhood.
Excavations have laid bare the foundations of a conspicuous structure of massive walls lying to the north-west of the Dhamek, about ninety-five feet in length and ninety feet in breadth, which is now
styled the MAIN SlIRINE, still stand- The Excavations ing eighteen feet high, with stumps
of the famous Asoka column in front of it (Plate VII, 2). In one of the small chapels to the south is a Stone Railing enclosing a stupa like a square fence. It stands four feet and three quarters high and is eight and a half feet in length on each side. It is of yellow stone and has lozenge- shaped cross-bars cut entire from one single block exquisitely chiselled and polished and bears a line of inscription placing its erection in or before the first century B. ('. Somewhat similar to this though of rough workmanship is the outer stone-railing of the Bodh-Gaya temple which bears inscriptions of Asoka's age. Nunibers of small chapels (Plate VI 11,3) lie on every side of the Main Shrine and there are some admirably constructed stupas at the south- west corner. Several tiny Sea/s with miniatuie inscriptions upon them were found to the we.^t o( this Shrine.
Another iaj-gc monastery has been dug out further to the north-east consisting of a fine block of
io5 JEEIICLY CITY {BENARES) Chap.
build ing^s with a spacious entrance facing the east and a paved courtyard on the west. The whole site appears to have been enclosed by a massive circuit wall, and a section of it apparently, nine feet thick and very solidly built, has been brou<^ht to light alongside the Jhil lying on the west.
Exceedingly rich in sculpture these chapels and the shrines must have been as the remains exhumed from the ruins would clearly testify ; and all the chambers had their full complement of large images of Buddha in various attitudes, with his life-stories beautifully figured in the old Indian style upon stones imbedded in the walls. A full dressed life-size image of Bodhisattwa is still to be seen in the excavations there standing erect all these centuries in the place assigned to it. But to have some- thing like an adequate realisation of the ancient Indian Art dating hundreds of years b^ck we must return to the relics themselves in the small Museum close b)-.
Here in this house you find a large number of lovely images of Buddha, large and small, cut in
various kinds of stones — mostly The Museum yellowish Chunar stone — posed in various
attitudes (Plate VII 1,6). Besides statues of Buddha there are several of a number of gods and goddes«:es as well — such as, Parvati and her elephant-h-aded child Ganesh, Sarnswaii with her Vina in hand, Marichi or Dawn with her six
I'l.ATI'. VI n
I. Bodhi Sattwa Statue, 2. Votive memorial.
3. Some Sculptures. 4. Buddha with alms-bowl.
5. Mara. 6. A group of Buddha btatues.
7. Sculptured fragment respresenting Ramagrama Stupa.
P. 107
VI SARNATH 107
arms^ and the fT^orgeoiisIy decked Tara. Small figures of Dhvani Buddha have also been introduced into the head-dress of some of the statuettes of Tara. The stati.es and the bas-reliefs were for the most part recovered from a chamber in the monastery and a small detached building about ten feet square, huddled up tof^ether showing as if they had all been kept there in concealment to save them from destruction during a time of panic or persecution.
A large number of full-size Bodhi-sattiva statues^ some of them of colossal proportions, are noticeable — especially one in red sandstone Bodhisattwa ( Plate VI H, i ) standing nine and statues half feet high and bearing an ins-
cription at the foot dated in the
third year of the reign of King Kanishka who conquered Kashmir in the first century after Christ. This is considered to be the oldest inscribed image found ; and near it was lying a large beautifully carved umbrella, also of the third year of King
Kanishka, and of the Kushana epoch. The Umbrella It is of red sandstone and is ten
feet in diameter. The stump of the tall round massive red sandstone pillar about five feet high, which supported the umbrella stood in its place between the Main Shrine and Jagat Singh's stupa. This umbrella now lying upon the the floor is partly broken but on the whole looks
loS THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap
intact. It is a lovely work of art in the shape of an inverted full-blown lotus with circular rings one inside the other carved with figures of conch, fish, fruits, and flower v-ases, the mystic symbols of the Cross and the Triratna (the three Jewels — Buddha, Dhanna or law, and Sangha or the Community of the Buddhists), and also of lion, bull, camel, antelope, &c. — numbermg two dozen in all.
Among a number of Buddha figures of all sizes ranged on all sides, a very graceful seated figure of Buddhi with a serene and benign look lighting up a face full of beauty and dignity and reminding one of the similar charms of the famous image o\ Prajnaparamita ( of the Mahayana Buddhists, Java ) seated on a lotus-bed, cannot fail to attract notice at the very first sight (Plate VI). A large halo {prabha niandal) highly decorated with Buddha as floral embellishments is behind the Teacher head ; it is also taken by some to
represent the symbolic Dharma-chakra, the Wheel of Law. The attitude of sitting cross- legged with the forefinger of the right hand crossed over that of the left as if to accentuate his reasonings and carry his agruments home to the listeners, show that he is here represented in the act of preaching or 'turning the wheel of laiv as the phrase goes. The five disciples and worshippers are seated below with joined palms and two deer are on either side of the statue.
VI SARNATH 109
There are some other seated figures o.^ Buddha, but with the left liand resting upon the lap and the right touching the earth in what is known as the Bkumi-sparsha Mudrd, as if to call upon her to bear witness to the good deeds of his previous existences when he was being assailed with temp- tations by Mara, the Spirit of Evil. This is the attitude in which Buddha is posed in the large statue at Bodh-Gaya, and is by far the most fre- quently to be met with.
Another seated statue finely decorated holding an alms-bowl in front of the breast (Plate VIII, 4) with a Dhyani-Buddha upon the crown of the head and two figures male and female standing over the shoulders bowl in hand, is taken to be a repre- sentation of Avalokitesvvara and is in an excellent state of preservation. So is another standing figure of Buddha in spotted white sandstone in the attitude of offering blessings. Numerous other seated Buddhas are there with the usual Buddhist creed ox gatkd inscribed at the foot —
' Ye dharma hetuprabhaba he turn tesham Tathagata
hyavadat. Tesham cha yo nirodha evambadi Mahasrafnanah'
— which Hodgson explains as signifying that "of all things proceeding from cause, their cause hath the Tathagatha (Buddha) explained. The great Sramana
no THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) Chap.
(Buddha) hath likewise explained the causes of the cessation of existence/'
Three lovely bas-reliefs (Plate IX, I middle) carved with small figures illustrating incidents in the life of Buddha, — the conception, the birth, the flight from Kapilvastu, the temptations of Mara, the contemplation under the Bodhi-tree, the first sermon, and the death-scene or the final Nirvana, — would hold your admiring eyes captive for long. So delicate are the delineations and done with such consummate skill that the graceful expressions appeal directly to the mind at the very first glance. One frag- ment of a carved piece which probably decorated some doorway calls for prominent notice. It represents a beautifully worked stupa with an elephant and a w^inged figure placing a garland of flowers upon it, illustrating the legend of the worship of Buddha's relics by wild elephants in the stupa of Ramagrama. The floral ornamentations, the lotus, the vine-leaves and grapes, and a tiny parrot taking a bite with its beak at the dainty fruits, look wonderfully fresh and clear (Plate
vni, 7).
A very interesting find is a large lintel five
yards long and over two feet in height in an
excellent state of preservation,
Khantlvadi depicting a few scenes from the
Jataka Khantlvadi fataka^ one of the most
VI SARNAIH III
remarkable birth-stories of Buddha that would
bear repetition. In one of his previous births
Buddha under the name of Kundaka Kumara
was living the life of an ascetic in the Himalayas
and used occasionally to come down to Be.iares
and take up his abode in the royal park. Kalabu,
the King of Kasi, then reigning in Benares, one
day came to the park surrounded by a company
of dancers and musicians who provided a musical
entertainment for him. While listening to them he
laid his head upon the lap of a favourite of the
harem and fell asleep. Thereupon, finding further
singing and dances useless, the singers and dancers
dispersed in the garden and betook to disporting
themselves. The Bodhisattwa being seated in the
garden they approached him and besought him to
give them a discourse. The King in the meanwhile
awoke, and finding the women had gone became
very wroth and came to the plact^ where they
were. He queried the Bodhisattwa as to what
doctrine he preached, and the latter answered, 'the
doctrine of patience. Your Majesty,' and explained
that patience was *the not being angry, when men
abuse you and strike you and revile you.' ' To see
the reality ' of his patience, the King had him
scourged with a lash of thorns all over the body,
and. * the outer and the inner skins were cut
through the flesh and the blood flowed.' On being
told that he still preached the doctrine of patience
113 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Ch.m>
V'^V^Vr^X/Vy^yN '
which was not merely ' skin-deep ' in him, the King had both his hands cut ofif and his feet as well, and at last his nose and ears, — each time repeating his question as to what doctrine he would still preach and being told in reply that his patience dwelt not in the extremities of his hands and feet nor in the tips of his nose and ears but was seated deep within his heart, — whereupon the King struck him above his heart with his foot and went away. The Bodhisattwa exclaimed.
'Long live the King, whose cruel hand my body has thus
maned,
Pare souls like mine such deeds as these with anger ne'er
regard.'
But just as the King was passing out of the garden, * the mighty earth that is forty-thousand leagues in thickness split in two, like unto a strong cloth garment, and a flame issuing forth from Avici (hell) seized upon the King, wrapping him up as it were with a royal robe of scarlet wjol'.
Besides neatly cut figures and ornamental
embellishments ( Plate IX, 4 ), the finely chiselled
representations of the dancing girls
The Gupta waving their bodies gracefully to the
Lintel tunes of flutes and timbrels played by
their associates grouped behind them,
and of the ascetic with the light of divine serenity
upon his face preaching and being listened to with rapt
Vr SARNATH 113
attention by the women sitting in front, and of the Bodhisattva being tortured and his hands being chopped off by the executioner's sword as he holds them forward in all meekness, — all exhibit the high state of proficiency the artists of those ages had attained and remind forcibly of the similar subjects depicted in the lovely reproductions of the Borobudur reliefs of Java in Mr. Havell's charming book, The Indian Sculpture and Paintings and in the photos taken by Mr. Percy Brown, Principal of the Government School of Art at Calcutta, lately on view in the last Allahabad Exhibition. The figures are exquisitely fine and expressive and the floral decorations wonderfully neat and beautiful. This lintel has been ascribed to the later Gupta age, and a portion of it to the left is blackened and seems to bear m.arks of singeing by fire thus proving the fact of the late conflagration. Another large lintel has also been found, but the figures thereon are mostly worn out and obliterated.
Two pieces of sculptured slabs evidently not of Buddhist make deserve prominent notice as they
point to the presence and influence
Rama Laksman of Hinduism in the locality. One
Panel of them ( Plate IX, 3 ) is devoted
to Rama and Laksman with their bows and arrows and Hanuman and the monkeys busily handling large stone blocks, — illustrating, perhaps, the preparations for the deliverance of
—8
114 THE HOL V CITY {BENARES)
Sita and the attempt at bridging the sea by means of huge stones for the purpose of reach- ing King Ravana's stronghold Lanka ( Ceylon ;. Unfortunately, it is in a damaged state, for many of the figures look mutilated and details have thus beeii lost. The other one is a \'ery striking and gigantic figure of Siva, crushing a Siva Statue person crouched under one upraised leg, and holding in one hand a trident having a female figure surmounting it and in another a human skull.
Various kinds of sculptures from floral and artistic designs on friezes and cornices (Plate Vlll, 3) to heads of frowning lions and elephants (Plate IX, 2) and even huge earthen pots and small lamps and other household utensils, have been unearthed in numbers, and art connoisseurs have ascribed thcni to four distinct epochs of the Maury an, Kushana and Gupta Kings and of years later tj t'.iem. It is not possible for any but the artists ai;d antiquarians to descant upon their significance in Art or to discuss about their age as measured in centuries, nor is that within the scope of a work like this. So, here ends our pleasant visit to old Sarnath which has furnished us with materials enough for reflections regarding the Past and its lessons upoii the insignificance and the transitory nature of ail earthly grandeur and glory and. for leisurely cogita- tions about the Future and its hazy outlook.
fiF^V
C^
f> •— ._
P. 114
Chapter VH
MYTHS AND ANNALS "So passes silent o'er the dead, thy shade, Brief time ! and hoar by hour, and day by day. The pleasin^jf pictures of the present fade, And like a sun:imer vapour steal avva}'.''
— W. L. Bowles,
E must now return to our quarters at Benares and brace up our jaded limbs by taking- a little res:, and as we do so we may indulge in short chats about the various i }}^ stages in the life-history of this ancient city which, remarks Mark Twain in his own piquant style, "is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together*
It is in the Kashi KPiandam^ a part of
the Skanda Puranam ^ that we find what
may properly be styled the my-
Kashi Khandam thology of Benares. In very ancient
times, so the Furana proceeds to
relate, — after the era of Swayambhava Manu, there
(^) Though it is hard to say anything definite as to X\vt
age of this Furana, it nir.y be noted that the earlie.s:
known manuscripts, of the Ksshi Khandam bear date
Saka 930 (x\. D. 1008), and a copy of the Skanda Puranam
dating from the seventh century was lately found in Nepal
by Mahamahopadhyaya Fandit Kara Prasad .Shastri.
it6 the holy CirV {BENARES) chap.
was a dreadful drought extending over sixty years, which drove men out of their homes and caused them to resort to the river-banks and to seek shelter in the hill caves, and reduced them to the extremity of sustaining themselves upon animal food. At last, apprehending the destruction of all life in the land, Brahma thought of the great Raja Ripunja)'a, a descendant of Manu — th.en engaged in tapa ( austerities ; at Kasi — as the only person who could avert the calamity by the strength of his righteousness and piety. He requested Ripunjaya to protect the people of Kasi b\- becoming its Ruler, for it was a virtuous King alone upon whom the gods showered their bless- ings in the shape of abundance and prosperity for his people. He agreed, but on condition that while he reigned, the gods, whom the beauty and sanctity (►f Kasi had attracted to live there, must leave it and go to the upper regions of heaven. *Be it Sv>,' said Brahma, and Ripunjaya took up the reins of government under the assumed name of Divodas, aiiv"! his people became happy and blessed with plent}'. On the persuasion of Brahma, Siva went to live on the top of the Mandara mountain, v.hither all the gods followed him.
Eighty thousand years thus passed and the gods became impatient to return to Kasi which, they loved ardenth-, and their yearning for it increased with the progress of time. Finding,
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS 117
however, no fault in the virtuous Kin^ to warrant his dislod£]^ment, they took recourse to subterfuj^es and prevailed upon Agni (Fire) to leave his kingdom ; but the King supph'ed the want of fire hy his own supernatural powers. Siva and Farvati also now grew disconsolate for the holy city that lay ^floating like a lotus when the sky met the waters in the great cataclysm.' Their ph'ghted word, however, to stay in heaven as long as Divodas reigned at Kasi, they found no means to withdraAV.
So Siva first sent the sixty- four Yoginces (female demi-gods"* in disguise to find out some failings of the King that should justify his expulsion from the city. This they could not do, and anxious to hide their faces in shame and enamoured moreover of the charms of the lovely Kasi, they continued to stay there, and each established an emblem of Siva for worship. Waiting in vain for a year for their return, Siva sent Surya (the Sun) in his chariot of seven swift-footed chargers — the seven elementary colour- rays of modern science (?) — only to court a similar failure. Next followed Brahma, and in the shape of an old Brahman requested the King to provide inaterials for ten Asivantedha sacrifices — a seemingly impossible task, which however the King accomp- lished. Thus foiled, Brahma also resolved not to return.
ii8 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap.
Siva then sent his unnumbered Ganas — his attendant demi-gods ; but they also swelled the ranks of those that had preceded and added to the number of lingams there, each establishing^ one for worship and naming- it after his own name with the addition of an * — eswara' (god^ at the end of it. Last went Siva's beloved child Ganesha, the head of the Ganas, disguised as an old astrologer. [le settled himself in diverse shapes in various ulaces, and attained success bv befjuilin"- the people with illusions and throwing their minds out of balance by means of dreams which as astrologer he afterwards interpreted in his own way. The King sought his advice and was directed to abide by the words of a Brahman who would come from the north in eighteen days. This w^as Vishnu who had come and ensconced himself in various parts of the city under different guises. At his bidding, the King erected a temple and established an emblem of Siva there under the name of Divodaseswara (the Iswa7'a or god of Divodas) — famed to be the one still existing above the present Mir Ghat. While engaged in w^orship, a bright chariot alighted from above one day and carried him off to heaven. And the gods returned and continued to be here as before.
Here ends the mythical story, and thus
is the existence accounted for of the numberless emblems of Siva and of the numerous images of
Vn MYTHS AND ANNALS 119
Ganesha and Vishnu, and of Durga, Annapurna and Parvati under these different denominations in various quarters of the city. It is mainly these gods of the Hindu pantheon that are by far the most often to be found represented here. The shrines of Rama, Sita, Hanuman and of Krishna — the only others to be met with here — though held in much veneration, seem to be of later times. In Anandagiri's Sankaravijaya dealing with the times of ijis master Sankaracharya who lived in the ninth century, there is no ^'allusion made to the separate worship of Krishna, either in his own person, or that of the infantile forms in which he is now so pre-eminently venerated in many parts of India, nor are the names of Rama and Sita, of Lakshmana or Hanuman once parti- cularised, as enjoying distinct and specific adoration.* * This should go to indicate that they had not yet come to be established here even in the ninth century A. D. It is principally the Siva emblems that occupy the whole of the Hindu portion of the city, and numbers of such emblems are beings constantly added in modern times as well ty ]:>ious old men coming to live here in their old age.
It may be interesting to note in this connection that some consider the legend of the mythical King
{\^ H. H. Wilson's Religious Sects of the Hindi:*
(Tiubner 1861) p. 17.
120 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap
Divodas to be an allegory of the occupation of Benares by the Buddhist rulers and An Allegory its subsequent conversion to Brahmanic Hinduism again when the Hindu practices and observances were revived anev/. The recital in the Kashi Khandam that Vishnu assumed the form of Buddha to delude the minds of the King and tne people and cause their fall from Hinduism, tend also to indicate that the virtuous Divodas and his people discarded the gods and became Buddhists and continued to be so till converted into Brahmanic Hinduism again. This would go further to prove that this Purana cannot claim antiquity to any period anterior to that of Buddha.
''Its history is to a great extent the history of India'/ remarks Mr. Sherring. From the earliest periods of the Aryan colonisation in Hindusthan, Benares was one of the first settlements to which probably those ancient people had been attracted by its pleasant site and the fertility of the soil as also by the security as well as the immunity from interference by the aborigines afforded by it.s isolated position between the two streams, the Barana and the Asi — which must have been of much wider proportions then.
The great antiquity of this place can be ga- thered from its being mentioned in the Satapatha
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS 121
Brahrna7ia of the Sukla Yajiirveda and in the Kausitaki Brahmanopanishada as 'Kasi' Antiquity the wide and holy land of ' Yaj'nas* (sacrifices), as also in the great national epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Before the Aryan colonisation the Dravidians or the Kolarians originally inhabited the Gangetic valley and probably occupied this place too. The Knsis tribe of the Aryans came from Northern India in the later Vedic ages and ousted them and settled to the South of the Ganges at some time between 1400 and 1000 B. C. The BraJnnanas and tb.e Upanishads were taken to have been compiled about this period, and Benares had then already begun to be famous *as a great seat of Aryan philosophy and religion.' A.jatasatru, king of the Kasis, was a famous name of this period, as a great patron of learning.
The Kasis owed allegiance to the kings of
Kosala (Modern Oudh) belonging to the Solar Race,
and Benares was then a large province
The City of extending up to Prayag ( modern
Kasi Allahabad). King Puru and his father
Yajati, 'Lord of all the Kasis,' mentioned
in the Mahabharata had their capital at Pratisthana,
the site of which was near modern Allahabad ;
even then Baranasi 'decked with beautiful gates
and walls' had acquired prominence as a town of
note and importance before it became the capital
122 THE HOL V a TV (BEJVARES) chap.
\y\.' \r\/\y\ '
(^f the provinc<\ In the first century A. D. Aswaghosha, the GuTU (spiritual preceptor) of Raja Kanishka, de«^cribes it in his Soundarananda Kabya as a city enclosed by Barana and Asi ; and even so late as the fifth century after Christ, the Chinese traveller Fa Hian found the province and the city as ex- tensive and prosperous as \x\ the 'ancicnf times. The other Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Thsanor who came here two centuries later observed that the kingdom covered 660 miles in circumference and its capital Baranasi lying 'near the Ganges exten- ded over eighteen or nineteen // (above three miles) in length and from five to six // (about a mile) in breadth.
According to the Vishnu and Brahma'uda Pnranas, Raja K^sk of the line of King Aiyu
belonging to the Lunar Race, was me Early the first ruler of this kingdom ; and Kin^ it was probably during the time of
King Ketuman, fifth in descent from him, that the city of 'Baranasi' was established as the capital of the kingdom. There was, later on, a lengthy struggle for supremacy betwen this race and the Haiheyas, and Ketuman, who is also known by the name of Haryaswa, was slain by the Haiheyas. His grandson Divodas, however, fortified Benares, but he was defeated and expelled by the Haihe} a King Durdama, who in his turn was overcome and turned out of Benares by
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS 123
Divodas'*s son Pratardan. This latter re-established the kingdom of Kasi and is supposed to have been a contemporary of Rama the hero of the <]^reat Epic Ramayana. This hne consisted of twenty- ''our kings among whom King Dhristaketu has been mentioned in the Bhagabadgeeta as having been present during the Kurukshetra war which took place between 1400 and 1300 B. C. Eight and twenty Kings of the Haihcyas followed this dynasty and were succeeded by five Kings of the Pradyota dynasty who reigned for about a century and a half.
A word here about the religion of the time at Benares. Long before the advent of Buddha,
Jainism — founded, according to Cole- Religion of the man, by Rishabadeva, — had first been time preached at Benares by SUPARSHA,
the seventh of the four and twenty faina Tirthankaras (saints), who was born at Benares and who established and sj read the Jaina religion here. ParSWANATH or Paresnatii, the twenty-third Tirthankara, was the sen of Aswa- scna, King of Kasi, and he relinquished the world and became a preacher. The Bhelupura quarter of the city is of great sanctity to tl e Jainas as being the place where he was born. Jainism had gradually been spreading and taking root at Benares in his time and the influence of Hinduism
124 THE HOLY CITY {BE\ARES) cnvp.
was to some extent on the wane. He passed away in B. C. yyy ; and it was two centuries later, when Buddha arrived at Benares and fixed upon Sarnath as the main centre from which his new faith was to spread, that the first onslaught upon orthodox Hinduism was really made in a manner that was felt. Immense numbers of proselytes from all parts of Kasi, Kosala and Magadha were attracted by the simplicity and beauty of his new doctrines as contrasted with the mystery and rigidity of the multifarious observan- ces then prevailing-. At the time of King Bimbasara (532-485 B. O of the Sisunaga dynasty of Magadha, Buddha came to his court at Raj- giiha and was received with marked honor. This King's son Ajatasatru afterwards conquered Kosala and extended his Kingdom to the Northern India and shifted his capital from Rajgriha to Patali- putra (modern Patna).
King Jasha or Jasoratha who had succeeded after
the downfall of the Pradyota Kings, was about
this time the powerful monarch of Kasi.
King Jasha He attended the discourses of Buddha
and became convert to the new religion
along with his fifty-four royal companions and
princes and all the members of the royal family,
and his people also followed suit ; and Benares,
the holy land of Yajnair-^x rather the major portion
VII SARNATH 125
\ /A/\:<^/ v/\y-»
of it — was won over by the new religion and remained for nearly eight centuries under the sway of Buddhism. It was at this latter period that the Buddhist city gradually spread from the north of Benares all the way to Sarnath.
In the fourth century before Christ, Benares along with the Kingdom of Kosala became subject
to King Chandragupta, who ascended The Mauryans the throne ot Magadha in 320 B.C.
and founded the Mauryan dynasty. It was during the reign of his grandson Asoka who embraced Buddhism and lived in the third century B. C. (260-222) that Buddhism ro.se to its zenith and fulness of glory, and Sarnath came to be enriched and beautified with numbers of Buddhist shrines and memorials^ Buddhist missionaries were then despatched to various distant places in and out of India for spreading the religion, and among them was Asoka''s son Mahindra \Vho with his sister Sangamitra preached Buddhism in Ce}'lon. For a century and a half since the deatli of the great Master, according to Kalhana's Rajtaj-migini, Budhism in its purest form held full away and then cam.e the decline, and the high ideals of his doctrines came to be lost in popular superstitions which began to group around his personality and personal relics, and his statues and statuettes were set up in great abundance for wc rship. When Ai:oka's
n
126 THE HOL Y CITY (BENARES) chap
grandson Dasaratha reigned, the Jainas also roused themselves to vigourous action and pressed on with their work. Thus between Buddhism and Jainisni, the Brahmanic Hinduism at Benares at this period stood crippled as it were in the decrepitude of age and fell to its lowest ebb, and each one of them lost strength in the conflict and went below its normal standard.
The Mauryan Kings held sway over Magadha
and Northern India till B. C. 183 and Benares was
subject to them ; they were followed
The Sun^as, by the Hindu Kings of the Su7?ga
Kanvas and and Kanva dynasties who ruled till
Andhras B. C. 26, and during their reign
Hinduism began to revive. The Afidkras
then conquered Magadha and ruled for four centuries
and a half till 430 A. D. Then came the downfall
of the Magadha empire, after which the Gupta
Kings of Ka7tquj^ came to power and obtained
mastery over Benares in the fifth century ; and
during their rule Benares regained its former
splendour and Hinduism was to some extent
resuscitated. King Baladitya Gupta made Benares
his capital and strove hard to restore Hinduism
to its former glory. He and his son enriched
Benares v/ith numbers of lofty temples and fine
edifices, and the latter in the sixth century A. D.
erected a large temple at Sarnath also for the
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS 127
/ \y\ y\y \j-\y\y\y v
worship of Vishnu. Benares then became subject to the Km^s of Oujjein all of whom except the
great Vikramaditya were Buddhists.
Kin^of In the first half of the seventh
Oujjein century Benares was in the hands of
the great King liarshavardhana or Siladitya II. (610-650 A. D.), and it was at this period that Huien Thsang came to Kanouj and witnessed the great Buddhist festival which this King celebrated with great pomp and grandeur. He found Hindu princes attending the ceremony as guests and the followers of the two creeds living together in good followship.
All the three religions of the Hindus, the
Buddhists and the Jainas, had, however, grown weak
in their struggles, and at this juncture
Sankaraciiarya arose the great Sankaracharya and with
his advent in the eighth century after
Christ' — followed an era of reformation and the
revival of old Hinduism in right earnest. Bhatta-
pada or Bhatta Kumaril, another great reformer,
who had preceded and paved the way for him, had
succeeded in drawing away many large provinces
from Buddhism and converting them to Hinduism.
(i) In an article on Sankaracharya in the "Indian Antiquary", June 1882, the dates of his birth and death have been computed to be 788 aud 820 A. D. respectively based upon certain data contained in a Sanskrit work found at Belgaon.
128 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap.
The two met at Prayag- (Allahabad) just before the former's death which occurred under extremely tragic circumstances, for Bhatta Kumaril destroyed himself upon the pyre by way of making a penance. Sankara came to Benares, the present populous portions of which were then full of patches of greenwood with asrams ( retreats ) of Sannyasis and sacrificial altars sheltered by pippals and kadambas occupying the sites where now stand hundreds of lofty mansions. The Buddhists had laid out their town at Sarnath, and Sankara also bent his steps thither, and resided for a time under the spreading branches of a banyarr tree where his wonderful discourses attracted the great Padmapada and others who became his disxiples.
Sankara^s philosophical teaching adopting all Nature as but the manifestation of the Universal Soul, and his wonderful solution of the problems of the 'One in many' and 'Unity in variety' and his doctrine of Non-dualism ( Advaitism ) or 'the inse- parability of the human nature from the Divine Essence" caused a great upheaval ; and the people returned to their old religion and tlie worship of Siva, and Benares regained its position as the citadel city of Hinduism, which in spite of various vicissitudes it has till now retained. Buddha himself was taken in as an incarnation of Vishnu and was then absorbed in Hinduism. The decline of Buddhism which had already commenced and its final overthrow in India now became inevitable.
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS 129
■ '>^\yvr^y\/V/' ,
Hiuen Thsan<^ who found only thirty San^haranis or Buddliist monasteries inhabited by three thousand monks in the whole kingdom of Benares and a hundred temples of the Hindus with tea thousand devotees attached to them, must have been here during the decadence of the Buddhistic faith, as is evidenced by the absence of any mention of the existence of any sacred Buddhist edifices in the capital of the province at the time, while he noted that there were twenty Deva temples in the town of Benares the towers and the halls of which were of sculptured stone and carved wood.
By the eighth century Jashovarma, King of Kanouj, held mastery over Benares aud made strenuous
efforts towards the re-establishment of
Jashovarma of the Vedic Hinduism ; and Benares
Kanouj became the centre of Brahmanism
at the time. Then followed the Dark Age of India from the middle of the eighth to the tenth century A. D. whose history is shrouded in obscurity. Alberiini, the Mahomedan scholar of Khiva who was a prisoner of Mahmud of Ghazni, writing about 1030 A. D., however, records having heard of the holy fame of Benares which he compares to Mecca of the Mahomedans and remarks that Hindu "anchorites wander to it and stay there for ever, as dwellers of the Ka'ba stay for ever at Mecca/' — thus proving that Benares had emerged unscathed
9—
130 7 HE HOLY CITY iISENARES) cnw
-and had retained its prestige and position intact during those dark days.
Later on King Dharma Pal coiiquercd Kanouj,
and Kasi along with the Kingdom of Kanoiij
became subject to the P<7/ KiJigs of
Pal Kin^s of Gour in Bengal who were all
Bengal Buddhists as has been proved by the
inscriptions on the stone slab of King
Mahipal of 1026 A. D., found at Sarjiath. By the
beginning of the eleventh century the Kingdom of
Kanouj together with Benares fell into the hands of
the Garhirivdr Kings, and this city attained great
prosperity during their reign.
In 1019 and 1022 Benares was raided and
sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni, who is said to
have razed a thousand temples to
Mabomedan the ground. He was followed by
^^^ Ahmad Nialtigin in A. D. 1033 in
this career of destruction ; this,
however, was only a raid, and towards
the end of the twelfth century it fell into
the hands of Mahammad Ghori's general Kutbuddin
— who had also been credited with having deiTio-
Jished nearly a thousand Hindu temples, — after the
defeat of Raja Jaichand Rathore 0^94 '^' ^^O
who held sway at Kanouj at the time. Benares
v/as again rebuilt after such destrdction and this
process was undoubtedly repeated several times.
About I3'>0 A. D. Alauddin laid a thou--:nd Mini-] t?'n )'-^ \\\ t\vy ^h: t : an:l t'-:;M!.:h t' ;:/
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS i;t
miiltipiied again an 1 even excce.-led their fonner number,— for even in later times Emperor Jehaiv^ir desi<riiated Benares as 'the city of temples,' — this
kind of vandalism was repeated ac^ain TzmVZ' and a;.4ain, and two names that acquired breaking} notoriety in this connection were
those of iiarbak Shah (1493 A. D.) uid Soleiman Karrani (1580), the c^enerals of Sikandar Lodi and Daud. Not content witli mere destruction the later Moslem conquerors went the lenf.^t!i of erectincj mosques upoii the very sites of ihe temples they had destroved What remained oi ancient Hindu architecture after "lie raids of the Kl^ilji Kings were swept away <hiring the Patlian rule and specialiy by the vindictive bigotry of Sikandar Lodi. Tliere vvas a lull for a time during the sovereignty of the first Aloghul emperors ; and all through the tolerant reign of Akbar there were even renovation and restoration of tiindu structures. Emperor Akbar's reply to Jehangir's query, noted in his Mcvioirs^ as to why he had prohibited ail manner of inter- ference with the building of temples by the Hindus, shows his principles of action and reveals the inner nature of the man in him : " I find myself a puissant monarch, the shadow of God upon earth. I have seen that He bestows the blessings of His gracious Providence upon all His creatures without distinctioii. T|] ,c].r>n!fl \ disrl^''^-;.-:
132 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap
withhold my compassion and indulgence from any of those entrusted to my charge. With all of the human race, with all of God's creatures, 1 am at l^eace. Why then should I permit m\ self, under any consideration, to be the cause of molestation »>r aggression to anv' one f But his words of wisdom had but little effect and were entirely lost upon his son, to whose pergonal spite and animosit)' tile commencement of fresii raids against the Hindu temples was evidently due.
Temple-breaking reached its acme in the seven- teenth century when, it is said, Aurangzeb in his bigoted zeal began smashing shrines and altars Jind destrox'ing numbers of Hindu temples, and in his arrogance gave the holy city the name of Muhainmadabad — which, however, never proceeded beyond his official papers. How far Aurangzeb had been responsible for all the destruction laid at his door or whether they were the doings of his over-zealous followers and provincial deputies, is now open to question in view of the recent discovery of a firman of that emperor referring to tlie temples and Brahmans of Benares. ^ Be
(i) In course of my search after matenals for this work 1 came across an old FIRMAN of Emperor Aurangzeb at Benares tending to show that he had prohibited all inter- ference with the Brahmans of Benares who had been disturbed by some Mabomedans in the exercise of their religious rites, — a fact opposed to all accepted theories. I gave a detailed account of this find in my paper rejld at the
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS 133
^.'^/'^y\ /\x\j \y \.
that as it may, though the Mahomedans converted Hindu stones into Mahomedam mosques and utilized the best of them for the purpose, and though Aurangzeb's name has been connected with the building of the highest musjid in Benares with the very tall towers — known as Madhojl-ki~ d cora—xmoxx the ruins of the old temple of Beni Madho and the erection of another over the wrecks of the old Visweswara temple, still the Hindus shut their ears to the call of Islam and adhered staunchly to their old faith.
During the time of Emperor Babar most of the
meeting of the Asiatic Society of Beny^al on the ist. March 191 1 with a view to further researches being made in the matter by antiquarian experts — which is reproduced here in the Appendix with a translation of the Firman in question into English. I may also add that in course of an interest- ing conversation with an old Mahomedan gentleman of culture, I was told that it was a custom in former times to ascribe a mosque erected by any one in the kingdom to the reigning sovereign as a mark of honor to him although th»^ latter might know nothing about it. From this he infers that the mosque near the Jnan Bapi or that over the Panchaganga or the Alamgiri Musjid in the interior was never erected by Aurangzeb or any Mo^ul Emperor, for they are so poor in architectural beauty and so small i;i dimensions that they would hardly bear any comparison witri tiiose admittedly erected by the Mogul Emperors at Agr;;, Oelhi and other cities of India. 1 give the firman in ques- tion and this opinion as they are for the scrutiny of the scholars. I have, however, chosen to retain the popular denomination of the mosques attributed to Aurangzeb for their indenlification.
T54 THE HOLY CITY (BEAARES) char
places now occupied b}- stately temples and palaces were covered witli jungles. It was about 1570
that Benares began to regain its The Moguls ancient splendour during the regime
of a Rajput chief, Raja Soorjan of ]>oondee, who was entrusted by Akbar with the government of Benares. According to the Ayeen-t-Akbari, Benares m Akbar's time formed a separate province under tlie Subah of Allahabad. By the end of the seventeentli century it was a ch'stinct Raj although subject to the Subadar of Oudh. About 1722 A. D. it came to the hands
of Saadat Khan, the first Nawab of later History Oudh after the disintegration of the
Moghul Empire ; and it was at last ceded by the Nawab to the British in 1775. The rest of the history of this city is intimately con- nected with the house of the present Maharaja of Benares to be resumed later on.^
For six long centuries now had the Mahomedans held the city ; since its cession, liowever, it had a quiet uneventful career with only one exceptional occasion — that of the great Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, when there was, as in other parts of India, some disturbance at Benares as well, on the fourth dav of June. Three regiments consisting of two thousand sepoys rose in arms ; but the trouble soon subsided after some bloodshed fpllovv^'ng the parallel
(i) See Chap. X^ post.
VII MYTHS AND ANNALS 135
in the rest of Northern India.
Reverenced as ever and held in the highest sanctity throughout the whole of Hindu India, Benares has since continued to enjoy peace and prosperity and to be enriched with nnagnificent temples, noble edifices and stately Ghats built by the reises and Rajas and Maharajas of all parts of this vast peninsula. Indeed there is hardly an Indian prince of any consequence who has not a residence of his own and a Chkatra or Dharmasala here as a permanently endowed institution for feeding the poor with large properties set apart for the purpose ; for, this pre-eminently is the Puri or city of Annapurna, the goddess of plenty, the supplier of all world's food, where none must go starving ! And even in the deep hours of night pious people are met with going along the river- hank with loads of eatables in search of the liungry poor who might need them, and calling out ' Koi hhuka Jiai 7 — Is there anyone hungry?
PART SECOND
Chapter VIII
THE SHRINES AND TEMPLES
* I see him in the blazing sun
And in the thunder-cloud, I hear him in the mighty roar That rusheth through the forest hoar
When winds are raging loud.
I feel him in the silent dews,
By grateful earth betray'd ; I feel him in the gentle showers, The soft south wind, the breath of flowers,
The sunshine and the shade."
N impression that Benares is essentially a city of temples large and small and gardens wide and extensive, is what > ou must have up to time been led to form. But in the portion of the city we are now about to visit — the purely Hindu one of shrines and sacred spots that make the holy Benares what it is, — it is only temples and temples and the emblems of Siva scattered about here, there and everywliere. Nay, family temples abut even into portions of
138 THE HOL Y CITY {BENARES) chap.
residential houses, and small niches on the walls hold Siva, — leading thus to the natural inference that the predominant deity in Benares is Siva under this symbolic form.
This form of worship, however, has not been confined soleh' to the East, for, it prevailed widely in the ancient times in Egypt, Siva-worship Assyria and Babylon where emblems similar to the Indian symbol have been found in abundance. Osiris, who resembled the Indian Siva in many respects, was also worshipped under this form, and the city of Memphis was exclusively sacred to him as Benares is to Siva. The Romans also observed this form of worship, and the Greeks worshipped Bacchus under this symbol and set up numbers of such emblems in many of the streets of their cities ; it is also said that they used to carry a golden emblem sixty yards in height in some of their festive processions.^ In different parts of the Western Hemisphere also, in Mexico, Peru, Yucatan and Central America, many monolithic representa- tions of the Lin^am have been found, and according to the testimony of a companion of Fernando Cortez, there was a large emblem in the temple at Panuco*.
(i) A. K* Datta's '' Bharatbarshiya Upasak Sampradaya,"
Pp. 145, 148.
(2) K. N« Bose's ''Hindu Civilization in Ancient America " F, 10,
VIII THE SHRINES AND TEMPLES 1 39
\.r\.rsj\/-\/\/\/s.
In India, the worship of Siva became current from the very eadiest of times ; and though this emblem has no place among the types of the mythos of the Vedas, mention has been made of Siva therein under the denomination Rudra. The Vedas, according to Max Muller, belong approximately to 2000 B. C, while others ascribe them to 6000 B. C. The renowned scholar Bal Gangadhar Tilak, however, in his Arctic Home of the Aryans, assigns the composition of the Vedas to much earlier ages and places it in the times when the Aryans were in the Arctic regions, his theory being based upon some astronomical data connected with the sunrise and the recurrence of the seasons described in certain verses of the Rig- Veda. In those early times, however, Siva appears in the Vedas under the appellation of Rudra, the father of the storm-god Maruta ; and thus the worship of Siva seems to be almost as old as Hinduism itself Later on in the sixth or seventh century B. C. two kings of Kashmir named Asoka and Jaloka were, according to the Rnj Tarangi7ii, worshippers of Siva. Image-worship in temples, however, was not in vogue in those early ages, and it was through the medium of the sacrificial fire — into which offerings made to the Vedic deities were cast — that the}' were invoked and worshipped. It was after the advent of Buddha in the fifth century B. C, or rather, after the degeneration of
140 THE HOL V CITY (BENARES) chap.
his creed into the worship of his person and his personal relics later on that image-worship of gods and goddesses began in imitation of the Buddhists and gradually supplanted the Vedic sacrifices (Yajnas) at the household fire-side^.
That Siva was worshipped in his full-bodicd image is amply testified by the existence of his images cut in stone and by the glowing descriptions given of him in the Puranas ; and even now the practice has not grown quite obsolete. Iliuen Thsang in his accounts mentions having seen a statue of Maheswara Dcva in Benares a hundred feet high ' grave and majestic, filling the spectator with awe and seeming as it were indeed alive' — which must afterwards have been destroyed by the followers of Mahammad Ghori. The representation, however, under the symbolic form seems to have been noticed so far back as the fourth century Vi. C. by Megasthenes when he stayed at the court of Chandragupta at Pataliputra.
Worship under the impersonal symbol of the phallus as connoting the first principle of animation attributes to Siva the function of creation^ though he is represented as the Destroyer or the dissolving power in the Hindu Triad. This inconsistency is usually sought to be explained away by saying that according to the Hindu belief in the doctrme
(l) R. C. Dutt's History of Civilisation in Ancient India P. 648.
VIII THE SHRINES AND TEMPLES 141
of repeated births and transmigrations, death or destruction is but the opening of the portals of a renewed existence. But the history of the origin of this form of worship though shrouded in mys- tery seems to f)oint to an interpretation very different from what has been generally accepted and suggests that the symbol far from having origina/fy been, as is now supposed, a representation ot the phallus was in reality that of a column of' resplendtfit flames sanctified by being the abode of Siva for a time. Prof Wilson in his Essays mid Lectures 011 the Religion of the Hifidus remarks : ' It is not interwoven wirh their amusements, noi must it be imagined that it offers any stimulus to impure passions. The emblem — a plain column of stone, or sometimes, a cone of plastic mud suggests no offensive ideas.' In his preface to the Vishnu Punina also he notes that ' there is nothing like the phallic orgies of antiquity' even in the Lhiga Parana, and that * it is all mystical and spirirual.' It may be worth while to trace its mythical origin and to attempt to draw out the original conception from among the tangled masses of all manner of stuff stocked together in the Puranas which profess to narrate what had taken place ages before their compilation.
When this visible world had not yet been ushered into existence, there was even then the all -pervading Radiance {Tefrs) that was Brahman
143 THE HOl.Y CITY (BEWARES.) Chap.
whose nature was Truth, Wisdom and Eteniitw In Him arose a Desire ( for creation ) that took shape and came to be known as Prakriti What the or Maya ( ilhision ) ; and from the same Pdranis say source from which iVakriti came, origi- nated Punisha or Xarayana (Vishnu;. This was the very first act in the great drama of creation — the first manifestation of the Nirgmia. or neuter and unconditioned Brahuian pa^sinc^ into a conditioned state. Then came liJralima into beini^ from out of a lotus sprintrini^^- from the navel of Vishnu as he rech'ned upon llic body of tl'.e serpent Ananta (the endless, the symbol of Eternity) and floated asleep upon the billowy surface of the vast chaotic deep. Later on lirahma and Vishnu confronted each other, and there were heated disputations between them, each claiming to be the source of the other's origin and to be the sole lord of creation. In order to put an end to their quarrels * there arose before them a resplendent Sign {Lhigaifi) ^ of light composed of thousands of burning flames like unto the conflagra- tions of all-destroying time. Increase or decay it had none, nor beginning, nor middle, r.or end ; it was without a parallel, unascertainable, undivulged and
(i) Sign, token, emblem, anylliinnr which diytinguishe'^ >.r tlcra'.es. -Sir .M'.^aier Williams,
VIII THE SHRINES AXD TEMPLES 143
the root-cause of the Universf^.' ^ Dismayed at this incomprehensible manifestation, they attempted to find out what this great pile of flame was, but failed. Then, there formed up before them a mii^hty figure of manifold beauty with five faces and ten arms and of the delicate hue of camphor. Him they came to realise as MaJieswara ^, the Creator of the Universe. And as they bent before him . and chanted hymns in his praise, ' the Stainless one {Nira}ija)ia) ' was pleased, and in the form of Sound Divine {Logos ?) immerged into tliat same S/'c^-n and stayed there smiling -^.•' l>rahma and Vishnu humbled themselves before Him, and He explained to them that it was fr<Mn out of ////// alone that they had Vjoth sprung into being. He then assigned to Brahma and Vishnu the duties of the creation and the continuation of the universe, reserving to himself the Inunction ot
^^4^r§r^r*|-^^mf^JTV7[SrTsfr^*rrfl I
(2) An appellation of Siva.
(3) Lit, the stainless ; also, an appellation of Siva.
(4) ^»'??f|: ?gi^r«^Vi f%r of'9?lf''T?,^: I
144 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
!aya or making all things merge into their perennial source. '
Such is the account furnished by the
Puranas in their chapters on cosmogony
n^garding the conception, of Siva as the very first agent of the unconditioned Brahman in the work of creation — his function as such ceasing with the relegation of the task of continuing this work to Brahma. Accepted thus to be the Creator par excellence the cylindrical column of uprising flames of fire wherein he had rested after he became manifest came to be symbolised to represent him — even as the sacred Cross upon which the Messiah had last rested while passing away came to symbolise his creed. A class of Sivaite ascetics, the Jangams, carry this emblen pendent from their necks as a section of the followers of Christ carry small representations of the Cross in wood or stone or metal upon their persons in the very same way.
The original conception of the symbol would thus appear to be very different from its modern significance. Besides representing the column of flames, the Sign of Siva has also been described as tnadhya-vrittam — which makes it of a round or spheroidal shape — covered all over with fiery
(T) Vide Siva Puranam — J nana Samhita, Chs. II and III ; Lin^a Puranam — Purva Bhaga, Chs- XVIII and XIX j and i4l.'^o, Brahmanda Puranam, Chs HX.
VIII THE SHRINES AND TEMPLES 145
radiance. ' The word lingam itself had thus no technical meaning exclusively attached to it, but signified merely a sign or emblem. By association of ideas the symbolic representation of Siva as iJie first Creatof came to be connected with Xho. function of creation. Hence, when the unmaterial column of uprising flame was later on materialised by its representation in jewels, stone or earth, it c(77ne to be viewed as a representation of the phallus as the animating principle in its grosser earthly aspect^ and the agency of the Divine Will as the root-cause of creation was thus entirely lost sight of and forgotten. And as all things corporeal must have supports to rest upon, an addition of a Vedi or pedestal was made to it ; and — by further develop- ment of the coarse idea — this appurtenance came to be regarded as representing the goddess Gauri. The fact that the Mahanirvana Tantram keeps the two portions of the symbol altogether distinct * lends support to the view that the latter was merely a later addition. Thus what is ^low taken, no doubt, as phallic emblem was in origin only a representa- tion of a column of flames and one of the purest conceptions of the Hindu mythology. Honi
(i) "b^* *{«?f^^ wm fsfypr^sf^nr 1
(2) XIV Ullasa, 24, 43 76,
10
146 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
soit qui mat y pense is, therefore, all that can be said of its being viewed in any other light. So, an enquiry into its origin before we start on our pilgrimage in this City of Siva has not perhaps been altogether profitless.
We may now dive into the interior, the mazes of narrow lanes and by-lanes in which will be observed to be a striking feature in this quarter.
There is no question of levels here—it Benares Lanes is all ups and downs ! A short distance
forward as you advance half a dozen or more of broad stony steps come to view along the stairs-like stone-paved path which you must ascend ; continue on your way, and perhaps there would soon be some fresh ones to descend, followed by some more leading you higher up ; and thus it is all the way on, — especially in the eastern quarter towards the river-bank ; and not infrequently would you be taken aback on being confronted by the remnants of the old ntuhulla ( ward ) gates at the head of such lanes in the shape of narrow openings with door-frames attached to them, and apprehend that you are being led into the premises of the private owners of some great mansion close by. In former times, there stood real doors in those frames, which used to be kept closed at night to no little discomfort and inconvenience of certain classes of the night-roving gentry. With superior provisions for the safety and security of life and
VI I r THE SHRINES AND TEMPLES 147
property now, the practice has of late been discontinued, and the doors have disappeared. Often hardly wide enough for more than a couple of human beings to w^lk abreast — not to speak of an elephant or a camel of dece-Rt proportions— you find such an alley often blocked by huge peregri- nating bulls swaying from side to side in uncertain drunken gait, for which you must make way by standing aside. Emancipated from human slavery by their masters' acts of piety and turned adrift, they are now ownerless and roam faros naUircB, and have quite a pleasant time of it — though often calling forth unpleasant ejaculations far from being pious from the profane lips of the keepers of road- side stalls of edibles which they freely patronise. The houses along these narrow lan-es^ generally three to five stories higjj ( Plate XI, 5 ) with only patches of the blue heavens peering overhead, cause the lanes to look narrower and make a stranger feel a sense of oppressive closeness. They impart, however, a picturesque aspect to these winding lanes, and one might fancy hirrsseif roving in an old town of Spain or Southern Italy, thinks Mr. Havell, were it not for the surroundings of the temples and the people.
Perhaps this should suffice for a short sketch of the general outlook ; and if your weariness i"S off and your energy renovated by a night's sound sleep, we may by your leave start on our rambles
148 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES)
to hav*e a look at the sacred shrines and temples
— which, according to Sir William
The Temples Hunter numbered 1454 besides smaller
ones, to 272 mosques of the
Mahomedans in 1885. It is said Raja Man Singh
of Jaipur, true to a vow he had taken, presented
Benares with a lakh of temples all built in a
single night, — these ranging from the larger ones
to the very diminutive models in stone you often
meet with everywhere l}'ing upon the ground, to
make i.p the number.
^5\
4i <^ c o
8-
.'5 -^
W
^5^
^ 3
Q ^
. p _^
. a. "5 S
6 P £ ^
is
P. 14(1
( 1 )
On The East
O start with then, we shall first direct our steps towards the DASASWA^fEDH Ghat ( Plate IV, I ). The soft reddish glow on Dasaswamedh the murky east is diffu- Gliat sing itself into the dark
blue above following the track as it were of the pioneering Twilight, that like a gleesome virgin had started in advance warbling in the voice of the early cuckoo
*I come in the breath of the waken'd breeie
I kiss the flowers, and I bend the trees ;
And I shake the dew, which had fallen by night
From its throne, on the lily's pure bosom of white.'
The solemn hush that had preceded the approach- ing dawn seems now to be breaking into a soit murmur, and light footsteps are heard tripping down the scone-paved stairs to the accompaniment of the humming chants of sacred hymns. Up betimes even before the waking day the pious and the devout few have come from afar for their .ea;"ly ,ip:iorning ablutions. Reverently they approach
TSa THE HOL Y CITY (BENARES) chap.
the haly stream', and preparatory tO' descendinar into it bend down and touch the water with the finger-tips and sprinkle a ^^w drops upon their heads — for the i^^t must rrot corme in contact with the holy water first.
The great orb of fiery r^d^ tes now half risen, above the sky-line defined against the green tree^ tops beyond the spreaiding sands. With gentle caresses does it rotl aside the white flimsy veil of mist which half conceals the blushing looks of the lovdy Ganges gliding like a msaiden coy in her onward course. Presently across thee rippling expanse of lier ample bosom, a stately column of glowing crimson lies recumbent — in fruitless tremulous attempt^ as it were^ to bar her passage. Thus would fond Love ever strive to Iwld Life in close embrace and arrest her wonted course ! But tide,, like time, ever fbl'fows her destined course and would tarry for none — realising whrch,. perhaps, the shining pile thins a\¥ay m diespair^. the fiery orb begins to recede and ascends higher amd liigher ; and the freed stream proceeds antramimelled in her gltsten- rng route. A mild perfume of agreeable incense floating in the afr now diverts your attention and regales your senses -, and soft and ^weet falls the delicious nahnlrat music upK>n your ears borne on the wind from some temples close by, interrupted by occasional tinkling of bells and clanging of gongs,: — a grand amd solemm welcome to the;
VIII SHRINES OJV 7 HE EA^T 151
coming day and announcement of early invocation to the gracious gods.
Upon the spacious terrace of the lofty temple standing prominent on the north of the ghat, the cool morning breeze redolent with the odour of sanctity jusr grazes by and gently fans your cheeks. In the brightening light the long bridge from Rajghat spanning the river looks clear and distinct on the left, and towers and turrets come out to view in a ruddy hue blended with radiant white ; and to the right, the crescent bank studded with temples and palaces on mighty foundations of massive stone stretches out towards the south till they merge away in the morning haze. A scene of unique grandeur full-bathed in the glamour of the day's opening eye unfolds before )'our wondering vision : the tall turrets and gold- tipped spires of unnumbered temples, the lofty walls and lovely balconies of stately palaces, the broad stone-paved stairs running along the numerous ghat=; — all lining the great arc of the ancient bank in a medley of variegated colours !
The day is now full awake and the Dasaswamedh Ghat — hallowed by its association with the great god Brahma's Ten-horse Sacrifice — seems now to wear its every-day garb, crowded with thronging bathers from far and near. Old men and young are pouring in to take their accustomed dip in the holy water, and matrons and young women and little
152 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap.
' \j v/\ ^ r\j\y\/\,*\/ ^ v'\y\.' \-^ V.' vXvv^v/xy \^\
ones too in their robes of varied hues — the bright red and green and yellow of the Southerners mixing with the paler shades of the north-west and the pure white of Bengal. Ablutions and morning prayers over, and purified in body and feeling a sense of sanctification suffusing their frames, they would, most of them, now go on their jattras or daily rounds of visit to the holy shrines. Some over the edge of the water there linger awhile and sit in their wet clothes immersed in devotion ; and an interesting group of fresh-bathed elderly up- country dames sit yonder in a circle and chant hymns in soft mutters and throw flowers and pinches of rice into a flat brass dish lying in the middle.
We shall now leave this sacred ghat, the most
frequented and one of the holiest here, and follow
a batch of bathers to the Golden Temple of
Viswesivara^ the presiding deity and
To the Golden the premier god of all Benares. Up
Temple the steps as you proceed towards the
highway, flower-stalls prominent with their wealth of golden marigold and barbers' shops with their sundries ranged before them appear on the right and left, as do also the platforms of the ghatia Brahmans squatting under huge palm-leaf umbrellas here and there inviting the patronage of customers. A little further on, and the lame, the blind, the leper and the decrepit line the path m
VIII SHRINES ON THE EAST 153
company with numbers of old wrinkled women and beggars, all seated with small pieces of cloth spread out in front of them, into which the pious — the women-folk mostly — throw in pinches of rice or pulse and sometimes a few cowries or pieces of copper as they trace their way back after their morning bath.
Emerging into the broad road and wending northward, we leave the Phk-and-vegetable Market on the right, and arrive at the entrance to the narrow lane leading to the Golden Temple flanked on either side with tempting sweets-shops bright with their 'white and brown wares. An interesting couple of small ill-clad urchins here stand hand in hand a little way aside, and their lips water with anticipations of untasted pleasure and longing as they watch the customers handling the dream objects of their paradise. Brahmans now and much too many of them accost you here volunteering to conduct you to the holy shrine — with sly expecta- tions of being recompensed for their troubles at the end. Glittering brass and aluminium and German silver wares and cheap German imitations of Indian paintings meet your ^y^s on either side as you proceed up the lane.
Soon on the right in a small ill-lighted chamber appears the white marble statue of Sankaracharya, partly mutilated, and further on Kotilingcsivara Siva
154 THE HOLY CITY {BEAARES) chap.
in an unassuming niche by the road-side. On the left, as you proceed, lies the temple of Sakshi ViNAYAK Ganesha containing a large red image of Ganesha in a spacious quadrangle to which the pilgrims resort after visiting the other shrines in order that this god may bear witness to the fact of their having performed the pilgrimage.
In fact this lane and the next by-lane to the right that curves towards the east from it, contain sacred shrines too numero'is to mention. Just at the entrance to this latter stands the red image of DJmndhiraj Ganesha on the left and some flower- stalls on the right, and the rush of pilgrims from all India is thick at this narrow opening. The stone-paved pathway as you dive into it is moist with mud and water from the bare feet of thousands of worshippers passing this way, the majority of them with votive offerings of flowers, bad leaves and water-pots in their hands filled from the holy stream. Shops bright with miniature brass statuettes of gods and goddesses and stone and crystal emblems of Siva and sundry other appurtenances of worship, line this by-lane till you arrive near the famous temple of Annapurna.
The stately temple has a fine and very elaborately' worked tower and a dome supported upon carved and ornamented pillars. Admitted through the main entrance with a pair of large brass doors with highly finished repousse work upon them, the
VIII SHRINES ON THE EAST 155
floor of the open hall beneath the dome is found to be a piece of beautifut Arnapurna mosaic in white and black marbl? It was about the beginning of the eighteenth century that this temple was erected b> the Raja of Poona ' and was later on greatl> embellished by the famous Rani Bhawani of Nattore in Bengal. The golden face only of the goddess is visible from out of the profusion of garlands of marigold covering the whole body. This in sanctity is next only to Visweswara ; and tradition runs that Siva had once been going a-begging all over the three worlds but could find no food an\'where, till at the advice of Laksmi he came to this place where his spouse Annapurna had spirited away all the provisions of the universe. Here he was sumptuously fed by the latter, and was so gratified and so much elated with joy that he installed the image of Annapurna at Kasi and founded the cit\' in her honor and for her worship. This episode is graphically depicted in the Yomsrain Temple founded by the late Krishnananda Swami at Hous-Kattra in front of the Dasaswamedh Thana ( Police Station ), where a picturesque golden image of Annapurna is represented feeding Siva who stands in front with a bowl in hand — one of the very few full-bodied images of Siva to be
(i) According to Raja Jai Narain Ghoshal, it was erected by a Marhatta named Vishnu Mahadec.
156 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES') chap.
met with in Benares. In the Annapurna temple are also to be seen images of RadJia Krishna, Ganesha, Hanuman the monkey-god, and the striking figure of Surya-graha ( the sun-god ) upon his seven-horse chariot Numbers of beggars daily line the road outside the temple and obtain alms as a regular institution.
Proceeding onward, your eyes light upon the silver-face of the bodiless Sani-deva ( Saturn ) on •^he right with garlands of marigold hanging below It But soft, for, quite blocking the narrow lane •"•here advances a light red and white purdah enclosure held on by half a dozen or more of liveried servants shining in scarlet and yellow. It is some Rani or princess on a visit to the shrines and bent on worship who has thus been effectually shut out from the vuli^ar gaze of strangers and aliens. Slow it moves, this lightsome fabric — and lesser folks must wait till she walks away after finishing her devotions.
So, after a brief haltage, you now approach the
far-famed Golden Temple lying to the left
dedicated to ViSWESWARA, the Holy
The Golden of the Hclies and the highest in
Temple sanctity in all Benares. The temple
propc^r would not be visible until you
pass through the gate and come to the quadrangle
where it stands with a golden dome between two
tall towering spires each fifty-one feet high ; and
VIII SHRINES ON THE EAST i^j
X /^'^ /% /^--vy W' v> \
the floor below is inlaid with black and white marble — some of them covered with the names of their pious donors. The spire to the right with a golden trident surmounting it and a golden streamer by its side is also shining like burnished gold (Plate X, 6) ; the other spire to the left of the golden dome is of red sandstone. The dome and the spires are all richly carved with various designs of flowers and foliage and images of gods and goddesses executed in the old Hindu style. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, was said to have been so impressed by the holiness of the city that he covered the spire and the dome of this temple with plated gold — some say, thickly gilt copper — that dazzles the eye of the visitor to this day.
The temple itself is said to have been built by
the Marhatta prince Peshwa Baji Rao about 172 1
and later on enlarged and beautified
Ahalya Bai at great costs by that pious Royal
Princess, the great Ahalya Bai, who
ruled at Indore from 1766 to 1795 and to whose
munificence Benares owes the magnificent ghat
which bears her name and some fine temples as
well. In other parts of India, too — notably in
Mysore, Malwa, Rameswaram, Kedarnath, Gaya
and Puri — are to be found numbers of temples,
Dharmashalas, wells, roads and other works of public
utility which immortalise the memory of this pious
! 58 THE HOL V CIT V (BENARES) Chap,
lady, the Vishnupada temple at Gaya among these being the greatest and the grandest of them all. The present temple of Visweswara is only a poor substitute for the the original one that was destroyed by the Mahomedans to make room for their mosque ; the former was more spacious and commodious as would appear from the stately ruins we shall presently see in its old site close by (Plate V,2). Mr. Neville writes that '' the original temple, it would seem, was built on the high ground occupied by the (Jarmichael Library, and is believed to have been destroyed by Shahabuddin Ghori in 1494. A second temple was erected soon after between the Library and the present structure : and this was destroyed by Auran^zsb, who built a mosque out of the materials, the walls displaying a large amount of old Hindu
Under the golden spire on the right inside the
hio-hly carved silver door-way is the famous
emblem in black marble — a plain
Visweswara lingam ef uncarved stone — of the
great god VlSWESWARA, the founder
of the holy city, in the low cistern-like seat on
the floor railed round in silver and filled with
water and offerings of flowers and garlands and
one/ leaves. Under the western spire are the
emblems Dandapaniswaj^a and Swayainbhu and
images of some other gods in the niches of the
VIII SHRINES ON THE EAST 159
apartment. In the open hall in the middle under the golden dome is another white marble emblem known as Vaikunteswara Siva. Four large bells — the largest one on the north side a gift of the Raja of Nepal— hang from the ceiling above. On all sides of the quadrangle are open verandahs filled with emblems and images, — the most important among which, located in the four corners, are Abiniukteswara Siva, Annapurna, Parvati in an attitude of prayer, and Laks^ni Narain ; — and even the courtyard below locate numbers of emblems, S'.inischaresivara being one of them.
Passing out by a side-coor on the north-cast corner^ numbers of stone emblems wht^le and mutilated are observed lying strewn about in utter disorder by the back-wall of the building ; the:^e probab!}- belonged to the old Visweswara temple that was destroyed. A little further off on the left is a small house locating a large emblem known as Dhanneswara Siva with a very large number of smaller ones arranged in orderly rows constituting what is known as the Deva-Sava or Siva's court. In this connection mention may be made of one other very sacred spot, nay, one of the very highest sanctity, known as the Antargriha ( the inner home ) lying within the limits of the four shrines at four corners — ^of Manikarnikeswara on the east, Brahmeswara on the south, Gokar^ia on the west, and Bharbhuteswara on the north.
i6o THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
'■\/-\J-\y'.J^r^r,
From the early dawn till the very depth of night the temple of Visweswara is filled with priests and devout worshippers from all parts of India chanting the praises of Siva or merely uttering the invocation, *Hara, Hara', 'Bom, Bom'. The rush in front of the door of Visweswara's apartment is extremely great and an eager crowd press and jostle to get in and just have a glance at the deity. The dim room where a light is ever burning is rendered dimmer by the crowd flocking at the door and is resounding with the chants of mufitras as the worshippers bathe the god with the holy water and present their offerings. This duty over, they visit and pay their homage to the other gods and goddesses located in the temple and make substantial presents in small coins to the priests sitting in front of them not forgetting the beggars as well, and take last of all a few rounds about the temple, pass out by the side-door, and proteed to the other shrines.
The Arati — the evening invocation of Visweswara
—is a sight to see. The brightly illuminated chamber
is filled with the fragrance of burning
The Arati incense, and heaps of sweet scented
flowers and garlands almost shut out
the large emblem from view ; and as a dozen
Brahmans with the five-rayed lights {Pancha-
pradipd ) in their right hands and tinkling bells
in their left wave them in unison with the
VIII SHRIXES ON THE EAST i6i
solemn Vedic chants and keep on calling 'Sanibko\ 'Sambho' ( an epithet of Siva ), the effect is simply sublime, to say nothing of its being exceedingly impressive ; and it is hard for one to avoid being touched by the pervading religious fervour and not to feel a sense of isolation from the surroundings and the visible leading to the thought of an invisible Presence beyond.
Whatever Hinduism is to casual observers, to those who seriously study it as it is in the abstract
and as shorn of the grotesqueness Hludu Ideas that time has undoubtedly attached to
some of its rituals and a portion of its exterior, it is a religion embodying a profusion of allegorical representations of the principles manifest in the Universe leading to the contemplation of the one Supreme Essence, the root
and cause of all, a religion pre-eminently fitting
all stages of life and all degrees of advancement, ranging from the primitive simplicity — which can hav^e no grasp of the abstract and for which the attributes of the Infinite have to be materialised within the circumscribed limits of visible forms and shapes, — and rising to the highest culture of the mind indulging in introspective vision and dealing with the primal Essence, as in the case of the great Vojs;-ees whose perception ranges in the Beyond and to whcm the visible is but an unreality and an illusion.
II —
i62 THE HOL V CI J Y {BENARES) chap.
In the dim beginning of the life-history of Man, the Child in Nature finds the hideous gloom of the night dispdled by the glorious sun-rise that makes the Earth manifest to sight, and hears the roaring thunder in the rolling clouds that melt in welcome showers to cool the parched earth. He watches the endless blue of the mighty ocean surging mysteriously in immense billows and the .rushing gale lashing the waves into masses of ebullient foam. He feels the sweet breath of the Zephyr bracing his frame and gladdening his heart, and observes how the recurring seasons bring forth fresh bloom to adorn the earth. In awe and wonder he stoops to adore and pours forth a paean of praise, — and up arise in his vision the glorious configurations of Savitd, htdra^ Marut, Varuna, and the other deities to bless and console and allay the agitations of his mind. As nature's phenomena grow familiar by repititions and orderly successions, agencies regulating them come to be looked for ; the mind begins to think, and — speaking in broad generalisations, — the circle is narrowed, and the mighty Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva stand out pre-eminent above all, as the essential energies of origination, preservation and transmutation of all kinds. By a process of abstraction, as the mind t:^rows maturer, the One above the Three, self-con- tained and comprehending them all, the Supreme Cause — Brahman, — void of shape or form, beyond conception and comprehension glows out
VIII SHRLVES ON- THE EAST 163
and shines forth above all the rest as the Creator as well as the subsisteiit Essence of all — the all-pervading Universal Soul wherein all things animate and inanimate hold their being as parts of the Universal Whole. The mysterious voice of nature — the booming '0-m* — suffusing the universe, then sounds in his mental ear as the Mother of all Knowledge, uplifting him above the material world and holding out before his mind's eye the glory of the Light Divine — even of " Him who,'' as tke Vedas proclaim, " exists by Himself, whom the spirit alone can perceive, who is imperceptible to the organs of sense, who is without visible parts, eternal, the soul of all beings, and whom none can comprehend." This, perhaps, is the conception of the highest form of the living Hinduism, where the much-dreaded idol does not intervene.
All races and nations living under the sun are struck by the phenomena of Nature in the primi- tive ages in the self-same way or with but slight variations. As the expanding wisdom of the parent race is transmitted as a precious heritage to the succeeding generations of communities as well as nations, notions thus imbibed and ideas based upon the knowledge of their fathers usurp and fa-^ten upon their mind and are sometimes even improved upon ; and the wonders of Nature gradually lose their former glamour in their eyes and the manifestations of
i64 THE HOLY CfTY (/i/tXAK/iS) Cuaf.
Nature's God as sx-mbolised hy their fathers lose all their [>()etry and charm. The later conceptions of Zeus, Neptune, Hy[>erion ai.d the rest of the gods of the Western pantheon — standing out in most cases as but brotliers twin to their Eastern prototypes, — and their subsequent disappearance with the development of philosophical theology leading to the contemplation of the Supreme Essence, may serve as instances in point. Coming to modern times, it is the Hindus only who present the spectacle of the conservation of all the various .stages of the development of their ideas of the Divinity as being adapted to the capacity and comprehension of the different grades of intellects of their ma.sses, — while others have discarded all that was old and have striven to stick fast to the later growths alone, holding out the self-same ideal before all irrespective of the question of their capacity to grasp it. Thus it is that with the Hindus religion has still been a matter of the heart and not of the head ale re, and not a mere convention and leisure-hour oKservance but a part of life itself, to the man of the highest culture in the same way as to (me of the weakest intellect.
A Hindu wlio has not attained the requisite training for directing his thoughts to the concep- tion of the Absolute, localises his contemplation in visible .'^) mbols or material emblems,— much as the veiic.<-t tvro falls if;cn his A'^I.a ar.d Beta to
VIII SHRINES OV THE EAST 165
enable him tc grapple with the hii^hest flights of scientific formulae ; his mind, however, travels beyond them and ranges higher above. But no Hindu ever believes that this symbol or emblem or image, be it earth, stone, or wood, is ever the God he worships though he invests it with the Spirit Divitte by a particular process of invo- cation {Pmnpratishthd). ^ All the satne, however, he comes eventually to acquire the same kind of love and veneration towards these aids to his devotions as the Christian has for his Cross or the stone image of the Immaculate Virgin or his revealed Scripture or the Buddhist for his statuette of the Enlightened One, or the Jaina for his Arhat, or the Mahomedan for his
U) It may not be out of place to quote Kere what the Rev. E. R. Hull remarks in his le ture on "HINDUISM" ''As regards the use of idols or im-i<^es, it is well to be on our guard against the somewhat naive idea of *stock-and-stone worship' prevalent among many, viz., the notion that image-worshippers really worship material objects, viewing them at the same time simply as such . . . Where concrete object is directly made an object of adoration, that is always because it is viewed not merely as the material thing which it appears but because it is invisibly permeated or animated by the presence of spirit, of which it is merely the dw( lling- piace and vehicle ; Cf. the doctrine of consubstantiation and transubstantiation in the Blessed Eucharist. Hindus have their recognised ritual for inducing the prebence ^f (he God: and even of causing its cessation."
i66 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
Holy Book and the personality of his Prophet, — in all .which cases of these aids to their devotions tiie veneration meant for the Ideal is transferred to the Viable and the Material, only in van-ini;- clegrees. Their churches and mosques and shrines^ no less than the symbolic Cross or statuette_, are held in sanctity not as the materfal dwelling-places or representations of the Eternal One,— Z^?*' His abode, according to all creeds, is the pervadiii^ universe and beyond, — but only as places of worship or as repositories of relics, or as merely hallowed by associations ; and so are the temples and shrines of the Hindus enshrining His manifestations under various allegoncal representations ; and theirs is the sublime realisation that 'this vast universe is the sacred temple of Brahman and the mind itself is His sacred shrine". The tail sticks of wax burning before the Crucified Son — the glorious personification of man's suffering for his brother-man^ — or the lights swinging from the ceiling or the incense placed in censers in the empty mosques and churches, shed forth the same amount of lustre and fragrance, and the tolling bells from the tops of the steeples and the Muezzins' piercing call to prayer thrill with the same religious fervour as do their prototj^pes in the Hindu temples. Rites and ceremonials grotesque or otherwise imposed by priest-crafts, and superstitions and caste-prejudices hem round all religions in some form or other» though their respective votaries
VIII SHRINES ON THE EAST 167
might be loth to admit ; but in spite of its having- an ordered system of its own fitting in with all grades of advancement, it is Hinduism alone that is too often condemned and maligned for the simple reason that it is misunderstood or not understood at all b}^ the casual on-lookers who care not to know and only confine their gaze to the merest excrescences in its crudest forms. Mr. Burn^, an alien authority, who made a special study of the subject in course of the Census operations of 1901 remarks thus in respect to the faith of even the commonest populace, subject among all nations to"" ignorant superstitions in the matter of their creeds and beliefs : " The great majority of Hindus have a firm belief in Ofie Supreme God, called Bhagwan, Parameswar, Iswara, or Narain. . . . This involved a clear idea of a single personal God, . . . This is not limited to the more intelligent, but is distinctly characteristic of the Hindus as a whole.*' So, theirs is not a hopeless case altogether as many are apt to think, and they may still hope for salvation through faith and piety and righteousness which are the common assets of all religions and before which the varied observances and conventionalisms of diverse creeds shrink into trivialities and nothingness.
We have perhaps digressed a great deal, — have we ? But this may to some extent help to palliate our ruffled feelings if what we shall presently'
i68 THE HOLY CITY {BEXARES) chap.
observe in this quarter give us any moral shock at the sight of what may look like rampant idolatory. So we had better leave off reflections for the present and look about.
By the back-door of the Golden Temple and past the Deva Sabha we come to the spacious
court where lie the J NAN Bapi well Jnan Bapi and Gauri Sinkar Siva, the seated
figure of Siva with Parvati upon his thigh. Close by rests in blissful idleness the huge stone bull Nandi, painted vermilion and about seven feet high, presented by the Maharaja of Nepal, — a bold and beautiful piece of sculpture. A block of flat shapeless stone underneath the seat of Gauri Sankar is venerated under the name of Tarakeswara Sivn. The spacious temple sheltering the Jnan Bapi has a colonnade of nearly a hundred artistically carved stone pillars supporting the roof ( Plate X, i ) and was erected in 1828 by Maharani Baija Bai, the widow of Daulat Rao Scindhia, an I affords room enough to numbers of persons lur their religious observances.
Iron railings enclose the raised walls of the famous well going by the name of Jnan Bapi or J'dan Kup ( the Well of Wisdom ) — wherein is said to have been hid the emblem of Siva, the original one of the old temple of V^isweswara, thrown in by the priests when under Aurangzeb's orders the Moguls were said to have destroyed the old
VIII SI7K/NES ON THE EA'^T 169
N,/xy N >^yN.'Ay %/\
temple. Legend relates that once in the olden ages of the gods, 'when no clouds would pour on earth, and no streams nor rivers were there, nor water but in the seas «^alt and sweet, Ishana — the Lord of the North-eastern quarter of the sky, — in course of his rambles arrived at Kasi then known as Ananda Kanan ( the Bower of Bliss ) and found a resplendent lin^am shining in its brilliance'. Wishing to lave it in cold water he took Siva's trident and gave a thrust at this spot, and water 'clean and pure like the hearts of the good and white as the bright moonshine', welled out in abundance. Thus came this well into existence and being sacred to Siva became famous as the ' Well of Wisdom' — for the word 'Siva' also signifies Jnan or 'wisdom'. By the side of the well sits an old Brahman with a pitcher and a spoon ready to deal out the water of wisdom to the devout who reverently accepts it in his open palm held cup-shape and sips a i^w drops therefrom.
An open courtyard outside this temple with
another banyan tree and the image of Gangeswara
Siva at its foot, formed at one time a debatable
ground over which the Hindus and the Mahomedans
fought for long until the Magistrate of
Aurangzeb^s Benares interfered. And as a result, a
Mosque do.)i-u^ay erected by the latter along
the enclosure wall of the. a Ijoining
mosque to overlook the courtyard had to be clo^eJ up
170 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
\r\ /N /^yNj^yXy \yXy-v/Vv.'\^^' V% /V/N./^ y
with bricks, and remains to this day in that state. Above a raised platform stands this mosque with a small reservoir of water in front, and the popular belief is that Aurangzeb ca-ised it to be built about 1669 upon the site of the former Visweswara temple after its demolition. ^
The remains of the old temple ( Plate V, 2 ) now existing in the ruins, — into which the western wall of the mosque has evidently been built, — go to prove that the old one was much larger and more spacious and imposing than the present Golden Temple. The elaborate and highly ornate carvings upon the ruined wall and the arches of the door- way are still to be seen at the back of the mosque ; and the traces of a c Duple of peacocks and a pair of parrots scooped out of the carvings upon the central arch of the wall — still clearly visible in outlines — point to their undoubted Hindu origin, for the Mahomedans would not allow any represen- tation of an animate being — the handiwork of the Almighty — to be made upon their structures. The
(i) According to General Cunningham, however, it was Jehangir who 'destroyed the great temple of Visweswara which was built by Raja Man Singh at Banaras at a cost of 36 lakhs of Rupees and built the Jimi Musjid on its site.' Evidently, he must have meant the Adi-Visweswara temple over the other side of the Chauk Road near to which is a small mosque reputed to have been built by Jehangir upon the site of the old temple. Vide Cunningham's Archaeological Survey Reports Vol- III, p. 7.
VIII SHRINES ON THE EAST 171
-^/-..y^_/-^y-v./\^-v ■V'V'-V'-'w--\yvyv/v/ ./'^y^^' -^""v/'-y ^
existence of the ruined wall impresses one with the idea that the builders of the mosque suffered it to stand to serve as a memento of Moslem triumph in this the most sacred spot of the Hindus. The terrace which is about five feet higher than the courtyard upon which this mosque stands, would seem to have been erected upon some pillars of Buddhistic design. Cell-like recesses, as are found in temple-monasteries of the earlier times, are to be seen here also below the terrace and tend to show that there had once been a Buddhistic structure on the spot over which the Hindu temple must have been erected after the fall of Buddhism, to be supplanted in its turn by Aurangzeb's mosque later on.
Coming out of this lane into the broad road
leading to the Chauk, we may have a look at the
temple of Adi-Visweswara— a large
Adi-Visweswara Siva emblem — to the north-west beyond
Aurangzeb's mosque upon a terrace over
a small rising ground, a little way off from the
Carmichael Library. It is about sixty feet high and
is said to have been built after the demolition of the
magnificent temple erected by Raja Man Singh of
Jaipore at a cost of " nearly thirty-six laks of five
methkally ashrefis." Jehangir notes in his 'Memoirs
that after throwing down the said temple, '* on the
spot and with the very same materials, I erected
the great mosque, because the very name of lslc«m
172 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES)
was proscribed at Benares, and with God's blessint^ it is my design, if I live, to fill it with true believers." Xear it stands a small musjid built with the materials of Hindu architecture which supplies the basis for the popular belief that the site of the original Visweswara temple was shifted from this place when the mosque was erected.
A short distance to the east of the temple of Adi- Visweswara is what is known as Kashi Kariuat.
It is inside a small building, snd Kasi Karwat through its square vertical opening
looks like a well underground much below the floor of the house, but it has no water, nor is it connected with any water-channel. Upon the stone-paved bottom below stands a large emblem which can be approached from above by a stairway. It is said people formerly believed that death at this place would immediately lead to emancipation from the chances of re-birth. Some persons availed of this easy means rather too literally, and the Government had to close the top with iron gratings allowing it to be removed only once a week.
( 2 ) On the North
NTO the labyrinths of narrow lanes and alleys in the eastern quarter lying along the river-side we SankataDevl now dive and find it full of shrines and sacred places and temples at very short inter- vals of spaces. A very popular one is the temple of Sankata Devi — an image of Durga in brass — with a figure of Ganesha and a crouching stone lion in front of the entrance ; and any morning you may find numbers of devout reverend-looking Brahmans sitting cross- legged in a line in the hall in front and reading the sacred Chandi in praise of the goddess. Near it is the large emblem Vires wara Siva with the representation of a hooded serpent above it. Another temple not far from it is that of Siddhesivari — another figure of Durga— with a well in the centre of the compound sacred to the Moon and known as Chandrakup,
The next temple of importance is the exceed- ingly rich and highly tr.ccwcd GgI'AL Kx\MIR
174 THE HOL V CITY (BENARES) chap.
containing two golden images of Krishna and dedicated to his worship. It stands Gopal Mandir upon a very high and spacious terrace trelissed with white and black marble, and is approached through a lane lined with tinsel-shops on both sides. The decorations and the ornaments of the idols here are of the costliest nature and the. ways and bearing of the Mohunt, the guardian of the temple, quite regal. A small house behind this temple is said to have been the abode of Tulsi Das; there is, however, another connected with his name near the Asi Ghat, which is of greater importance.
To the west of the Gopal Mandir and the north-east extremity of the Chaukhaniba Gait — so called from a building here supported on four low massive pillars — stands an ancient mosque with a corridor supported upon twenty-four square pillars of peculiar design 'probably adapted from some older Hindu edifice.'
Not very far from the Gopal Mandir, as you
penetrate the narrow lanes where sun-rays seem to
come down quite subdued, appears the
Bhalronath temple of Bhaironath — the dreaded
attendant of Siva, — considered to be ,
the personification of Siva's anger and the reputed
guardian of Siva's city, whom our European friends
delight in styling the Spiritual Magistrate of Benares,
The god in visible representation is a stout-looking
VIII SHRINES ON THE NORTH 175
image in black marble painted deep blue, — sometimes wearing a silver mask on the face, — with a dog beside him and holding a massive club in his hand. This temple was erected by the Peshwa Baji Rao of Poona, nearly a century now, on the site of the old temple which was a much smaller one. The temple looks fine, but is very much cramped for space. This shrine is a very popular one and numbers of people daily visit it. Priests sit upon the verandahs to purge you of all sins of omission and commission by a light tap of the bunch of peacock feathers they hold in their hands, expecting no doubt a consideration for this act of merit ; and it is interescing to observe how eagerly the elderly men and women hold up their little innocents to be thus cleansed of imaginary sins they have not yet grown old enough even to conceive of. A short distance to the east along the road is the shrine of the nine planetary gods, — the
temple of Naugraha or Navagraha. Naugraha It has a small room and through
the fretted stone screen on the wall you can have a peep at them lying arranged in a row.
Further on, lies the shrine of Dandapani — a thick round rod of stone set upright and standing
about four or five feet high with a Dandapani silver mask at the top. This is
considered to be the cudgel with which Bhaironath, the guardian of Siva''s city chastises
176 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap.
the wrong-doers who have the misfortune of incurring his displeasure. Across the room on the left is the noted Kal Kup or the Well of Fate, reputed
to presage death within six months Kal Knp to those who do not see their
shadows reflected upon its water at mid-day. The sun-rays are at this hour admitted for a short while to alight upon the water through a curiously cut hole upon the trellis-work near the top, and hence the mystification. Within a stone enclosure adjoining the Kal Kup is what is known as the Pancha Pandava which is nothing but five Siva emblems lying there within a stone enclosure.
Not very far from the temple of Bhaironath i*^ a signboard upon the threshold of a small house
pointing to you the last place of Trailanga Swami abode of the saintly Paramhansa
Trailanga Swami who passed away about a quarter of a century ago at a fabulous old age. He is said to have beea born at Holia in Vizianagram in the year 1529 Sam vat of a devout Brahman family and to have relinquished the world at the age of forty-eight when he lost his mother. He travelled from Rameswaram to Tibet and Mansarowar where he practised Yoga, and then came to Benares. He stayed near the Dasaswamedh Ghat, ^nd for a time at the Asi and Tulsi ghats as well, aid at la^t btttlcd duvai
VIII SHRINES ON THE NORTH 177
^^'NTvyv/W'V.'X/^/
here in this Asram (retreat) above the Panchaganga Ghat. He was profoundly learned and has left his Sanskrit work 'Mahavakva Rainavali' ; he used to talk but little except to his disciples and is said to have wielded miraculous powers and saved many persons from untiqaely death by simjly touching their forehead with a little earth from the Ganges when they had apparently been given up for dead.
Popular tradition runs that he used to float upon the water of the Ganges seated with legs crossed for two or three days at a stretch even in the depth of the winter ; and that on one such occasion an officer of the Ramnagar Raj saw him and took him up in his boat. While examining the officer's sword the Swami inadvertently dropped it m tiie water when in mid -stream. The former was rather annoyed at this^ whereupon the sage dipped his hands into the water and brought up three swords exactly identical with the one he had dropped. As the officer was unable to pick out his own, the Swami gave him one and threw the other two into the water. On another occasion, a man from Serampore then living at Benares, felt very much distressed at heart without any apparent cause, and alarmed at the premonition approached the sage, v^-ho closed his eyes and sat meditafng for a few minutes, and at last broke the news to him that his eldest son had that morning succumbed to cholera
12 —
178 THE HOL V CITY (BENARES) Cupl^.
at Serampore, hundreds of miles away, — which came out to be correct. Mystical as things like these might have seemed a few decades before and hard for any but the most easy credulit)- to gulp down, perhaps in these days of psychic researches and latter-day developments of occult science they would be viewed in a different light and take a different complexion.
Trailanga Swami's was a towering figure in Benares and a name widely known and respected throughout the length and breadth of India for his wisdom, learning and saintly life. The sign-board above the threshold leads you into the courtyard of his humble retreat, and in a narrow apartment under a low roof lies his statue in black marble representing him seated in padmashan with legs crossed as he used to sit in life and looking before him with piercing eyes. His own string of rudraksha is on the neck of the figure, and his wooden sandals and seat and old books have been preserved here with loving care. A very large Siva emblem lies in the courtyard and an image of Kali stands behind the statue. There are some stone slabs with mystic symbols and lotus and chakra (circle) irt^ribed upon them, and one of them is named Ravi Tarak Yantra. Hallowed the spot that Was the abode of a holy man !
Coming now to the road leadinc; to Rajghat we fisid the Machchhodari Tirth—?^ .mall tank
VIII SHRINES ON THE NORTH 179
of oval shape in a large compound now being converted into a garden. Near to it is Kameswara the temple of KaMESWARA Siva with an emblem in a railed cistern and another copper-plated one named Dtirbasscswara after the Rishi Durbasha whose image is in the adjoining temple of Naleswara Siva. The temple of Kameswara is a very old one, and \\\ its compound is a very large cluster of small temples on all sides filling up every available nook Besides the large number of Siva emblems located in them, there are also the images of Rama and Sita, Narasinha, Laksmi and Surya Narain. A large peepul-tree in the middle of the small courtyard with its gnarled trunk and overspreading branches and a few tiny birds perching and frisking upon them in the noon-tide sun, and the subdued brightness of the flitting sun-rays alightini; through the thick rustling foliage upon numbers of emblems and images grouped around it, make the scene one of idyllic restfulness.
Proceeding towards the north through a quarter inhabited mostly by Mahomedans of the poorest class we come to the small isolated temple of SJwJm^esuHxya Siva with a well in front of it in the quiet
silence of the neighbouring fields. Here Shoha^eswara are remains of sculptured stones
scattered about, and numbers of them — probably parts of friezes of some building with carved
i8o THE HOLY CI J Y {BENARES) chap.
figures thereupon — lie beside a peepul tree near the temple. This is not very far from the Arhai Kanj:^ura Mosque, and so the remains may relate to those of the Hindu structures that were used also in the construction of that mosque. One in- teresting object here is the large stone figure, evidently of V^ishnu, partly mutilated but still showing enough of its neat execution. To the left a little off is the temple of Oinkareswara Siva upon a slight eminence amidst a dense growth of jungles extending far and away. Close by on the right is a ruined old well which is pointed out as containing a very large lateral cave underneath and a passage leading to regions unknown.
Back southwards to the Raj Gliat road^ we proceed to the western quarter towards the Municipal Park where a large number Kirtibaseswara of ancient temples lie close to one another. The first, then, is the old temple of Kirtibaseswara to the right upon a slightly rising ground with a small garden in front and a small tank known as Hans Tirtha behind it. This temple is of later construction and its former site where the emblem was enshrined was at the place where the Alamgiri mosque now stands. Passing along the road you find the small twin temples of Ratneswara Siva ^nd Hanumanjiy the letter contain ing a large image of Hanuman, and both standing back to back and almost encroaching upon the road itself,
MI SflRLVZS O.V THE NORTH i8i
, -\y\/^^-\J^J%J\r\
A few paces off is the Alamgiri MoSQUE named
after Aurangzeb who is reputed to have caused it
to be erected upon the remains of the old temple
of Kirtibaseswara in 1659— as would
Alamgiri appear from an inscription in Arabic
Mosque to the effect : *'Turn your face towards
the sacred mosque. 1077 Hijira." The
massive capitals and the rows of lofty pillars with
the carvings at the base, pojnt them out to be
materials of the old Hindu temple it had displaced.
The Rev. Mr. Sherring ascribes them to some
date five or six centuries back and they are interesting
and striking as fine examples of the Hindu art.
Somewhat to the north-east of the Municipal
Park stands the oldest of the existing temples in
j^cnares — that of Briddhakaleswara. It is a very
plain temple with a couple of spires
Briddtaa- containing the emblem within a stone
kaleswara cistern a little below the level of the
floor. In the adjoining compartment is
the Omkareswara Siva. The temple is famed to
have been in existence from the middle Brahmanic
period between the thirteenth and the fourteenth
centuries and is said to have been erected by a
Raja of Nandibardhan m Southern India named
Briddhakal and to have formerly possessed a dozen
separate courts. The important one among them
in existence at present is where a small circular
tank of foul water about two yards in diameter
lies in the middle. It goes by the name of Amrita
icS2 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
Kup, and its water is supposed to be efficacious in curing various skin-diseases. Close by lies another well with water fit to drink, and to the north of it in another court approached through a narrow corridor and enclosed by old walls are the temples of Marke7tdes%i^ara and Dakskeswara Sivas said to have been established by Rishi Markendeya and Daksha Prajapati. The whole is, however, in a ver}^ neglected and woe-begone condition and overgrown with weeds. A little to the west of the temple of Briddhakaleswara is the temple of Alpamriteswara^ also known as Mrityunjaya Siva.
Further off to the west and on the western side of the Municipal Park is the temple of
Bara Ganesha standing upon a high Bara Ganesha terrace above the level of the street
where stands a beautifully carved Sati stone with a pair of quaint youthful figures in a standing posture. This temple locates a very large image of the elephant-headed god painted deep vermilion with silver hands and feet. Worshipped at the commencement of all ceremonies and believed to bring every undertaking to a successful issue, the fane of this god is approached by numbers of people on all occasions. A rather g-iant of a rat, also painted red and of the size of a full-grown dog, stands in the verandah in front. This temple is said to have been erected about seventy years ago> but the image is many centuries
VIII SHRINES ON THE AORTH 183
old.'* Adjoining this is the temple of Hanuman and at some distance is that oi Jagannath.
We next pass on to the temple of Jageswara^
the Lord of Sacrifices, lying towards the north-west
The emblem here is a large round
Jageswara tall piece of black stone, so called
from its origin in course of a great
sacrifice. It is of great sanctity and held in . high
esteem, and people of all classes great and small
frequent the shrine in numbers. Close to this is
the large Iswarganji Tank. :. .••...
The temple of Kasi Devi, the tutelary deity of
Benares, is also very near and is considfired to be
the Central Spot of Benares. A few
Kasi Devi steps off are the Karrmghanta Talao
with its stone stairs leading to the
water below and the temple of Veda Vyas containing
his image upon its southern bank. A little to
the north of the temple of Kasi Devi lies one
containing the image known as Bhut-Bhairo^ and
near to it is the large Jyestheswara Siva.
<i) In this connection it may be interesting to note that the ceiebrated traveller Alexander Von Humboldt came ;across an old Mexican painting when he was in America representing the head of an elephant on the body of a man, which made him remark : 'it present£ some remarkable and apparently not accidental resemblances with the Hindu Ganesh.'
1 34 TH2 HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
Advancing further northward we catch sight
or the temple of Bageswari. The goddess is
seated upon a crouching lion and her
Ba^eswari silver face only is visible, the rest of her body being covered by a profusion of garlands. A number of Brahmans here sit f5:itia_^ M mtras in praise of the goddess, and a large white lion of stone presented by Raja Lai Bahadur Singh of Ahmety frowns in front in the quadrangle. There are images of Rama, Laksmana, and Sita as well in this temple. Very close to this lie the temples of Jwarahares'wara and Siddheswara Sivas.
A short distance off is the Nag Kua, or the Serpents' Welly in the quarter bearing its name
and considered to be the oldest Na^ Kua historical place in Benares. The stones
used in the well are supposed to show marks of great antiquity, and a Raja is reputed to have repaired the well in Sam vat 1825, The bottom of the v/ell is reached by a series of steep stone stairs ver)^ solid in make ; and there are three serpents carved in a niche in the weil and a Siva emblem.
Here, perhaps, we have reached the northernmost
point of Benares containing Hindu
Kapildltara shrines and temples. There is one
other some distance off on the
north of the Barana known as KnpHa Tirtha or
VIII SHRINES ON THE NORTH 185
Kapildhara situate on the Panchkoshi Road limiting the sacred ten-mile radius of Benares. The legend connected with this holy tank runs to the effect that five cows came down from Golok, the abode of Vishnu, after Siva had returned to Kasi from the Mandara mountains. And as he cast upon them his kindly look, milk began to from flow their udder in copious squirts and thus came a pool into existence, now transformed into this tank of sweet water in this Kali age.
(3) On the South
OW with our pilgrimage to the southern
quarter. Bending our steps towards
!>Xi^i'^l t^Wmi ^^" south-west and passing close by
^feP^M^^P^ ^^^^ Queen's College, we soon have
a glimpse of the spacious Pisach Mochan grounds of the residence of the Maharaja of Hutwa on the western part of the Behind it lies the PiSACH MoCHAN tank— a expanse of clear water — famous as the site where Bhaironath had decapitated a pisach (demon) who had attempted to effect a forcible entry into Kasi. When the head, which had retained its animation and had not lost its power of speech, was presented before Visweswara it prayed that it should be allowed to stay at Kasi and that pilgrims to Gaya should be enjoined to visit this tank — into which Bhaironath was to throw the head — before starting on their journey. Both these prayers Visweswara was gracious enough to grant, and hence arose the sanctity of this place. A few small temples stand on the bank, one of which h?»d been erected by the famous Mira Bai, the Queen poetess of Udaipur, who according
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SHRINES ON THE SOUTH 187
N/N.'NyX/V/V ■
to the Vaishnava work '' Bhaktamdla^' had to leave her royal palace as she would not abandon the worship of Krishna. There are a number of images of various gods and with them in an open verandah is the large stone head representing the pisach in question.
As we emerge into the high-road a dozen men in an orderly line — sojourners evidently from a great distance — precede us bearing straw baskets slung from poles upon their shoulders with small red pennons flying above them. With great care are they carrying the sacred water from the source of the Ganges, wh'ch they have brought from distant Hurdwar in the Himalayas with the object of bathing the great god Visweswara therewith. Further to the south is the large tank with stone stairs
known as PiTRl KuND with three
Pitrl Kund and Siva temples on the north bank, and
Matri Kund a little to the west is the Matri
Kund so called on account of the oblations offered here to the manes of the paternal and maternal ancestors. The latter is of an irregular shape and is in an exceedingly bad condition being almost filled up with refuse on one side and thus reduced to a very small pool of very foul water.
Further south still is the SURAJ KUND with a small temple erected by the Raja of Kota Bundi and dedicated to the sun-god containing the symbolic
i8S THE HOL V CITY {BE.VARES) CfiAP.
image of Surya Nafain.'^ This shrine is also called
the Sambaditya Temple as having
SuraJ Kund been built by the mythical prince Samba
who is reputed to have also erected
the wonderful Sun-temple at Kanarak in Orissa —
(i) Though this is the solitary temple at Benares set apart for the worship of the Sun, still the Sun is daily invoked by every Hindu, even allegorically in reciting the sacred Gayatri. It may not thus be out of place to quote what Prescott in his flowing language wrote in his 'Conquest of Peru' regarding Sun-worship in that portion of the globe in the most ancient times : "The most renowned of the Peruvian temples, the pride of the capital, and the wonder of the ein[)ire, was at Cuzco . . . The interior of the temple was the most worthy of admiration. It was totally a mine of gold. On the western wall was emblazoned a representation of the deity, consisting of a human countenance, looking forth amidst innumerable rays of li^ht, which emanated from it in every direction, in the same manner as the sun is often personified with us. The figure was engraved on a massive plate of gold, of enormous dimensions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones. It was so situated in front of the great eastern portal that the rays of the morning sun fell directly upon it, and at its rising, lighted up the whole of the apartment with an effulgence that seemed more than natural, and which was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and ceiling were incrusted. Gold, in the figurative language of the people, was the tears wept by the sun, and every part of the interior of the temple glowed with burnished plates and studs of the precious metals. The cornices which surrounded the walls of the sanctuary were of the same costly material, and a broad belt of gold work let into the stone work, encompassed the whole interior of the edifice,"
VIII SHRINES ON THE SOUTH 189
' yj'\j'\y\.^y yv/^.'
,'^_'*^ '\/\y\yK/'\.
still a marvel of the sculptor's art. A mutilated figure, Ashtanga Bhairab, is in another temple near to it, and at a little distance is the Dhrubeswara Siva,
Next, on the north of the read leading to Dasasvvamedh ghat, lies the Laksmi Klkd, a large
tank of good clear water with paved Laksmi Kund banks and with stairs running from
the middle of each of them. On the north bank is the temple of Mahalaksmi , in which are the images of Laksmi with a golden face and of Mahakali and Saraswati on the two sides and Laksvit Vznayak Ganesh in a niche in the wall. As )'ou pass through the close narrow lane and emerge in sight of the large expanse of clear water bounded b}' the paved banks, the whole scene smiles as it were with its sunlit brightness and there is a pleasant sense of welcome relief after the dust and dirt of the winding streets.
Past the borders of the quarters of the Theo* sophical Society, we now turn westwards. Very calm and quiet, and interspersed with numbers of gardens and sparse habitations is this retired quarter. To the south of the road a little into the Sankaraclrarya interior lies the piuth of the great Sankaracharva erected by the Maha- raja of Nepal in the midst of a large garden of plums and guavas whose drooping branches arp holding forth bunches pf bright tepipting fruits.
190 THE HOLY CITY (BEWARES) chap.
Born at Kalpi in Kefala or the Malabar District in Southern India of a family of Nambudri Brahmans this great champion of Vedantism and Advaitism had become a Sannyasin on the anniversary of his ninth birth-day; but unlike Buddha who slipped away unseen in the depth of night, he relinquished the world after taking leave of his mother and persuading her to permit him to do so. When only twelve, he commenced writing his famous Commentaries upon Sfeemadvagavat Geeta and the Upanishads and other works which have been the marvel of all ages as intellectual achievments of the very highest order. The precocity of his master- intellect unparalleled in the history of the world was almost supernatural, and we have the wonderful spectacle of the vast mass of his philosophical writings being completed by his sixteenth year. At the very young age of thirty-two he obtained his final emancipation at Kedarnath in the Himalayas, and in course of this brief span of eternal time alloted to him he had travelled all over India and established the order of the Dasnami Sannyasis ( the ten sects ) and founded four imiths — the Sringeri in Mysore, the Gobardhan at Puri in Orissa, the Sarada at Dwarika in Kathiwar, and the Jos hi at Bddrinath in the Himalayas, — placing four of his disciples at their heads. The first three have still retained their ancient glory, and the one in Southern India going by the name of Sringeri
VIII SMRINES ON THE SOUTH 191
\/^X'^^^./^y\
muth ^ at the source of the Tungabhadra in the Kadur district of Mysore with an estate of Rs 45,000 a year, is the most famous at the present time. The most learned among his disciples, Mandana, was placed at its head and a temple dedicated to the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati, was erected by Sankara and under the name of Sarada the Goddess is still the presiding deity of this muth. It is the residence of the head of the order who adopts the name 'Sri JagatgUru Saitkarachary a* and is accepted as the religious head of Hindu India.
This temple in Benares contains a very beautiful white marble statue of this regenerator of Hinduism (Plate IV, 2) in a sitting posture with his dcxnda (rod) and kania)ida!u (Water-pot) — symbolic of the order of the Dandis to which he belonged— lying oy his side. A calm and placid expression and an air of grace sit upon the )'outhful face and eyes. Far away from all noise and bustle of the city, this is indeed a veritable retreat for calm and quiet contemplation and reminds one of the beautiful lines of old Chaucer:
" Wav'ring as winds the breath of fortune blows, No power can turn it, no prayer compose. Deep in some hermit's solitary cell, Repose and ease and contemplation dwell."
(Modernised).
(i) A portion of it was lately destroyed by a disastrous fire on the 2Sth February 19 ii with a number of exquisitely carved ancient pillars.
192 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
Towards the south-east the small shrines of Batiik Bhairab, Kawachchha Devi, and Baidyanath Siva are passed in quick succession along the winding lanes. This last has a temple with fine carved stone pillars and mythological engravings upon the walls. A little further off is Bhutnath — one of the very few full-bodied images of Siva in Benares. Most of these temples have atithisalas for sheltering pilgrims attached to them, and all of them lie to the south- west of the Central Hindu College.
A little way off, to the south of the Bhelupura Waterworks is a fine large tank known as Sankudhara
also called the Dwnraka Tirtha, because Sankudhara of the tradition that Krishna killed
the demon Sankasura here. Upon a rising ground on the east is a large Vaishnavite vmth of the followers of Ramanand and Ramanuja Swami containing a large image of Krishna styled Divarakadhiswara and several other smaller ones. The same temple also locates the image of Hanumanji. But the most interesting object here is the large piece of black sculptured stone standing \\\ the veranda to the left of the doorway of a small temple of Siva just over the eastern bank of the tank (Plate XI. 4\ A finely cut and elaborately deco- rated image of the four-armed Vishnu known as Tribakra Narayan or Laksnii Narayan stands in the centre of a group consisting of a couple of female figurps standing on either side, and a pan and 4
VI I r SHRINES ON THE SOUTH 193
vvomin posed at the further ends in the attitude of prayer. A. few smaller figures with .palms joined together sit below upon the pedestal. Three arms of the central figure are broken or mutilated, but it is still a fine example of the Hindu art. It is report- ed to have been found in the bed of the Ganges by a former Mohunt of the Vaishnavite muth and placed here in this temple. This resembles the fine standing figure of Vishnu with four arms found by General Cunningham at Devathala or Devasthah on the road to Dinajpur, 15 miles to the north of Paridua. ^
Eastwards hence to the large shady grove in the middle of which stands a two-storied building con- taining the images of Radha and Gurudham Krishna — known as Giirudhmn connected with the memory of Raja Joy Narain Gliosal- and owned by the Raj family of Bhukailas of Calcutta. The approach to the house from the road is a fine long walk through an avenue of shady trees. At a short distance from this is what is known as Menaka Bart,
Next comes the beautiful temple of KUMAR-
ESWARA Siva containirg a number
Kumareswara of very fine artistically worked statues
Siva of various gods and goddesses, all
in pure white marble, ranged along the
inner walls. In an adjoining chamber is a beautiful
(i) See Plate XXVI T, Cunningham's Arclxseological Survey Reports, Vol. XV ( 187^.80 ), ■
13—
194 THE HOL V CITY (IllLVARES) CHAP;
white marble statue of Swami Bhaskaranand, perhaps? the best one in Benares. In rem ^m 'trance of the good the Swami had don^ her, the Rani of Barahar in Southern India made him an offering of a hikh and a half of rupees, add 017 his refusal to accept the same, she caused this f^ne temple and the ad-- joining atithisala for pilg:rims to be erected in response to his wishes.
Now into a narrow laiie and throttgh a \o\v^ ♦md tortuous pathway inside a large greenwood till we arrive at the temple of ^an/cai S&nkat Mochan Mochan (deliverer from danger), a name applied to the monkey-god Hanuman foi' the very substantial help he bad rendered to Rama in his troubles. Ho^ry peepuls overhung with thick clustering creepers dangHng from their branches overshadow the locality ; on the left appear.*^ the temple of Hanuman with an image of large proportions^ and ©n the right another with images- of Rama, Lak.^mana and Sita. The inner walls and the ceiling of this latter one are literally covered over xvith brilliantly coloured scenes from Rama's life and mythological pictures of the ten Avatars and the ten Mahavid)'a/*;y iiiparting a very gorgeous look to it. The im?lge ©f Hanuman is said to have been established hei>; ■ by Tulsi Das^ whose own statue is pointed out testing upon a lotus-shaped marble-slj.b under a round canopy beliind this temple. Though in a very Included nook and far away from the public thorough- fare^ it is rxBe the less popular an€l largely visited.
VI 11 SHRINES ON THE AORTH 195
Back to the broad road, and after a visit to the Rani of Barahar\s fine temple ( Plate XI, 6 ) ofSita, Rama and Laksmi Namyan, we approach the DURGA KUNI) and the famous TEMPLE OF DURGA by its side. Amid a dense conglomeration Temple of of fine f^old-tipped cupolas symmetrically Durga arranged, the lofty steeple of the temple surmounted by a golden trideiTt rises high in a very pleasant manner. The temple and the fine tank ( Plate XI, 3 ) with runninL;. stairs and monkeys sporting upon them are both of them gifts of Rani Bhawani, the widow o\ Maharaja Ramkant-a of Nattore in Bengal. The temple is in the quadi-angle and is much visited by pilgrims, and is next in importance only to those of Artiiapurna and Visweswiara. This in all Benares is the only shrine where sacrifices are offered, and there is none other where slaughter, in any shape takes place, A tail pillar with the figure of a Hon upon the top stands in front of the temple, and covered verandahs running all round afford shelter to pilgrims and devotees. Finely sculptured bas-reliefs decorate the temple aii4 its arches, and a number of beautifully carved ]Mllars line the porch (Plate XI, /}, t^e iloor of \d3id1 is inlaid with black and white marble. It has also acquired the name of the Monkey Temple on account of its being infested with monkeys — quite a number of families with little sucklings holding fast to the older ones as the latter skip from place to ]>lac.e.
tq6 the holy city (BENARES) chap.
They keep to the traditions of their race for froh'c and mischief and are not in the least disinch'ned to accept your bount}- in the shape of anything eatable }'ou may like to favor them with. As you hold out your hand with a few g-rains of pulse in }'Our open palm, up scampers a big fellow, catches hold of it with one hand and with the fingers of the other picks them up and throws them deftly into his mouth till the side-pouches fill and bloat out, and then leaves }'ou without any sign of offering the poorest of thanks for the treat, and walks av^'ay munching and munching and poking tl\e grains out from beneath the jaws with the finger-tips.
To the east of the temple of Durga lies Rani Bliawani's square tank Kunikshctra Talao and 'the Ananda Bag garden formerly belonging to the Marhdtta Chief Amritalal Feshwa. This latter after- wards passed into the hands of the Biiaskaranand British and was sold after the Sepoy Mutiny to the Raja of Ahmet}-. This is the famous osravt or retreat of the saintl}- Paravihansa SWAMI Bhaskaranand SakasWATI, the glory of Benares and held in high esteem not only in India but also m Europe and America. On account of his vast erudition and piety his name had attained such wide celebrity that most o-f the eminent visitors to this city — even from the most distant and out-of-the-way corners of the world
Vlir SHRINES ON THE SOUTH 197
like New Zealand, Iceland and China, not to speak of almost all parts of the far-off Europe — came to see him under his humble roof at this place ; and the present Czar of all the Russias while visiting India as the Czarevitch in 1890 reckoned himself amongst the number of his visitors. He was a Kanouj Brahman born in A. D.1833 at Maithilalpur in the Cawnpur district, and even from his childhood a supreme indifference to all worldly concerns characterised all his actions. His loving parents anticipating the bent of his mind got him married and attempted to bind him down to his home by ties of love and affection ; but he s<3on tore himself away — even on the very night" his only child was born — like the great Buddha, and renounced the world and plunged into the diepths of the night all alone though he was but eighteen at the time. He became an ascetic and entered the order of Sannyasis when he was twenty- seven, and travelled all over India on foot for thirteen years. On his arrival at Benares, upon the earnest entreaty of Raja Lai Madhav Singh of Ahitiety, he consented to reside in this garden and lived liere for twenty-six years till he passed away in samadki ^ in 1899. He left an invaluable work in Sanskrit, ' Sivardjya Shiddhi Nayakd.
(i) "Samadhi js the state in which the ascetic loses the consciousness of every individuahty, including his own. He becomes the All ". — H. P. Blavatsky's *' Voice of Silence ".
193 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
In this quiet quarter and far away from all bustle and comn:>otion of the cit>\ the holy man lived amidst the peaceful surroundings of this garden. A statue in white marble faithful to his emaciated frame rests in a small house for the present and awaits removal to the beautiful mausoleum of milk- white marble ( Plate XI, i ) with a fine dome and gilt spires in the centre of the compound erected upon the spot where he had been buried. Inside the silver doors is a marble vcdi ( altar ) beneath v/hich lie his remains, and behind a screen of fretted white marble is the room set apart for the location of the statue. An air of peace and purit>" soothes the mind as you rest here for a while and look upon this most handsome ancl artistic marble edifice that cost about a lakh and a quarter and is perhaps the only one of white marble of note m Benares with the exception of the small temple of Saras waii in the Central Hindu CoUege (Plate III. I ).
Bhaskaranand used usually to lie immersed in devotion in some underground cell inside the building and his orders on such occasions were to let in none into the garden. It is said that a powerful Indian prince once went to see him, and finding the gate closed and wo*ild not be opened at his bidding, had it forced open and entered tlie ho'vver of Ketaki flowers where Bhaskaranand was at the time. Here he found what koked
Vni SHRLYES ON THE SOUTH 199
\j\.r\r\j\.^r\^s_r^r /^ ^- /^ '^.''v'N.'V^jfv/-v/\'V/"L
like a couple of lifeless bodies — lying stretched full length upon the ground — of Bhaskaranand and Trailanga Swami, the latter having been there on a visit to him. He waited for a time, but there was no sign of animation, and then he touched the body of the latter. At once as if oy an electric thrill passing through the frames of both, they began to breathe heavily, woke up and rose to their feet, and looked at him with eyes of fire, so angered they seemed at this intrusion. The Raja fled before them in fear, but could not proceed farther than a few steps, fell down senseless and thus he lay for fully half a day ! On another occasion while expounding the falsity and illusory nature of all earthly objects to Sir Romesh Chander Mitter, the late Judge of the Calcutta High Court, he is said to have vanished away thrice into the air even as he sat, thus giving a practical exposition of what he had been saying j Such are a couple of anecdotes out of numbers connected with his name. VV^hether high development of occult powers makes miraculous actions possible is not a subject we can just now pause to consider. Trailanga Swami had also been reputed to have similar powers, and with another holy personage, Visuddhanand Saraswati — the trio formed the last connecting link with the age of the ancient Rishis and were the veritable landmarks of Benares, whose abodes were as much frequented and held in sanctity as any temple here.
200 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap
'■>^'W'^ .'■\/'\/' V ^yW^.^ V v-' V>'Vr v/ V^vr> y
From here to the Jagannath Temple is not a very far cry, and with it you reach the point in the farthest south of this city Jagannath where all temples end. Calm, cool and quiet is the large compound of this solitary temple standing by the side of the Asi streamlet. A long shaded walk along the outer court brings you in front of a large bell suspended a little way off from the low gateway of the temple. Inside stand Ja^annath and Balabhadva with Shubhadra between them even as they are represented at Puri. In the four corners of the court are the images of Krishna pla)'ing upon a flute, of Krishna seated upon the hood of the serpent overpowering the Kalia Nag, of Rama and Sita gorgeously decked, and of Laksmi Narain.
In another temple just at the back is
the gigantic white figure of the lion-mouthed
Nara-Sinha^ the avatar oi Vishnu
Nara-Sinha who killed the dreaded Demon-king
Hiranyakasipu to save his son Prahlad.
This young prince had turned a worshipper of
Krishna against his father's will and had at his
bidding been thrown into the fire and the sea
and under the feet of an elephant as well, but
had every time come out unscathed. Fabulous no
doubt all this reads ; but fire-w^alking has been
exhibited with success in course of the last few
years, and anent this last elephant incident, the
VIII Sf/i'ZLVES ON TII2 SOUTH 201
achievements of a present-day youth of Vizianagram tend to foster the belief that though much mixed up with poetical exaggeration all the recitals in the Puranas are not always absolute myth. The youngest among three brothers and only twenty- nine and every inch of him a remarkably well-bred gentleman of good education, Prefessor Ramamurti Naidu, looks no way much above the ordinary run of men in make and stature. Yet he has repeatedly astounded all observers by allowing a tJircc-ton elephant to walk across his breast before thousands of people in most of the important cities of India. By such feats in these degenerate days, and emerging unharmed like Prahlad from beneath the elephant's feet, he proves the possibility of the doings of much greater thmgs in the blessed ages of the glorious past. It is not animal strength alone, but the concentration of physical powers by will-force coupled with the culture of the moral faculties and Yoga observances that render the performance of all such exploits possible, — he once explained in answer to our queries as to the secret of his success. His regrets were sincere as with mournful looks he deplored our degeneracy ascribing it to our neglect of our own old systems.
As we come out of the Jagannath Temple and walk northward, we leave on our left the Bhaskar Pushkar Tivth — two adjoining wells joined together at the bottom. And further on, we find the notable
202 THE HOL Y CI J V (BENARES) chap.
LoLARKA KUND with a beautiful temple just
to the South. This also is a double-
Lolarka Kund mouthed well and has two shafts leadinp^
to the water below, which pass through
an arch in the wall and connect the contents of
both. The water can be approached by three flights
of stairs running down from above. This Kund
lies to the north-east of Kurukshetra Talao and has
a peculiar appearance.
Xow towards the very thickly populated quarter bordering- the river and extending a considerable wav towards the west. This is popularly known as the Bengalitola from the fact that the Bengali population settled in Benares is thickly clustered in this quarter, the selection of this locality being due to their anxiety to live near the holy Ganges and to have the full secular and religious benefit of a daily bath in its sacred water. Among the very large number of temples and shrines here the most important one is that of Kedar7mfh upon the river-bank which we shall visit in course of our trip along the river.
The TiLBllANDESWARA SiVA in this quarter locatec4 in a temple in a narrow lane on our way is a prominent one. It is a huge round dome- shaped black uncarved marble four and Tilbhandeswara a half feet high and quite fifteen in diameter — supposed to be increasing in bulk by the size of a /// ( sesamum ) every
YIII SHRnVES ON THE SOUTH
day. It almost fills up the small chamber where it stands ; and a large stone bull reposes in front of it on the veranda outside. Numerous emblems and imagoes lie all about the house, and beneath a peepul-tree outside are numbers of carved stones strewn about around its trunk. One among them is of much interest — the remnant of an image up to the waist in very finely cut and chiselled black marble, partly mutilated in the face and arms and st\led Birhhndra, the attendant of Siva. The temple and its enclosure stand much above the level ol the street and is well worth a visit owing to the association of great antiquity with its images and sculptures ; and so is the temple of Muktesivara lying near the south-west of it.
Walking in a north-easterly direction and jostling
your way through the thick crowd of passers-by
along a very narrow and tortuous thoroughfare,
you come to the large tank excavated b}- Raja
iNlan Singh and known as Man
Man Sarowar Sakowar. It is a fine tank with
numbers of small temples all around,
the major portion of them crowding upon the
northern bank. But it is in a rather neglected
condition and its stairs are sadly in need of repair.
Another object of interest in the Bengali quarter
is the small temple of Agastyesivora Siva under
spreadhig necms at the Agastya Kund Muhulla.
Inside is a large emblem with images of Ganesha
504 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
and Lopamudra Devi, the wife of Agastya, in the niches of the wall. It is associated Agastya Kund with the Kund of this name which was in front of it, but which is said to have been filled up and a building erected on its site. Thus runs the Pauranic tradition in this connection : The Vindhya mountain jealous of the superiority of the Sumeru distended itself so far and raised itself so high as to block the path through which the sun daily coursed. There- Jpon, the great Rishi Agastya, who had his '.lermitage here, left Kasi at the request of the gods to humble Vindhya's pride. The mountain bent down before him in obeisance as soon as the holy man approached, and the Rishi said, "Rest as low till I come back," and went away towards the south never to return. Hence is the popular phrase 'Agastya Jaitn! — meaning the starting on a journey never to return.
Thus far we have travelled all over the interior of the city and visited all the principal shrines and notable temples Though numerous enough to tire out our patience, our catalogue has by no means been very exhaustive. VVe have still to see some very important shrines along the river-bank above the several sacred ghats that pave the major portion of its lengthy expanse with their massive solid running stairs.
So, coming eastwards and threading our way
VI r I SHRINES ON THE SOUTH 20=
through a large svstem of mazy crowded lanes with all manner of ups and downs along short flights of stony stairs, we pass towards the river- side and emerge into the open upon the broad terrace of Ahalya Bat's Ghat with the glittering mass of the moving ripples rolling along. The white marble statue of that renowned Marhatta princess — who had erected the ghat that immortalises her name — posed in the act of worship with a small Siva in hand, \s in a niche in the' inner wall of the temple of Siva standing on the left. On the right, high above the Vishuddhanand water is another, and by its side Saraswati is the building where lived SwAMi Vishuddhanand Saraswati — a Brahman from Kalyan in Southern India and a revered sage of great erudition who died in 1898 at the advanced age of ninety-three. His sandals, a large, conch, and other knick-knacks have been preserved here as the valued relics of the holy man upon the spot where he used to sit. There is a gu/id or cell inside the building with a small entrance which is pointed out by his followers living there as the place where the saintly personage used to lie in saraadhi. Ahalya Bai's Chhattra where a number of people are daily fed adjoins her temple.
Down the fine broad stairs we descend and. approach the small fiat-roofed temple of SiTALA. Devi just above the water's ^^z<t, containing a
206 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES)
large Siva emblem on the floor and the carved figure of Sitala Devi on the north Sitala Devi and of Siva and Parvati sitting together in the western corner of the temple. During the rains when the river is swollen the images are all submerged and almost the whole of the body of the temple goes under the water. The Dasaswamedh ghat whence we had started on our pilgrimage lies just to the north, and as we prepare to approach it, behold, a couple of up-country women advance towards the temple and stand at the entrance like a pair of delicately carved statuary in their picturesque drapery of pink and light blue set, as it were, against a background of the a^ure sky and the greenish stream. And soon in ardent fervour and with glistening eyes they begin to chant some hx-mns and sing feelingly in their sweet silvery swelling voices filling the air with melody and the hearts of the listeners with an indescribable pathos. No wonder that we linger here a few minutes longer than our leisure should permit, thus bringing this much of our pilgrimage to a musical termination, with our recollections of what seemed incongruous and fantastic melting away in the sweet cadence and harmonv that ever refjulate the universe.
I. A Road to the (.hat 2
3. Ganga Mehal Ghat. 4. 5. Bathing Scene' 6.
Women's loathing Ghat. Manikarnika Ghat. Ikuning Ghat.
P. 207.
Chapter IX
AtONG THE RIVER
"The Ganges that flows— it is God ; the ocean that roar's— it is God ; the wind that blows — it is Him ; the cloud that thunders, the lightning that flashes, — it is Him. As from all eternity the universe existed in the spirit of Brahma, so to-day is all that exists His image*"
-^The Veda.
liE sacred bathing ghats, .some sixty in number--the major portion of them dating from the eighteenth century— linr the sloping western bank surmounted by lofty temples and palatial buildings. A pleasant bracing breeze passes across the glistening water bearing patches of stray fleecy clouds above and toning down the heat and mellowing the glare of the shooting sun-rays. The Dasaswamedh ghat is astir with crowds of people in motley groups hurrying to the boats about to move away from the bank. Rival boatmen oars in hand keep shouting at the top of their voices luring passengers with promises of immediate start and no tarrying ; and each is so earnest that the bewildered customer does not know which among them to patronise. A river-trip in one of the bhaolia boats, alv;a;>"S Ig be found here in plenty, would be \tty pl^^^sknt
2oS THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
and enjoyable, and we should in the first instance instruct our boatmen to row us down the river towards the north to enable us to have a look at some very interesting scenes and important shrines along that portion of the river-bank. Frequently should we have to step ashore at the important ghats where our interest centres most, and on our way back we must go far up the river and land at Ram n agar to see the Maharaja's Fort and garden and his fine Temple of Durga. Before, howev^er, you undertake the trip southward, it were but fair that you should be enjoined to take every possible care of your precious limbs and be warned against taking a dip into the eternity even by accident on the portion of the other bank of the river going by the name of Vyas Kasi, for if } ou do, }oi, will ernerge in your next birth in a form far from being pleasing or desirable.
A tale hangs by it to the effect that V}asa,
the compiler of the Vedas, had once quarrelled with
Siva who turned him out of Kasi for
The Vyasa reviling Vishnu and laying a curse upon
Episode * its people that any sin committed here
would be beyond atonement. Vyasa
thereupon resolved to build a city like Kasi and
of -as great religious eminence as Siva's Kasi itself,
which had the merit of translating men to heaven
and of making them merge in Siva \{ they happened
to die within the five cros of its sacred precincts.
VIII ALONG THE RI VER 209
'^.'V^^/\/•\^V^.'X'
\^\'asa succeeded after infinite troubles in buildingr a city on the other side of the river, but he har to seek the aid of the goddess Annapurna for conferring upon it the potency of making those who die there turn to Siva. This boon the goddes? was rather loth to grant ; but being attracted by his devotions she approached him in the shape of ? very repulsive decrepit old woman, and — as ths great immortal Bengali poet Bharat Chandra so i^raphicaily and humourously describes, — artfully enquired of Vyasa numbers of times as to what became of men dying there. Vyasa answered patiently, once, — twice, — thrice, expatiating upon the meiits of his city, — but she feigned deafness and kept on repeating her query ; till at last the exasperated \'\ asa roared out ar.grily, "Whoever dieth here, hccometh an ass,'' — \vhereuix)n the old woman promptly rejoined that she had heard quite enough and vanished saying, "Be it so" ! and left the crest-fallen \^\asa utterly dumb-founded ! — Hence my caution !
Fortified thus against all ills threatening us on the other shore of life, we may now start. The water is clear and crystalline and of a greenisli tint sparkling and glistening. A wide expanse of sand spreads up to the eastern bank and Ramnagar Fort looms in the farthest south-east. Passing midstream, the eje takes at a single sweep the vast panorama of the crescent-bank studded with myriads of tall spires plain and gilt and lofty
14—
2 \o THE HOL Y CITY ( BE MA RE S) c\\ a p.
temples and beautiful palaces three to six stones high. Far off due north runs the network of the 3Jufferin Bridge holding the two banks of the hoi},' stream in its iron grip ; and as you turn your eyes about, prominent among the clustering structure.^ appear the twin towers ot lieni Madho dominating the neighbourhood. Magnificent palaces of white and yellow towering upon their precipitous foundations of massive stone rising sheer out of tlie water iapping at their feet and inter^[>erscd with towering temple-steeples shooting towards the sky, make a scene of unsurpassed splendour and unparalleled beauty. "For picturesqueness and grandeur**, writes Mr. Sherring, **no sight in all the ivorld can wej] surpass that of Benares us seen fruni the river Ganges.'^
(1)
Northward
SMALL colony of ash-smeared Skadhu:^ ( ascetics ) burdened with heavy matted locks have pitched their improvised tents of large portable cloth umbrellas of quite modern pattern and are sitting cross-leggtu' in front of smoking logs of wood with an air of perfect self-content close by the Dasasvvamedh Ghat ( Plate IV, i, 3 ). Brakmcswara and DasasziHiiHtdhesioara are the important Sivas of this Ghat, and to the north is another — Sulatankeswara— of immense proportions that lies submerged durini; the rains. The broad stairs of the ghat rising tier upon tier look exceedingly solid. But nearly all of them together with the shrines on the edges lie under water and buried in the silt during the rainy season when the Ganges rises some forty feet higher than its winter level and rushes along in her fall expanse in mighty torrents, and the water dyed muddy yellow approaches the floor oi the houses above and almost reaches the terrace of the lofty temple yonder abutting towards the water. After the floods subside people have a great
212 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Cftap.
deal to do for months together in removing the thick deposit from the steps and digging out the shrines.
As you proceed northward, you cannot fail to notice large quantities of stone slabs, mostly from Chunar, lying piled in heaps or laden in boats in the river — intended for the erection of imposing buildings that beautify the cit\% — and they give you some idea of the commercial activity in this quarter. The long stairs of the Man Mandil Giiat ( Plate FI, 3) now appear with the walls of the structure above furnished with some remarkabl}' fine oriel windows* Near to this are Dalvesii^ara and Someswara Sivas, the former said to have influence over the rains and the latter famed for curiiig all manner of diseases.
Above the Trifura Bhairabi Ghat lies the temple of the goddess of that name in a lane, and here is the quarter known as the Brohvtapuri — a number of houses erected by the famous Rani Bhawani and dedicated to the use of tlie Brahmans of Benares,
Then comes the MiR Gil AT, in a house above
which resided Mir Rustum Ali who was the Governor
of the province before Bulwant Singh,
Divodaseswara the father of Raja Chet Singh. The
Siv« temple of Divodaseswara Sz'va famed to
have been established by Raja Divcdas
of old is in the lane above this ghat. It is a
VIII ALONG THE RIVER— NORTHWARD 213
small temple among a cluster of similar ones under the cool shade of spreading banyans. A very sacred well known as the Dkarma-Kup enclosed by a high stone railing is in front of this temple in the centre of the courtyard, A few steps off from this is the temple of Viskdtakshi Devi — VishalaksW an epithet of Parvati — finely sculptured Devi above the entrance and famed to be
standing on the place where Parvati's Kundala ( ear-ornament ) fell. For a slight to her divine spouse by her quondam father Daksna she had cast her life away, and the disconsolate Siva went roving all over the three worlds with her iifeless frame upon his shoulders. Vishnu cut ic to pieces by his discus, and the various members, according to tradition, fell upon fifty-one places on earth that became sanctified as pithas or sacred spots ; and this in Benares is one of them. The image of the goddess is gorgeously decked, the floor is of black and white marble, and the ceiling and walls are painted and embellished with various decorations in bright colours. The building was enriched by a Chetty of Nathcote a few years ago, and the whole has a very opulent look. In an adjoining chamber of the same house with humbler decora':ions is the imaqfe of Mahalaksmi.
Djwn the steps of Mir Ghat with some more shrines on the left — one of them being of Radha Krishna, — we pass by the Lalita Ghat. Above the
2T4 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Char
NapALESE Ghat not far off, lies In a shady corner the picturesque Ncpakse temple of PasJmpatinath Siva with its two-storied roof and its s^ilded
top and a pair of boldly executed
The Napalese h'ons near the entrance. It is a unique
Temple structure of its kind in Benares bein^
made entirely of wood with profuse and elaborate carvinj^^s beautiful and bold, repre- senting- various ^ods and goddesses neatly sculptured in wood and other fine ornamentations executed to a nicety. But the effect is much marred by some unsiorhtly and indelicate incong;ruities disfiguring some {>ortions of them. In a recess just above the stairs of the ghat is the shrine of Ganga — the presiding deity of the river seated upon a crocodile {makar).
We next come over to the Jai.asain Ghat^ so called after Vishnu who reclines upon the water of the ocean whence the name Jalasain. It is used as a cremation-ground ( Plate XII, 6 ),. and is in fact the continuation of the famous Manikarnika Ghat where we have now arrived. This massive stone ghat as well as the two fine temples standing to the north and south were built by the famous Ahalya Bai. The high cremation- ground above made of stone and enclosed and protected by a stone wall has been recently constructed to avoid the difficulties of cremation during the rainy season when the water approaches its foundation and submerges the ground below.
VI n ALONG THE RJVER—AORTHWARD 215
The fine temple of Tarakeswara Siva stands almost in the water in front of the ghat. During
the rains the upper portion of it
Tarakeswara only is left to tower above the large
Siva expanse of the rolling water which
strikes it on every side and isolates it as it were from the bank (Plate IT, i). It is believed that this god recites in the ears of the dying the Mantra (text) that gives salvation to the soul. The sincere belief in the Hindu world is that persons dying at Benares are freed from the liability of being born again and are merged in the God Siva. Hence it is that a large number of devout people from all parts of India flock to this place in their old age leaving home and family behind them and take up residence here with the object of passing the last days of their lives in this holy spot, — thus realising in a manner the Banaprastha Asram of old in a modified form in this age.
Towering above this ghat and reached by the
steep steps leading into the street above is
the spacious red-domed temple of
The Ahmety Balatripjirasundari Devi — a name of
Temple Durga— known as the AllMETY
Temple. This fine and artistic structure
with goFd-tipped pinnacles standing in the
middle of a large and neat courtyard was built
by the Raja of Ahmety in Oudh, and is strikingly
THE HOL Y CI J Y {BENARES) Chap.
^.'-%J•^-/*v>-^^^ y xy^v.'X'X/ \
beautiful and will fully repay a visit. The most iioticeable feature of this temple is the group of charming figures of the winged Gandharvas and Apsaras, the musicians of the gods, posed very gracefully in lines underneath the main cornice (Plate XI, 2). Near to it, further up, is the temple of Siddhi Vinayak Gan-esha with the images of Siddhi and Buddhi Devi (Success and Wisdom) by its side.
The Maj^ikarnika Ghat (Plate Xll, 4) is the
general cremation -ground of all Benares, and any
time you may find half a dozen or
MantkanOka more corpses blazing at the same
Ghat time upon the wide steps near to the
vvater^s *i6gQ and being resolved into
their primal elements. Numbers of S(iti Stones —
upright slabs placed in memory of the faithful
wives who had followed their husbands even into
death upon the funeral pyre — here bear wiiiiess to
the Hindu ideal of love and life which even
death cannot sunder.* A beautiful embodiment of
( I ) To prove that the same spirit lives and controls the livis of the Hindus up to the present times, it may not be uninteresting to note the very latest case of Sati that occurred at premises No 9, Charakdanga Road, lielliaghata, Calcutta, on the 20th April 191 1 in a highly-connected Kayastha family. The lady, Saibalini Dasi — a neiceofthe late Mr. R, C. Dutt ( lately Commissioner of Burdwan and Orissa and Dewan of the Gaikwar of Baroda ), — came to learn from the physician in attendance that her husband then lying in his mortal
VIII ALONG THE RIVER-NORTHWARD 217
^^ V'\X\/-V%y'\^%y-
this in the shape of a youthful couple carved very gracefully in relief on a large piece of Sati stone is to be observed near the Harisk Chandra or Maskan Ghat, the cremation ground in the southern end of the town, besides the one on the street outside the temple of Bara Ganesha. A Charan paduka or Vishnu's foot-prints carved upon a white marble block rests over a black pedestal upon a large lotus-shaped slab of stone on the pavement. Vishnu has been reported to have alighted here and hence this spot is regarded to be of exceptional sanctity, and is esp'^cially reserved for the cremation of members of noble families.
Higher up above the flights of stairs is a rectangular well or tank famous as the Manikarnika KUND, variously styled as Miikti Kshetra ( the seat
illness had but a couple of hours at best to live. Just half an hour before his death she went upstairs, and having shut herself up in her roon dressed in her best and drenched her apparels with petroleum. Then, having set fire to her garments and being enveloped in violent flames and with a copy of "Geeta" held m her joined palms she approached towards her husband's room before anybody could be aware of what had transpired, but dropped down dead at the verandah before she could reach him. The two bodies were then cremated together upon the same funeral pyre on the bank of the sacred Ganges. This may be termed a determined felo-de-se or a temporary aberration of mind, but mark the inherent spirit that led to it !
2 18 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap.
\r\/^ /\j'\r>^r\ f
of liberation ) and Purnastibhakaran ( complete
source of felicity ). It \9. enclosed by
Manikarnika iron railings on al! sides and stone stairs
Knnd run from all its banks to the bottom,
and all devout pilgrims usually bathe
in it. Some images of gods and goddesses are in
some of the niches by the side of the stairs, and
this in the whole city is considered to be the most
sacred spot which all pilgrims must visit, and hence
tlie crowd here is always the thickest. Thus runs
an inscription upon a white marble slab attached
to the railings : "In 1887 A. D. the Jubilee year
of Her Most Gracious Majesty, Victoria, Empress
of India, was inaugurated the scheme for restoring
the 'Ganges' at Benares to its native purity.**
During the ra'ns the tank goes under water and
barely a portion of the railings remain visible, near
to which the people then bathe and perform their
religious rites.
Thus it is that the Puranas ascribe to this Kund the greatest sanctity and antiquity :
Said Siva to Parvati, — 'In the vast nothingness — no land, nor water, nor air. nor fire was there, nor night nor day, nor sound nor shape. Darkness was all around. And the great Brahman, incompre- hensible and unknowable, created me and vanished. His image am I, the God of the Simple, and they call me the ancient Pimisha. Out of me did I bring thee forth, Mother of the Universe !' — Such
VIII ALONG THE RIVER— NORTHWARD 219
/^/^y■^/•^/v^rv/~«.r»y^.'^/^x^ '^r'^..'"^/^.'^-^^/'v/V^
v/as the Hindu idea of the Supreme Essence, Brahman, the God of the (^^ods, transcending all m;, th ascribed to popular Hinduism and all worship of images and deified heroes, — The expanse of five cms of space underneath his feet, — the episode proceeds, — Siva converted into the land of holy Kasi. It was set neither on earth, nor in the sky, but upon the top of Siva's trident ; and as in the time of the deluge marking the change of cycles water overran the universe in one vast ocean, this spot ever continued to rest high above the rising flood. Siva and Parvati looked forward benignantly and out came a four-armed Being into existence. They named him Maha- Vishnu, and saying that the four Vedas would emanate from him for the guidance of all living beings they disappeared. Upon this, Vishnu excavated a tank with his discus and sat there for fifty thousand years in tapa ( practice of austerities \ and the heat generated by his arduous observances caused him to perspire profusely till the tank was filled. Siva came back attracted by his devotions and was highly pleased ; and as he leaned forward to look into the tank a jewel {mani) pendent from his ear {karna) dropped into it. Hence arose the name Manikartiika. Later traditions add that goddess Gans^a ( Ganges ) on her way to effect the deliverance of the ancestors of prince Bhagiratha was greatly impressed with its sanctity and entered this Kund, and thus enhanced its sacredness. This is one of the five most holy
220 THE HOL y CITY (BENARES) Chap.
,/X/^/^/^w'^/'\/\-'^^>'V'^^/\rx.'\r^^^/x/ s
places in Benares which all pilgrims must visit, — the other four being the Asi- ^angam, the Dasaswainedh, the Panchganga and the Barana-Sangam ghats, — the whole going by the name of Pancha-Tirtha ( the five holy places of pilgrimage ).
As you now advance northward you cannot fail to notice a sinking temple and a massive broken
structure over the SciNDHIA GiiAT Scindhia Ghat (Plate V, 3). The huge stone pile
leaning a long way out of the per- pendicular looks exceedingly striking in the simplicity and beauty of its execution. The ruins of this noble edifice have the appearance of being torn from the very foundations and lie slanting towards the west. Baija Bai, the Gwalior Queen, began erecting the mansion and a ghat, but the heavy weight of the massive stone-work caused the foundations to sink, and the whole structure toppled over as if by a shock of violent earthquake. And thus have the ruins stood and kept their grounds to this day a hundred years, grand even as they are in the midst of the architectural grandeur all around. Thus runs a curious story noted by Mr. Neville as to the cause of the subsidence : In attempting to trace the source of a small stream of water that hampered the workmen, they opened a cavern where was discovered an old man. *' The latter questioned them on current topics, such as recovery of Sita by Rama of Ayodhya, and on
PLATE XIIA
P. 221
VIII ALONG THE RrVER— NORTHWARD 221
hearing of the events that had occurred during his long retirement and that Benares was in the hands of another race, he forthwith leaped into the Ganges and was seen no more."
The towering pile of the Raja of Nagpore's large building standing upon its steep stony foundation and crowning the BhoNSLA Ghat appears next. The ghats after this are not of much importance till \ ou reach the Panchaganga. So we pass rapidly b)- the SankaTA Ghat leading to the temple of the goddess of that name. Gakga-Mehal Ghat, Ghosla Ghat, Ram Ghat, Baji Rao Ghat, and Chor Ghat are passed by in succession. This last ghat is said to have been so called on account of its association with the adventures of a chor (thief) who used to come to bathe here at dead of night in the olden times presumably to wash away his sins. The Baji Rao and Ghosla Ghats are surmounted by two fine structures high above their precipitous stone-work, and the towering palatial building of the Maharaja of Gwalior look exceedingly grand and prominent (Plate XII, 3'.
Past the MUNGLA GaURI Ghat, we arrive at
the Panchaganga Ghat i^Plate I),
Panchaganga also known as the Patichanada or
Ghat Dharnianada Tirtha^ with its five
stately flights of steps — a place of
pilgrimage as the meeting-ground of the Ganges with
222 THE HOLY CITY (BEXARBS) Chap
■ ^'\j^\/\j\y^ \
four of her tributaries, the Dhutapapa^ the Kirananadiy the Jamuna^ and the Saraswati, reputed to be flowing underground, no traces of which are, however to be found xn this Iron Age.
Right upwards the stairs run into a narrow lane high above, and you come in front of what is known as Madhoji-KI-Deora, the Mosque of Aurangzeb, — also known as B:?ii M idJiavs Dhwaja (ensign). As you enter the wide stone yard buiit high above the level of tiie neighboaring houses,
the twin tall turrets look taller still
Madhoji-kl- and rise to a height of a hundred
Deora and fifty feet sheer above the floor
and to nearly double that height from the bed of the Ganges. Bishop Herxir notes in his Journal that according to common report, 'the Himalaya may be seen from the top of the minarets' in the morning when the sky is perfectly clear. It was at the latter end of the seventeenth or in the beginning of the eigh- teenth centur>^ that this mosque was erected with the best of the materials of the ruined temples upon the site of the old temple of Beni Madhav which was said to have been pulled down by Aurangzeb to make room for it ; but it looks quite solid and strong still. It is said that the minarets were originally higher by fifty feet more and were latterly reduced to their present height to give them greater stability. A couple of per- secuted lovers have been said to have stayed upon
VIII ALONG 1 HE RIVER -^NORTIIWARD 223
one of the towers for a time and afterwards thrown themselves down to be freiJ from the panics ^f despair.
You may now go inside and ascciid by the s]3iral stairs of over a hundred and twenty steps tiil you reach one of the minarets above. As yon come up to the topmost balcony of the minaret arid emerge into Hc^ht from out of the semi- darkness, a ^rand panorama of exceeding brilliance i\.\\(\ beauty flashes upon your entranced vision (Plate X, 5). The sparkiinj^ waters of the holy river to the east seem to run b^low in a mi'4hty curve extcndin^,^ towards the south till the chain of buildings and towers and temples fades away in a mist near the mouth of the Asi with the hary outlines of the Ranmagar Fort discernible on tiie other bank of the Ganges. To the west arc observed the well-wooded gardens and palatial mansions beyond the thickly populated quarters with their house-tops alive with sportive monkeys frisking about upon them and swarms of pigeons lluttering high above * like clustering white lotuses iloating in the heaven's blue.' The distant Dhamek and Humayun's Tower look clear-cut against the blue sky with their crests upraised above the neighbouring greenery. On the near north the river winds beneath the fine bridge looking rather slender and takes a mighty curve towards the east. The sight is really an enjoyable one, and upon
224 THE HOL Y CITY {BENARES) chap.
the dizzy height and * far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife/ you feel for the time eh'minated as it were from all things mundane and resolved into a non-material entity |
Back to the earth down below, — to the west of
the lane at the foot of the mosque, stands the
present temple of Beni Madhav ( a
Beni Madhab name of Krishna >, also known as
Bifida Madhav after the Rishi Agni
Bindu who established the shrine. It also contains
in another apartment Panchagafigesvcaia Siva and
the images of Ganga, and of Rama, Sita, Laksmana
and Hanuman in white marble. A little further
off through another lane }ou may have
Lasmanbala a look at the Lasnianbala Temple
Temple above the river containing a gorgt^ously
decked image of the four-armed Vishnu
holding the conch, the discus, the club and the
lotus, with the discs of the sun and the moon on
either side in their respective gold and silver
colouring.
As you step down the stairs of the Pancha- ganga Ghat on your return, you find a small house on the right containing among a number of images and emblems upon a stone platform what is reported to be the Chara7i-Padu}ca of RaMANAND the great Vaishnavite teacher who lived about the fourteenth century and set up the worship of Rama as the divine Vishnu. His residence was at Benares
VIII ALONG THE RIVER— NORTHWARD 225
at the Panchaganga Ghat where existed a muih or monastery of his followers said to have been destroyed by some of the Mussalman princes.
The plain white tapering pinnacles of some Jain temples next appear above the jAiN MANDlk Ghat, and passing the Gau Ghat with the figure of a colossal cow upon the steps, you arrive at the next
ghat of importance, the Trilochan Trilochan Ghat Ghat where Vishnu is fabled to have
offered one of his eyes in lieu of a blue lotus missing out of a thousand while he was engaged in worshipping Siva — who had thus an addition to his visual organ and became Trilochan or tiiree-eyed. By the side of the steps in a small house are Hiranyaga7'veswara and Narniadeswara Sivap, and up above in a courtyard full of various images is the temple of Ti'ilochan Siva with Parvati in front. In a niche upon the wall is an image of Ganesha in white marble, and in a room of a building in the same compound is Baranasi Devi established by King Banar. To the south of Trilochan is Kotilitigeiwara^ so fashioned as to look like a cluster of numerous emblems in one, and a number of other images. Further off are the temples of Nirbuddheszuara and Adi-Mahadeo, and in a dark room of a house in a lane is a well which is known as Pilpilla Tirtha, a name which is extended to the Trilochan ghat itself.
jl^^ck to the boat, we now glide by the TiLLlANALA
226 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
and Prahlad Ghats and beneath the grand Dufferin Bridge at Raj Ghat ( Plate X, 4 ) — on the high bank above which was old King Banar's fort, — till we arrive at the northernmost point of our journey at Barana-Sangam, where the Barana streamlet empties itself into the Ganges. At this place too, it is said, once stood a small fort, traces of which are visible on close observation. The high bank on this side of the Barana with the moat-like streamlet at the foot makes it eminently fitted for a strong defensive position.
The bank of the Ganges stretches northward plain and unencumbered with masonry save for a few small straggling houses afar, and Barana-Sangam then takes a majestic curve at the distance towards the east. As you step out of the boat and look northward, a sense of calm pervading restfulness fills your heart and makes you linger a while watching the pastoral loveliness of the locality. On the northern bank of the slender streamlet flowing from the west, beneath the $hade of the large tree in the distance, lies a cow ruminating with legs doubled up and eyes half-closed while her tail keeps flapping at the flies and occasionally making a hit at the naughty crow as it hops about and attempts to settle upon her plump round belly. Close by strolls a pJax'Tul heifer now browsing quieth-, then frisking up to its dam in ex iberance of spirits. The little dusky hc'-lf-clad lad leaning against the tree-trunk has fallen asleep
VIII ALONG THE RIVER^NORTIIWARD 227
with his stick lying by his side, forgetful of his charges grazing peacefully around. A small boat moored near the bank over there with a few clothes and bundles in it lies waiting for its owner ; and up the stream farther off a matronly woman is engaged cleansing the family linen and is bending patiently down upon her work. The green shrubbery on the left lends a pleasant colouring to the charming scene so serenely calm and noiseless and peaceful. Presently there comes a lively dog yonder, dips its mouth in the water and laps it for a while, and turns round and scampers away in a hurry as if busy on some urgent errand, and reminds us that we too have our own business to mind.
So we turn back and observe up above the steep bank some temples erecred by a Dewan of Maharaja Scindhia about a century and a half ago, which may be approached by some high stony stairs. The first, as you rise to the top is a small temple in which are Nakshatresivara and Vedeswam Sivas. In a recesss of the wall is an image of Gancsha and by its side a very beautifully carved small image of Brahma with four faces seated upon a lotus — all in white marble. By the side of this temple is the entrance to the loftier one adjoining- it. A large standing figure of Vishnu Adi-Keshav in shining black marble known as Adi-Keshav is in a room and in front of it is a spacious porch with a number of beautifully
228 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES)
carved pillars supporting a lofty dome. There are some other temples too, clustering together there, the one of importance among them being that of Sangameswara Siva. In the quadrangle also is another image of Vishnu in Chunar stone in a standing posture st}'led the Jna7i Keshav. As you come down, a number of Sati stones with figuies in pairs carved upon them and set upright upon the grounds above the end of the creek on the Ganges side would be sure to attract your attention.
As you stand upon the eminence of this steep bank beneath the broad canopy of the blue heavens, with the slender Barana making for and at last reaching and nestling in the bosom of the mighty Ganges and the unified stream gliding along peace- fully, with the vast expanse of the sun-lit vista stretching before you far as the e\e can reach, what a strange undefinable impression of the grandeur of solitude fills the mind and makes it realise the solemnity of the scene !
(2) Southward
I ME enough, and now to return. Up U the stream our boatmen ply and soon ; do we begin to trace our way back. A booming muffled sound makes you look ahead, and there goes a long- drawn railway train heralded by puffs of whitish smoke as it rolls over the Dufferin Bridge towards tne Kasi Station. Below the bridge and past R^jg-hat, we move away from the bank and run up midstream to take from the distance a comprehens've view of the temples and turrets and ghats and palaces at a single sweep. Trilochan and Gau Ghats are soon passed ; and up the high steps of Pancha Ganga, Aurangzeb's lofty mosque rears its head with its high minarets serving as landmarks for several miles around.
The white spires of the Jain temples set off agains^ the blue sky and the lofty palace of the Nagpore Raja also move rapidly away. But soft, what is that small boat laden with a couple of
230 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap.
/\j\.'\/\.,\yK/^
long stone slabs with something between and the whole tied round with heavy ropes ? The five Dandi ascetics occupying the boat^ presently rai?e it up with care and lay it across the edges of the boat, and then silently lower the whole down into the water below which eddies a little and then closes up. It is only the mortal remains of one of their associates in life which are thus consigned to a watery grave ! Mother Ganges is capacious enough to hold all that seek refuge in her cold bosom. Such is death — a vanishing into the dark recesses of time ! And life ? Who knows ? Perhaps but a child^s play under its boding shadow \
Hard matter of fact would^ however, brook no brooding. Look up, and there from the sloping bank above the Ram Ghat stares a gigantic mud figure of B/mJzay the second of the Pandava brothers, painted white and yellow, lying on its back under the open canopy of heaven with its head propped up and gazing towards the river with a pair of large dark eyes from beneath jet-black eyebraws and looking fierce and frightful enough in all conscience. Bhima is worshipped at the end of Kartik (November) when his image is made on the river- bank which lasts till the next rains dissolve it.
The stately ruins of the mighty piles slanting landward in the Scindhia Ghat (Plate V, 3) and lying m wild confusion still attract the eye by the sjrandeur of the massive stone-work and the beauty
VIII ALOI^G THE RIVER— SOUTHWARD 231
.-"v^^'V'' \ ^ -./^^ \ AV/^ '1
of its architecture. The grand stairs and the lofty temples over the high embankments of the Mani- Karnika — the central one of all the ghats in Benares, — look trembling behind the filmy screen of smoke rising in wavy wreaths from the funeral p}Tes blazing upon the steps below. Disconsolate women with their hopeless eyes half turned away to avert the blaze and sitting with their pallid faces resting upon their knees, the crowd of bathers making their customary ablutions a little way off heedless of the solemn dissolution taking place so close at hand, and the motley groups of men and women passing by and casting awed looks toward the weird scene, — combine to make up an impressive sight that lives long in the memory.
From here to Dasaswamedh the whole bank is full of bathers resorting to it for ablutions and devotional purposes ; and from morning till late in the afternoon large concourse of people always throng the bank employed in various pursuits. Down to Kedar Ghat the crowds continue, but beyond that point their ranks thin and melt away.
We leave the Mir Ghat and the lofty Man Mandil and drift on opposite the Dasaswamedh Ghat (Plate IV, I ) once more. In very old times it was styled the Rtidra Sarowar Th-tha, but the name that now passes current is associated with Brahma's Ten- horse Sacrifice performed here in the mythical ages. Temples cluster thicker over this bank than
232 THE HOL V CIJ V {SENA RES) chap.
elsewhere, and the largest numbers of bathers flock to this ghat for the observance of religious rites and duties. Constant bustle and motion along these ghats make the scene one of intense animation.
But slow your boatmen must ply their oars if you would take in all the ever-changing kaleidoscopic
variety of scenes shifting swifth' along
Scenes on the the Ghat. Numbers of boats of diverse
bank sizes and shapes painted green and
yellow, and some of them looking roomy and commodious with pretty cane chairs and lounges placed upon their flat railed roofs lie moored all along the bank ; and numerous- similar crafts flit about and make the river lively with their brisk movements. Huge palm-leaf umbrellas with long bamboo-shafts stuck in the ground or tied to posts afford shelter from the scorc'iing sun to various classes of people on the bank — beggars and barbers, priests and flower-sellers, ash-smeared Sadhus and devout lay-worshippers, and perhaps idlers as well like you and me. Under some of these sit the ghatias upon their broad wooden platforms to take care of the clothes and other belongings of the bathers and to supply them with oil and sandal paste and other toilet requisites for some little remuneration. No distinction of rank seems to stand in the way of the mixing up of this medley of men in these ghats ; and you find the rich and the poor bathing side by side, and
VIII ALONG THE RIVER—SOUTHWARD 233
the high-class Brahman in close proximity to the despised Sudra without the least fear of contamination ( Plate XII, 5 ). From various parts of India far and near are they all there, males, females and children of all ages and all castes.
Look at the old men sitting upon the steps in their wet clothes reciting mantras and making offerings of flowers to the gods, which thrown into the water float away afar in a long trailing line down the placid stream. See how merrily are the youngsters over there talking and laughing and groups of females chatting incessantly — as is thtir wont all the world over — while bathing in a corner of the ghat ( Plate XII, 2 ). Yonder are the frolicsome children swimming and spkshing water in innocent glee caring little for the quiet their elders so badly want. In a retired corner a little way off are persons quietly offering libations of Ganges water to their dear departed ones and performing other rites enjoined in the skastras for their good in the world beyond, and making gifts and presents to Brahmans who are everywhere in evidence. Mark the man there immersed to his waist, standing with his palms joined and muttering hymns in a singsong tone half aloud and bowing often as he looks to the resplendent sun-god in all his glory in the east.
There goes a batch of pilgrims, — the grave-looking pater-fainilias leading, and the cheerful old dame
234 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
behind with a merry twinkle in her eyes that h'ghts up her jocose rotund face dragging along a playful little urchin of a grandchild. With a wriggling restless little one pressed to her bosom by her encircling left arm decked with golden bracelets, a young mother comes along in the train of the old lady, clutching by the jewelled fingers of her right hand the fringe of her laughing sister-in-law's apparel and casting bashful looks of eager curiosity from beneath the half-drawn veil which shades her pretty little face. And those two young men — who bring up the rear and carry the vessel of the sacred Ganges water and votive offerings of green bael leaves, pink roses and yellow marigold, — must be brothers to all appearances. A guide — a Jattrawaliah or Gangaputra ( son of the Ganges ), one of a class of Brahmans who earn their livelihood by this calling — directs their movements and points out to them the various sacred nooks and corners where they must pause to make an offering in the shape of small coins or cowries in the temples and shrines and to the swarm of pestering beggars and mendicant Brahmans hanging about ever} where.
Venerable old men fresh from a cleansing dip in the holy stream go along in their daily round of visits to the important shrines, clad in plain white with painted 7ia77iabali sheets — stamped with the names of Rama and Hari and with the imprints of Vishnu's feet upon them — thrown round their
VIII ALONG THE RIVER—SOUTHWARD 235
necks, and their foreheads and arms daubed with streaks of the sacred Ganges earth and sandalwood paste. Their teeth chatter with cold as they move along muttering snatches of mantras and sprinkling drops of sacred water from the Kaina?7daius ( water-pots ) in their hands upon the numerous emblems of Si\a h 1^ abcut their paths. I'athetic, very rruch, is the sight of that fragile withered old lady — perhaps a lonely widow the best part of her life — now bent double with age and almost in the last stage of decrepitude, plodding along wearily with the hejp of her trusty old stick, probably her only support in this world now, and shaking and shivering for the early morning bath. Verily, it was a sight like this that moved the poet as he wailed
'When one by one our ties are torn, And friend from friend is snatch'd forlorn. When man is left alone to mourn. O, then, how sweet it is to die !
When the trembling- limbs refuse their weight, And films slow-gathering dim the sight, When clouds obscure the mental light, 'Tis Nature's kindest boon to die !'
Longingly does she look up to that welcome liberation, and bears up still through the strength of her implicit faith in the virtue of the sacrevi water to effect her salvation and places her unswerving reliance upon the Great Lord to secure for her the be on of freedom from the interminable rounds of births and transmigrations should fortune be so favorably
236 THE HOLY CITY (BENARE";) chap
disposed as to enable her to cast out her last breath in this holy city.
But we must not loiter much longer, for we have yet to go a long way to reach Ramnagar and have, further, to go up above some of the southern ghats as well. So, leaving the Sitala and Ah ALVA Bai'S Ghats behind, we pass by the MUNSHI Ghat erected by Munshi Sridhar, the architect of Ahalya Bai, and Ran A Ghat with the palace standing above it of the Maharaja of Udaipur who traces his descent from Rama, the immortal hero of the Ramayana. Next comes the
Chausatti Ghat and up its flight Chausatti Ghat of stairs is the temple of Chausatti
Devi built by Bengal's last independent King, Maharaja Pratapaditya, towards the end of the sixteenth century. The image is a representation of Durga with her feet upon a crouching buffalo ; and the stately figure of a lion, another present from Lai Bahadoor Singh, Raja of Ahmety, stands in the quadrangle. An image of Bkadrakdli is also in the san.e compound.
We leave Pande and Narad Ghats behind, and come next to the Chauki Ghat. Above it stands a lofty peepul tree near the trunk of which on the round stone pavement are numerous Siva emblems and figures of hooded serpents. We then float along by the Kedar Ghat with its splendid stairs which in loftiness are next only to the ghat
VIII ALONG THE RIVER—SOUTHWARD 237
above which stands Aurangzeb's towering mosque. At the top of this ghat is the large domed Kedarnath temple of Kedarnath Siva painted red and white. It stands amid four smaller ones, locating a large number of images of various gods and goddesses, among which are Annapurna^ Laksmi Narain, Ganesha and Bhaironath. A tank called Gauri Kund^ sacred to Siva's spouse, is at the top of the first flight of stairs. It is said that a Brahman ot Oujjein named Vasishta had resolved to go on yearly pilgrimages to the temple of Kedarnath in the Himalayas as long as he lived. He did so sixty-one times, and though grown very old prepared to make a fresh start. Upon this Kedarnath became very propitious and manifesting himself to the Bramhan in a dream promised to stay in Benares for all time. Like Gauri Kund^ Hansa Tirtha and Ganga in the Himalayas, all the three are represented here as well.
Proceeding further up upon the bank on the right appears another figure of Bhima, and soon
after this we reach the Harish
Harish Chandra CHANDRA Ghat or Mashan Ghat —
Ghat the cremation-ground of the southern
quarter of Benares. No flights of stairs or stone pavements mark the ghat here. Several Sati stones upon the bank in this place mark the spots hallowed by the self-immolation of disconsolate widows. This jjhat is connected
238 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) chap.
with a thrilling incident and is famed to be the original cremation-ground of Benares, where in the Epic ages Raja Harish Chandra was engaged by the Chandala owner of the ghat to work as his servant. True to a promise he had made to Viswamitra to give whatever the Rishi desired to have, he made him a gift of all he had and vacated his kingdom at his bidding. Even this, however, would not satisfy the Rishi who demanded the customary dakshina or fee in money that a Brahman usually obtains as a concomitant to a gift of lands. Bereft of all world's material goods he had thus no other means left but to attempt to raise the requisite funds by selling his queen and his little prince into slavery to an old Brahman. Even this course failed to raise the adequate amount, and he had to sell his own self at last to the Chandala who owned this ghat and who employed him to collect rates from the people who came to burn their dead here. The home of the once happy and powerful king thus broken up by a freak of fortune for a plighted word, the unlucky King and his unhappy consort passed long years of suffering in strange places engaged in strange vocations. To add to his miseries, the story runs, it so happened that the little prince was bitten by a snake while plucking flowers for the old Brahman's devotional offerings. The poor mother brought down the body of her darling to this very ghat for cremation and lay wailing and disconsolate, with
VIII ALONG THE RIVER—SOUTH WARD 239
the dead prince in her lap and the lurid flames of the burning pyres imparting a ghastly look to her wan and pallid face distorted by grief. From out of the night's somore gloom rendered fearful by the ruddy half-lights, who should now emerge with his heavy rod but the erstwhile King and now a dirt-begrimed slave to claim the usual rate ? A i^v^ brief minute's parley, a lifting of the mist of years and the assertion of the natural ties of blood, — and mutual recognition followed soon enough and the inevitable scene of heart- rending distress. Overwhelmed and blinded by grief, as mai: and wife were about to plunge themselves into the funeral pyre with their dead child, the sage Viswamitra appeared in the very nick of time and restored life to the prince and the queen and his kingdom to the King. Highly dramatic is this episode and thrilling with intense pathos as you find it narrated in the Ramayana. The large stone building above the ghat is pointed out as belonging to the descendants of that same Chandala, and a Siva emblem near the water's cd^Q as established by Raja liarish Chandra.
Up a flight of high steps to the south above the Hanuman Giiat stands the large image of the monkey-god near the entrance to the /una akhcra. This ghat is associated with the Ballabhacharya memory of Ballabhacharya, the founder of the Ballabhachari or the Rudra sect of the Vaishr.ava>, Born at Benares in
240 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
1479 A. D. of Brahman parents, he set up the worship of Krishna as Balgopal. It was a period of great reHgious activity all over India and Europe, and his contemporaries were Chaitanya (1484- 15 27) at Nadiya in Bengal and Nanak (1469- 15 39) in the Punjab, and the great reformer Martin Luther (1483- 1546) had also been then at work in Europe. He passed his last days at the Jethanwar quarter in Benares where he founded 2. imith and died in 1530. There is a legend connected with his death to the effect that he descended down the steps of this ghat into the water below and disappeared. Soon after this a flame of fire issued out of the spot where he had gone down which was seen ascending heavenward till it passed away into the blue sky above.
Close by is the Dandi Ghat (PMate X, 2) and beside it the SiVALA Ghat above which on the northern side are the two muths of the Naga Sannyasis, the Nirvani and the Niranjani. To the south of this is what is known as the Sivala Fort where Chet Singh, the Raja of Benares resided till 1781. It was built by Baijnath Misr, and the solid foundation rising out of the water erect and upright impart to it a look of considerable
strength. The spacious grounds above SivQla Fort now contain a small garden. Through
a small window overlooking the river on the north Raja Chet Singh is said to have let
IX ALONG THE RIVER— SOUTHWARD 241
himself down into a boat below and crossed over to Ramnagar when he was beset by British troops under orders of Warren Hastings. ^ After this the fort was confiscated by the British Government and remained for many ye^rs in the occupation of the descendants of the Emperors of Delhi who were allowed to reside there. Only recently has this reverted to the present Maharaja of Benares. The houses in the outer and the zenana quarters on the south with five temples alongside the river as well as the old Dewan-khana further off, are all now in a sadly dilapidated condition. Their repairs had lately been taken in hand, and eleven temples with lofty pinnacles, standing together to the south of the Naga Akheras and utilized by the Mahomedans as store-houses, — have now been restored to their former condition.
A little to the south is the TULSI Ghat named after the great poet Tulsi Das, who was a contem- porary of Shakespeare and was reputed to have
lived in a house above this ghat for Tulsi Das a long time. Here it was that he
wrote his Hindi version of the Ra7nayana in 1 574 A. D. His father Bhanu Datta was a Kanouj Brahman, and he was born about 1533 at a villaife in the Banda district called Rajapur lying to the vvest of Prayag ; some, however, assign his birth-place
(I) S^e Chap. X, post
16—
242 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
to Tari in the Doab. ^ He lost his father when very young and was brought up by an ascetic, and stayed for about twelve years at Benares engaged in study. After this he returned home and married and settled there. Report has it that he had grown so inordinately fond of his wife that he could not bear separation from her for any lengthy period of time. In course of his temporary absence from home on one occasion, she had gone to her father's house on a visit. Apprised of this upon his return, he bent his steps thither ; but when he accosted his wife, the latter felt much ashamed and annoyed at being followed about that way and pointed out that the highest and the purest bliss should have been his if he had but diverted that same love, that he bore for her transitory frame of flesh and blood, towards the divine Rama the Lord of the three worlds. This rebuff had a chastening effect and cooled the ardour of his love and made him relinquish the world and turn an ascetic. He came away to Benares and travelled to Ajodhya, where according
(i) Prof H. H, Wilson in his 'Religious Sects of the Hindus' notes : Tulsi Das was a Brahman of the Sarvarya branch and a native of Hajipur, near Chitrakut ; when arrived at maturity he settled at Benares, and held the office of Dewan to the Raja of that city ; his preceptor was Jagannath Das, whom he followed to Govardhan near Brindaban, but afterwards returned to Benares and there commenced his Hindi version of the Ramayana in the year of Samvat 163 1, when he was thirty-one years of age. He continued to reside at Benares where he built a temple to Sita Ram, and founded a muth adjoining, both of which are still in existence (1861).
IX ALONG THE RIVER—SOUTHWARD 243
to some he published his Ramayana. After staying- there for a time he came back to Benares and lived there till his death in 1623. His immortal work has a place in every Hindi-speaking household in the North-West, like Kirtibash's Ramayana in Bengal and Sridhar's Marhatta version of the same in Western India, and is a source of solace and a guide in shaping the course of daily life to the high and the low, to the rich and the poor, and to the grihastha who sticks to his home as well as the Sannyasi who has renounced the world.
In a small low-roofed room on the upper story of an old building above the river are carefully preserved a pair of sandals said to have been worn by Tulsi Das and a piece of rotten wood said to be a part of the boat by which he used to cross the river and an old quilted bedding pointed out as the one on which he used to sleep. As to the antiquity claimed for these relics, however, it is hard to form any estimate. In another apartment is the image of Hanuman said to be the identical one he worshipped ; and a small space upon the floor where lies a black stone slab with lines of letters carved upon it is pointed out as the very spot where he had composed his Ramayana. There are also several images here along with those of Rama, Laksmana and Sita.
The Tulsi Ghat is also associated with the memory of many of Chaitanyd s followers who
244 THE HOL Y CIT Y {BENARES) chap.
had their abode here. Chaitanya also lived at Benares for a time where he had his religious and philosophical disputations with Prakasanand Saraswati, the greatest of the Benares Pandits of the time, and defeated him.
We now arrive at the last of the bathing places — the Asi-Sangam — where that small streamlet empties
itself into the Ganges. After achievinjaj Asi-Sangam her victory over the demons Sumbha
and Nishumbha, Goddess Durga is said to have thrown her sword ( ast ) away and it fell here and carved out the Asi channel. Here ends in a manner the holy limits of Benares and bej-ond this to the south there are no more ghats and stone revetments of the bank or temples and shrines any further.
Having thus far seen the holy shrines and ghats
in Benares we may — as our boat heads slowly
towards Raoinagar — talk about one more and a
rather arduous duty the pilgrim has to perform,
viz., to walk along the Panchkoshi
Panchkoshi Road enclosing the sacred precincts
Road of Benares on the land side, — starting
from Manikarnika Ghat as the centre
and going round at a distance of five cros or ten miles
from it. This road was repaired by Rani Bhawani
who had erected the Durga Temple ; but portions
of it and many of the temples and tanks lying
along it lately fell into very bad condition again.
IX ALONG THE RIVER—SOUTHWARD 245
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It may not be out of place to mention in this connection that through the exertions of an old Brahman of Benares named Pandit Dwarlanath Dube, a thin wiry old man of great earnestness and energy, a committee has been formed under the name of '^Kashi Tirtha Jirnoddharini Sabha*' for the repair and restoration of old Tirthas or places of pilgrimage at Benares. The committee have succeeded in making improvements to the Panchkoshi Road repairing the bridges along the same and making provision for street-lights at Bhimchandi, Ramesvvara, and other places, and also by cleansing and restoring the Gandharba Sagar tank at Bhimchandi and a well near the temple at Ramesvvara. The old temples of Adi-Mahadeo, Nirbuddeswara, and Kameswara near the Trilochan Ghat and also of Briddha- kaleswara and Daksheswara in the interior were also repaired by some reises of Benares through the persuasions of the committee. In respect of these repairs and restoration of old temples and resuscitation of old shrines, Dwarkanath has merely been following in the footsteps of a Guzrati Brahman named Pandit Ramkrishnaji Dichchhit Gorji whose disciple he professes to be. Even before Pandit Gorji, two Bengal Brahmans, Pandit Ram Chandra Vidyalankara and his son Pandit Uma Sankar Tarkalankara, had taken the initiative in the matter and set the movement afoot and had done much in this direction.
From the Manikarnika Kund, the road runs,
246 THE HOL Y CITY (BENARES)
along the ghats southward towards the Asi-Sangam and thence passes towards the west and the north, through a wide and wonderfully picturesque and delightful area in the interior. It has five halting stages — the first being near the temple of Kardam- eswara Siva in the village of Khandwa said to be of very great antiquity, the next near the temple of Bhimchandi Devi in the village of Dhupchandi, the third at Rameswara, the fourth near the Panch Pandava tank in the village of Shibpur and the fifth near the Kapildhara tank to the south ol the Barana. This takes the pilgrim five days, and on the sixth he comes back to Manikarnika via Barana-Sangam having covered a space no less than fifty miles in length. Circumambulating thus round the whole of the holy area with all its numerous shrines and sacred places, one is said to acquire in a compendious form all the merits and benefits to be obtained from visiting each of them individually.
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Chapter X
RAMNAGAR
" There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will."
— Shakespeare.
ETVVEEN green banks rich with fertility
flows the vast sheet of water. About a
mile off to the left now appear the
massive buttresses and the rounded walls
and thick battlements of the Ramnagar
Fort (Plate XIII, 3), solid and strong
and rising straight out of the water ; and
fine windows and stately balconies above
overlook the river and have a look of quiet and
peaceful opulence. Important as the residence of
the present Maharaja, the traditions of whose
family is said to relate to the eleventh century
A. D., it is also closely connected
Mansa Ram with the history of Benares. It was
Mansa Ram, the head of the
Bhuinhars and Zemindar of Gangapur — a village
ten miles west of Benares — who was the real
founder of the greatness of the Raj family and
the architect of its fortunes. The great Mogul Moon
had been waning after the death of Aurangzeb,
and the Nawabs of Oudh began to gather strength
during the effete regime of his mediocre successors.
248 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) chap.
Thus it was, as has been traced before ^ that in 1722 the Benares province came to the hands of Saadat Khan, the first Navvab of Oudh. It was then sublet by him to Mir Rustom AH who governed it till 1738. Mansa Ram took service with him and gradually drew the reins of government into his own hands, and after the expulsion of the former in 1738, he was, according to Dr. Hunter, allowed to step into Rustom AH's place. He made his possessions secure and in course of time acquired the Fort of Jaunpur and obtained the grant of Chunar and Benares for his son Bulwant Singh and secured for him the title of Raja. According to another authority, however. Emperor Mahammad Shah of Delhi being willing to place Benares in the hands of the Hindus made Mansa Ram Raja of Benares in 1730.
Upon the death of Mansa Ram in 1739, his son Bulwant Singh succeeded and strengthened
his position by erecting this Fort at Bulwant Singh Ramnagar ; and in spite of the
attempts of Nawabs Safdar Jung and Shujauddowlah to bring him under control, he made himself practically independent oi the Nawabs of Oudh, and further added Chakia to his patrimony in 1754 and obtained Korh as a Jagir from Nawab Shujauddowlah. Later on in 1763, he joined the Emperor Shah Alam of Delhi in his
(i) Vide p. 134, ante.
X RAMNAGAR 249
expedition against Mir Jafar, the Nawab of Bengal, the former being backed by Nawab Shujauddovvlah and the latter by the British. Then was fought the momentous battle of Buxar in 1764, and after the defeat of the Emperor Bulwant coolly went over to the side of the conquering British. In 1764 Emperor Shah Alam ceded the Benares district to the English, but under the terms of a subsequent treaty in 1766 with Nawab Shujauddowlah it reverted to the hands of the VVazirs of Oudh. Owing to the support of the English, however, Buhvant's possessions could not be interfered with by the VVazir.
On his death in 1770, Chet Singh, son of Bulwant by a Rajput lady, succeeded ; and the VVazir of Oudh having eventually Chet Sln^h ceded the province of Benares back to the British in 1775, the Government of John Company confirmed him in his place in 1776. He could not, however, pull on well with Warren Hastings who was hard pressed for men and money owing to the wars with the Marhattas and with Haidar Ali in Mysore. Complication j5 arose, and in 1778 he was called upon to pay for the maintenance of three battalions of Sepoys and in 1780 to make additional payments for cavalry for general service of the State. For a time Chet Singh complied, but held back afterwards. At last in 1 78 1, matters came to a head when he was
250 THE HOL Y CITY (BENARES) chap.
'V/>.' \^^^^./■\
called upon to pay the sum of five lakhs of Rupees for failing to furnish a thousand horsemen to fight with the French. As he would not do so, Hastings came over to Benares and took up his quarters at Madhudas's garden ^ and asked him to explain his conduct. As his attitude did not impress him favorably he issued orders for placing the Raja under arrest m his own residence at the Sivala Fort, and two companies of sepoys under three British officers were detailed off to mount guard there. They went, but by some mistake without ammunitions, and took their stand on the small square to the west of the eleven temples still existing in the fort. A number of the Raja's retainers who had been apprised of the circumstances, now crossed over from Ramnagar and put all of them — two hundred and five all told — to the sword ; and during the 7nelee the Raja escaped by lowering himself down by means of some turbans tied together into a boat below from one of the five windows in the fort lying above the river on the north side.
This was in 1781 ; and at a little distance to the west of the Sivala Fort, in a quarter inhabited mostly by Mahomedans now, is a rectangular platform raised above the level of the adjoining road and enclosed by a railing, inside which are three plain white tombs with a brass tablet recording thus:
" This tablet has been erected by the Govt, (i) Vide p. 52, ante.
X R AM N AGAR 251
of the N. W. P. to preserve the last earthly resting place of Lieut. Arch : Scot, 1st Battalion
Sepoys ; Jer : Symes 2nd J. Stalker,
Resid : Body-guard who were killed August 17, 1 78 1 near this spot doing their duty/'
Far from the scene of the carnage, however, and near the Cheti^unge Police Station and next to the fine large garden-house of Hon. Munshi Madho Lai at Benares is the place where the remains of the Sepoys were buried which was later on enclosed by a wall built in 1862. An inscription upon a slab outside marks the spot as Hhe burial place of brave me?i who died in the performance of their duty.*
An attack upon Fort Ramnagar followed this and was repulsed costing the life of Captain Mahaffre who led it. Chet Singh now prepared to take up the offensive and attack Hastings in his quarters at Madhudass' garden at Benares, but the latter thought it prudent to make a hasty retreat to the strong fort at Chunar. ^ Chet Singh then raised an army of over twenty thousand regular troops besides about the same number of irregulars, but he was eventually turned out of his strongholds and had to flee to Gwalior where he ended his days in 18 10. He was formally deposed and Mahip Narain, son of Bulwant Singh's daughter Golap Kumari was placed on the throne in September
(i) Vide p. 52, ante.
252 THE HOLY CITY (BEN ARE '^) chap.
1781. Since then till now the succession has
b^en unbroken and it has all
MahipNarain along been a piping time of peace
and prosperity. His son Udit Narain
succeeded in 1795 and was in his turn followed
by his son ISWARI PRASAD in 1835.
It was during Raja Mahip Narain s regime that the Civil and Criminal Administration of
Benares and the Criminal Administration Administration of the province were taken away
by the British into their own hands. In 1794 the lands held by the Raja in his own right were constituted into his Family Domains with his own courts for the trial of
civil and revenue cases cropping up Prabhu Narain therein. The present Maharaja H. H.
Sir Prabhu Narain Singh, G. C. I. E., who succeeded in 1889, has lately been the recipient of signal honors from the government of Lord Minto, having been invested with the full administrative powers and dignity of a Ruling Chief in respect to the perganas Bhadohi and Kera Mangraur of his Family Domains as well as the tract comprising the Fort of Ramnagar and its appurtenances which are now to be termed the STATE OF Benares. A profound scholar in Sanskrit and a patron of learning, the Maharaja is one of the principal benefactors of the Central Hindu College. His v/ork*: of charity are various and extensive, and he
X RAM N AGAR -?53
enjoys a wide and well-deserved popularity.
From the landiiig stage, you come to the front of the lofty gate leading to the spacious courtyard
of the Maharaja's Fort and Palace. Ramnagar Fort The two large courts inside the walls
are capacious enough to accomodate a vast concourse of people, and thousands had in fact stood here in martial array and sallied out hence in their offensive errand to fight their foes. The whole locality, however, now wears a lively appearance, when, on the auspicious tenth day of the waxing moon during the Ram Nabami festival in autumn every year, the Maharaja goes out in procession to proceed to Chitrakut, about a couple of miles off, to witness the Bharat Milan, the meeting of Bharat with his exiled brother Rama — that great dramatic event depicted by the immortal Valmiki and so full of intense human interest and pathos. The front-gate of the fort is then blocked with crowds of people mixed up with the Maharaja's guards pouring out of tlie Fort in an incessant stream. Dense expectant throngs line the broad pathway, and mounted sentries here and there make but feeble attempts to keep up a semblance of order. The whole of Ramnagar clad in holiday attire, and a good portion of Benares too, turn out here at the time ; and as they press and jostle to have a peep at the front, pleasant jokes and good-humoured witticisms flit along and keep the company merry,
254 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
Presently, there is an unusual stir and the gorgeous cavalcade advances. A party of horsemen with pennoned lances strut by upon their prancing chargers, a line of richly-caparisoned elephants with their swaying trunks and broad foreheads painted white and vermilion wave onward in their measured gait, and troops in red uniforms and with tall matchlocks follow them on foot. Beautiful gold and silver tanjams upholstered in crimson velvet and other paraphernalia of royalty are carried along, couples of horsemen in quaint old-time coat of mail and iron helmet of the olden days pass by and evoke admiring comments from the merry- makers ; large parties of horsemen in modern uniform and armed with carbines now appear and solid phalanxes of men on foot fully accoutred and furnished with present-day weapons. Soon enough the princes come forth, tall and slim and fine youths, riding gracefully upon their high-mettled steeds. Stately elephants with necklaces of gold and silver and coverings of cloths of gold bear gold and silver howdahs of various artistic designs seating the Dewan and the high officers of State. Soon as the Maharaja'*s elephant passes out of the gate the crowds grow exultant and vociferate shouts of welcome, cannon thunder forth the salute, the Maharaja nods and bows gracefully, the attendant behind his throne of silver waves the white chamara in his hand and the pearly fringes of the broad glistening white •silver umbrella overhead rock and quiver and look
X RAMNAGAR
255
extremely picturesque. In his robes of spotless shining^ white silk, with his jewelled necklace decking his breast, the Maharaja looks on the other side of fifty with a fine physique and a kind benevolent mien and dignified bearing. Other elephants follow and some more troops and attendants, and a large multitude of various grades of men bring the show to an end. Onward the procession moves, the crowds wait a while and then disperse.
Shall we now have a peep at the stately palace ? We must then cross the courtyards and go in. The main hall inside is bright with the shooting brilliance from the pendants of the beautiful crystal chandeliers emitting rainbow colours on the least motion. The floor is inlaid with fine trellis-work of dainty marble, and rare art curios and various knick-nacks adorn the tables. An interesting series of large portraits in oil colours of the Rajas of the Benares family decorate the walls, and prominent among them look those of Rajas Chet Singh, Mahip Naraiii, Udit Narain, Iswari Prasad and the present Maharaja. Raja Iswari Prasad Singh was reputed to be a poet and an artist of a very high order and much of his fine handiwork are preserved in the palace, and among them are some dainty flowers in ivory placed underneath the glass-cases upon the side-tables. There is a room adjoining the hall, the four walls of which as well as the ceiling are literally covered over with scenes m
256 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
colours from Kalidasa's glorious drama Saktmtala. Indeed, the whole history of her charming life is to be observed here depicted in beautiful paint and is well worth the trouble of studying. One very interesting treasure in the palace is an old hand-painted and gorgeously illuninated copy of Tuist Das' 9 Ra7nayana with profuse illustrations— which can be viewed only with the Maharaja's permission.
As you stroll along the verandahs and stand upon the balcony facing the river, you catch a glimpse of the stately structures of the Benares bank in the distance, and a fine vista of unusual beauty opens up before your absorbed vision with the crystal waters rolling on in a mighty sweep and set against the luxuriant green of the broad eastern bank. As the horizontal rays of the afternoon sun tinge the white walls of the palace with the hue of pale vermilion, it is pleasant to watch and take a retrospect of what had once been and reflect upon the significance of the past over the present.
In one part of the fort in a small shrine facing the river and just above it is the white marble image of the four-armed river-goddess Gcutga Devi, the presiding deity of the Ganges, seated upon a crocodile — a beautiful image with a fine expression upon the face. There are other shrines in the fort, but the main object of interest is the temple of Veda Vyasa containing ^n emblem known ^5
RAMNAGAR 257
Vy^seszvara Siva said to have been established by Vyasa, which people from distant parts come to visit.
Coming out of the fort and striking into the
interior you pass by the side of a lofty gateway
along a broad path fringed with shady
Janakpur and trees, and drop in to see the JANAKPUR
Girijaya TEMPLE containing beautiful images
Temples of Rama and his three brothers and
their spouses, all in white marble, and
also the GiRlJAYA TEMPLE with the image of
Dtirga and a Siva emblem inside and a stone lion
at the entrance, — both of them in the middle of
cool shady spacious groves.
Next comes the very best place in Ramnagar
which makes it worth while coming so far from
the blessed city of Benares and which makes full
amends for all the troubles you have taken.
Something over a mile from the
Temple of Maharaja's palace is the Temple OF
Durga DURGA with the fine tank in front
and the garden adjoining it ( Plate
XIII, I ). Far from the clamour and bustle of the
city, an atmosphere of calm repose and serenity seems
to pervade this sequestered nook and breathes a
sense of peace and contentment into the heart ;
and the quiet environments make you feel as if
you have nothing else to desire for and can smoothly
17^
258 THE HOL V CITY (BENARES) chap.
sleep the rest of your life away here immersed in a pleasant dream.
Just as you enter the temple compound, your eyes light upon ^ beautiful little white figure of Kamald Devi ( one of the ten Mahavidyas ) seated on a lotus-bed with an elephant on either side bathing her by jets of glistening water issuing out of its trunk — all in white, the symbol of purity. Beyond this is the lofty temple, a hundred feet high, with its floor and verandahs upon a high terrace. The principal figure inside the temple is the marble image of Durga covered all over with gold and wearing a yellow scarf. On the left is Saras wati seated upon a goose m white marble, and on the right Radha and Krishna. In front of the main entrance lies a winged lion, and facing the two side-doors are the figures of Garuda and Nandi,
The temple is said to have been built by Raja diet Singh nearly a century and a quarter ago, and the spire worked with modern floral designs have been added much later and completed only about 1850. Over a hundred niches grouped in five rows decorate the four walls outside and hold neatly executed bas-reliefs of mythical gods and goddesses sculptured in Chunar sandstone in every one of them. A line of little birds nestle upon the edges of the roof, beak to beak, and many of the godheads of the Hindu pantheon are there with their exploits depicted in stone too numerous
X RAMNAGAR 259
to mention. In addition to Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and Rama, Sita and Hanuman usually to be seen, there are also Indra, Surya, Agni, Vayu and the thousand-armed Kartavirjyarjuna. The figures of Krishna holding Govardhan and of the ten-armed Durga are very striking. The style of architecture is a blending of the genuine o!d Indian and the comparatively modern art and has a very pleasing effect. Isolated by its position from all other architectural piles and situated in a spacioiis green lawn in this retired quarter and fanned by the gentle breath of the evening breeze coming through the neighbouring groves, this grand temple in its faint yellow tint looks exceedingly picturesque in its solitary grandeur and stands out in bold relief against the blue background of the distant sky with its loft> pinnacle and graceful sculptures mirrored in the clear water of the lovely tank in front ( Plate XIII, I ).
Close to the temple lies the Maharaja's beautiful
garden with an entrance from the road and a large
mansion at each end of the two
y Maharaja's pathways crossing each other in the
Garden middle. Just over the crossing in the
centre is a nice open marble resting-
hall with a beautiful roof fashioned like a canopy
and supported upon chastely carved pillars, — all of
delicate white marble from the roof to the floor
and a masterpiece of tasteful design. The garden
26o THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
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itself has also been nicely laid out on either side of the pathways and is exquisitely beautiful and pleasing in its effect^ and the whole has a look of neatness and refinement not frequently to be met with. At some distance from this is a temple of Siva, a place of pilgrimage to the devout, and some retreats of Sannyasis as well.
Work enough perhaps for a" hasty visit. The sun has now set behind the distant greenery and the ruddy glow has disappeared. The shades of evening are gathering fast, and there is a hard conflict between the thick veil of darkness descending to envelop the earth and the pale but brightening glimmer of the rising moon attempting to lift it up. Even thus between light and darkness in conflict does the world hold on its course towards eternit}-. The outlook grows dim and hazy, and it is now time to return.
So, after a brief rest for a while we come back
to the river-bank and rouse up our boatman from
his evening nap. Though our boat
Night on the plies through a dense fog shutting
River out the face of the moon and reducing
it to a hazy glamour of dirty yellow,
and thojgh the lights on the other bank as we
approach it peep Mntly with a misty halo round
each of them, still can we picture to ourselves the
splendour of the resplendent orb shining in all its
glory overhead with its silvery sheen playing upon
X RAMNAGAR 261
\/\r'^\y\r\r\y\y\/\/\f\j\^-\,--^-\y\r^j-\yK/^\/^/\/^r\y^.fK/^rsj^,r\/^r\j^j\j-Kr\r
the ripples of the greenish water rolling in waving sheets of emerald and bathing the great crescent of the Benares bank in a splendour of bluish-white brightness, with its towers and temples and spires silhoutted in the distance against the pale blue sky, — conjuring up before the mind's eye a fairy-land of dream nestled in the sweet strains of nahabat music wafted from the distant temples and encased in the illumined fringe of lights on the western bank that have been amplified into flashing gems and brilliants \\\ the reflections below — as \i the stream had borrowed the glittering stars from heaven to heighten the effect !
A night's quiet and well-earned rest amid pleasant dreams and gladsome visions ; and in the morn following we take a stroll through the Sikrole quarter to have a look at the courts and other public buildings, the Chapels and the Cemetery, the Bank and the Old Mint and the hotels — Clarke's and Hotel de Paris — which, pretty in their own way, are, however, of the usual type to be seen in most Indian civil stations of the modern times, the only place of interest here being the Nadesav House — noticed before '-^belonging to the Maharaja of Benares.
This brings our delightful tour to a close. (9//r Guide^ a jolly old gentleman — a pensioned veteran
{i) See p. 54, ante.
262 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
/^y^-'■v'^.'^''\,'V^yVvy^y-v,.'^^^/\/^y-V/^/^/^/\>'vrw^y
of His Majesty's Royal Mail — who combines in him the old lore with a sprinkling Our Guide of the modern, and to whom we are thankful for our hurried experiences, tells us that there are very many things in Benares to be seen and enjoyed and thought over, for it is not for nothing that this sacred city has been famous as the home of Indian wisdom and learning from the very earliest of ages and earned the well-deserved name of 'the Athens of the East\ He urges us to make a more intimate acquaintance with the holy city. But time at our disposal hardly allows that. He adds he had anticipated this and his object in showing us round in the way he did w^as to give us some idea of Benares that should interest us whether we were religiously bent or were mere curious sight-seers like so many other sinful mortals that frequent this holy place.
Our rambles now over, we come to a halt at the Cantonment Station. Shrill whistles the parting signal, and puffing and heaving the iron horse approaches, and emits a prolonged sigh. All enjoyments have an end and all pleasure, and here we must now part and put a period to our sojourn !
X FAREWELL 263
Farewell, Holy City ! Long will the few brief hours of fleeting time passed in thy fostering bosom linger in the mind as a pleasant memory ; and in the solitude of coming days will fancy often call up the flimsy fabrics of a fascinating dream woven with the soft impressions of thy variegated scenes. Full as is thy large expanse covered over with the ancient shrines of olden times, the towering temples of the middle ages and the splendid present-day palaces and charming gardens replete with all the comforts the hand-maids of modern civilization could invent and furnish, — it is pleasant still to contemplate the times when, three thousand }'ears ago, the revered Ajyas found thee clothed with the verdant green of thy pristine forests luxuriating in the fertility of the tri-fold streams, and looked entranced upon thy wavy eastern limb laved by the holy Ganges, that had travelled all the way from the snowy heights of Gangotri where she had descended to bring salvation to the doors of all sinners who believed. In the dim twilight of the early dawn, as the bright and revered Ri's/n's spt lining the silent bank near the river's edge alv oibed in the contemplation of the Supreme, after their sanctifying ablutions in the sacred stream, — how charming did the lovely Usha ^ look in
(I) Dawn
264 THE HOLY CITY (BENARES) Chap.
her roseate robe of subdued brightness as she chased the fast receding gloom to usher in tlie glorious Savita ^ ; and what a day was it that dawned when they hailed the darting rays of the rising sun — ^just resuscitating as it were thy wondrous crescent — with the welcome chant of the choral hymns in their grand and sonorous voices to which the sounding conches added a solemn grandeur ! And as the dazzling noon approached, how thick the smoke from the circling hovia * fires — lit underneath the spreading branches of the giant forest-trees — twirled upwards in wavy wreaths and made the air redolent with the sanctified perfume of the burning habih ' and suffused the surroundings of their peaceful hermitages with an incense of holiness and purity ! And when the pale twilight on the west had merged into the heavenly blue and King Soma * shone forth fn his glory of soothing white with myriads of his twinkling retinue peeping slyly from the azure above, what a music it was that floated in the air as the joyous notes of the Sama Veda hymns rose up in a chorus of praise and adoration in their full manly sonorous voices which the answering echo sweetened and mollified by contact with the smooth water below ! Skipping over a few scores of Yiigas, ^ —
(i) The Sun. (2) Sacrificial fire. (3) Clarified butter. (4) The Moon. (5) Yuga— a cycle of twelve years.
X FAREWELL 265
in the ages of mythology and poetry, the primeval monarchs of thy forests had glided out of existence and made room for the populous city of lofty mansions and stately palaces ; music and all the fine arts patronised by royalty now flourished, and sages added their wisdom and learning to the store-house of human knowledge. Kshatriya kings in all their pomp and glory scoured the country around in war and peace with their gorgeous following of gaily-caparisoned horses, stately elephants and well-decked chariots, and of men armed with swords and bows and arrows, with flags and pennons flying, the turyds ^ shrill call mixing with the booming of the bheris, * and conches and horns blowing martial music. After the victorious horse had returned from its tours what a brilliant array of Kings and Princes, of deified Saints and god-like men thronged thy holy bank to witness the performance of the great Asivamedlia and the bestowal of munificent gifts of horses and elephants, of gold and even kingdoms by the bounteous Kings ! Oft were such scenes repeated and various
were the occasions. Allow a few centuries to
glide by, — the pomp and splendour and the glory and poetry of the earlier ages lad grown dim, speculations in religion and philosophy had given rise to various sects and varied observances and brought in a host of complications, paving thus
(() Wind instruments. (2) Drums.
266 THE HOLY CITY {BENARES) CHAr.
the way for the acceptance of the simpler rules of life preached by the saintly Gautama in the Wght of Nh-vana and Universal Love. Calm and placid and serene sat the Great Master under the vast canopy of thy heaven's blue with thy king and princes and all the royal court grouped around with palms joined and heads bent in meek humility and listening to the words of wisdom that fell from his lips like the welcome drops upon the thirsty earth below. And often in after-days in similar assemblies would the reverant hush of the listeners break into the thrilling musical chorus — " I take shelter under Buddha, I take shelter under the
Dhainma^ I take shelter under the Sangha ! "
Five more centuries flitted away, — the new light had expanded and had shed its effulgence far and wide and much beyond thy distant horizons. Then came the wane and a re-assertion of the older faith. Monarchs owing allegiance to either creed held alternate sway, and architectural embellishments of stately monasteries and lofty temples upon which kings and princes lavished riches untold enhanced the loveliness of thy beauteous frame ; and vo'-aries from far off climes made pilgrimages to thy hallowed grounds." Eight centuries thus
lost them.selves in the womb of eternit) ,— thick gloom now began to envelop the land and all animation seemed suspended as it were by some m}'sterious agency ; religion, myth, philosophy got hopelessly jumbled together ; and though temples
X FAREWELL 267
and shrines abounded, the real fervour of life lay well-nigh smothered and crushed underneath the grotesqueness of the elaborate rites and vapid ceremonials that had sprung up and clustered round the bare exterior. Then shone out that youthful luminary upon thy firmament, the great Sankara, who rooted out the weeds from amidst the tangled G^rovvth and brought order out of chaos, and the tide of life flowed back rejuvenated and vigourous under his reformed and regenerated doctrines leading again to the contemplation of the Perennial Source, the Supreme in all his manifestations pervading the Universe — culminating in the grand realisation of
So*/ia7n ( I am He ) ! Again the heavens
lowered, — again had degeneration crept in apace with the strange creations of the Pauranic fancies, and decadence in religion led to the inevitable decay in national life. Kings fell at the advance of the victorious Crescent, and in the half a dozen centuries or more that followed, the glare of the blazing torches of persecuticn revealed thy temples tottering to ruins and the rounded domes of the uprising mosques rearing themselves on high to the accompaniment of the deafening notes of 'Din\
''Dm' ! Occasional resuscitations followed ; and all
the vicissitudes of conflicting ages notwithstanding, thy supremacy as the greatest stronghold of Hinduism — regained in Sankara's time— held on its ground unassailed, and the Moskm onslaughts were felt but as a passing scratch.-' The rest was but
268 THE HOL Y CIJ V (BENARES)
the other day. 'Heaven lends a thousand dififering^
vv^ays to one sure end ;' and various as are the world's prevailing creeds, like numberless paths, straight or tortuous, they all converge and lead ^/le devout and the sincere to the shade of the same market-place of Salvation where sits the Glory above the overspreading greenery \ As a prominent landmark in one such path, may thou be long the meeting- ground of all ages of eternal time and the ideal city of holiness in the East and a repository of all that is great and noble and sublime pulsating with the throb of thy ancient greatness, and be a soothing abode of rest and peace to the devout as heretofore, after the toils and turmoils of life at its closing days ! — Farewell !
APPENDIX
A FIRMAN OF
Emperor Aurangzeb
I:
N course of my rambles at BenarA during the latter part of last October (1910), v/hileT searching for materials for a certain work upon that great city, in which I am engaged, I happened to come across a document of a unique nature likely to be ofnuch interest to the antiquarian and the historian alike. Messrs. Saeed Brothers, Photographers, of Benares gave me a photo-copy of a firman in Persian which they alleged to be a true and faithful reproduction of the original which purported to be an Imperial Decree addressed to one Abul Hossein by Emperor Aurangzeb and communicated through his son Sultan Muhammad Bahadoor.
All historians have up to time been almost unanimous in giving to Aurangzeb a character directly opposed to what would appear from the above document. He has been held to have been bitterly opposed to the Hindus as evidenced by his imposition of the Jiziah tax, and has further been reputed to have demolished numbers of Hindu temples at Benares and erected the mosque over the Pancha-Ganga
(i) Paper read at the monthly General Meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal at CalcvUta on March i, 1911,
c\
270 APPENDIX
Ghat in that city with the couple of tall minarets going by the name of Madho-ji-ka-deora upon the ruins of the old temple of Beni Madhav which he had destroyed. As it was, I confess, I could not but look upon the document in question without considerable suspicion, I therefore thought it proper to keep silence till I obtained satisfactory and authentic informations regarding the existence of the original. It was only on the 1st instant ( February 191 1 ), when I had been on another flying visit to Benares that I was enabled to get a sight of the original firman itself through the courtesy of Khan Bahadoor Sheik Muhammad Tyab, City Inspector of Police, Benares.
This gentleman who sent for the document from its present owner for my inspection, gave the following history in connection with its find : —
* In the Mangla Gauri Muhulla of this city lived a Brahman named Gopi Upadhyaya who died about fifteen years ago. This iirman was in the custody of Gopi Upadhyaya. This man had no son, but had only a daughter. His daughter has a son named Mangal Pandey who also lives at Mangla Gauri now. Mangal Pandey had obtained the document from Gopi Upadhyaya along with his other papers. In April 1905 I held an enquiry under orders of the Magistrate of Benares in the matter of a complaint by Mangal Pandey. Mangal is a ghatia Brahman who sits on the river-bank to ply his business as a ghatia piijari to whose stall
APPENDIX 271
bathers in the river resort for various religious observances and for purchasing various appurtenances of worship. Buiniah wointn, he had complained used to go to the place where he used to sit, and in accordance with a curious custom amongst :hem they would frequently set up a wailing and weeping there. Mangal complained that no one would frequent his ghat to bathe if they were allowed to continue their practice of weeping there in that way. There was thus a dispute between Mangal and the Buiiniahs. I asked him to show me his documents, if he had any, to prove that he had any right to the portion of the ghat he occupied as alleged by him. He and his servant, one Babunandan, produced several papers before me and I found this finnan among them. It has since then been all along in his possession/
Such being the occasion when this precious deed was found as narrated by the Khan Bahadoor, I felt convinced of its authenticity and examined the document carefully and noticed that it was a piece of slightly yellowish old paper with a piece of thin linen pasted at the back leaving bare only a small portion 4^ X 4 inches containing writings and Sultan Muhammad's seal lyi inch in diameter at the top. This document is in an excellent state of preservation and the handwriting is very distinct and legible and the letters bold and large. The whole is written in deep black ink excepting a small portion at the top 3" x 2%'^
272 APPENDIX
inches written in red in an ornate st}^le and enclosed witliin some lines in the form of an oblong in the middle at the top of the first page and to the left of the seal of Aurangzeb. It measures 2 feet lo^ inches by i feet 5^ inches. On the next page appears in smaller letters the note of despatch through Prince Sultan Muhammad Shah Bahadoor with his seal on the ricrht. This seal has some numerals looking like some date, but are not very legible.
From the papers contributed by Prof Jadu Nath Sarkar in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol II No. 6 (New Series) — 1906, pp. 223-267, with copies of two other firmans of Plmperor Aurangzeb in respect to certain Revenue Regulations and fiscal measures and certain rules for the guidance of Shaistha Khan in connection with the Government of Bengal, it would appear that this monarch was after all not exactly what he had been represented to be and that he was rather solicitous of ensuring peace and security to his subjects.
With a view that further researches may be made with respect to this matter by antiquarian experts, I quote below a rendering of the firman into English by Lieut-Colonel Dr. D. C. Phillot :
Let Abu'l-Hasan worthy of favour and countenance trust to our royal bounty and let him know that, since in accordance with our innate kindness of disposition and natural benevolence the whole of our untiring energy and all our upright intentions
APPENDIX 273
are engaged in promoting the public welfare and bettering the condition of all classes high and low, therefore in accordance with our holy Law we have decided that the ancient temples shall not be overthrown but that new ones shall not be built. In these days of our justice, information has reached our noble and most holy court that certain persons actuated by rancour and spite have harassed the Hindus resident in the town of Benares and a few other places in that neighbourhood, and also certain Brahmins, keepers of the temples, in whose charge those ancient temples are, and that they further desire to remove these Brahmins from their ancient office ( and this intention of theirs causes distress to that community ) therefore our Royal Command is that after the arrival of our lustrous order you should direct that in future no person shall in unlawful ways interfere or disturb the Brahmins and the other Hindus resident in those places, so that they may as before remain in their occupation and continue with peace of mind to offer up prayers for the continuance of our God given Empire that is destined to last to all time. Consider this as an urgent matter. Dated 15th of Jumada-'s-Saniya A. H, ^064 ( ==A. D. 1653 or 4),
/ire u>*^ v.*.--^ fcrt:6. 9'*'<^^^ V
274
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Archaeological Survey of India Reports, by General Cunningham —Vol I ( 1862— 65 ), Vol III (1871—72).
Archaeological Survey of India — Annual Report ( 1904 — 1905 ) by Mr. F. O. Oertal.
Alberuni's India, by Dr. Edward C. Sachau ( 1888-Trubner ).
A History of Civilisation in Ancient India, by R. C. Dutt
( 1891 ). Benares— A Gazetteer of India, by H. R. Neville ( Vol XXVI
of the District Gazetteer of the U. P. of
Agra and Oudh — 1909 ). Benares, the Sacred City of the Hindus, by E. B. Havell
( 1905 )■ Bharatbarshiya Upasak Sampradaya, by Akshay Kumar Dutta
( 1314 B. E. ) Bible in India, by M. Louis Jacolliol ( 1820). Bhaskarananda Charita, by Surendra Nath Mukherji (1312 B. E.) Hindu Civilisation in Ancient America, by Kedar Nath Bose
( 1888 ). Imperial Gazetteer ot India, by W. W. Hunter, Vol II
(1885), Vol. VII (1908). India in Greece, by E. Pockocke ( 1852 ). Jivani Sangraha, by Ganesh Chandra Mukherji ( 13 16, B. E. ) Kabir Salieb ka Sabdawali ( 1909— Allahabad Belvedere Prmting
Works ). Kashi Khandam. Kashi, the City Illustrious, or Benares, by Rev, Edwin
Greaves ( 1909 ). Kashi Parikrama, by Nagendra Nath Basu ( 1313 B. E. ) Memoirs of Emperor Jehangir, translated by Major David
Price ( 1829 ),
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 27$
Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India
by Reginald Heber ( 1828 ). Ralph Fitch, by J. Horton Riley (1890). Religious Sects of the Hindus, by H. H. Wilson ( 1861 ). Sankaracharya O Baddlia, by Pandit Kalibar Vedantabagis
( 1307 B. E. ) Si-yu-ki— Buddhist Records of the Western World. Translated
from the Chinese of Hiuen Tsiang (A. D.
629 ) by Samuel Beal ( 1884— Trubner ). Sri Sankaracharya — His Life and Times, by C. N. Krishna-
swamy Aiyar. The Jataka, or Stories of Buddha's Former Births, edited by
E. B. Cowell ( 1897 ). The Man Mandir Observatory, by Pandit Bapudeva Shastri
( 1902 ). The Mystics, Ascetics, and Saints of India, by John Campbell
Oman ( 1905 ). Travels of a Hindu, by Bhola Nath Chunder ( 1845-69 ). The Sacred City of the Hindus, by Rev. M. A. Sherring ( 1868 ). Vishwa-Kosha, edited by Nagendra Nath Bose. Etc. Etc
INDEX
Adi-Keshav |
227 |
Aurangzeb's Firman |
132, 269, |
Adi-Mahadeo |
225 |
273 |
|
Adi-Visweswara |
171 |
Avalokiteswara |
86 |
Agastya Kund |
204 |
Bageswari |
184 |
Ahalya Bai |
157,214 |
Baidyanath |
192 |
Ahalya Bai's Ghai |
205 |
Baija Bai |
f68, 220 |
Ahmety Temple |
215 |
Baji Rao Ghat |
221 |
Akbar, Emperor |
»3^ 134 |
Bakaria Kund |
77 |
Akhera, Baid |
60 |
Bala Tripura Sundari |
215 |
„ Bara Gudarji |
60 |
Ballavacharya |
239 |
„ Bari Sangat |
56 |
Banar, King |
9, 226 |
„ Chhota Gudarji 60
„ Dadupanthi 60
„ Degambari 60
„ Kinaram 57
„ Krishna Achari 60
,, Melaram 57
„ Panchaiti Kalan 57
„ Panditji 60
„ Vishnupanthi 60
„ See also Muths.
Alamgiri Musjid 80, 81, r8i
Alberuni 129
Alfred Hall ,4
Alpamriteswara 182
Amrita Kup 181
Ananda Bag 196
Andhras, tht 126
Annapurna 1 54
Antargriha 159
A rati 160
Area 10
Arhai Kangura Musjid 79
Arya Samaj 56
Ashtanga Bhairab 189
Asi-Sangam 244
Asoka, Emperor 125
Asoka pillar 43, 76, 95
Aurangzeb 132
Aurangzeb's mosques 82, 169,
181, 222
Banar's Fort 226
Bara Ganesh 182
Barana-Sangam 226
Barahar Rani's Temple 194, 195
Baranasi 9
Baranasi Devi 225
Burnouf, Prof. 27
Batuk Bhairab 192
Battis Khamba 79 Benares, Maharaja of 34, 57, 252
Benares, State of 252
Bengalitolah 202
Beni Madhav 224
Besant, Mrs. Annie 32, 35, 36,37
Bhaironath I74
Bhatta Kumaril 127 Bharat Dharma Mahamandal 62
Bhaskaranand Swami 196
Bhimchandi Devi 246
Bhonsla Ghat 221
Bhut Bhairo 183
Bhutnath 192
Bible and Tract Depot 45
Birbhadra 203
Bird, Mr. 77
Bishalakshi Devi 213
Bodh-Gaya 91, 92
Bodhi-tree 92
Brahmo Samaj 56
INDEX
77
Brahmapuri |
212 |
Brahmeswara |
211 |
Bi iddhakaleswara |
181 |
Buddha |
91 |
Burns, Mr. |
167 |
Carmichael Library |
16 |
Central Hindu College |
33 |
Chaitanya |
240, 244 |
Chakra Yantra |
22 |
Chandra Gupta |
125 |
Chandra Kup |
173 |
Charanpaduka |
217 |
Chatuspathis |
30,41 |
Chauk, the |
14 |
Chaukhamba |
80, 174 |
Chauki Ghat |
236 |
Chaukhandi |
86 |
Chausatti Ghat |
236 |
Cherry, Mr. |
53 |
Chet Singh 52, |
240, 249 |
Chor Ghat |
221 |
Christian Missions |
63 |
Church Missionary Society 63 |
|
Chunder, Bholanath |
28,72 |
Chhattras |
46 |
Climate |
II |
Colvin, Sir Auckland |
II |
Cortez, Fernando |
138 |
Cousin, M. |
27 |
Creutzer, M |
27 |
Cunningham, General |
85, 87, |
88, 10 1, |
170, 193 |
Daksheswara |
182 |
Dakshinamurthi Muth |
59 |
Dakshinabhitti Yantra |
20 |
Dalveswara |
212 |
Dandis |
59, 230 |
Dandapani |
175 |
Dasaswamedheswara |
211 |
Dasaswamedh Ghat |
149, 207, |
211,231 |
|
Davis, Mr. |
53 |
Deer Park |
89 |
Deva Sabha - |
»59 |
Dhamek, the |
87 |
Dharma Kup |
213 |
Dharmasalas |
46 |
Dhrubeswara
Dhundiraj Ganesh
Digambara
Digansa Yantra
Divodaseswara
Dufferin Bridge
Duncan, Jonathan
Dutt, R. C.
Durbasseswara
Durga Temple
Durga Temple, Ramna
Dwarkadhiswara
Dvarkanath Dube
Ekka,
Endowments
Fa Hian
Falgu, the
Fakr-ud-din's Darga
Feizi
Feroze Shah
Fitch, Ralph
Ganga Devi :
Ganges, the
Ganges water
Gangamehal Ghat
Ganga putra
Gauri Kund
Gaya
Ghats, the
Ghatias i
Ghoshla Ghat
Girijaya Temple
Goebi Kua
Golden Temple i
Gopal Mandir
Gorji, Pandit
Gorokpanthis
Grand Trunk Road
Gupta Kings
Gupta Lintel
Gurudham
Haiheyas, the
Hanuman Ghat
Hanumanji i
Harish Chandra (ihat
Heber, Bishop 15.
Hegel
28, 93.
189
154
58
22
212
7, 229
loi
27, 140 179 195
r 257
192
245
83
47
f22
78
28
78
15,28
!i4, 256
211
II
221
234 237
2
207
52, 232 221 257
yj
52, 156
47, 173 245 61
6 126 112
193
122 61, 239 80, 239
237
29, 222 26
278
INDEX
Hindu Ideas i6i Hiuen Thsang 28, 79» 85, 94, 122, 140 Hospital, Iswari Prasad
Memorial 45
„ Prince of Wales 46
„ Victoria 46
Hotels 261
Hull, Rev. E. R. 165
Humayun 86
Humayun's Tower 85
Iswarganji Tank 183
Iswari Prasad Singh, Raja 130, 252,255
Jacolliot, Louis 27
Jagannath 200
Jageswara 1 83
Jagat Singh's Stupa 99
Jai Chand, Raja 130
Jainas, the 58
Jaina Temple, Sarnath 99
Jalsam Ghat 214
Janakpur Temple 257
Jataka, Khantivadi no
„ N yagrodha - M i ga 89
Jattrawallah 234
Jaya Sing, Raja 17 Jehangir \y. 170, 171
Jhawa Jharan 84
J nan Bapi 168
Jogasram 155
Jogi-Bir 78
Jones, Sir William 29
Juna Muth 61
Jwarahareswara 184
Jyestheswara 183
Kabir, 48
Kabir Chaura 51
Kal Kup 176
Kalika Vidyalaya 34
Kamachcha 192
Kameswara I79
Kanishka, King 107
Kanvas, the 126
Kapal Mochan 75
Kapil 27
Kapildhara 184
Kardameswara 246 Karmanasa
Karnaghanta Talao 183 Kasi 9, 28, 121
Kasi Devi 183
Kasi Karwat 172
Kasis, the 10, 121 Kasi Tirtha Jirnoddharini Sabha
Kasi Khandam 115
Kedar Ghat 236
Kedarnath 237
Kirtibash's Ramayana 243
Kirtibasseswara 81, 180
Kittoe, Major 102, 104
Kotilingeswara 153, 225
Kulastambha 76
Kumareswara 193
Kurukshetra Talao 196
Lahar-ka-talao 49
Laksmi Kund 189 Lai Bahadur Sing, Raj a 184 197. 236
Lai Khan's Tomb 74
Lalita Ghat 213
Lat Bhairo 74
Lasmanbala Temple 224
Lingam 142
Lion-Capital 97
Lolarka Kund 202
London Mission Society 63
Luri-ka-kodan 86
Luther, Martin 240
Macaulay 15
Machchodari Tirtha 178
Madhoji-ka-deora 222
Madhudas's Garden 52
Maghar 51
Maheswara 140? 143
Mahip Narayan, Raja . 251
Mahipal, King 100
Mahalaksmi 189
M ah mud of Ghazni 130
Main Shrine 105
Maitreya 86
Man Mandil 18, 212
Mandakini, the 13
INDEX |
279 |
|||
Mansa Ram |
247 |
Pancha Ganga |
221 |
|
Man Singh, Raja 17, 148, |
> 17'", 171 |
Pande Ghat |
236 |
|
Mangla Gauri Ghat |
221 |
Panuco |
138 |
|
Manikarnika 214, |
216, 231 |
Paresnath |
58, |
123 |
Manikarnika Kund |
217 |
Pathsalas |
44 |
|
Maqdam Saheb |
80 |
Pilpilla Tirtha |
225 |
|
Mark Twain |
II |
Pisach Mochan |
186 |
|
Marshall, Mr. |
88, 102 |
Pitri Kund |
187 |
|
Markandeswara |
182 |
Pococke, Mr. |
25 |
|
Mashan Ghat |
237 |
Police Kotwali |
14 |
|
Matri Kund |
187 |
Population |
10 |
|
Mauryans, the |
125 |
Prahlad Ghat |
226 |
|
Megasthenes |
28, 140 |
Pratapaditya, Maharaja |
236 |
|
Memphis |
138 |
Prabhu Narayan, Maharaja |
34, |
|
Menaka Bari |
193 |
57, |
252 |
|
Mira Bai |
186 |
Queen's College |
40 |
|
Mir Ghat |
212 |
Rad has warn is |
55 |
|
Mir Rustum Ali |
248 |
Rajghat Fort |
72, |
. 226 |
Mitter, Sir Romesh Cliander 199 |
Raj Tarangini |
125, |
139 |
|
Mogul Serai |
4 |
Ram Ghat |
221, |
230 |
Monkey Temple |
. 195 |
Ramanand Swami |
49, |
224 |
Mritunjaya |
182 |
Ramkrishna Sebasram |
38 |
|
Muhulla gates |
146 |
Ramayana |
243 |
|
Muhammad Ghori |
130 |
Ramamurti Naidu |
201 |
|
Municipal Garden |
26 |
Rana Ghat |
236 |
|
Museum, Sarnath |
106 |
Ranavir Pathsala |
34.45 |
|
Muth, Dakshinamurti |
59 |
Rani Barahar |
194. |
195 |
„ Juna |
61 |
Rani Bhawani 46, |
195, |
196 |
„ Niranjani |
60 |
Ratneswara |
180 |
|
„ Nirvani |
60 |
Rishipattana |
89 |
|
Nadeswara House |
54 |
Roman Catholics |
64 |
|
Nag Kua |
184 |
Rudra Sarwar |
23^ |
|
Nagas |
60 |
Saadat Khan |
134, |
248 |
Nagri-pracharini Sabha |
13 |
Sakshi Vinayak Ganesh |
154 |
|
Naleswara |
179 |
Sambaditya Temple |
188 |
|
Nanak |
240 |
Sungas, the |
126 |
|
Nanakpanthis |
57 |
Sangameswara |
228 |
|
Nara Sinha |
200 |
Sankata Devi |
173 |
|
Narad Ghat |
236 |
Sankata Ghat |
221 |
|
Naugraha |
175 |
Sankat Mochan |
194 |
|
Nepalese Temple |
214 |
Sankudhara |
192 |
|
Niranjani Muth |
60 |
Sankaracharya 127, |
153, |
189 |
Nirvani Muth |
60 |
Sani Deva |
156 |
|
Oertel, Mr. |
87, 102 |
Sarnath |
89 |
|
Omkareswara |
180, 181 |
Sati Stones 182, |
216, |
228 |
Pal Kings |
130 |
Schools |
43 |
|
Pancha Tirtha |
220 |
Scindhia Ghat |
220 |
280
INDEX
Sekrole |
29, 261 |
Shah Alam, Emperor |
248 |
Shakespeare |
241 |
Sher Khan |
5 |
Sherring, Rev. M. A. |
63,70 |
Shibnarayanis |
61 |
Siddheswara |
184 |
Siddheswari |
^n |
Sikhs, the |
56 |
Siva-worship |
138 |
Siva Temple, Sarnath |
99 |
Sivala Fort |
240 |
Sivala Ghat |
60, 240 |
Sitala Devi |
206 |
Sohagesvvara |
179 |
Someswara |
212 |
Somnath |
99 |
Sone Bridge |
2 |
Sona-ka-talao |
82 |
Sridhar |
243 |
Sulatankeswara |
211 |
Suparsha |
r23 |
Suraj Kund |
187 |
Swetambara |
58 |
Tarakeswara |
168, 215 |
Tavernier |
29 |
Telegraph Office |
14 |
Thatteri Baazar |
14 |
Theosophical Society |
36,61 |
Tilak, B. G. |
139 |
Tilbhandeswara |
202 |
Tillianalah |
80, 225 |
Town Hall |
14 |
Trade |
15 |
74, 194.
18^
Trailanga Swami
Trilochan
Tripura Bhairabi
Tulsi Das
Tulsi Ghat
Vaishnavites
Venis, Mr A.
Vedas, the
Veda Vyasa
Victoria Park
Vishuddhanand Saraswati
Visweswara 156,
Visweswargunj Bazar
Vivekanand, Swami
Vizianagram, Maharaja of
13, 14, 57 Vyasa
Vyaseswara
Vyas Kashi
Warren Hastings
Water Works
Wazir Ali
Weslyan Mission
Wilfred, Col.
Wilson, Prof. H. H.
Yantra, Chakra
,, Dakshinabhitti
„ Digansha
„ Narivalaya
„ Samrat Yogasram
Zeej Mahammad Shahi Zenana Bible and
Medical Mission 64
176
225
212
241
241
59
87
139
208
40
205
158
12
38
83, 208 257 208
52, 249 II
52,53 64 29 242 22 20 22 21 20
155 18
Demy 12 mo, : Cloth, Re i-6 ; Paper^ Re /. Foreign : Cloth, 2s. 2d. ; Paper, rs, 8d,
The Triumph of Yalmiki.
{H. P. SHASlRfS VALMIKIR /AVA) ILLUSTRATED. By R. R. sen, B. L. Pleader, and Law Lecturer, Ghittagong College*
To be had
3i
London : Messrs, LUZAC & CO., 46, Great Russell Street.
Bombay: Messrs. RAM CHANDRA GOVIND&SONS, 147. Kalvadevi Road,
Madras : Messrs. HIGGINBOTHAM & CO., 165, Mount Road ;— M e s s r s . G. A, NATESAN & CO., Esplanade.
Calcutta : Messrs. W. NEWMAN & CO., 4, Dalhousie Square ;— Mr. E. SEYMOUR HALE, Calcutta School Book Society, 1, Wellington Street.
Chittagong : M. R. SEN, Parade.
Contents
Introduction
PART I— The Himalayas— The Ribhus— The Three
Great Ones— The Song of Brotherhood— After the
Sony — The Ribhus Depart — Cogitations — After-effects. PART II— The Two meet— The Hermitage— The Defeat. PART III— The Austerities— Viswamitra's Vision— The
Council of the Rishis. PART IV— In Quest of Materials— The New Light— The
New Creation— The New Earth— The New Man^
The Birth of Poesy. PART V— The Old Earth— Peace on Earth. PART VI— The Flying City— The End of the New
Creation — Viswamitra falls. PART VII— The Sacrifice— Unconscious Musings— The
Triumph of Valmiki. PART VIII— The Conception of the Ramayana-The
Advent of the Lord — The Songs of the Ramayana
The 'Ascension — The Seven Rishis — Viswamitra —
Heaven declined— The Universe-Body. J^PPENDIX— The Safya and the Treta /uo^as— The MrFmjr/a Form.
T^EVIE^S?^S &, OFINTONS.
Professor Edward Dowden, l l.d., d. Litt,
Author of "Shakespeare : His Mind and Art," DUBLIN:— " Remarkable translation of Mr. Shastri's remarkable prose-poem, The Triumph of Valmiki, which it is a great pleasure to me to possess, and which enlarges the horizons of our Western imagination."
'■'^r y?- v.^'c
ttt.
Jcfyrial of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, iONDON, Jantiary, 1910 :— " Mr. R. R. Sen's English translation of the Ren':;ali original is a ^ood piece of work evidently cai ried out con amore. I have compared much of it with the original, and can vouch for its fidelity, but it is not a too literaltranslation. To convey to English readers Hara Prasad's raphsodies without falling into one of the two pitfalls of turgidity and bathos was by no means an easy task, but Mr. Sen, who exhibits a mastery of idiomatic Ens^lish rare among those whose language it is not has successfully accomplished it. In the story's Western dress I can safely recommend The Triumph oj Valmiki to those who are not familiar with Bengali and who desire to become acquainted with a modern Eastern poetical work esteemed by the compatriots of its author as as a masterpiece of imagination. — G, A, Grierson."
The Scotsman, EDINBURGH. Augusts, 1909 :— ^' From Mr. R. R. Sen, Law Lecturer, Chittagong College, comes a small volume.. .which does every credit io 4iis lintruisHc abilities. ... A work of characteristically Oriental luxuriance and splendour of imagination, a sort of prose-poem on a subject borrowed from the Ramayana, which mingles mythology and transcendentalism in a strangely inteiesting way, it sets out a kind of Eastern theological ap »logue, of which the root-thought is that of an universal brotherhood established among men by moral progress instead of by intellectual and material forces. It will well repay the attention of English readers interested in contemporary Indian Literature.'^
The IVIadras T4mes, MADRAS, November, 12, 1909 : — " It is not often that it is given to a modem Indian to make anything that can be called a conlributioH
tv
fo- Uterafure, Modern Indian vernacular literatui'e haf
not been a success. Certainly there is little of it
that will bear translation, Mr. H. P. Shastri's " Z"^^ Triumph of Vahmki" judged by Mr. Sen^s beautijul imnslaiion ts really a gem. The English of the translation is almost faultless. Indeed there is little in it that would make one suspect that it was not written by an Englishman with a taste for Eastern literature. To those who wish to understand something of the Renaissance of Hinduism that is: so important a force in modern India, " The Triumph of Valmiki '^ will be of the greatest value. The allegory centres round a tale of how three great Hindus of ancient times were influenced in their ideals and ambitions by hearing the song celestial of the Ribhus or departed saints. Each of them is differently influenced, but it is given to Valmiki, the repentant robber-chief, to realise the greatest ideal of all — the brother-hood of mm. Intermingled with what may be called the mythological machinery of the allegory we find the most modern ideas, such for instance as the brother-hood of humanity, and our modern knowledge of the solar system. All this, however, does not detract from the beauty of the tale. In it the crude and primitive imaginings which are a part of Eastern mythology seem in no way incongruous with the humanistic ideas of the West, or with modern scientific knowledge. As a beauti- ful little gem of what may be termed An^lo-Oriental literature the 'book is valuable., as a key to the neo- Hinduism it is invaluable"
The Indian Magazine and Review, LONDON,
October, 1909, (eight pages j :— "Well printed, neatly and
tastefully, bound and quite admirably ill«istrated...the matter
of the book is worthy of its presentation. Translation is
e^er a difficult and periloiis task, but Mr. Sen... ...AasMai^e
his version with such success that there is little to show, thai a is not the work of an Englishman born and bred. He has reproduced^ with as much sympathy as skilly the spirit of the original^ and here he is undoubtedly to be congratulated on not being an Englishman, for a book so charged with Hindu allusions and remuiiscences could hardly be adequately translated by any one who was not himself a Hindu. We strongly recommend the little
book to the perusal of all who would wish to get some
glimpse of the workings of the mind of a gifted and
erudite Hindu It must be said to the credit of
Mr. Sen's translation that it enables even a Christian or a
Mahomedan to comprehend the Hindu's preference «
Of the merits of the work as a literary composition, it is not for a foreigner to speak, even after the perusal of a translation so manifestly competent and intelli^etU as that of Mr. Sen. In that respect it has stood the test of the enthusiastic admiration of the writer's own country- men. But it is essentially a book which should be read by Englishmen and Englishwomen who are interested in modern India, in as much as it may give them some clue to the wonderful renascence of Hindu feeling in our
own day It is not given to many Europeans to
express modern problems in terms of ancient legends and primeval imagination. The Hindu does it without
any seeming difficulty, and Mr. Shastri has done
it with a touch of genius. With a little effort of sympathy it is easy to see that, to minds steeped in Hindu lor^, this little book may seem like an inspired reconciliation of ancient stories with the perpetual puzzle, in the most modern shape, of the mystery of our common existence
To read Mr. Sen's admirable little translation is,
in short, to be carried into the atmosphere of the
Tndian Epics, and to understand how these charac- teristic works of the Indian imaginatran>etain their hold ©« the piety and admiration of modern Hindus. The readers will be rewarded by a glimpse into the mentality of modem Hinduism such as he may seek in vain in the laborious explanations of European scholars. Mr. Sen-'s little book ought to be added to the library oj everyone who takes an interest tn Indian thought"
East and West, BOMBAY, December, 1909 :~ "It is impossible not to admire the achievements of hidiarw who write books and leading articles in this second, this secular speech (English), Among such linguistic feats I would like to call the attention of readers Duiside Bengal to Mr. R. R. Sen's admirable and most iriteresting translation, of Pandit Kara Prasad Shastri's *' Triumph of Vahniku" The translation is a tour de- force such as few Englishmen could have achieved, in the success with which it suggests rattier than renders th& Hindu atmosphere in which the writer's imagination is steeped. I believe that it will give intense pleasure to Hindus, not acquainted with the Bengali language. E.ven to an English reader, if he reads withoivt prepos- sessions, and with an open mind, the book is full of sugges- tion and interest, especially as the Pandit has contrived to mingle some Christian imagery with purely indigenous modes of expression."
The Pioneer, allahabad, July 25, 1909 .—
" Enghsh readers will welcome Mi R. R, Sen's, excellent translation of the well-known Bengali account of "^ he Triumph of Valiniki by H. P. Shastri. Mr. Sen has preserved the spirit ^t/" M^ ^r^^///<2/, while he has clothed it in simple, direct English. The theme of this mytho- logical story is the establishment of universal brotherhood.
Vtt
among men The book recounts the progress
of the world for many centuries, and is an interesting commentary on Indian Mythology.. .The sentiments of the book are elevated, but the style is never bombastic, never turgid. Ike illustrations add to the value of the bookr
The Indian Mirror, CALCUTTA. August is,
1909 : — " In loftiness of conception and sublimity of diction the paper ranks with the best ever written in the Bengali language, and it has secured the writer undying 'fame. By translating this prose-poem into English. Mr. R. R. Sen, of the Chittagong Bar, has achieved no little distinction. The rendefins; has been so skilfully nt'ide that^ but for the explanation^ one would take it for an orioinal e^ort. Tiiere is not the slightest trace of that jerk that, generally speaking, characterises a trans- lated piece, nor is there the absence of the sparkle oj the engindl ^\\\(i\\ \s also a feature of the process of decan- ting. Verily, as an appreciative critic has happily remarked, the " Triumph of Valmiki '' is a triumph oj the translator' s art as well"
Modern Review, CALCUTTA, February, 1910 :— "...The reader is transported from his age and country : like Dante under the guidance of Virgil he meets with the Titans and the Celestials, is whirled through systems of strange universe. Shastri's touch is fearless, broad, and easy, bespeaking the freshness and
spontaneity of youth The translation is faithful and
enriched with notes on every Oriental word used. Englishmen learning Bengali will find it easy to read the original with this translation at their elbowP
The Malabar Quarterly Review,
TRIVENDRUM, September, 1909 :—" We are .thankful
vni
lo Mr. R. R. Sen for favouring us with a copy of his very excellent English translation of Valmikir
y^J^ There is absolutely nothing in the body
of the work before us to show that it is merely a translation and not an original production. Indeed the translator has brought to his task such naturalness and skill as to defy the eye of the critic in detecting a flaw in his English
rendering The purpose of the story itself,
is to prove the possibility of " the establishment of universal brotherhood among men through the instru- mentality of the moral instead of the intellectual and
physical forces" the printing and get up of the
work does credit to the printers and the book contains some eight fine illustrations. We have little hesitation in commending this book to the general reader who will certainly find it interesting and aftording some food or thought as applicable to present-day conditions,"
The Indu Prakash (Dally), BOMBAY, August 16, 1909 :— '♦ The Triumph of Valmiki is a well
got up volume brought out by Mr. R. R. Sen,
The conception of the basis of the book is no doubt grandly and nobly planned with an admixture of the
romantic and the picturesque This brief summary
will, we trust, give a general idea of the grandness of its conception, but still more unique and commendable seems to us the spirit, underlying it, of moral interpretation and romantic representation of some of the stirring and ever- elevating episodes of our national epics, suited to help and guide the solution of some of the most delicate and ■ vexing problems — national as well as social — of the day, ,..,..The book must be welcomed as a laudable literaiy
contrihution to the cause of national regeneration.
Both the incidents of the book and the scene of their
working afford ample scope for the most grand and
picturesque descriptions and the most stirring and highly romantic flights of imagination. In some places, to wit, the course of Viswamitra's creation and his progress through mid-air, the reader is involuntarily reminded of the resplendent grandeur and sublime imagination of Milton. The credit of the translator is in our opinion almost equal to the unique merits of the original and we thoroughly agree in the remark of Principal Brajendra Nath Seal, that the book is a ^* triumph of the translators art as weir' Mr. Sens English rendering is most racy, elegayit and happy, making the translation itself by no means an inconsiderable and independent produc- tion in English, We cannot, therefore, conclude this review without complimenting Mr. Sen on his successful performance in this respect and further thanking him for the valuable service he has rendered in making such a unique book based upon a topic of all-absorbing national interest available to a wider class TKnglish-knowing^ of his fellow countrymen,"
The Oriental Review, BOMBAY, July 21,
1909 : — ''''...The Triumph of Valmtki wvls originally written in Bengali by an eminent Bengali writer and was very highly spoken of by many critics, being considered almost an epic with its grandeur of design, sense of elemental freedom, intoxication of the creative imagination, and dramatic intensity of life and passion. Principal Seal, of the Cooch Behar College, in his New Essays in Criticism considered this book superior to such works as Goethe's
X
Helena, De Quincey's Dream-fugue, and Richter's Dream of the Dead Christ, and said that the Bengali phantas- magory was sublime, not with the sublimity of Ossa and ■Olympus, but with that of the Himalayan range. The modern literary spirit is above everything cosmopohtan m the broad sense of the word. It cannot bear to see that a good book should remain confined to a limited circle of readers. Actuated by this spirit, Mr, R, R, Sen, pleader ■of Chittagong, has translated the book in English. The -scene of the book opens with a vivid and magnificent
description Victory falls to the robber-chief Valmiki
■Avho turns a penitent on hearing the song of brotherhood ■of Man sung by the spirits of the departed. While the others are bent upon evolving feelings of brother- hood by means of the intellectual and physical forces, Valmiki does that effectively by the same means which Christ, Zoroaster and Buddha had found so effective — ;the Gospel of Love. The book thus shows the ultimate ^triumph of the moral force as against the physical and 'intellectual forces. Though an allegorical phantasmagoria it possesses a human charm of its own and holds the reader enthralled from beginning to end. The translator has succeeded in retaining the beauty of the original ivith his sweet diction and beauty ■of style. We can only sav it is a great book well translated. Printed on superior art paper with handsome illustrations , the price.. .is not much."
The Pioneer, ALLAHABAD, November 4th, .1909, ^second notice, two columns):— "...Mr. Shastri'S
little book is, in short, a prose-poem which is an
allegory of the superiority of the moral and emotional iforces over sirea^th of will and strength of intellect. His translator Itas atlempted a difficuH, and in some
respects, an impossible task. The original is written by a. Hindu for Hindus, and in a language rich in words
borrowed from the Sanskrit Scriptures Mr, Sen has
modestly attempted a fairly literal translation, and has so far succeeded that his version is fluent and readable. His rendering ivUl be useful not only to Europeans who may be interested in Bengali literature, but to Hindus in other parts of hiduiy who will no doubt be able to supply the ellipses and allusions "Vhich may present some difficulty to non-Hindus, To Europeans the chief interest of the book will probably consist in the fact that it is an expression of the neo- Hinduism, the curious renascence of Hindu sentiment under the stimulus of Western education which is one of
the most marked features of our time It is interesting,.
nevertheless, to see in what form the old Hindu legends linger in the minds of the most intelligent and enlightened Bengalis, forming a bond of union between Hindus such as Christianity hardly supplies in the case of the more positive and less emotional Western races. In Mr. Shastri's, book it is easy to see that the name of the Ribhus carry some similar charm of association such as can hardly be possessed by the- words of any foreign scripture. It is not argument and logic that can take the place of such haunting memories as these. The appeal must be to the elemental associations of our nature, and these to a Hindu born and bred, are inextricably linked with the phrases and legends for which Mr. Sen has striven, not unsuccessfully, to find an English clothing. In any case, Mr. Sen's little book; is one which may be read tvith pleasure and profit. At times it rises to heights, of real eloquence, and read sympathetically, it may serve to show how Hinduism; S stiH one of the great living religions of the worklv
Xtl
althoii>(h it is the survivor of a type of mythologies which have long been obsolete in the West"
United India and Native States, MADRAS,
January, 1910 : — " Mr. Sen has done a great service to the Indian public ignorant of Bengali, in placing within their reach this magnificent nibnument of the Shastri's depth of thought, power of imagination, purity of sentiments arid Versatility of genius. .....The above is, in brief, the skeleton
of the author's plot and th^ fabric into which he has woven thesis ideas, is worthy of the traditions of ancient India^ the land of bright fancies arid powerful imagination. Perhaps the song of the angels at the Nativity, suggested the song of the " Ribhus," but ^ he author's presentation of it to his readers is extremely fascinating and is calculated to captivate the heart of the Hindu, trained for hundreds of generations to vibrate at the slightest touch of its
stiffest chords by firigers only like those of the author
The booklet is extremely interesting and edifying and will amply repay perusal and to the thinking people of this country irt these days of Unrest cannot fail to be an incentive to the adoption of a right course of thought and life. The English translation is simply splendid and speaks volumes for the ability of the translator in rendering into a foreign language, a vernacular work without allowing it to suffer by translation. The get-up of the book is admirable as also are the beautiful illustra- tions.'^
The Mahratta, POONA, September 26th, 1909:— 'The book is happy reading. It is full of beautiful des- criptions and choice expressions and shows to what height ihe ima]jination of a cultured Bengali rises the con- ception of the book is highly imaginative— extremely poetic — and is well worth perusal.^'
The Hindu, MADRAS, October 2, 1909:-: " The author indulges in sublime rhapsody which is at once grand and fascinating •• •• The highly imaginative will find in this work ample food for reflection."
Dr. G A. Grierson, Ph. u., L L. D., D. Litt., CLE., Director of Linguistic Survey of India :— " It is a mjst interesting work and I take the liberty of congratula- ting^ you on the excellent English used in your transla- tion. The book must have been a most difficult one to present in the garb of a foreign language."
Mr. Frederic Harrison, President, Positivist Society, England, Havvkhurst : — "I have read the Triumph of Valmiki with interest and like the descriptions of India's scenery. "
Principal Brajendra Nath Seal, M. A., Victoria College, Cooch Behar:— "Itis a triuniph of the translators Art as well."
Sir Henry Cotton, K. C. S. I., M. P., London:— " I have been reading the book with much interest and appreciate the skill with which you have rendered Pandit Hara Prasad Shastri's version into English."
Dr. Rash Behary Ghosh, M. A., D. L., C S. I.,
late Member, Viceregal Council :— " I have read the book with much pleasure, and I hope '^Iso with profit.*'
Mr. E. B. Havell, Late Principal, Govt. School of Art, Calcutta : — " The excellent English of your translation enables me to appreciate the great imaginative power of Mahamahopadhyaya Hara Prasad Shastri's work."
Sir Gurudas Banerjl, Kt., M. A., D. L., l^te
Judge, Calcutta High Court :~''By presenting to English scholars unacquainted with Bengali an English translation of Mahamahopadhyaya Har^a Prasad Sastri's Valmikip
xtv,
?faya, one of the best works in Bengali prose, you lia\ &
,done a real service to Bengali literature ....I think I can
say^that you have celebrated tJte triumph of Valmiki Jn a manner befitting the subject?*
Mr. S. Charles Hill, B. A., B. Sc, Director of Public Instruction, Central Provinces, Nagpur :— " As far as I can judge from your English translation it is a very beautiful and daring poem. It ought, I think, to become a classic and to add to tlie reputation of the Bengali
language I trust that a wider knowledge of the
poem by people of these raetes Cthe Hindu, the Maham- :madan, and the European,) will tend to bring about that brotherly fusion amongst them upon which the happiness of India most certainly depends."
Babu Sarada Charan Mitra, M. A., B. L., late Judge, Calcutta High Court : — " I am pleased with the translation. \\,\^ acmrate in good English. Transla- tions are intended for Europeans and Americans, 1 expect they will appi;eciate the work."
Mr. J. D. Anderson, I. C. S. (Retired), Cam- bridge : — " Your translation is admirable. It is vigourous and interesting and renders the original with quite re- .markable accuracy."
Mahamahopadhyaya Satis Chandra Vidya-
bhusana, M. A., Ph. D., Jt. Philological Secretary, Asiatic Society of Bengal, and Professor, Presidency College, Calcutta :— ** A faithful translation of Sastri's Valmikir Jaya. Your style is easy and interesting, and the illustrations embodied in your work are ingenious and impressive, I have no doubt that your book will be widely appreciated as it deserves to be. "
(JCV,
Babu Jogendra Lai Chowdhuri, late Sub«
ordinate Judge :— " Your rendering of it was so nice that nobody could take it to he other than an original composition without being" so told!*
Babu Raj Kumar Das, M. A,, Head Master, Dacca Collegiate School : — " I simply wonder how you could render ?astri's Valmikir Jaya into such a sweet and fascinating English. The book in its present form does not at all look like a translation and one must compare it with the original to be sure of it. To confess the truth, I had to read it with the original to be convinced of it ,. The book is a decided improve- ment in the rich garb in which you have clothed it
/ am sure it will he adopted by the T, B- Committee for prizes and libraries!*
Babu Beni Madhav Das, M. A., Professor,
Ravenshaw College, Cuttuck : — " In fact, it is 'a Triumph* or I would say a 'marvel of Traslator's art' ••• SO fit to he a text-book by its style, diction, and the subject-matter."
Babu Aghore Nath Adhikari, Superintendent, Normal School, Silchar \—It would maize a capital hook for our Matriculation students. The hook may well find a place in our High School libraries!'
Mr. H. E. Ransom, I. C. S., District and Sessions Judge, Krishnagore : — " It is a work which, it seems to me will repay close study and as a translation it should almost if not quite rank with original compositions. The production, altogether, if I may say so, does you consider- able credit."
Rai Durga Das Das Bahadur, Late Senior Government Pleader, Chittagong :— "I admire your English
xvt
in the Httle book as very beautiful, sweet and charming, do not think that any one including an Englishman could have translated the original in a better way-"
Mr. F. P. Dixon, I. C. S., Director of Land Records, Eastern Bengal and ^ssam : — "I have been much pleased to have it and to read it. You have done well I think to take De Quincey as your model in style."
Dr. Julius Jolly, Ph. D, Paris :— " In its English dress (it) is very pleasant reading. ... This work should be read by all Western scholars who take an interest in Eastern fiction."
Professor Poussin of Ghent, Belgium:—
" I admire the skilful melange of Indian ethos with modern feeling and knowledge."
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